The Best Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaner
You’ll never go back to buying expensive store-bought hardwood floor cleaner again after trying this homemade DIY solution! Its fast and easy to make, inexpensive and all natural: The best homemade wood floor cleaner that shines.
Cleaning the floors may be my least favorite job. Or at least a close second to doing the dishes. Maybe its the fact that I have 7 kids, a dog and a husband to dirty it up again as soon as its clean! Its just one of those things that never stays clean for more than a minute.
Whether I like doing it or not, floors got to be cleaned! We have hardwood floor throughout our whole house. And when we moved here 3 years ago, I had no idea how to clean them!
I started trying different things and doing some research to see what worked best and that’s when I decided to try and make my own homemade hardwood cleaner!
Having so many little ones who play, crawl and sometimes even eat on the floor, its been important to me that whatever I use to clean them is as natural and safe as possible!
This homemade hardwood floor cleaner is made with vinegar, olive oil, water and castile soap. Yeah, that’s it! No chemicals. And it really does get the job done! It doesn’t leave any streaks or residue and it actually shines up the floors while you clean! So no need to buy a floor polish ever again. Win, win!
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Why You Should Switch To a natural homemade hardwood floor cleaner:
- Its all natural
- Easy to make
- Much cheaper than store-bought
- Doesn’t leave a residue
- Shines as well as cleans
- Chemical free!
How To make All Natural Homemade Hardwood floor cleaner
ingredients
- Distilled Water – using water in homemade cleaners, bacteria can start to grow over time while the solution sits in the sealed container. To keep this from happening, always use distilled water.
- White Vinegar – just regular old white distilled vinegar you use in cooking! I buy mine in bulk at Sam’s Club.
- Castile Soap – an all around great thing to have on hand. Its gentle enough to use on your skin, but strong enough to clean with! This is the kind of castile soap I like to use in my homemade cleaning products. Read more about the many ways you can use castile soap in your home!
- Olive Oil – olive oil helps condition your wood floors, and shines them up as you clean! An off brand is fine. No need to spend more than you have to since you aren’t needing to be worried about flavor (unless you plan to eat on the floor).
- Essential Oils (Optional) – for additional cleaning power and a fresh smell, add a couple drops of citrus, cedarwood or thieves oil. I use orange oil and my homemade thieves oil.
I use a castile soap in these other recipes too: homemade face wash and homemade thieves cleaner
supplies
- Spray Bottle – any spray bottle will do. I like to use these glass amber spray bottles and labels for my cleaning products.
- Funnel – a funnel just helps keep things tidy.
- Large Jar – a quart sized jar with a lid for storing a large batch or concentrated cleaner.
Can I Use Vinegar On Wood Floors?
Vinegar is a super effective all purpose and natural cleaning agent. But it is acidic and can eventually damage the surface of your hardwood floors. Diluting vinegar with the right ratio of water, however, neutralizes the acidity of the vinegar making it safe to use on wood flooring.
I’ve been using diluted vinegar on my hardwood floors for 3 years now and it hasn’t done any damage!
If you are still concerned about using vinegar on you hardwoods, test it on an inconspicuous area of flooring before using it on a regular basis.
what can I use to make hardwood floors shine
Olive oil added to your hardwood floor cleaner helps naturally hydrate and polishes without leaving behind any film or sticky residue. Using a homemade cleaner with olive oil, you can get two jobs done at once: cleaning and polishing!
How To Make Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaner That Shines:
To Make Enough For One Spray Bottle:
Step 1 – In an empty spray bottle, combine 4 teaspoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoons of castile soap. Fill the rest of the way with water.
Step 2 – Shake well to combine.
Step 3 – Use with a rag or mop to clean hardwood floors and other wood surfaces.
To Make a batch of concentrate:
Step 1 – In an empty jar, combine 2 cups of vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of castile soap.
Step 2 – Shake well to combine.
Step 3 – To use, shake very well. Mix 2 Tablespoons of the homemade cleaning concentrate with 16 ounces of water in a spray bottle. One jar of concentrate makes 24 – 16 ounce spray bottles of floor cleaner.
Step 4 – Use with a rag or mop to clean hardwood floors and other wood surfaces.
