How to Make DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
How to Make DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
Hardwood floors are a popular flooring choice for many people because of their beauty and durability. However, if you have hardwood floors, you know you need to keep them clean so they can stand up to heavy use.
While there are plenty of commercial hardwood floor cleaners on the market, they contain harmful chemicals that can irritate your skin, eyes, and throat. Plus, if you have young children or pets routinely playing on the floor, you likely want a more natural option for cleaning your hardwood. Not to mention, commercial hardwood floor cleaners can get expensive.
Related: Are Cleaning Products Toxic? Learn About the Scary Truth
This is why I appreciate the health and environmental benefits you can get when you make your own DIY hardwood floor cleaner.
However, don’t worry if you don’t have time to DIY. Simply check out this post on the best eco-friendly floor cleaner to find a variety of options that are great for hardwood floors!
Making Natural Cleaning Even Easier
When I first started making the switch to DIY natural cleaning products, I realized the hardest part was remembering how to make the cleaners. If you feel the same way, you’ll absolutely love these DIY natural cleaning products recipe cards or this printable DIY natural cleaning product PDF bundle.
Not only does it include over 25 recipe cards and labels so you can quickly and easily make your favorite DIY cleaning products, but it also has a cheat sheet on natural cleaning ingredients you never want to combine and a guide on my favorite essential oil cleaning blends.
This bundle has everything you need to start naturally and safely cleaning your home today!
Ingredients for DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
- 4 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of unscented pure Castile soap
- 5 to 10 drops of essential oils (optional)
- 32 ounce glass spray bottle
A Few Notes About DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t contain white vinegar. Although white vinegar can clean a surprising number of things around the house, there are certain things you should never clean with vinegar, and hardwood floors are one of them. Vinegar can strip the finish on hardwood, which can leave them dull and susceptible to damage.
That’s why this recipe uses Castile soap instead. Castile soap is a gentle, biodegradable soap that’s made from vegetable oil, which means it’s also vegan and cruelty-free.
Related: Genius Castile Soap Uses for the Entire Home
The Castile soap is unscented, so if you prefer your hardwood floor cleaner to have a light scent, I recommend using essential oils. My preferred combination is lemon essential oil and pine essential oil, but feel free to play with scents each time you make a new batch of cleaner to see what you like.
Excess moisture is the worst enemy of your hardwood floors, so you want to use a spray bottle to make sure you don’t saturate your floors with this natural hardwood floor cleaner. A dark-colored glass spray bottle works best since essential oils can wear down plastic.
Additionally, an organic cotton unpaper towel works best for cleaning hardwood floors. To make your cleaning routine waste-free, you can put a cotton unpaper towel on an old Swiffer mop. When you’re done cleaning, simply wash the cotton unpaper towel, and it’s ready for the next time you need it.
If you’re wondering why I always recommend organic unpaper towels over microfiber cleaning cloths, you can check out this post to see why organic unpaper towels are the more eco-friendly choice.
Related: How to Go Zero Waste on a Budget
Do you have laminate floors in your home? If so, check out how to make DIY laminate floor cleaner. Plus, don’t forget about the other floors in your home. You can also make this homemade carpet cleaner for your rugs and carpets and this homemade tile floor cleaner that doesn’t use vinegar.
Related: 25+ Easy-to-Make DIY Natural Cleaning Products
As always, before using any type of new cleaner on your floors, test it out in a concealed area, like in a closet or under furniture.
Other DIY Cleaners
If you like this homemade hardwood floor cleaner, be sure to check out a few of our other homemade natural cleaners:
- DIY Tub and Shower Cleaner
- Homemade Granite Cleaner
- Natural Ways to Clear a Clogged Drain
- DIY Fruit and Veggie Cleaner
Could you add some rubbing alcohol to this recipe?
Yes, you can. Rubbing alcohol has a nearly neutral pH so it’s safe to use on hardwood floors.
I never thought of using microfiber clothes to clean hardwood floors. Great idea!
They work really well and do a great job of cutting down on waste when cleaning!
Will this work on wood furniture?
Yes, this should work just fine on wood furniture. I would recommend spraying it on your cleaning cloth first and then rubbing that on your furniture to control how much you apply. Another good option for cleaning wood furniture is this homemade furniture polish: https://earthfriendlytips.com/how-to-make-homemade-furniture-polish/
I’ve been using vinegar in my solution and it works fine. I’m going to give this a try as well since I will be doing my routine cleaning in the coming weeks.
Thanks Kirsten
Could you use a scented Pure Castile soap instead of I scented plus essential oils? I was thinking of using Dr. Bronner’s Eucalyptus Castile Liquid Soap.
Absolutely! That would work perfectly!
I’m excited to tried this at home but would change castile soap to lemon essential soap since that is my problem, I can’t get rid of the smell after cleaning it with vinegar. Thanks
Thanks for sharing such relevant information about hardwood floor cleaner
I can’t wait to try this! We just had our wood floors professionally cleaned and they look beautiful! I want to keep them looking this way so I’m looking for an effective cleaner for in between professional cleanings. Thanks for sharing!
I noticed that my hardwood flooring has some scratches on it, which is my I’m thinking of having it refinished. Although, I’m glad about these tips; I’ll make sure to clean it with lemon, essential oil, and pine essential oil. Thank you for also suggesting the importance of cleaning the floor with an organic unbleached cotton unpaper towel.
Honestly, this is the best natural solution to clean up your wood floors! It works so well. We used it ever since we refinished our hardwood floor, and it has kept our floor looking great. I had to come on here to express my gratitude. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you so much for this recipe I love Castile soap in the essential oils