Even with a heavy use ratio, a wooden floor can go pretty well if it’s the quality variant. With a nice hardwood flooring, you can expect a striking overlook of your home overall. It is meant to be resilient to a variety of issues. And once you cover it with a proper finish or sealing, the withstanding ability gets multiplied.
However, none of these can actually make your wooden floors be immortal, it’s just going to extend the lifetime. But then again, if you miss out on some common areas of maintaining the hardwood floors, that extension of durability also becomes questionable.
One of the main things, giving your floor a good cleaning. And to do so you can simply make use of a few homemade hardwood floor cleaner recipes. Some of the most useful and easy to make ideas are what we’ll be talking about today…
Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaning Recipes with Vinegar
One of the most versatile home ingredients used for DIY cleaning recipes is vinegar. And there are plenty of such recipe ideas that are super effective in cleaning hardwood floors with need of some special treatment for let’s say dullness, spot removal, and so on.
White Vinegar & Lemon/Orange Essential Oil for Regular Mopping
If you are interested in a homemade floor cleaner for mopping your hardwood floor, then this DIY recipe is what to look at. Grab half cup of white vinegar and mix it with one gallon of water. If the smell bothers you, then use a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil.
Use a sponge mop to dip the mixture in and wring it to get rid of any excess amount. Then use this sponge to give your hardwood floor a good mop. Make sure you rinse the mop out after a while, it’s going to get dirty. Once you are done, use a clean dry cloth to wipe all damp areas.
Vinegar & Linseed Oil for Spot Cleaning
To get rid of ugly spots from your hardwood floor, this vinegar cleaning recipe is all you need. Make a mixture with equal ratio of linseed oil mixed and white vinegar. Give it a good mix and use the solution with a rag to gently scrub over spots. You need to buff the areas well. Once the spots are out, rinse with clean water and dry completely.
Vinegar & Dawn Soap for Greasiness
If your hardwood floors are greasy for some reason, then Dawn or a similar liquid dish soap mixed with vinegar can help. You will also need a spray bottle. Fill it with water, a few drops of soap, and of course, white vinegar. You can use cap of your vinegar bottle to measure the amount. Pour one cap-full exactly.
The areas that are greasy, you’ll need to mist on those nicely. And then use a microfiber mop to give it a good wipe. Once you are done, get rid of all the moisture with a dry cloth.
Apple Cider Vinegar Alone
The hardwood floor cleaner apple cider vinegar recipe is meant for those who want to keep things less risky. This is because apple cider vinegar is considerably less potent. And so, any damage risk to your hardwood floor is pretty low compared to regular white vinegar.
Use a gallon of water mixed with a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar to create this mixture. Get a bucket to hold the solution. And then grab a mop for using this mixture to wipe the floor. You need to dunk and wring the mop multiple times since it’s going to get dirty eventually. After finishing, you need to use a dry towel to wipe away all the moisture from floor.
Before Using Vinegar Read This!
It’s true that vinegar is possibly the most versatile household ingredient that comes with countless applications. However, some people believe, vinegar is too acidic that can lead to corroding wood as well as stone with over use. If your hardwood floor has a finish on it, then using a huge quantity of vinegar can cause damage and result in looking dingy.
And so, you should be very careful about how much vinegar you’re using to make any cleaning recipe for your flooring. The most toxic mixture, vinegar and bleach is something you must avoid for your hardwood floor.
Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaner Without Vinegar
If the warning is bothering a bit too much and so, you’ve decided to look for cleaning solutions that do not include vinegar, then we have answer for that as well. Here are some of the effective mixtures you can use for cleaning the hardwood floor.
Castile Soap & Water Mixture
Get a spray bottle and pour about one teaspoon of castile soap, ten drops of essential oil, and 4 cups of warm water into it. Put the lid back on spray bottle and give it a good shake. Then find out an inconspicuous area on your floor that won’t be directly visible for example beneath any furniture.
This is to check if there’s any negative impact of the solution on your hardwood floor. If it seems there are no signs of damage, then you are good to go. Spray this mixture by targeting small areas at a time. In this way, you want to apply it all over the hardwood floor.
Make sure you avoid any sort of over spraying. Then use a microfiber mop to give the floor a wipe using back and forth motion. Also, don’t try to work opposite the direction of wood grain. And your hardwood floor will not only be cleaned properly but also look very shiny.
Black Tea DIY Solution
Black tea can be an amazing alternative to vinegar and help you achieve one of the best hardwood floor cleaner solutions. Since this one comes with somewhat acidic levels that can help remove dirt but at the same time, there will be no harsh impact on your hardwood floor. To make the black tea homemade wood floor cleaner that shines and cleans nicely, you need 3 black tea bags and 4 cups of water.
Use a large pot to boil the water first and then bring it down. Then you can insert those black tea bags and let it sit in the hot water for at least 10 minutes. Get rid of the tea bags and grab a soft cotton fabric. Soak this cloth into the solution and use it for wiping floor. You need to rinse and dry as regular after using this mixture.
Wrap Up
And now you have quite a few ideas of homemade hardwood floor cleaner that are easy to use as well. Some say wooden floors are low maintenance and that’s actually their perspective believing these are capable of withstanding heavy use. It’s true the hardwood floors will bravely handle high traffic and still manage to last long.
But when it comes to keeping the floor intact for many years while managing overall gleamy look, there’s no way you can skip the cleaning duties.
This is Autem Decker. Main Author of ‘TheHomeDigs‘. You may not find her on the list of top 10 contemporary Canadian interior designers, but everyone who knows her says she was born to be an interior designer.
She makes her plan in her head and draws them in her years-old diary with a note in the corner. The way she plays with color and shape amazes us.
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