During a recent blog post planning meeting with my “girls,” we realized while we have posted about a grease-cutting floor cleaner, and about keeping wood floors clean, we’ve never done a post specifically about making a DIY cleaner for wood floors! Obviously that just wouldn’t do…so today we’re going to remedy that situation. :-)
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It’s easy to see why wood floors have made such a resurgence in recent years. They come in a variety of styles, are durable and long-lasting, and they’re easy to clean. But instead of spending a small fortune on name-brand cleaning solutions for your wood floors, why not opt for an all-natural solution that you can make for pennies?
This solution uses vinegar to clean and deodorize, and the addition of castile soap gives it some extra muscle to power through sticky messes.
DIY Wood Floor Cleaner
- 1 gallon of warm water
- 1 cup of white vinegar
- 1/2 cup of castile soap (optional)
In a small bucket, combine the warm water, vinegar, and castile soap. (The soap may “curdle” a bit when it’s mixed with the vinegar, but that’s okay. Just mix it in as best you can.)
Depending on what kind of cleaning tool you’re using, you can either dip your mop directly into the bucket, or pour some of the solution into a spray bottle and apply it to your floors that way.
After sweeping your wood floors to pick up any dirt, dust, or hair, use the cleaning solution to dissolve and wipe away any spills, mud, or general stickiness. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way, you just need enough liquid to dampen the mop (or cloth.)
Your floors will shine bright, for a fraction of the cost!
What kind of cleaner do you use to clean wood floors?
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I forgot about Castile soap. I used the one part vinegar and one part water with some lavender ess oil. did clean the old wood floors up some. Next project is hanging pictures on old walls. right now im using the old holes. then the biggy. blinds for 11 windows. there has to be a better way than almost $200 for blinds f house I am renting:(
My floors are finished with a water based finish. Can I still use this? I heard vinegar would destroy my floors.
Our current home and the one before both had laminate wood floors. I always used vinegar and water to clean them. I tried using Method floor cleaner, Mr Clean and all of them ended up leaving a dulling residue over time. The only thing that cut it was straight vinegar cleanings. With our new house, I now use a mixture of rubbing alcohol, water, vinegar and Dawn dishsoap. It has worked wonderfully. The vinegar disinfects, which is important for me with a little one roaming around. The Dawn helps cut any messes. I am VERY particular about our floors. We… Read more »
Vinegar is definitely one of my favorite things to clean with – and it’s so cheap!!
If you make the gallon size, & do not use the whole quantity, can you store the rest in a spray bottle?
Yep :-)
We bought our hardwood floors directly from the manufacturer. They sell to many national retail chains. The ONLY thing they recommend is vinegar and water. Absolutely no soap or any hardwood floor cleaner.
make sure you know exactly what your floors can be cleaned with before using vinegar. Some finishes will be ruined if you use vinegar or any other acid on them
I have a cleaning service and most people use the “more is better” with regards to cleaning liquid. Those microfiber pads that many of us own were meant to be used with warm water and nothing else. The trick is to make sure they are clean and free of any residue. After each cleaning they need to be removed and laundered. After every few uses they should also be scrubbed. Wet your pad with water water and then place a few drops of plain old dish soap on the pad now scrub all that in using either a very soft… Read more »
Thanks for the tips Patti!
I used to use vinegar on my hardwood floors but when we recently had them refinished the installer said not to use vinegar because it is acidic and can eat away at the finish. I do use the castile soap and that seems to work fine.
When our wood floors were installed, I asked the best way to clean them. I was told, 1 C. white vinegar to 1 gallon water.
NEVER use products like Mop ‘n Glo, this only causes a build-up that takes a LOT of elbow grease to get it up.
I would think using any kind of soap would either need to be rinsed or would dull the floor. But, if you are saying the Castile doesn’t have to be rinsed & helps with the shine, I would try using a whisk to mix it.
Totally agree Vinegar over time will dull your floor.
Vinegar should never be combined with Castile soap, it unsaponifies the soap and turns it into an oily curdled mess! Just check on the Dr. Bronner’s website, it explains it better. One could try washing with diluted soap, and then doing a vinegar rinse to get rid of any soap residue maybe, I’ve found that it works well. But it was probably a good idea by trying to combine two already powerful cleaning agents in hopes of making a super duper cleanser!
No need to rinse?
Nope!