Yesterday I was literally on my hands and knees cleaning my floors. I geared up for my hand scrubbing with a new extra large cellulose sponge and small non-abrasive scrub sponge. Although I usually use a non-toxic homemade floor cleaner on my laminate wood floors for daily cleanups, I thought I'd check out store-bought cleaners for the deep cleaning I had in mind. To sum it up quickly-NOT impressed! Those that proclaimed to be natural or organic, I can make myself for half the cost. The other store-bought floor cleaners had warnings about eye irritations and dangers if inhaled (which of course I will be since I am standing right over the bucket).
The nice thing about using a natural cleaner is that my pet and small children can be around me without worrying about toxic chemicals. When my 3 year old got up from her nap, I was about half way through so I let her help. She was all too eager to get a sponge and wet the floor for mommy!
This homemade cleaning mix worked really well:
Natural Deep Cleaning Floor Recipe
1 cup vinegar
1 T dish soap
1 T lemon juice
1 gallon hot water
Other supplies:
A cleaning bucket
Large cellulose sponge
Small non-abrasive scrub sponge
Old hand towels/rags
Gardening knee pads (wish I had them)
I used the old hand towels for buffing as I went along. I truly felt like the Karate Kid waxing on my natural cleaner with the large sponge, and waxing off with my towel. The scrub sponge was handy if a spot needed extra attention (i.e. under my daughters kitchen stool).
I changed out the cleaning mix and towels often and the end result? Shiny, squeaky clean floors! That is until the next spill from one of my sweeties.
My blog usually involves crafts and such for the kids, but kids have fun helping mommy clean too and with a natural homemade cleaning recipe, they can!
If you are wondering about my daily floor cleaner recipe, I use a professional spray bottle (from Lowe's) with the ounces written on the side for easy measuring. Here it is:
Daily Floor Cleaner Recipe
5 oz vinegar
20 oz filtered water
1 T Dawn
1 T rubbing alcohol
If this is your first time using vinegar as a cleaning solution, I promise the odor fades fast and you will love the results on both real wood floors and laminate.
