Go from grime to shine with this detailed kitchen floor cleaning guide. You’ll learn how often to clean it, the best products to use, and more!
Are you a get-on-your-hands-and-knees floor cleaner? Or are you a mop-only-what-you-see kind of person? Or maybe you want to learn how to clean your floors correctly because no one ever told you. No matter what your background is, we can all agree on one thing – the kitchen floor gets really dirty, and it needs to be cleaned the right way.
Unlike other rooms in the house, the kitchen is prone to getting a lot of really stubborn messes. And since people (and pets) eat here, it needs to be clean and sanitary. If your entire kitchen needs a good cleaning, use my kitchen deep clean checklist. But if it’s just your floors, then you’re in the right place!
This guide is a comprehensive resource for helping you get a clean, sparkling kitchen floor. Not only will your floor look amazing, but it’s more hygienic and it will make your floors last longer too!
So let’s uncover the secrets to consistently clean kitchen floors!
(This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated if you make a purchase through a link on this page.)
The “How Often” – Understanding Cleaning Frequencies
How often should you mop your kitchen floor? And what kind of mopping or deep cleaning should you be doing? Let’s get into it, because the answer will depend on a lot of different factors.
How To Figure Out How Often To Clean Your Floors
Basically, if you have a large family and your kitchen is the busiest room in the house, you’ll have to clean the floors more often than someone who lives alone and doesn’t cook. So here’s how to determine how often to clean your floors.
- Household Size: How many people and pets live in your home?
- Cooking Habits: How many meals do you cook at home?
- Foot Traffic: How often are people walking through your kitchen?
- Floor Material: How easily does your floor show dirt and crumbs?
General Cleaning Frequency Guidelines
After you understand how often your kitchen floor is used and dirtied, you’ll get a better idea of how often to clean it. However, here are some general guidelines to follow if you have a small family and cook at least one meal a day.
- Daily: Spot clean spills, quick sweep/vacuum crumbs, wipe high-traffic paths.
- 2-3 times a week: Light mop/wet wipe (depending on floor type) for everyday grime.
- Weekly: Thorough sweep and vacuum, full mop and deep clean.
- Monthly/Quarterly: Deeper cleaning, grout scrubbing, waxing (if applicable).
Essential Cleaning Tools For Kitchen Floors
Now that you know about how often to clean your kitchen floors, it’s time to gather your supplies! I’m splitting this section into three parts – your basic arsenal (that everyone with floors needs), gentle cleaning solutions, and what you need to avoid.
Basic Cleaning Arsenal
Whether you have tile, linoleum, hardwood, or laminate wood flooring, these are the products I suggest everyone own.
- Soft-bristle broom and dustpan. If you don’t use your kitchen very often, something like a Swiffer Sweeper can work great.
- Vacuum cleaner with a hard floor attachment. Get a light one that can store easily in the closet.
- Microfiber mop (flat or string mop). This is more important if you have a high-traffic kitchen.
- Steam Mop. This is for you if you don’t want to deal with buckets of water.
- Two-bucket system (one for clean solution, one for rinse water).
- Soft cloths/microfiber towels for spot cleaning.
Gentle Cleaning Solutions
It’s ok to use store-bought floor cleaners. And it’s also ok to make your own. Some store-bought floor cleaners are so full of perfume that they could be overpowering for some people. Making your own floor cleaner is a good idea because it’s low-odor (and it’s really affordable, too!).
Check out my guide to the best vinegar to water ratio for cleaning. Vinegar can remove tough, stuck-on grime and is also known to have antimicrobial properties. Read that article, as it explains how much vinegar and water to use on hardwood floors and how much to use on porcelain and linoleum floors (they aren’t the same).
If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to use white vinegar, read about alternative options. You could use dish soap, baking soda, or other types of vinegar. When you make a homemade cleaner, add a few drops of essential oils. Not only are they antiviral and antibacterial, but they make your home smell amazing at the same time.
What To Avoid
Avoid using harsh chemicals on your floors, especially if you have children or pets. It’s dangerous for them to breathe and it could cut down the life of your floor. You should also avoid using abrasive scrubbers and too much water.
If you mop with too much water, it could damage the wood or laminate.
And don’t use a steam mop if you have unsealed hardwood floors, laminate flooring, or vinyl plank flooring. If you do, the hot steam could damage the materials and even cause warping or adhesive leaking.
How To Clean Your Kitchen Floor
Here’s how to use your products and clean your kitchen so that it’s clean, shiny, and hygienic. These steps are listed in order. Follow them when you need to give your floor a good deep cleaning.
1. Pick Up The Floor
Is there any trash, dog toys, or forgotten utensils on the ground? Pick them up. Next, move to your chairs and any other items that may be covering areas of your floor that need cleaning. This includes picking up all your rugs as well. This part should only take a few minutes to complete.
2. Sweep Or Vacuum
Next, get all the food and loose dirt off your floor. Do this with your broom and dustpan or a vacuum. No matter how you do it, it’s important to make sure you’re sweeping or vacuuming along the sides of the room, under your cabinets, and all the places you might not see very often.
3. Remove Stubborn Spots
After you sweep, look for any stubborn spots. Do you see any residue from old spills? Or maybe there are some old footprints from your pet. This is the time to really get rid of them.
4. Steam Mop or Wet Mop
When your floor is completely free of dust, dirt, and spots, go through and kill all the germs! It’s time to mop. Keep your mop water really hot and use two buckets. One bucket should be designated for clean water, and another for dirty water.
The best way to mop your floors is to start at the back corner and mop backwards. Go from one side of the kitchen to the other, working your way backwards until you are out of the kitchen.
That’s it! Now you can stop and look at your masterpiece!
Advanced Tips & Troubleshooting
We all deal with those stubborn stains or weird spots that we don’t know how to clean. Well, I’m going to share my best tips for the most common ones.
How To Get Rid Of Stains On Your Floor
- Grease: If you have grease on your floor, use dish soap, warm water, and a clean cloth or paper towel.
- Sticky Residue: What about bubblegum? Place an ice cube on top to get it harden. Then, scrape it gently with an old credit card (or car ice scraper).
- Scuff Marks: Make a baking soda paste with a little bit of water. Let it set for a few minutes and then remove with a soft cloth.
How To Protect Your Kitchen Floor
After putting in all this hard work, you want it to last. I feel that, I really do! The best way to keep your kitchen floors clean for longer is to put doormats in your entryway. And keep the doormats clean.
And get some washable rugs and put them in the spill-zones (like in front of the sink and stove). If a spill happens, you can blot it with some paper towels and throw the rug in the washing machine.
Finally, remember to put furniture pads under your chairs, tables, and anything else that you move around your kitchen frequently. This will prevent scuff marks and scratches.
Kitchen Floor Cleaning Guide: Wrap-Up
There you have it! I hope this kitchen floor cleaning guide helped you learn how to keep your kitchen floors spotless and shining. There’s something in here for everyone. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just break it down into smaller steps and you can have floors you’re proud to show off.
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