DIY Natural Floor Cleaner

90% of my home is either hardwood or tile floor. In fact the only two areas where there is carpet are areas that we don’t use on a regular basis, the upstairs (which will someday be where our kids will live when they are old enough) and the basement which we do use as playroom on rainy, cold days.

So that means that remaining areas of our home (kitchen, dinning room, family room, bedrooms, hallways and bathrooms) are hardwood or tile. Did I mention we have a dog who thinks shedding is an Olympic sport and doesn’t wipe his paws before he comes in? Or two young kids who are prone to spill just about everything?  So you can imagine how easy it is to see all the dust, dander, mud and other spills.

Even still, I love our beautiful hardwood floors and think they are much easier to clean then carpet, especially when it comes to muddy paw prints and food spills. I don’t have to scrub and soak carpet, I simply have to wipe up the spill and it’s pretty much gone!

However due to the constant stream of sunlight, it is easy to see every imperfection and speck of dirt on the floor. I could be a mad-women who sweeps and mops my floor every minute of the day, but I don’t.

I enjoy living life with my family, even though those smudge marks do drive me a tad crazy, not to mention the never ending sticky floors!

To keep the hardwood floors spic and span I actually vacuum, or use my Swiffer Sweep & Trap , to pick up the dirt, hair, dust or other random objects on the floor, about every other day. When needed I do pull out the dust pan and hand-held sweeper to pick up the Cheerios my kids spill or mud clumps my dog brings in.

But to keep my floors shiny and well maintained, not to mention clean and less sticky, I make my own super simple and frugal DIY Natural Floor Cleaner.

I realize there are lots of products you could buy, and some are pretty natural (although they do come with a price tag) , but I find it easier, greener and money saving to just make my own floor cleaner. I use this both for my hardwood and tile floors too, which makes it even more purposeful– no more using multiple floor cleaning products on different flooring.

So what do I use to make my own DIY Natural Floor Cleaner? Here’s the best part, I only use three ingredients, and one of them water!

DIY Natural Floor Cleaner

Water

vinegar

2-3 drops ofTea Tree  or Lemon Essential Oil  (optional)

Mix one gallon of warm/hot water with 1/2 cup of vinegar, plain white vinegar is the way to go.

This is the easiest, simplest way to clean your hardwood floors, one that women have been using for generations to clean their floors with. In fact this is how my own mother cleaned the floors when I was growing up!

Occasionally I may pour a few drops of Tea Tree or Lemon essential oil in to add in as an antibacterial component and help break up the vinegar smell, but it’s certainly not needed. The vinegar mixed with the warm water is all you really need.

You could pour your vinegar mixture into a bucket and use a mop, but you have to make sure to wring out the mop each time you dip it into the water so that you don’t leave standing water on your floors. I actually pour the solution into my microfiber refillable mop so that way I can control how much liquid ends up on the floor. If you’re concerned your floor is getting too wet, you can always go back over with a dry mop or towel.

What I love about this mop is that I can leave some of the vinegar solution in the refillable bottle so that way anytime there is an accident or a spill on the floor, I can quickly and easily whip out my mop and clean it up without having to pull out the bucket and make a big batch of cleaning solution.

I’ve been using this simple hardwood floor cleaning solution for years and it leaves my floors clean (or at least as clean as heavily traffic floors can be!)

It’s quick to throw together, incrediably frugal, green and natural. Plus it works, which is the best part!

What is your favorite DIY floor cleaner to clean your floors, wood or tile?