In the last decade, the trend is clearly heading toward a more organic approach. People and business owners around the world are looking to manufacture products that are non-synthetic and non-toxic, while the demand for natural things is on the rise. The DIY field is constantly surprising everybody with its products that can easily replace the industrial supply. An example of these substitutes is this homemade natural floor cleaner. You will need to have:
• water, 1 cup
• vinegar, 1 cup
• alcohol, 1 cup
• dish soap, 2-3 drops
• lavender essential oil, 5 drops
• orange essential oil, 5 drops
• tea tree essential oil, 3 drops
• a 24 oz fine-mist spray bottle
Instructions: Use the bottle like a cocktail mixer for all the ingredients mentioned above. Shake for a couple of minutes, until they are combined. Before using, vacuum or just sweep the area you want to clean. Spray your natural homemade cleaner on the floor, or on other surfaces for that matter. Finish by wiping up with a microfiber cloth. If you prefer using a mop and bucket, replace the measurements above with 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1/3 cup of alcohol, plus a few drops of dish soap, for a gallon of water.
Photo source: naturesnurtureblog
we have our house up for sale so I am going to try this tonight for the open house on sunday…thankyou
Is it safe to use this, as my entrance hall and kitchen are real cherrywood not laminate
If we do not add alcohol does it work the same? If not where can I get alcohol in Malaysia?
Thank you
No rubbing alcohol there?
I would think that alcohol would remove the finish. Therefor, if I where to try it I would leave out the alcohol.
The finish most susceptible to damage from short-term exposure to alcohol is shellac, which was used on floors decades ago, with a paste wax finish coat. Shellac and wax looked nice, but weren’t nearly as tough or durable as the modern floor finishes used today. Shellac hasn’t been widely used as a floor finish in the United States since the middle of the twentieth century.
In this cleaning cocktail, the water is a carrier, the vinegar a mild acid, the dishwashing detergent is a surfactant, and the alcohol helps the concoction dry faster; the essential oils provide fragrance to mask the smell of the vinegar, and are optional.
can this be used to clean natural wood floors that have actually never had a finish put on them? The house was built in 1886 and the floors are pine and oak. sanded but never really any shellac or wax put on them. Has had some Oil on them i know but that is about all. Thanks for your help and thoughts?????
Not safe for cats due to the essential oils & alcohol.
Why would you feed this to your cat? This is a lot safer for cats than any conventional floor cleaner you would buy at the store.
I would be very surprised if someone has all this stuff in his kitchen just to make this ‘cleaning cocktail’ so you have to buy most of these bottles first… I don’t know what will be the best solution, all these bottles or just 1 already made in a factory.
So, your entire life, you only buy one bottle of floor cleaner? Most people keep the alcohol and vinegar already; it’s just a matter of getting the essential oils (which have other uses, and really aren’t essential, anyway.)
I had all the stuff in my house, made it, used it, love it!!!!
I have every single one of these ingredients lying around. Totally safe for cats! Essential oils are perfectly fine to use around animals. Essential oils are in almost everything with a scent, unless fragrance is used, fragrance is synthetic and not natural.
Not true ! Cats metabolize and excrete things very differently than the rest of the animal family. The reason behind this is the cats liver. It does not have the liver enzymes to break down certain chemical as effectively as the rest of us, and sometimes it can’t do it at all!
So don’t feed essential oils, or any floor cleaner, to your cat! It’s not like you’re going to leave it on your floor; you wipe it up. Or just leave the oils out if you’re that paranoid. The vinegar is the most important part, anyway.
hola las 24 onz de oro fino que es exactamnete, es oro u otro producto?
Hola, no dice “oro”, lo que dice es una botella con difusor para rociar (fine mist = rocio fino) de esa capacidad, 24 oz.
Is it necessary to put everything essential oils on the list, or something can be omitted? I only have Lavender Essential Oil?!
50% vinegar/50%water will do everything you need without all the other additive. Fabric Softener is made from animal fat. Replace it with vinegar in your washer. It disinfects, sets the dye, and removes excess detergent, thereby softening your clothes. If I have a really dirty load I add a cup of Twenty Mule Borax when I put in the detergent. No longer use chlorine bleach as vinegar does even more and is not toxic.
It is not safe to use vinegar, or water for that matter, regularly on wood floors. The acid in the vinegar will strip polyurethane and varnish. One should never use water on wood floors. Not sure about the alcohol, but I think it could be worse. I would never use this on my wood of any kind!
Tiene k ser necesariamente todos los aceites k dicen ahi o no. o uno tiene k elegir el aroma k mas le guste. Y porque dicen k es malo para los gatos, porque yo tengo gatos y me da miedo hacerlo? y lo otro es k solo en madera o se puede hacer en laminado tambien?
Is it really usefull ?! how can we find lavender essential oil and orang essential ?!
I skipped the soap and oils and just added fresh orange peel instead (we always have cuties available for quick snacks). I did my whole house today (not just the floors) and LOVED IT! I skipped the oils because we have dogs and I wanted my 3yr old to be able to spray and wipe like her big sisters without worry… I actually forgot to add the soap by accident and didn’t realize til I came back to share how pleased I was with this stuff. LOL Thanks!!! My house smells and looks awesome without switching through multiple cleaners. 😀
Where do I get the oils ? And this will shine my dull floors ?
Dear goodshomedesign-team,
I wanted to ask you, is it ok, that I use your picture?
I shared the link to, so the people can go to your side too.
By this I mean, that they see the owner of the picture.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIY/1401310250126311?ref=hl
If you don’t want it, please write back, and I will delete it immediately.
I would be very happy to share your pictures and ideas!
Oh yes, sorry for my bad english, I am german, so…
Thanks in advance!
DIY-Team
Mine
I love the idea of using essential oils at homemade cleaning products. I make my own all-surface cleaner from citrus peels and vinegar and often think about adding some drops tea tree oil (I love it!), but never tried. Right this weekend I’m trying your recipe for floor cleaner, it’s great reason to use my new essential oils. Thank you for sharing the idea!
I love your mix of essential oils. They are definitely the trick to a nice smelling and shiny floor. Keep up the green cleaning!