Three years ago, my husband & I made the decision to move from our first home. I hadn’t planned on it, but that move meant my entire cleaning routine was upended in a big way. Our previous home had ceramic tile & carpet, but our new home had hardwood, travertine, slate & carpet.
After a lot of trial and error )that include chipping mop & glow off of our hardwood with a paint scraper – that was THE WORST!) I’ve discovered my favorite method for cleaning all the floors in my house with the same two ingredients. See, most floor cleaners are alkaline and nearly all of them leave residue. So after mopping and even rinsing your floors, they can look like this.
The secret? Despite the hundreds of ‘floor cleaning’ products on the market, I went back 50 years and found that a vinegar & peppermint oil solution cleans all of the types of flooring in my home (including freshening the carpet & removing light stains!), leaves no residue (if you use the ratios below!) and keeps all my floor surfaces shining.
I’m so happy with how it makes my floors feel underfoot, too!
(still wet from mopping)
I used 1/4 cup of vinegar in about a gallon and a half of water and added six drops of peppermint essential oil. I think Lemon or Lavender would work just as well.
I start by getting rid of any marks on the floor that are made by crayon, marker, and I peel stickers off as well before I start to mop. Because my life is just that glamorous. To get rid of crayon and the like, I just use a magic eraser on my travertine & slate. On the hardwood floors (which are urethane sealed) I just use a paste of baking soda and water. I also fill my sink with my mop water to prevent tragedy if a mop bucket should ever be unattended with my little crawler nearby.
So, what do you think? Would you clean with vinegar? Do you already? Have you tried adding essential oils? I’d love to know your thoughts & results!
You can read my previous Cleaning Day post on how to clean down pillows at home here.
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Edited to Add: After reading comments and doing research, I’ve found that vinegar is not recommended for stone such as travertine. I have had no problems, but PLEASE do your own research prior to using and test in an inconspicuous area first 🙂 I did find that rubbing alcohol mixed with water is advised for stone.
I love using white distilled vinegar for cleaning. It doesn’t leave a residue and everything smells fresh afterwards. I would caution you however, DO NOT USE VINEGAR on Granite. It could destroy the finish. Did you know you can get this product especially for cleaning? It comes in gallon jugs. Who needs all those expensive products!
I use a steam mop and only water normally but spray with vinegar before using the steam mop when they are very dirty! I did use oil in my Haan on my tile floors!
What LIz said – ya I ruined a shower using the Pinterest Vinegar/Dawn solution. I think it was Marble rather than granite but it was a mess.
I’m afraid to use vinegar now. Moving into a new home soon with wood floors and some kind of slate. I just don’t know…
We moved into a home 6 months ago with hardwood. I use white vinegar and no problems at all.
Never thought to use essential oils.
I don’t love the smell of vinegar (Although you don’t smell much at this concentration) and the peppermint oil makes my entire house smell clean! That’s my favorite part of cleaning day!
definitely be careful with your floors! I checked a few of my housekeeping manuals before trying this and they all gave the go-ahead 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
Knowledge is power. Vinegar is acetic acid while marble and granite are ca carbonates which get dissolve in acid. Although acetic acid is a weak acid but still will dissolve surface layer which is the shinning part.
But for wood and tiles its ok.
good to know! I generally use hot water and a paint scraper to get my granite clean. I used to use windex, but now the fumes are just too strong for me to handle! Thank you for sharing!
Try Norwex. Hard to believe but all surfaces in my home are cleaner, germ free, and look better than ever since I started using Norwex and plain water three years ago. Love all of their products!
I too am a Norwex user. Just water and my floors are very clean.
Thank you SO much! I’ve tried all kinds of “solutions” for my pretty hard wood floors and have not been happy. I’m trying this today!
I too use vinegar as my main cleaner, although, I would need to disinfect everything in and around my sink and counters if I used the kitchen sink to clean my floors. That just doesn’t seem healthy.
I agree with you about not enjoying the residue left on wood by other floor “cleaners”. I use vinegar for several cleaning jobs around the house including my laundry and also with baking soda to clear kitchen and bathroom drains! Works amazingly! I especially love seeing you using my favorite essential oil and including it in your floor routine!! I have fallen in love with doTERRA!! I’ll be adding this to my floor routine today! Thanks for sharing!
I have white vinyl floors in my kitchen and bathroom. It has little dimples as part of the “style” of the flooring. I have tried just about every type of cleaner and mop to get the floor clean, but without much success. I’ve experimented with a variety of vinegar solutions and these don’t seem to do the job, either. Any suggestions? Thank you.
A magic eraser on your hands and knees is the only really effective way I have found. We have vinyl in our kitchen that is due to get ripped out within the next year (thankfully) but magic erasers are the only thing that clean those little spots in the floor!
Amanda,
I use vinegar too, and the great thing about combining peppermint oil, is that it is a good deterrent for the pesky summer spiders that find their way in the corners of your floors/walls!
I love using vinegar for everything. I use it in multipurpose cleaner, in my bathroom cleaner, glass cleaner, and fabric softener. Its amazing!
I can’t wait to try this! Our house has hardwood floors throughout! I am dumb when it comes to the oils. Can I just purchase any type of peppermint essential oil on amazon or is there something specific that I should be looking for?
I never would have thought to use essential oils for my floors but that’s a fantastic idea. I can’t wait to give it a try.