easy diy floor cleaner that leaves your floor sparkling, naturally

ByMelissa Goodwin Updated on

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Easy DIY Floor Cleaner

Ah Pinterest, you’ve made my life that little bit better once again with this DIY floor cleaner that has all the rest beat.

I came across this recipe for floor cleaner and had to give it a try.

I’ve been washing my floors with plain old dish wash for years now. And while it does the job well enough, it’s not brilliant.

We have porous non-slip tiles in the kitchen and they collect grime, particularly around the edges, that’s hard to shift. To really get the edges clean, I have to scrub them on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brush.

As you can imagine, that rarely happens.

So I gave this recipe a go and was amazed at the results.

Grime gone!

No more grey, grotty ring around the edge of the kitchen floor!

I honestly didn’t think this recipe would do a better job than the dish wash treatment I always use.

You know that TV ad where the family gaze admiringly at their new roof? Well, that’s what I did all day after washing the floor and seeing it so clean. It hasn’t been this clean in years!

This is made from ingredients you already have around the house: dish wash (doesn’t matter which brand), vinegar and washing soda, used for making your own laundry soap.

Here’s the recipe for the best floor cleaner (DIY or commercial) I’ve ever used:

Best DIY Floor Cleaner

Ingredients

2 – 3 litres of hot water
A small squirt of dish wash
splash of vinegar (approx. 1/4 cup)
shake of washing soda (approx. 1/4 cup)

Method

  1. Place all ingredients in a floor bucket, mix until sudsy and mop floor.
  2. For a particularly grimy floor, soak the floor in the solution, leave for 5 minutes and then mop clean while mopping up all the water.

Try it for sparkling floors, naturally, and with minimal effort.

Best DIY cleaner for sparkling floors
Melissa Goodwin

Mel Goodwin has been writing about frugal living for 10+ years but has been saving her pennies since she first got pocket money. Before writing about frugal living, Mel worked as an accountant. As well as a diploma in accounting, Mel has an honours degree in humanities, including writing and research. She also studied to be a teacher and loves sharing the things that she has learned and helping others to achieve their goals.

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13 Comments

  1. I have just been cleaning my floor with super hot water and a few drops of vanilla extract. Works great and house smells amazing.

    Reply

  2. Any suggestions on wood floor cleaners?

    Love your site.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      Thanks Julia.

      Not yet, but we’re thinking of putting in wooden floors so I’ll have to keep an eye out for ideas.

      Reply

  3. Just encountered your site. I’m going to try this. I do have some washing soda in the laundry, so I’ll give it a whirl. I have grotty kitchen vinyl that needs to be scrubbed with a scrubbing brush too. I also like the idea of letting it sit and soak for a while. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      Thanks for leaving a comment Meredith. May your floors sparkle :).

      Reply

  4. Easy peazy! And that tip about the floor cleaner using vanilla extract…who would have thought! I’m definitely trying that one ASAP! Here’s an even easier floor cleaner I tried a few days ago.

    2 gallons HOT tap water
    1/4 cup baking soda
    1/4 cup white vinegar
    1 tbsp. dish liquid
    Mix and mop. No need to rinse. I used this on my tile floor and WOWSA! It made my blah tiles bright and sparkly. I live in a housing complex and the tile floors were terrible when I moved in. The ONLY cleaners that brighten them up are homemade cleaners. This one has been added to my “keep” list. I also mop my floors with hot water to which I add 2 capfuls of eucalyptus oil which really cuts through dirt and grime. Happy cleaning to all!

    Reply
    1. Teresa c Hunt says:

      Just used this and it works great

      Reply

  5. Thanks for the recipe Melissa! I don’t know what I did wrong. But my floors showed so many marks after I mopped them. I did it on the tiles in the bathroom and on the laminated floors. I also had White marks that look a bit like the washing soda. Are you meant to do a rinse mop after? I could have possibly had my quantities out, I did roughly measure. Would love your opinion :)

    Reply
    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      Hi Samamtha,

      Sorry to hear it didn’t work out so well for you. It does sound like too much washing soda. I don’t measure mine, just throw it in, but if I’ve thrown in way too much washing soda, the floor can go a bit powdery.

      Reply

  6. I was looking for a nice DIY floor cleaner to try out this weekend! I have a hardwood floor everywhere in the house so I hope that it will be a gentle for the floor! Thank you for sharing! :)

    Reply
  7. Alexandra says:

    I just used this on my kitchen that has vinyl tiles. Unfortunately I didn’t have vinegar so I omitted it. I had to mop my floors afterwards with plain water as they were a bit sticky. Is that normal or is it because I left out the vinegar?
    Wouldn’t the vinegar and washing soda neutralise each other?

    Reply