How to remove salty streaks from your floor without damaging it

Cold weather means more salt on the roads and sidewalks – but also on your floors, as it settles in your shoes and boots and leaves salty streaks. Salt is great for combating outdoor ice, but it is harmful to your flooring. Even if you require people to remove their shoes when they enter your home, salty dust can still end up on your hardwood and other floor surfaces and cause permanent damage if you don’t deal with it quickly and properly. Here’s what you need to do to get rid of it properly.

Remove salt with a little acid

Salt deposits don’t emulsify with soap and water, so don’t waste your time with your usual mopping routine. What you really need is a weak acid. Find out where here our old friend vinegar comes in.

First, you need to remove the salt crystals by vacuuming or sweeping. You’ll also need to wipe up any melted snow or moisture, so grab an old towel and give it a quick blot. Be careful, though: Don’t push it around, as large crystals inside could scratch the floor (and you could force the water into the cracks in the floorboards, causing damage to the underside). Dab Remove moisture with a cloth.

Next, mix vinegar and warm water at a ratio of 1/2 cup of vinegar per gallon of water. (If the salty streaks and stains are really bad, you can double the amount of vinegar.) This will clean once the solids and liquids are removed and only those streaks remain.

How to use the salt cleansing mixture

Distribute your vinegar and water mixture in the same manner as you would when washing the floor normally, which may vary depending on the condition of the floor. For example, if it’s tile or vinyl, you’ll want to wipe it down with a mop and let it sit for a few minutes for the salt to dissolve. If it’s wood, mist the strips with a spray bottle and blot the moisture with a towel after a few minutes.

To prevent the streaks from coming back, keep a spray bottle of the mixture handy so you can tackle them when they appear. Also be vigilant when the snow melts. Check the underside of your doormat for leaks, wipe up any wetness immediately and spray the area with your bottle to be on the safe side.

Usually the smell of vinegar goes away after a while, but if you really hate it, you can go through the room again with your usual floor cleaning products after it dries.

When spreading this solution, you’ll need something soft. This is not the time to scratch, push, or otherwise become abrasive. Microfiber is the answer. You can use Microfiber clothswhich are inexpensive and delicate, but I also understand if you don’t want to kneel on salty, crusty, dirty floors and wipe carefully with a rag. In this case, I recommend a special microfiber mop. You’ll need a mop that’s specifically designed for winter cleaning of entryways and floors, as you don’t want to drag salt throughout the house when cleaning non-salt areas. Instead of spending a lot of money on a new microfiber mop that you only use a few months of the year, I have a better idea: buy it This pack consists of two microfiber mop pads which are designed to fit around the head of a standard Swiffer sweeper.

For about $10, you get two stretchy covers, one that can be used to blot on moisture and the other to apply your diluted vinegar. They are easy to remove from the Swiffer so you can easily throw them in the laundry so you can use a fresh pad every time you need one.