Wooden floors add a truly beautiful style and feel to any home. But keeping that floor clean is essential for protecting it and extending its longevity. The colour and appearance of the wood will naturally slowly shift, but it’s important to ensure this only happens as a result of natural ageing, and not as a result of damage caused by poor maintenance.
Dust is also a major factor in disturbing the stunning look of your wooden floors, particularly in summer. Taking to the Our Old House page on Facebook, group member Janne Marlar shared how she “repels dust” from her wooden floors and keeps them “shiny” and “smelling amazing”.
She claimed that the solution is to use black tea from around 16 to 20 used teabags.
Janne wrote: “Bless that person from the Our Old House Facebook group who suggested cleaning your hardwood floors with black tea! They look and smell amazing.
“16 to 20 teabags steeped in your big soup pot until you can’t see through the water. Let it cool. Pour into your mop bucket, add a little more water if you want.
“I mop with a microfiber string mop, squeezing out the majority of the water. It’s the tannins in the tea that really clean and shine the wooden floors and keep them dust-free longer.”
The post received over 400 comments and over 6,500 likes. Many users found the same success with this method.
CindyandGarry Montgomery said: “I read that same post and have started using black tea on mine as well. Mine are dark walnut original to our 1919 home, and they shine up, and it is the best thing I have tried.”
Kim Chambers noted: “I use that with orange oil, which makes my old hardwood floors shine, without having all the wax, and it smells amazing.”
Julie Powers exclaimed, “I swear by black tea. Been using it on hardwood floors for 30 years.”
Jess Ica said, “My mom used to do this with the hardwood flooring in my childhood home. It always looked so beautiful afterwards.”
Amy Morello pointed out: “The maids in big homes of the Victorian era also sprinkled used tea leaves onto the carpets, before sweeping them! It was believed to pick up more dust, as well as nullify any lingering odours.”
Black tea absorbs moisture and static electricity to prevent any sticky dust from clinging to wooden surfaces.
Not only will black tea get rid of stubborn dust, but it will also act as a natural polisher to keep your floors looking shiny and spotless all summer.
