DIY Zero Waste, Chemical-Free Floor Cleaners
Can I be candid for a moment and tell you one of the hardest things to keep up with in our home? It’s the floors! I feel like we’re constantly cleaning the floors. With three kids, two adults, one bunny, and a dog, our floors get dirty so quickly. And who wants discolored socks, sticky feet, and huge balls of pet fur? Not me!
The majority of store-bought floor cleaners are pricey and come with lots of harmful chemicals that aren’t safe for your family or pets.
Just a few of the chemicals found in floor cleaners:
1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
2. Phthalates
3. MEA (monoethanalomine), DEA (diethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine)
5. Triclosan
The good news is that making your own floor cleaner is easy, cheap, and zero waste!
Homemade Floor Cleaners
Thieves oil is one of my favorite essential oils. I use it in a lot of my cleaning supplies because it’s highly antimicrobial, anti-fungal, antiviral, antibacterial, and purifies the air.
· 1 cup water
· 1 cup vinegar
· 2 drops Castille soap
· 10 drops thieves essential oil
Combine in a spray bottle or in a regular mason jar. Simply pour a small amount on the floor and mop. No rinsing needed.
Hardwood Floor cleaners
Hardwood floors require special care to preserve their finish. This recipe contains orange oil and lemon oil. You’re free to omit them, but orange essential oil helps to clean and polish wood surfaces and furniture without drying the wood finish. Lemon is a very powerful cleansing agent and works well on wood. The essential oil has no artificial fragrances and cleans wood furniture without damaging its shine.
This recipe helps get rid of grime and add shine to hardwood floors. Make sure to wipe it off completely to avoid slippery floors!
· 1/2 cup distilled vinegar
· 1 teaspoon olive oil
· 1 cup of water
· 10 drops of orange essential oil
Combine in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray on a cleaning cloth. Rub lightly into floors to bring back shine and clean spots.
Happy cleaning!
For more homemade cleaning product recipes check out my recipe for scented cleaning vinegar here and I have a whole chapter about zero waste cleaning and lots of cleaning recipes in my book a practical guide for zero waste for families.
