You probably already have all of the ingredients needed to make your homemade floor cleaner. This mopping solution gets your wood, tile, laminate or vinyl just as shiny and streak-free as the commercial stuff without introducing irritants to your home.
That’s one of the great things about homemade cleaners: you don’t need a lot of different products that only clean one kind of surface. So, once you’ve got your standard cleaning ingredients on hand, it’s easy to mix up a variety of homemade cleaning products.
The Best Homemade Floor Cleaner
Safer for Indoor Air-Quality
Commercial cleaning products contribute significantly to indoor air pollution. For people with allergies or asthma, indoor air quality is critical to good health.
Companies that manufacture cleaning products aren’t required to disclose their ingredients on the label. As a result, there’s no way to tell at a glance whether a product contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may cause irritation or even cancer.
Switching to homemade natural cleaners lets you know exactly what you’re using in your home, so you can avoid dangerous combinations. (Here are some common cleaning products you should never mix.)
Easier on Your Budget
If that’s not enough to convince you to switch to a homemade floor cleaner, consider how much money you’ll save. The cost of commercial floor cleaners is crazy!
Using a Swiffer mop, for instance, runs about $0.32 per wet pad — and you have to use two or three of them in even a small kitchen or bathroom. Even bottles of commercial mopping products run anywhere from $4 to $15, depending on the brand.
Over time, those expenses add up. Cleaning shouldn’t cost a fortune, and it doesn’t when you use this homemade mopping solution.
Homemade Floor Cleaner for ALL Hard Flooring
This homemade mopping solution cleans any kind of hard flooring.
✓ It works on laminate.
✓ It works on hardwood.
✓ It works on vinyl, linoleum, and tile.
✓ Yep, you can use it on marble or granite.
✓ It even works on cement!
Have I mentioned that, after powering through grime, it also leaves a gorgeous shine?
It Works With Mopping Robots, Too!
I’ve written before about my search to find the best floor cleaning robots. One of my requirements was being able to use a homemade floor cleaner.
After spending that kind of money on a robot, I didn’t want to be stuck buying a special floor cleaning solution or wet mopping pads all the time.
I’ve been using it in my mopping robot for over two years now, and I’m thrilled with the results.
Homemade Floor Cleaner Recipe
What the Ingredients Do
- Water: Loosens grime and acts helps the other ingredients combine.
- White vinegar: Degreases and provides mild disinfection. At this dilution, it’s safe for natural stone surfaces because it’s not acidic enough to cause etching. I’ve been using this on marble and granite for years without a problem. If you have any concerns, don’t use it.
- Isopropyl (70%) rubbing alcohol: Speeds up evaporation to avoid streaks. Degreases and helps disinfect. (In the UK, if you can’t find it inexpensively at the chemist it’s available online.)
- Liquid dish soap: Dissolves bonds between dirt and floor, degreases and cleans. Don’t use a dish soap that contains moisturizers, antibacterial ingredients, or “oxygen bleach.” I use Dawn Original (Classic). (Fairy is the UK substitute.) Please don’t swap Castille soap for the dish soap. Castille is an oil-based soap and will leave streaks and smears.
- Essential oils: Optional ingredients to offset the smell of vinegar and rubbing alcohol. If you have pets or children, verify the safety of any essential oil you use. Be sure they aren’t compounds (i.e., those with fragrance added to grapeseed or some other form of oil). I buy these from Amazon.
Remember, there are reasons for using the specific ingredients in this homemade cleaning recipe. If you change them, you’re changing the formula, and that may alter your results.
Homemade Floor Cleaner
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup isopropyl (70%) rubbing alcohol
- 1/8 tsp liquid dish soap (See notes)
- 5-10 drops essential oils optional
Instructions
To Use in a Spray Bottle
- Add all of the ingredients above and gently swirl to mix. Lightly spray 3-foot sections then wipe with a mop. This is best for small areas or touch-up mopping.
To Use in a Bucket
- Scale the recipe depending on the size of your bucket. A 1-gallon bucket holds 128 ounces (US) to 160 ounces (UK). Use the “Serving Size” slider to select your needed amount. You may need to scale more than once to select your desired amount.
