Wooden flooring is ideal for higher-traffic areas of the home, but while it’s more hard-wearing than carpet, which gets stained quickly, it can still get pretty dusty. Plus, it becomes victim to many scratches, which is more evident over time.
If you want to give wooden floors a new lease of life, it can be incredibly easy to reach for floor-specific cleaners, often laden with chemicals. However, there is a natural alternative that will restore the look of your floors and prevent dust from settling for longer. Experts at Wood Floor Doctor have shared how you can use black tea to get the chore done.
If you have wood floors that are close to the colour of black tea, it will restore your floor’s natural brown colour. Black tea will enhance the wood grain and minimise the appearance of scratches, giving your floors “clarity and shine”.
The tannic acid in the tea is what gives wood floors a “brilliant shine” and helps to ward off dust. Unlike a lot of the commercially available products, black tea doesn’t leave a sticky residue behind.
It is a cheap, natural, homemade cleaning solution that anyone can make. This makes it an attractive cleaning solution.
It is important to do a patch test in an inconspicuous area in case you are dissatisfied with the results.
To make the cleaning solution, steep about six tea bags in just under a litre of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags. Allow the tea to cool down before you use the solution.
The black tea can be applied to wood floors with a clean, soft cloth. Alternately, you can use a spray bottle to apply it. Using a dry rag, go over the wet areas and quickly soak up the tea.
The black tea solution should be applied in sections so that it can dry effectively. Some people will use a mop to spread the black tea solution, but the problem with this is that you have little control over how much liquid is being put on your wood floors, and it will be tricky to dry your floors after.
The expert said, “I definitely do not recommend the wet mopping technique. It could be a quick way to wreck your floors.”
For those who do want to give this cleaning hack a go, the experts did provide a warning. They said: “If you are going to use black tea, be very careful to use a minimal amount of the cleaning solution on your floors each time.”
It’s also worth noting that this black tea solution is only meant for darkly stained floors. If the wood floors are light, it might leave dark streaks.