Cleaning Your Floors with Essential Oils

March 18, 2014 by Jackie Ritz 32 Comments

Recently I published an article listing the cleaning products and ingredients that you MUST avoid when you are cleaning your house.Many of the common household cleaners that we use are not only extremely toxic and carcinogenic to us, but they are taking a toll on the environment as well. Is all these cleaning products really necessary anyway?

We have become so scared of germs and bacteria that we are leered in to using products labeled “kills 99.9% of bacteria” and “kills germs on target.” When I see products like this it always causes me to think about how this world must have been before commercial cleaning products and if germs was such a big deal back-in-the-day.

When it comes to cleaning your floors, you don’t need expensive products to do the job. Essential oils are great at cleaning up the dirt while leaving a refreshing, clean aroma in the air. Cleaning your floors with essential oils is completely safe, non-toxic, frugal, and easy!

Best Essential Oils to Clean Your Floors With:

Lavender + Lemon
Citrus Blend: Lemon, Lemongrass, Wild Orange, and Lime
Spicy Blend: Orange, Clove or Cinnamon
Protective blend
CleansingBlend: Melaleuca + Eucalyptus
Minty Refresher: Peppermint + Wild Orange

Where to buy essential oils? (click here)

What Oils Are The Best for Your Needs:

Have ants and mice? Use Peppermint
Feelingpoopy? UseMelaleuca
Want to disinfect? Use Lemon

How to Use Essential Oils on Your Floors:

1. Multi-Purpose Floor Cleaner Recipe

The beauty of using essential oils on your floors, is that you don’t have to worry about using a specific oil on a specific service. Each essential oil will work on your floors. This recipe works if you have tile, hardwood, linoleum, ceramic, laminate, and vinyl.You can mix any of the oils I recommend above to make this recipe or use one single oil.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of white vinegar
1 TB of castile soap
15 drops of essential oils
One bucket of water

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the ingredients in a bucket and use to mop the floors.

2. Heavy Duty Floor Cleaner

This is a great recipe to whip up if you have a really messy, sticky spill. Most likely, you will want to use this in your kitchen under where your kids eat!

INGREDIENTS:

Make the recipe above for my Multi-Purpose Floor Cleaner
Mix in 1/4 cup of baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

Mop the floor with the mixture above. Then go over with hot water to rinse any residue.

