When I moved into an older home a year ago, I noticed the old kitchen and entry way floors were dirty. What I didn't know is that dirt was ground into the flooring and no amount of mopping would clean it. I've tried everything and been frustrated and almost given up. Until . . .
I was shampooing my carpets a few weeks ago. I thought maybe the scrubbers on my carpet machine would clean the kitchen floor. It cleaned well enough but I thought it could be better so I grabbed the old standby, baking soda. I sprinkled the soda on the floor and then cleaned it with my Bissell. OMG, finally clean floors! YAY!
I've also found to maintain the cleanliness of the linoleum floors, I use a drop of Dawn dish soap and a half a cup of baking soda in hot mop water and it's clean and beautiful.
By Dana from Katy, TX
Please note that baking soda is alkaline, and thus is not recommended for linoleum. In time it will harden and dry the floors which may cause them to crumble.
This page contains the following solutions.
By far the most effective thing to do is wet the floor and sprinkle baking soda over it. Wait 15 minutes. Then scrub with a brush and wipe dry. Mop off the residue with water.
Wet printed or colored paper can transfer its dye to the floor, and be a challenge to remove. This is a page about wet paper stained my linoleum floor.
