The 2 Key Things You Need to Make Your Own Floor Cleaner

While there are certainly lots of commercial floor cleaners out there, many people find it cheaper and more natural to make their own floor cleaner. You really only need two things — and one of them you definitely already have.

Here’s what you need and how to use it.

Castile soap, like Dr. Bronner’s, naturally lifts grease and dirt, making it great both for spot treatments and all-over cleaning. In a spray bottle, combine two cups of water with half a teaspoon of castile soap. You can also make it in bulk — two tablespoons of castile soap per gallon of water — and store it in a tightly sealed container for a few weeks. Just shake it well before each use. (You can add a few drops of essential oil, too, if you want!) Sweep the floor before you spray it with the mixture and test a small spot in a discrete place before you attack a larger area.

Buy: Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap, $16

Read more: What Is Castile Soap and How Does It Work?

Obviously, you need water to mix with the castile soap, but you may need more for a second step. See, the one complaint some people have is that a soap-based castile mixture can leave soapy or filmy streaks when you use it over a large surface. So in that case, you may want to give it another rinse with a 1:4 vinegar-water mixture (if you have vinyl or sealed tile floors) or hot water (for hardwoods, laminate, or unsealed tile) to remove the residue. If you don’t know exactly what your floors are made of, play it safe and just use water without the vinegar.

Unfortunately, you can’t use castile soap and vinegar at the same time, thus saving yourself a step, as the vinegar will make the soap curdle and render it useless. Sorry!

• 5 Things to Know About Cleaning Your Kitchen Floors
  
• How to Clean Porcelain and Ceramic Tile Floors
  
• How to Clean Hardwood Floors

What do you use to clean your kitchen floors? Tell us in the comments below.