[Updated 3/21/18]
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you have hardwood floors in your home, you probably have a hardwood floor cleaner somewhere in your cabinets. Unless of course, you’re a dirty hippy.
Damn hippies.
As the healthy home improvement blogger (and honorary dirty hippy) I find it my duty to bring you the end all be all to the quest for the best hardwood floor cleaner in the universe. Personally, I need this hardwood floor cleaner because of this big guy right here… he knows how to step in mud even if it’s not wet outside and drool with the best of them.
This recipe is brought to you by Beau.
DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
This is hands down the absolute best, most terrific, most smelly good, most non-toxic hardwood floor cleaner I have used in my life!!!! And I can’t believe I made it myself at home with only a handful of ingredients.
I use it on my own hardwood floors as a part of my regular cleaning routine (bah hahaha, who has a regular cleaning really?) Maybe instead of “regular cleaning routine” I should say “when the floors get so dirty I can’t stand it anymore” cleaning. Or “after Beau goes outside and finds the only mud puddle in the neighborhood and runs through my house before I clean his paws” cleaning. Or… insert whatever reason you need hardwood floor cleaner here…
The Start of the Idea
I stumbled upon this idea of using Thieves cleaner to whip up a DIY hardwood floor cleaner recipe when I was literally too lazy to find the hardwood floor cleaner amongst the craziness of moving into our fixer upper. I had already concocted the perfect all purpose cleaner recipe using Thieves cleaner and was finding it literally cleaned everything (including PAINT ON MY TOOLS!) So I quick sprayed some on the floor and wiped, all the while praying it didn’t ruin the hardwood floors we just painstakingly refinished.
Spoiler alert. It didn’t.
I swear, Thieves Cleaner is to me what Windex was to the guys in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
- Need to get dried on grout off tile? Thieves Cleaner.
- Glass & mirrors? Thieves Cleaner.
- Stains on the carpet? No problem – Thieves Cleaner!
- Food ridden cooktop? – You guessed it, Thieves Cleaner.
- Sick germs on everything? Thieves Cleaner on everything.
- Dried paint on hardwood floors? YES! Thieves Cleaner!!!!
So I did some – okkaaayy, A LOT – of research into what makes a cleaner actually clean, what the active ingredients in other hardwood floor cleaners are and what other dirty hippies are using to clean their hardwoods.
Anyway… I’ve come up with this perfect hardwood floor cleaner recipe that doesn’t leave a residue, it doesn’t streak, it smells better than store bought and best of all, it’s NON-TOXIC and plant based. It’s now been weeks of me using this DIY hardwood floor cleaner and the floors look better and shinier than ever!
Okay enough jibber jabber. Here’s the SIMPLE as pie… EASY peasy… So simple a dog could do it if they had opposable thumbs….
DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner Recipe
- 8 Drops Pine Essential Oil [Get pure, high quality pine oil here]
- 4 Drops Lemon Essential Oil [Get the absolute best here]
- 1 Capful Thieves Cleaner [Get it here]
- 2 Cups Water (preferably reverse osmosis or purified)
As a side note, I am a Young Living Essential Oil distributor and would absolutely love to hook you up with what I believe to be one of the best essential oil brands out there. No pressure to become a distributor yourself – although that’s always an option and we have an awesome team to help build your business – I just want to spread the word that all essential oils are not created equally and it’s basically “buyer beware” out there in the free market. Trust me, I’ve done my research (and even shut down a small essential oil business I owned back in 2010 due to lack of knowledge!) and been around the block when it comes to essential oils.
Anyway, here are the instructions for absolutely the best hardwood floor cleaner with thieves recipe… and you don’t have to wear a gas mask when DIYing or using!
DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a glass spray bottle and shake until well incorporated [affiliate link to the glass bottles I purchase]
- I then pre-dampen a microfiber cloth (or one of those microfibers that attach to the poles so you don’t have to bend down) making sure it’s only slightly damp. [Link to a really awesome reusable microfiber & pole!]
- I spray a 4 foot by 4 foot area and wipe with the grain of the wood.
- I let it dry completely for an hour or so before putting back any furniture or walking on it.
- Then I pretty much just stare at the floor basking in it’s cleanliness that will probably last all of about 10 minutes.
Storage of DIY Hardwood Floor Cleaner
You can store this hardwood floor cleaner with thieves for extended periods of time just like any other cleaner, but I recommend using reverse osmosis water or at the very least filtered water, in the recipe. This helps ensure impurities in the water don’t collect in the spray nozzle and also helps with not leaving residue or streaks behind when cleaning something other than your hardwood floors (yup, you can use this on almost any wood surface!) – HINT this almost makes a great dusting companion.
So there you have it! My DIY hardwood floor cleaner recipe that I use for so much more than just cleaning hardwood floors. It’s also pretty awesome to be able to breathe while cleaning and not feel like I should be wearing a gas mask. #amiright
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