A clean home really starts with clean floors. If your floors don’t feel clean, it’s hard to feel like anything else is. I like to keep my cleaning routine as natural as possible, but a lot of homemade wood floor cleaners are very acidic, which can wear away the finish on the floor. I came up with a recipe that does a great job cleaning, will not damage your finish, and only costs 32 cents! Believe me when I say it does not disappoint.

For green cleaning month, a hardwood floor cleaner is a must! I did make a recipe a few years ago when I first started my blog, but after further research I’ve found it to be too acidic. When you wash hardwood floors, you aren’t just washing the wood, but also the finish. Acid can wear it away. I made this new recipe, wanting to keep it pH neutral so it wouldn’t do any damage.

And in that process, I think I made it even more effective! I really love the results of this new recipe, and I think you will too.

I always like to explain why I use each ingredient in my recipes, so here is why.

Ingredients:

• Vinegar: non-toxic cleaner, antimicrobial, all natural and inexpensive
• Borax: natural and sustainable cleaner, disinfects, anti-fungal and keeps away bugs
• Dish soap: surfactant, dissolves dirt and grease
• Essential oils: for scent, and depending on the oil, can have different properties like being antibacterial, anti-fungal, etc. (I used peppermint in this recipe)

I’ve started pH testing my cleaning recipes to make sure they are the appropriate pH for whatever job they are doing. In general I try to stay pH neutral. pH strips are by no means perfect, but I’m pretty confident saying this recipe turned out a 7 (or maybe 7.5) based on the strips. So job well done!

Ready for the recipe?

I love love love my new homemade wood floor cleaner! It is so effective. Chicago in spring can really do a number on your floors. Between snow and salt, and melting snow and mud, you’re always tracking things in to your home, even if you REALLY try not to.

So believe me when I say I need a good floor cleaner. This one works so well!

Not only does it look amazing and shiny, it feels so smooth and soft. You know, that squeaky clean feeling. Just check out the pictures. You can really see that shine!

I had some salt stains right under our little shoe shelf, so I thought it would be a good example of how great this homemade wood floor cleaner is. I just did one spray with my mop, and literally 2 swipes (forward and back) and they were gone. And if you’ve dealt with them before, you know those salt stains can be tricky!

I’ve been using a Bona hardwood floor mop for a few months now, and I love it. The spray mechanism is much more effective than the one on my old casabella mop. The only thing is, it comes with a cartridge full of bona hardwood floor cleaner. I prefer green cleaning products, but I really don’t mind the bona stuff. But the cartridge is refillable, so once I used up the stuff it came with, I just replaced it with this awesome homemade wood floor cleaner (which is also much more affordable!)

Can’t beat that shine right? I really couldn’t be happier.

Let me know how making your own wood floor cleaner goes for you!

supplies used in this post

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