Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[Ruth]

I am confused about which wood floor tip to use in cleaning them.

I have used both the tea and vinegar tips however, the directions for the tea one I used was 1-2 tea bags in a qt of water. I wasn't happy with the results. Your tip requires a lot stronger brew. I did the vinegar one last week.

But, I am wondering which one is the better tip for my floors. I have thought about just using the vinegar one for a quick clean and the tea one perhaps every 4-6 wks.

I hope I am making sense :?

Thanks for this neat web site as I am going more and more green with my cleaning.

[mrscleannw]

Hi Ruth,
Welcome to Mrs. Clean!
I looked around and couldn't find where we said 1-2 bags of tea. This recipe tip page shows 5-20 bags of tea: http://www.housecleaningcentral.com/en/ ... loors.html I'd like to clarify that the tea cleaning solution should only be used on the old style unvarnished real wood floors. Tea is not helpful for swedish finish/ varnished or laminated wood floors.

At Mrs. Clean (our house cleaning company), all of our house cleaners use plain vinegar and water to clean modern style wood floors (pergo/laminate/swedish finish/varnished). It does not leave a residue and is a natural deodorizer. For the old style hardwood floors which we encounter very seldom, we use a bucket of plain warn water with a small capfull of murphy oil soap to bring out the shine.

I hope this helps

[Ruth]

Sorry for the confusion on the tea bags I had used the 1-2 because I got that answer from a book I picked up at the bookstore 10 yrs ago. However, the author did not distinguish the difference in wood floors.

Thank you for your timely response. I am starting my "spring cleaning tomorrow" and will be reading over your site.

I will be sending my daughter your site as she has the old wood floors.

I have one more question and that is I have a bedroom "fake" mirror on my dresser that over time is showing streaks that I have not been able to clean off. I call it a "fake mirror" as I don't know what the material is and I think it is the type of material that if you break it, it is not as dangerous as glass.

Do you have any suggestions for me? If I can't get it cleaned I am for taking that part of my dresser off and hanging a real glass mirror on the wall above the dresser.

[mrscleannw]

Hello again Ruth,

Glad we could help you out by clearing up the use of tea bags.

As far as the mirror goes, do you spray glass cleaner directly on the surface then wipe down? If you do, it is possible the cleaner has dripped down onto the backing causing it to erode. To prevent damage around the edges and the back of the mirror, cleaning solutions should first be sprayed on your cleaning rag.

If this is not the case try using the following recipe. You will need a spray bottle, newspaper, and cleaning rag.

Rubbing Alcohol:
Mix in a spray bottle:
• 1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) evaporates, and leaves no residue. It provides the base for a vaporating glass cleaner that stands strong next to any commercial glass cleaning product. You can use this window cleaning spray recipe to clean not only windows and glass, but mirrors, shine your chrome fixtures, and even on stainless steel.

Spray the cleaning rag with the glass cleaner and wipe down the mirror then dry with the newspaper. Make sure you get the edges of the frame dry.

Mrs. Clean

[Ruth]

Thank you again.

I did use vinegar and water but, did not put rubbing alcohol in the solution. Will try that and if no success I will replace it.