Hardwood floors make your interiors classy, elegant, and inviting. But these floors tend to lose their luster over time and require more care and maintenance than tiles. The good news is, you do not need to use harsh chemicals to bring that luster back. Read this post to learn about some home remedies to make hardwood floors shine.
Benefits of Using Homemade Wood Floor Cleaners
There is a misconception about homemade cleaners among many people. They tend to think that homemade cleaners are not as effective as store-bought cleaners. But some kitchen products have ingredients strong enough to remove stains from wood floors and make them clean, polished, conditioned, and bright.
Store-bought products often come with harsh chemicals that are not good for your wood floors. Many of these ingredients such as chloroform, styrene, and formaldehyde are toxic to our health. Natural products can not only preserve your floors but also are safe for your health.
Making Wood Floor Cleaners with Natural Ingredients
There should be four parts of a wood floor cleaner: cleanser, protectant, fragrance, and base. If you want to learn about home remedies to make hardwood floors shine, you should know the functions of these four parts. However, the fragrance is not necessary for a floor cleaner. We are going to focus on these four parts separately.
Cleanser
If you make a natural wood floor cleaner, you must use an ingredient that works as a cleanser. It is the cleaning agent that removes the grime, grease, and dirt. Apple cider vinegar, distilled white vinegar, and liquid castile soap are some ingredients that are used as cleaning agents.
Protectant
This is a part that moisturizes wood and provides shine. It is like the conditioner for your hair or the wax cycle for your car.
A protectant is not a necessary part of a wood cleaner, but without this part, your hardwood floors will become dull or foggy over time.
Coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, linseed oil, and tung oil are some popular protectants. The good thing is, these oils are easily available. Chances are that you already have at least coconut oil and olive oil in your house.
Fragrance
As we have already stated, the fragrance is an optional part of wood floor cleaner. However, when you clean your house, you may want to add a little bit of fragrance. Besides, there is a more practical reason to use it: some natural fragrances contain antibacterial properties. These properties can act as disinfectants.
Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, lemongrass, almond, and lavender are some popular sources of natural fragrances. When making a wood floor cleaner, you can combine fragrances or use them independently.
Natural fragrances can be used basically in 3 ways: dried elements, fresh elements, and essential oils.
Base
Water is the most common form of base.
It may sound surprising, but water is an optional part of a wood floor cleaner. If you want the cleaner to be highly concentrated, you may choose to skip the water part.
3 Simple Recipes
Recipe 1: Olive Oil, Vinegar, and Essential Oil
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Two tablespoons of white vinegar
- Two cups of warm water
- 15 drops of lemongrass oil
Recipe 2: Vinegar, Soap, and Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup of white vinegar
- 8 tablespoons of liquid soap
- 30 drops of essential oil
- ¼ cup of coconut oil
- 1 gallon of warm water
Recipe 3: Olive Oil and Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ cup of white vinegar
- 1 quart of water
Apart from the recipes mentioned above, there are other ways to use home remedies to make hardwood floors shine. For example, you can use black tea bags. Here is the procedure in a nutshell:
Put eight to ten black tea bags into hot water and wait until the water cools down. Then clean your wood floors with the solvent. Tea contains tannins, which can effectively remove residue.
Baking soda mixed with some elbow grease can effectively remove scuff marks. This recipe is as easy as it sounds. Just mix these two ingredients and a clean cloth to apply the solution directly on your floors. You will notice the results immediately.
We encourage you to learn more about natural ingredients used in cleaners. Feel free to do experiments with different types of cleaners made from easily available, natural ingredients.
Using Home Remedies to Make Hardwood Floors Shine
Now you are ready to get started. Follow these four steps:
- Sweep the Floor
Remove dirt or debris from your wood floor by vacuuming or sweeping. Use a damp rag to wipe down baseboards. To clean the entire floor, remove furniture if needed.
- Apply the Cleaner
Put the homemade cleaner into a spray bottle and apply the cleaner to the floor. Do not spray a lot of cleaners, but spray enough to keep the mop damp. A spray bottle, however, is not necessary. You can directly pour the stuff on the floor.
- Let the Cleaner Dry
Allow the floor to dry. If you have not applied too much cleaner, it will take fewer than 30 minutes. The time depends on the amount of cleaner applied. If the floor is dry in just 10 minutes, probably too little cleaner has been applied. Consider applying some more cleaner in such a case.
- Make It Shine
By using the protectant and fragrance, you can make a highly concentrated cleaner. Then, with a rag or microfiber cloth, apply the cleaner to your floor in circular motions, the way you wax your car. Do not apply too much of the stuff at once, because too much of it will make the floor slick and greasy.
Final Thoughts
If you have the right mindset, even a mundane task such as cleaning can be enjoyable. By being a little bit creative, you can use home remedies to make hardwood floors shine. The procedure is not complicated or expensive; it requires just an hour or two, and your willpower. We hope now you have a deeper understanding of the recipes, and will enjoy the process.