How to Make Your Own Natural, Homemade Floor Cleaner

Have you read the list of ingredients in your bottles of floor cleaner? If so, you probably realize how many synthetic, potentially toxic agents are in these chemical laden cleansers. If you have children or pets who are prone to eat or pick things up off the floor, the toxicity of floor cleaners becomes of even more concern. Commercial floor cleaners also have the potential to aggravate allergies and other respiratory problems. What if you could easily make your own homemade floor cleaners? Fortunately, there are a variety of natural, safe substitutes you can use for conventional floor cleaners.

First of all, there are ways to help reduce the number of times your floors need to be cleaned which reduces the need for floor cleaners and also saves you time and money. Instead of reaching for the bottle of floor cleaner every time the floors look dirty, try running the vacuum cleaner over your floor surfaces to remove any loose debris. This can often make your floors presentable until it's time for a more thorough cleaning. It also helps to take measures to keep children and adults from tracking dirt inside the house when they come in from the outside.

Once your floors legitimately need a thorough cleaning, here are some ways to make your own homemade floor cleaners to get the job done:

Wood Floors

You'll want to avoid using excess water on wood floors in order to better preserve them. The easiest way to clean wood floors without damaging them is to use a dry mop or Swiffer to gently go over the floors with a dilute detergent solution. To make the detergent solution, simply add a quarter of a cup of dishwashing detergent to a bucket of warm water. Be sure your mop is barely wet when you clean the floors. Some people swear by the use of white vinegar in a ratio of two part water to one part vinegar as a natural floor cleaner, but this method is no longer endorsed by the National Wood Flooring Association.

Ceramic Floors

Those of you who have ceramic floors probably already realize how low maintenance they can be since they don't tend to retain dirt. Cleaning ceramic flooring usually requires nothing more than water and a damp mop. If your floors still appear soiled after using a damp mop, try mixing a similar water/detergent combination discussed for cleaning wood floors.

Laminate Floors

Laminate flooring tends to very durable and resistant to stains, making it easy to clean using a simple damp mop and water. If stains remain after using your damp mop, try adding a quarter cup of white vinegar to a thirty ounce spray bottle and use this to spritz the areas that are stained. You can also create a solution of half vinegar and half water to which you've added a few drops of dishwashing detergent to use as an effective, homemade floor cleaner.

Since many of the recipes for natural floor cleaners call for the addition of dishwashing detergent, be sure to choose an organic detergent available from your health food store to avoid adding chemicals to the floor.

As you can see, you can quickly and easily make natural, homemade floor cleaners that will get the job done without exposing you and your family to toxic chemicals. Give these homemade floor cleaners a try for a floor that glows.