Snow isn’t the only white stuff your household must cope with in winter. There’s also the rock salt everyone from the highway department to your next-door neighbor sets down on roads and sidewalks to keep ice from forming. A dusty white residue forms on your floors when you traipse through the salted water and into the house, along with every other member of the family.
It’s a small inconvenience considering all those icy accidents salt helps prevent, but ice melt salt stains aren’t attractive. And if you don’t treat them quickly, they can damage floors permanently, particularly wood ones.
But there’s no need to get to that point when there are so many fool-proof products and home remedies to remove salty dust. Consider these options:
Try A Store-Bought Product
If you want someone else to do the mixing (and don’t mind paying a bit more than a home remedy will cost), seek out a salt stain remover online or in home stores. Salt-Away spray and concentrate are two options, another is Squeaky Cleaner in a spray bottle.
The Kiwi shoe polish company even makes a special product just to remove white salt lines from leather shoes.
Use This Clever Trick For Wood Floors
For an inexpensive home remedy for salt dust on wood floors, head to the kitchen for the vinegar bottle. Mix about a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of cool water and put the homemade “floor neutralizer” into a clean spray bottle.
Next, sweep up any salt that’s formed granules on the floor, along with any other dirt or debris. Spray the solution on the dried salt spots, using just enough to moisten the area. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the vinegar can neutralize the salt. If any stains are particularly stubborn, rub them out with a cloth or floor scrubber.
When the soaking time is up, pick up the vinegar solution using a mop or wet-dry vac. As long as the salt spots have disappeared, you can let the last moisture evaporate by air drying.
Use Other Home Supplies To Treat Salt On TIle Floors
If your household winter salt shows up on bathroom and kitchen floors, you’ll need a separate formula for tile. Simply add 2 tablespoons ammonia and 1 tablespoon borax to a gallon of warm water in a mop bucket.
Then mop the surface, adding more solution as needed to keep the mop head moist. This method requires a rinse with clean water, followed by drying with a soft cloth.
Prevent Wood Floor Salt Stains WIth These Strategies
If you find yourself constantly damp mopping salt residue in the cold months, it may be time for preventive measures. One way to cut back on people tracking salty water into the house is to make it a policy to remove shoes at the door.
And if a “socks only in the house” policy is not your family’s style, consider keeping a vinegar-water spray bottle in the mudroom or foyer. Family members can use it to wipe salted water from their shoes so it never reaches your wood floors.