How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen Floor (Without Harsh Chemicals)

Floors are among the first areas to accumulate stains, crumbs, and dust in the kitchen. From grease splatters to errant peas, corn kernels, seeds, sugar and flour dustings, and everything in between, the floor (and those nooks beneath cabinets) tends to be a catchall for all of our kitchen messes. Even if you're the kind of home cook to spot clean spills as you go, you'll know that kitchen floors are one of the dirtiest areas in anyone's home. Regular maintenance is a must, but so is an occasional deep clean.

The last thing you want to add to a soiled floor is a thick layer of chemicals, however. Most of the leading commercial cleaners contain a cocktail of harsh ingredients or a mix of allergy-inducing additives. You'll be happy to learn that there's an all-natural alternative to commercial options that is just as effective on hardwood, tile, linoleum, vinyl, and laminate surfaces. Bonus: It won't tarnish the finish on any of your floors, either.

Cleaning Kitchen Floors

At a minimum, you should plan to clean your floors weekly. The best way to clean your kitchen floors is with castile soap, an olive-oil-based cleaner that can remove stubborn stains and, when added to warm water, serves as an especially effective cleaner for hardwood and tile floors. Use the diluted castile soap mixture with a microfiber mop—we like the Libman Wonder Mop, an eco-friendly mop that was designed to pick up 20 percent more dirt from floors.

Pro tip: Start in a corner and back your way out of the room, using arcing, overlapping mop strokes.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

Sweep or vacuum, then mop. Since wood can warp if exposed to too much water, we recommend mixing 1 teaspoon of castile soap into a 24-ounce spray bottle of hot water, then adding 10 drops of lemon or rosemary essential oil. Lightly spritz the floor and wipe it with a microfiber mop. One of our staff's favorite non-DIY cleansers is Method Almond Squirt + Mop wood floor cleaner. Paired with the Wonder Mop, cleaning is a breeze, since this microfiber mop head was designed to reduce the amount of water that touches your floors during a cleaning, helping to protect that gorgeous hardwood.

Cleaning Tile Floors

Mop with warm water and an all-purpose cleaner. Avoid acidic ingredients like ammonia, which can discolor the grout. Rinse and repeat with plain warm water.