The steam mop is a widely used cleaning tool that offers deep cleaning for dust, pollen, and bacteria effectively. Putting a cleaning substance like vinegar boosts the cleaning power for sure. Can I Put Vinegar in My Steam Mop?
Yes, you can. Vinegar has strong cleaning substances in it that removes dirt and kills germs. It is mildly acidic; so anyone can use it as a cleaning solution instead of liquid detergent.
Now let’s find out the role of vinegar in a steam mop and how to use it for the best results.
Can I Put Vinegar in My Steam Mop?
Including vinegar in your steam mops water tank could increase your cleaning effectiveness.
Nevertheless, the use of vinegar depends on your cleaning purpose and areas. A steam mop can clean almost any type of flooring such as hardwood floor, vinyl floor, laminate flooring, tile, and laminate floor, without any chemicals.
Vinegar with steam mopping removes any stubborn stains and dissolve sticky grease with its acidic nature.
It takes less time to loosen up dirt with a nylon brush alongside ordinary tap water. Vinegar has different variations, and most people opt to use white vinegar. There are also alternatives to vinegar mixture, such as apple cider vinegar.
So, the question is, how can I put vinegar in my steam mop for the best results? That’s what we’re going to discuss today because while soapy water or detergent only makes your floors spotless, vinegar can kill and disinfect.
Especially good for bathroom application where you have plenty of germs on the bathroom floor surface.
Precautions
First, never use vinegar on hardwood floor with no-wax. It could burrow through wood floor that takes the shine away and dull the floors.
Further, vinegar could tempt your granite or quartz countertop. Vinegar’s acidic nature can be etched and damage the surface of the stone. If you get an apparent view of vinegar uses, let’s know how to use it properly.
How to Use Vinegar to Clean Carpets, Tile Floors?
Above we mainly focus on where and where not to use vinegar. The vinegar solution is perfect for cleaning carpets and tile floors with a floor steam cleaner.
If your carpets and floors become dirty and messy, it’s an effective cleaning option. You can use vinegar on the carpet if your carpets get stained with stubborn dirt. Also, vinegar helps to bring back your tile floors shiny and glossy look.
How To Use Vinegar On Carpet
Let’s see how you can use vinegar on your steam cleaning session while cleaning a carpet:
Step 1: Apply a pre-treatment if your carpets get tough stains. You should sprinkle some baking soda evenly, where your carpet gets a stain.
Now spray a little amount of water and vinegar solution on where you applied baking soda. You could use white vinegar to get good results.
Step 2: Scrub the place where you pre-treatment, rub in a circular motion and leave it for a while to dry your carpet before steam cleaning.
Step 3: Use a vacuum before steam cleaning the areas. Now take your steam cleaner and fill the water reservoir with 50% water and 50% vinegar. Mix them in the water tank properly before starting your steam cleaning.
Step 4: Now start your steam cleaning by pressing the trigger. Slowly move your cleaners head on to the area where you want to clean the carpet. Pass through the carpet several times until your stain loosens up and starts removing.
Use the brush attachment with warm water for hot steam. An automatic handheld steamer is a good option here.
Step 5: Absorb the extra moisture using a microfiber cloth. Now let it dry for a while and avoid walking on the carpet until it dries completely. It could take some time, depending on the cleaning area and your carpet type.
How To Use Vinegar On Tile Floor
If you’re cleaning a tile floor with a tile steam cleaner, make sure it has a microfiber cleaning pad on it.
Be sure to use the right attachment such as tile grout cleaning head, bigger water reservoir (for bigger floor) so that it can hold several cups of water and cups of vinegar as well. Now follow the process mentioned below:
Step 1: First, vacuum to remove any dust, debris, or loose dirt. But if you are using a vacuum and steam mop combo, it will be easier than sweeping.
Step 2: To get better results, use a rectangle cleaning head in your steam mops and attach a microfiber mop to suck excess water from your floor.
If you have to clean the floor of a large area, you should use an industrial steam cleaner. And don’t opt out for a cheap steam mop if you’re cleaning a large area.
Step 3: Mix half a cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of water and fill the steam mops water tank with it. Assemble your steam mops water tank correctly and seal it.
Power up your steam mop and let it produce hot water. If your indicator light ensures your mop is ready to produce steam, you are prepared to go now.
Step 4: Start your cleaning by pressing the trigger; you will find it on your trigger gun handle. Some steam mop comes with a safety lock, so make sure you undo the safety lock before pressing.
Pass the mop thoroughly on your floor, do this cleaning process as slow as possible to get excellent results.
Step 5: When you steam cleaning your floor, a microfiber cloth should suck the excess water you set before cleaning.
Though the fabric will suck water, avoid walking until your clean floor becomes dry completely. Clean the dirty water from the tank and wash it with clean water for longevity.
Benefits of Putting Vinegar in Your Steam Mop
As you know, the vinegar can be used with a steam mop. Now learn the key benefits of using vinegar with your steam mop.
- If you add vinegar to your steam, mop it will increase your cleaning effectiveness and eliminate stubborn stains and germs.
- Vinegar is a natural cleaning agent; therefore, it can disinfect and deodorize your floor rather than any harsh chemical.
- While you use vinegar with the steam cleaner, it can kill germs, bacteria, and other harmful things such as bed bugs.
- Vinegar is a harmless chemical, so you don’t have to worry about your child or pets’ safety.
- Detergent and other chemical compounds are more expensive than vinegar but less effective.
Summary
Cleaning your household is important, but most important is to kill viruses and bacteria to ensure a safe house interior.
Now you can answer anyone if they want to know, Can I Put Vinegar in My Steam Mop? As we mentioned above, though vinegar is an effective cleaning agent, you have to be careful when you use it on any sensitive floors or surfaces.
You should keep in mind that hardwood floors, non-wax floors, and stone might get damaged by vinegar.
So be careful about these things and try not to use it with them. Do not overuse vinegar in your steam mops. You can follow the above cleaning procedure while cleaning carpet and tile floors.
