While carpeting and linoleum were once the hallmarks of contemporary households, many homeowners today opt for hardwood flooring. Ranging from solid to engineered and other forms, hardwoods are beautiful but not inexpensive to install. But what about upkeep?
Maintaining them to enjoy, showcase, and help ensure a long life can result in even more expense for commercial products. What’s more, many of these cleaners are toxic to people, pets, and the environment with formulas that may include formaldehyde, styrene, and chloroform. But safe, common household products—some probably in your pantry at this very minute—can work to keep your hardwoods clean, conditioned, polished, and bright.
Clean & Shine Wood Floors Naturally
The following natural cleaners can help you creatively curate your hardwood floors, some going the distance to make scuff marks disappear and add luster to your living space!
- To get rid of germs, simple lemons, with their acidic property, are said to be a proven antiseptic and antibacterial force. A half cup of lemon juice in your pail of damp-mopping water will work to sanitize your wood floors.Among the more popular natural cleaning products for wood flooring is white vinegar, though some people argue it can dull the finish. To remove odors and mildew, and power through wax build-up, use a quarter-to-one half cup of white vinegar to each gallon of warm water. Though a vinegar smell may be objectionable to some, it will dissipate quickly (try leaving windows open for a while if possible). The addition of a few drops of essential oils like orange, peppermint or lavender can mitigate an unpleasant smell, and you can change them as your mood or the seasons change.To condition and shine when done cleaning, add some vegetable or olive oil to a little undiluted white vinegar and rub into floor—kind of like adding a finishing product for shine after you shampoo!Use about a dozen black teabags, steeped in hot water until the liquid cools, to create a top-notch solvent to clean and shine your wood floors. The tannins in tea are said to remove residue, resulting in real shine.Some hardwood aficionados swear by a mixture of equal parts rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, water, and a few drops of liquid dish soap.For scuff marks, baking soda on a damp sponge, plus a little elbow grease, can make them a distant memory.A little coconut oil (solid or warmed to the point it melts) on a cloth can also be rubbed into hardwoods to produce a rich, burnished surface.
Beth Herman is a freelance writer with interests in healthy living and food, family, animal welfare, architecture and design, religion, and yoga. She writes for a variety of national and regional publications, institutions, and websites.
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