Cleaning Spilled Milk

Cleaning up spilled milk is supposed to be easy. All that you should have to do is simply clean up by wiping the mess and following the directions of your cleaner. Unfortunately that does not always work out the way that it should. There is a simple reason for this. Milk, since it is an organic compound, can be "cooked" into the flooring by the cleaning agent that you use. The result would be a thin, milky film-type stain that seems to not want to come up at all.

To actually clean up the spilled milk, without causing this problem, begin by using clear, clean water. After that has been mopped up or wiped up, proceed to using one of the following methods depending on your flooring type, in the event that the stain is present.

• Hardwood floors. There are a few simple tools you will need to use with this type of flooring material. You will need a razor blade or some other type of sharpened tool, a damp cloth, and some type of wood cleaner like Murphy Oil Soap, and possibly some floor wax. Throughout this entire process work from the outside of where the stain is towards the middle of the stain. Using the razor blade and a gentle scraping motion, remove the film from the floor. Be careful to not scratch or gouge the wood beneath the stain. Once the stain has been removed, take a damp cloth and some of the Murphy Oil Soap and rub softly over where the stain was. There may be a need to re-wax the spot.
• Linoleum. About the only time that there is going to be a milky film after cleaning on this type of flooring is when there has been a significant buildup of wax on the floor. This should be an indicator that the time has come to redo the floor anyway. So go ahead and strip and wax from the floor and in the process take care of the stain left from the spilled milk.
• Tile. For this flooring you want to use a homemade cleaning mixture. There should be approximately 25% liquid dish detergent, 25% antibacterial cleanser, and 50% water. This cleaning solution should be safe for most, if not all, types of tile flooring. Clean the spill as you would with a regular cleaner, and if necessary then polish the floor.