Click here to Pin this article!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Susan says
March 18, 2014 at 8:06 am
I love these recipes. I like to use Peppermint & Rosemary essential oils together. It’s a really nice scent. Thanks so much for sharing these awesome floor cleaning recipes!
Reply
Jana Finch says
March 18, 2014 at 9:11 am
Great tips! Thank you. Sharing now. Jana
Reply
dana says
March 18, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Jackie, I love this recipe. I’ve been meaning to do a good all-natural cleaning on my floors. Thanks for the tip!
Reply
- The Paleo Mama says
  March 18, 2014 at 1:54 pm
  Thank you Dana!
  Reply
cassimom says
March 19, 2014 at 7:03 am
Great article…. but one caution, melaleuca is toxic to cats and dangerous on floors that may be traveled by infants
Reply
Kimberly says
March 19, 2014 at 10:13 am
Love being able to clean my floors with essential oils! Great recipe and tips, Jackie 🙂
See Also
Favourite Play Spaces | Be A Fun Mum The Only Tips You'll Need to Clean Every Part of Your Home Habits Of Women Who Always Have Clean Homes Even With Lots Of Kids Feast Day Celebrations: Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego
Reply
Cyndye says
March 20, 2014 at 10:44 am
We are LURED into buying harsh chemical products not leered but then again have you seen the way Mr. Clean looks at us? Seriously though, thanks for the tips. Vinegar kills the same % of germs as bleach.
Reply
moby says
May 7, 2014 at 10:38 pm
does it matter if i use white balsamic vinegar instead of white vinegar? I already have the white balsamic…
Reply
- Lisa Kilpatrick says
  February 9, 2016 at 10:17 am
  Balsamic vinegar is for cooking not cleaning. Buy some cheap vinegar.
  Reply
Lenna Neal says
December 12, 2014 at 7:06 am
I can’t find good floor cleaner. I didn’t know that I can make myself such a cleaner. Thanks a lot for this article! I will definitely try it at home!
Reply
visit website says
January 14, 2015 at 9:57 am
I really had no idea that I can use the essential oils as cleaners! Thank you so much for sharing this information!
Reply
Amber says
February 23, 2015 at 5:11 pm
Is there a recipe for a floor cleaner concentrate, so I could make it all at once and store it? I don’t want to just do this recipe 10x, cause thats kinda expensive with the oils. So, Im just wondering if there is a really powerful oil you would recommend to make a concentrate with. Thanks!
Reply
G.Rouland says
March 23, 2015 at 7:39 am
I have two dogs at home and I don’t want to clean with something which could poison them. I know that the common cleaners are quite toxic so I prefer natural alternatives. Love your idea for floor cleaner! I think that my favorite essential oil combination is that which contains Lemongrass, Wild Orange, and Lime. Thank you a lot for this idea! I will give it a shot for sure!
Reply
Nicholas says
April 21, 2015 at 5:37 am
I accidentally dropped a 15 ml bottle of Lemongrass essential oil on out terracotta floor, and I moped it up first then again with fresh water then again with hot soapy water but the spot remains sticky and has stained the tile, I am still in hope as it was not done long ago today, any suggestions?
Reply
Ginny says
June 5, 2015 at 8:05 pm
I love mopping my tile floors with vinegar and essential oils. So far, I’ve used rosemary, eucalyptus, and peppermint. They make my apartment smell so fresh and clean. Ever since i started making my own homemade cleanners, I’ve noticed that my apartment stays cleaner longer and I have very few bugs and insects.
See Also
7 Personality Traits In You That Others Find Intimidating
Reply
Magalie says
June 8, 2015 at 10:03 am
Hi
I was wondering why would you add baking soda in a mix that has vinegar in it? If I remember correctly from chemistry, when combined, they transform into just water and sodium… (depending on the ratio you might have vinegar or baking soda left)
Reply
- Nikki says
  September 29, 2015 at 8:51 pm
  Salt is a great cleaner for many purposes, so if it does become water and sodium, that could be why it still does a great job cleaning any time I’ve used that combination.
  Reply
Robin says
June 11, 2015 at 2:38 am
in curious if adding baking soda in the heavy duty floor cleaner cancels out with the vinegar?
Reply
Janelle Johnson says
June 19, 2015 at 7:42 am
I make my own all-surface cleaner form citrus peels and vinegar and it cleans quite good. I like the idea of using essential oils at home cleaning, but never tried it. Your recipe is a great for me to try, plus my baby-girl has started crawling recently and I need to clean the floors more often. Thank you for the advices you’ve given about using essential oils at all. Greets!
Reply
TinaC says
July 26, 2015 at 7:58 am
Love your suggestions! However if you have animals its important to know that some essential oils SHOULD NOT be used in your cleaners or anywhere around them. Particularly melaleuca should be avoided around dogs, and citrus oils should be avoided around cats.
Reply
NoaM says
September 26, 2015 at 8:55 pm
I just started using essential oils and Castile soap, and apparently you should NEVER mix Castile with Vinegar….. https://www.lisabronner.com/a-word-of-caution-about-vinegar-and-castile-soap/
Reply
- Kim says
  April 12, 2016 at 6:44 pm
  I started making this recipe but the castile soap completely solidified when I added it to the vinegar 🙁
  Reply
Bridget Cooper says
October 19, 2015 at 10:07 am
Toxic and carcinogenic cleansers are really dangerous for our health. I don`t want my kids to live in hazard environment.We use at home only natural ingredients for cleaning. I am so glad I have found your article. Greetings!
Reply
Michelle says
March 15, 2016 at 12:43 am
What size bucket of water did you use? 1 Gallon or 2 gallon
Reply
- Jackie Ritz says
  March 15, 2016 at 8:49 am
  1 bucket
  Reply
Kristi says
November 15, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Because lemon oil can be used as a detox and can break down plastic, i’m concerned about using it or other citrus oils to clean my floor. Is this a viable concern?
Reply
Sandy says
January 26, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Please advise that when mixing white vinegar and baking soda, the foaming action is extensive.
Some people don’t know this.. Also to help clean out your sink drains, pour baking soda, about 1/2 C directly into the drain pipe and then add 1/2 to 1 c of white vinegar… Clean pipes..
Reply
Bev says
January 29, 2017 at 2:28 pm
Vinegar is an acid, therefore, it would breakdown the finish of your hardwood floor & they would become very dull looking. I have just recently tried hot water & ecualyptus oil. It seemed to work.
Reply
Dipti says
March 8, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Is it ok to clean marble floors with the recipe?
Reply
- Jackie Ritz says
  March 10, 2017 at 8:10 am
  I think it would work fine on marble floors. You may want to rinse with cool water after to eliminate any slippage.
  Reply
Carole says
February 8, 2018 at 2:12 pm
When I use water, vinegar, a drop or two of dawn and peppermint oil, do I have to rinse my floors?
Reply
- Jackie Ritz says
  February 13, 2018 at 7:38 pm
  Nope! You are good to go!
  Reply

Cleaning Your Floors with Essential Oils - The Paleo Mama (2024)