For Both Methods
- You do not need to rinse after use.
- Allow the floors to completely dry before walking on them.
- Store unused homemade floor cleaner in a cool, dark spot. Use within 1 month.
Katie Berry says
Definitely not. The essential oils are in this just for fragrance so you can leave them out if you like.
Fabric conditioner isn’t the same thing at all. It contains highly-concentrated surfactants and lubricants that would leave a streaky, grimy film on your floor.
Katie Berry says
The White Musk from Body Shop is not essential oil. It’s a perfume oil a/k/a fragrance oil. It will not work the same in this recipe and, really, who’d want their kitchen to smell of white musk? To use this recipe, look for a good essential oil (not fragrance or perfume oil).
wacey says
Can you use this in a steam floor cleaner?
Katie Berry says
No, you should never use anything but plain water in a steam floor cleaner or you risk damaging the machine. Also, since rubbing alcohol is flammable it’s not a good idea to heat it like that.
aly says
I made a concentrated version of this and it works beautifully.
Basically, I tripled the recipe, excluding the water and using mandarine essential oil, and wherever I need it I just dilute it in a bucket of warm water and mop away.
Also, I used my homemade citrus vinegar ..just because 🙂
Thanks for this great tip /recipe that does wonders.
Katie Berry says
I’m so glad you liked it, Aly! Mandarine is one of my favorite scents. I bet your home smells amazing now. 🙂
Carolin Flores says
Great recipe! I like using essential oils my home cleaning products and I’m trying this recipe right next weekend. Thank you for sharing it!
Anne B says
I just tried this on my ceramic tile floors and it’s great! I also did the peppermint & orange essential oils…which smelled nice! My floors look very clean, clean, clean! Thanks for this non-toxic cleaner.
Amy says
I just gathered up 4 (yes 4) “steam cleaners” to throw away. They all worked great for a couple months and then would clog even though I used distilled water. I would put them in the garage and buy another. Now I am trying to be frugal as well as green. I bought an O Cedar mop with spinning basket and am going to try this floor cleaner. Steam cleaners are a waste of money.
Tammy Wright says
Great advice! I am just wondering if this works well on vinyl wood planks. Over time my floor has built up a film that I hate. The shine is gone. I feel it never looks clean even though I just mopped it. Any suggestions? Thanks
Katie B of HousewifeHowTos.com says
It should definitely clean them, but whether it removes that film or haze depends on its cause. Sometimes that film is the result of detergent buildup, and this formula would definitely remove that. You could even skip the liquid dish soap for the first mopping or two if you’re concerned.
Karen says
Hi Katie, the reviews for this floor cleaner are exciting, as it is so discouraging to try a new product, homemade or commercial, and get poor results. My question is, is this a no-rinse recipe? I really don’t like the idea of mopping twice, once to clean and then again to rinse. The use of dishsoap is what makes me question this. Please let me know. thanks for your tips.
Katie Berry says
Yep, it’s a no-rinse solution IF you only use the small amount of soap called for. Too much soap will actually attract dirt if you don’t rinse it off, but this recipe involves very little. Just enough to help lift dirt.
Leslie says
I am curious why you can’t use Castille soap?
Katie Berry says
Castile soap is a base, and so it shouldn’t be used with an acid like vinegar (or lemon juice) because they’ll cancel each other out. The vinegar will just turn the castile soap into its original oils, and those will leave streaks on your floor.
Katie B. says
Thank you, Mariette!
Sue says
Well, I’ll be darned!
I was reading your latest post and thought, okay, the furniture polish, air freshener and vinegar tips have been amazing, but alcohol and vinegar (mixed together) on my floors…well, let’s say I was skeptical.
Mixed up a trusty spray bottle of this concoction, and lo and behold, it is fantastic! You are right, it dries to a beautiful shine and the kitchen smells delightful. If it works this well on my hardwoods I will be ecstatic.
Thanks for another huge money saver, especially one which honestly does what is advertised.
I hope you and your family are having a wonderful summer.
Katie B. says
I’m so glad you gave it a try, Sue! I love the way it cleans my white ceramic tile floors. Those things are the bane of my existence! How’d it work on your hardwood?