Tips
Store – Store the hardwood floor cleaner in a container with a lid for up to 6 months.
Variations – Essential oils can add to the cleaning power and make your house smell fresh as you clean! Just add 2 drops to your spray bottle or 48 drops to a jar of concentrate.
Do not use this floor cleaner with a steam mop.
How to use this homemade hardwood floor cleaner
If you’re making a batch of concentrated floor cleaner, shake the jar well and measure 2 Tablespoons of it into an empty spray bottle. Fill the rest of the way with distilled water. Shake well again.
If you are cleaning your floors by hand with a rag, spray the rag with the cleaner until it is just damp or spray it directly on the floor. Wipe the floor, spraying whenever the rag gets dry. Don’t leave the floor feeling wet since too much water can damage your hardwoods.
If you are using a mop, spray the cleaner directly on the floor or onto the end of the mop. The mop end should be damp, not wet.
how to clean a really dirty hardwood floor
- Start by thoroughly sweeping or vacuuming the area. Make sure to get in the cracks and corners of the floors.
- Next, spray hardwood floor cleaner on a dry rag or directly on the floor and wipe, working one small area at a time.
- Replace the rag as needed when it gets too dirty.
- Afterward, dry any wet spots with a dry rag or mop so that the hardwoods do not get any water damage from being too wet.
More All Natural Cleaning:
If you liked this recipe, I think you’ll really enjoy these other natural cleaning tutorials on the blog!
- Homemade Laundry Stain Remover Spray
- How to Clean a White Enamel Sink
- How to Clean a Glass Stovetop
- Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- DIY Thieves Cleaner From Scratch
I hope you love this recipe for homemade hardwood floor cleaner! If you make it, I’d love for you to come back and leave a comment and rating so that I know how you like using it!
Pin these steps to try later. Tag @athomeontheprairie on Instagram to share what you’ve made with us!
Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaner
You'll never go back to buying expensive store-bought hardwood floor cleaner again after trying this homemade DIY solution! Its fast and easy to make, inexpensive and all natural: The best homemade wood floor cleaner that shines.
Ingredients
For one 16 ounce spray bottle
- 4 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon castile soap
For a batch of concentrate
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup castile soap
Instructions
To Make Enough For One Spray Bottle:
- In an empty spray bottle, combine 4 teaspoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoons of castile soap. Fill the rest of the way with water.
- Shake well to combine.
- Use with a rag or mop to clean hardwood floors and other wood surfaces.
To Make a batch of concentrate:
- In an empty jar, combine 2 cups of vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 castile soap.
- Shake well to combine.
- To use, mix 2 Tablespoons of the homemade cleaning concentrate with 16 ounces of water. One batch of concentrate makes 24 - 16 ounce spray bottles of floor cleaner.
- Use with a rag or mop to clean hardwood floors and other wood surfaces.
Notes
Store - Store the hardwood floor cleaner in a container with a lid for up to 12 months.
Variations - Essential oils can add to the cleaning power and make your house smell fresh as you clean! Just add 2 drops to your spray bottle or 48 drops to a jar of concentrate.
To Use - If you're making a batch of concentrated floor cleaner, shake the jar well and measure 2 Tablespoons of it into an empty spray bottle. Fill the spray bottle the rest of the way with distilled water. Shake well again.
If you are cleaning your floors by hand with a rag, spray the rag with the cleaner until it is just damp or spray directly on the floor. Wipe the floor, spraying again whenever the rag gets dry. Don't leave the floor feeling wet since too much water can damage your hardwoods.
If you are using a mop, spray the cleaner on the floor or on the end of the mop. The mop end should be damp, not wet.
Do not use this cleaner with a steam mop.
There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting At Home on the Prairie, it helps keep this blog keep going.
Interesting idea!
I love the idea of adding essential oils to the cleaner. You can switch up the aromas.
I love to make all-natural products! I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I just moved into a house with hardwood flooring throughout the entire home. This is perfect for me right now. Thank you! Thank you!
Oh this is awesome! I’ve tried all kinds of things with little success to clean our bamboo flooring. Totally going to try this now.
I put this on my to do list! I needed a new cleaner for our wood table!