My Kitchen Floors vs My Sanity

I have linoleum as well and fight this battle too. I tried Mop and Glow and was not impressed. What I do find has finally lifted the stick and brought some shine to it is a gallon or so of HOT water, 2-3 cups white vinegar and 2 Tbsp baby oil. works like a charm for mine. I am also going to try a remedy I found online for bathroom floors where hair products have built up and that is to use HOT water and liquid fabric softener. I hate cleaning floors so I have yet to try this one but the other is all I do now.

I agree...your floor is clean. In fact, you've probably scrubbed the finish off of it (or the person before you). It is actually LINOLEUM...or just vinyl flooring? Two very different products with different care and durability.

I would just use vinegar and water for everyday cleaning and then something a little heavier once a month.

I don't know what you mean by "it never looks clean"...have you got a magnifying glass on it...lol. Do you want to come clean my house? Mine would give you a whole new perspective...lol.

I have the same issue.. I'd say.. as long as you clean it, and know that it's clean.. even though it doesn't look it.. Reelllaax. At least until you can get new floor. dont waste your money on all those different waxes and special cleaners. I'd say you are doing an excellent job of keeping your home clean, and that's all thats important.

It is clean. You clean it everyday.
The normal wear and tear... makes it look like it is not new nor will it look 'new' again.
Also, it depends on the color of it and some just are more prone to show dirt more... and if it is 'gloss' finish versus a 'matte' finish linoleum... then that makes a difference too.

We had a gloss finish linoleum tiles in our bathroom. It aged not well and showed dirt/yellowing more. We put in a matte textured linoleum and it shows dirt much less. And all I do is dust mop it and wet mop it. Its fine.

DO NOT use abrasives on it. It will create 'scratches' in it that will trap dirt and grime. And which you cannot get out.

all the best,
Susan

I yanked that stuff out of my house and stained the concrete until I can afford tile. It was work, but I found getting that nasty stuff out of there worth the effort.

I would really like to know that you aren't putting chemical cleaners, including bleach, on a floor where your children play, crawl, whatever! And it does not help an old floor, but just deteriorates it more.

I finally bought a steam floor cleaner, and love it! So does my 11 year old daughter, who will finally help me with this part of the housework cheerfully! For a cleaning solution when we need it, we use Citrasolve or some other orange concentrate cleaner with water.

UPDATE:
Just in response to the thing about bleach. No, I don't use bleach in my toilet, though I do clean it--using Bon Ami, and sometimes the same orange cleaners. Steam cleaning the bathroom floor was the reason I got the steam cleaner in the first place. I REALLY don't like bleach--though it is around for the occasional absolute need. Why? Because chlorine, the chemical in bleach, forms dioxins in our water systems and they do not dilute, but continue to move through the food chain of algae, fish, and the creatures that eat the fish--us. Most humans have high levels of dioxins in our bodies now, and common household bleach is one reason. This is carcinogenic and simply isn't necessary, so why use it? (Yes, I'm aware there are many other ways chlorine gets into the environment, but I try to reduce my own impact.)

You're a parent right? Please don't use the abrasive bleach any more. Those cleaners are horrible for you and your kids...not to mention they are causing more problems for your floor.

I have a steam cleaner mop that I use....no chemicals and it cleans even sticky messes. Another option is Tough & Tender.

Ok, I've tried the swiffer wet jet as well and was so NOT impressed. The ONLY way I can get my floor to look even remotely clean is by getting on my hands and knees, using warm water, lemon juice and a bit of baking soda for and abrasive, but ONLY use the baking soda IF NEEDED. The abrasive bleach has most likely removed what little protective finish there was. Good luck!

I have a similar floor...except mine is from the 70's. It is yellowed with age with some floral and diamond design. I have given up on my floor a long time ago (we have been living in our house for 3 years now). It looks the same after I clean it as before I cleaned it. I just clean it and know it is actually clean.

We rent our house so we cannot do anything about it. But it goes nice with the 70's wall paper and blue counter tops. LOL we cannot wait until we are able to buy a house. Oh well at least the rent here is pretty good :-)

Good Luck!!

We learned to love murphys oil soap (flax soap) for our linoleum.... it drove us crazy too!

Well now you have given me one more excuse to not mop my linoleum floor, it would just look dirty anyway!!;) Seriously, what I do is sweep, mop sometimes and just put up a baby gate so my little dude can only crawl on it when it is freshly cleaned. Then I call it a day baby! Guess you can tell I am not a neat freak! Good luck:)

My mom had linoleum.. it was very textured.. and dirt got in those ridges and it looked horrible.. you could wash it time after time and it still looked dirty..

Then I found Armstrong New Begining... I bought it at Home Depot in the tile linoleum area..

Armstrong makes a safe but very strong cleaner... not sure the exact name... but you put on this stuff.. scrub with a scrubber sponge (wear gloves) it is basically a stripper for the floor.. rinse well and then put on the new shiny coat.. one of the products is called new beginning.. great stuff.. but a lot of wrok.. this is hands and knees for several hours.. something you might do once or twice a year.

I suggest using a product such as Mop and Glow and to stop scrubbing it with abrasive bleach. I also suggest that if you want to mop once a day that you use plain water. I don't know if vinegar will take away the shine or not. If it doesn't you could use vinegar as a disinfectant. I'd stop using the Swiffer. Swiffer makes the floor dull and a bit sticky when over used.

The next time you thoroughly clean the floor, follow up with a coat of Mop and Glow or similar product. After that mop with plain water or water and vinegar if it doesn't take off the shine. I mop with the Mop and Glow, perhaps once a month and my linoleum which is 20 years old looks good.

You do have to be careful that the floor is actually clean before you use the Mop and Shine or Glow because the substance in the cleaner seals in the dirt and over time the floor will look dirty and yellow and you'll have to strip the floor and begin over.

You can also use a wax which would be less expensive. The key is to not use a product that strips the wax off. When I was growing up we did not have no shine floor covering. All linoleum was dull. My aunt and mother used a Stanley wax on their floors and they always looked shiny and clean. You could use a commercial grade wax that can be found at a cleaning supply store. They are really shiny and last longer than a home wax.

I, too, prefer a shiny floor. Makes the kitchen sparkle and give me a warm feeling.