Floor cleaners are usually not eco-friendly due to the plethora of harsh chemicals that could be toxic to the environment. However, the problem lies with cleaning the stain on the floor and worrying when your product isn’t effective. So, how can you become eco-friendly while also save your precious tiles from stains and spillage?
The answer to that is by creating your homemade floor cleaner. With the many available products you have at home, it’s just a matter of working with a certain recipe using your home products. In this guide, we’ll list down some worthy floor-cleaning recipes that won’t break the bank (and most of which are eco-friendly, too!).
Contents
Tile Floor Cleaner Recipe
Tiles are often found in kitchens and bathrooms but some homes also do have living rooms that have tiles in them. Anywhere where there’s the likelihood of spillage, humidity, and wetness, tiles are always there to save the day – they’re easily cleanable and more durable compared to most flooring types.
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If you have sensitivity with carpets due to allergic rhinitis or asthma, you might have changed your home flooring into tiles. In the same way, people who live in a tropical country might also benefit well from tiles due to being low-maintenance and adaptable to the hot weather.
So, how do you clean up tiles properly? Here are some homemade recipes that you can create:
Baking Soda Stain Remover
What you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 tbsp liquid dish soap
- 2 gallons warm water
- lavender essential oil (as needed)
Directions:
- Mix all of the ingredients in a container.
- Add drops of the lavender essential oil as needed.
- Use it for mopping your tile floor.
By using this recipe, it will scrub your tiles without ruining the surface. Baking soda has always been a classic way of getting rid of stains all around the house. You can also replace the lavender essential oil with any kind of oil you prefer (or currently have) – it simply adds a fresh scent to your tiles.
Mold Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- lemon juice
- baking powder
Directions:
- Mix lemon juice and baking powder in equal parts.
- Apply the mixture onto the affected area.
- Let it sit for a few hours, then rinse.
If your problem is mostly mold and mildew due to high humidity, this bathroom cleaner solution is for you. Do you see those black dots that get into your tiles that also go into your shower curtain? That’s mold – and you can clean or prevent them from growing by using this easy homemade recipe.
Minty Tile Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- 1/2 tsp liquid dish soap
- peppermint essential oil
- rubbing alcohol
- white vinegar
- water
Directions:
- Mix water, rubbing alcohol, and white vinegar in equal parts in a container.
- Add the liquid dish soap into the mix.
- Put some peppermint essential oil drops as needed.
- Use the mixture in either a spray bottle or a bucket for mopping.
What this mint-flavored wash does is make your tiles smell good. This makes it a great recipe for bad odors, especially if you have pets around the house.
Germ Killer
What you’ll need:
- 1 capful mouthwash (any brand)
- 1-gallon warm water
Directions:
- Mix the two ingredients in a container.
- Apply by mopping onto the desired area(s).
Using this simple mixture will put your mouthwash to good use – for cleaning and disinfecting floors. After all, mouthwashes are meant to stop bad breath by killing bad bacteria, so it does the same kind of action to tile floors. Be wary that this recipe will not work on wood flooring, but it is safe on vinyl tiles.
Natural Cleaner For Tile Floors
If you want to have a natural cleaner for tile flooring, here’s a good recipe that you might like:
Citrus Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- orange peel or citrus peel
- 1-quart white vinegar
- water
- spray bottle
- sealed container (e.g. jar)
Directions:
- Combine the two ingredients in a sealed container.
- Let the solution sit for 2 weeks or so.
- Once done, fill up the spray bottle with half water.
- Pour in the citrus and vinegar solution and mix well.
- Spray it on your tiles as needed.
What this mixture does is not only clean your tile surface but also deodorizes it. This makes it a great tile cleaner for pet stains and other “accidents” around the house. It will also work well for food and drink spills.
Homemade Cleaning Solution For Tile Floors
Whether you are looking for a homemade cleaning solution for porcelain or ceramic tiles, the ingredients should be simple and not too harsh for your flooring. After all, tiles rarely absorb stains due to their waterproof qualities.
Therefore, here are low-VOC recipes that could help you clean your floor tiles:
Homemade Tile Cleaner Recipe
What you’ll need:
- 1 tbsp dish soap (bleach-free and natural ingredients)
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 gallons warm water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
Directions:
- Combine all of the ingredients into a container.
- Start applying it to the area affected by the mess or spill using either bucket or spray to mop it.
This is an all-purpose tile cleaner and will work well with most spills. They will be safe for use in ceramic tiles and will pick up stains easily.
Aggressive Homemade Tile Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- 1 cup ammonia
- 1 cup baking soda
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1-gallon warm water
Directions:
- Combine all of the ingredients listed above into a container.
- Use the mixture onto the affected area thru mopping and/or spraying.
This homemade floor cleaner is only ideal if the stain is too stubborn to be mopped away by our first recipe. As with the first one, it works on both porcelain and ceramic but not on natural stone tiles.
DIY Ceramic Tile Cleaner
A DIY ceramic tile cleaner will do the trick on most messes. In the recipe below, we included some natural ingredients that you will find around the house, such as lemon juice and salt so that it will be fairly easy to make.
Homemade DIY Tile Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 3 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp dishwashing liquid
- 10 drops of any essential oil such as citrus
Directions:
- Mix the ingredients in a large container, such as a bucket.
- Wait for the vinegar and baking soda to have some chemical reaction to see if it’s ready.
- Use a sponge or cloth rag to dip into the solution.
- Start scrubbing the affected area(s) of your ceramic tiles.
- Rinse the said area with warm water.
By using this homemade tile cleaner mixture, you are not only cleaning the tiles but you could even clean the grout. The purpose of the essential oils is to add fragrance to your cleaner after you applied it to the affected area.
We prefer citrus essential oils because they give off a clean smell – people with sensitivities to scents usually aren’t so affected by citrus smells.
Environmentally Friendly Floor Cleaner
If you are looking for all-natural cleaners that will do the job with spills, here are some great considerations for you:
Attitude Floor Cleaner
This eco-friendly cleaner is made with tea tree oil and lime and is applicable for both tiles and wood. Since it is made with plant-based ingredients, as well as minerals, it doesn’t contain harsh chemicals. What’s more, this floor-cleaner has been manufactured without a carbon footprint.
If you have sensitive flooring, the natural ingredients of this eco-friendly cleaner will not make any streaks. It is also a certified product by a global environmental cause, the Canadian EcoLogo Program.
Earth Friendly Products Floor Cleaner
If you have laminate or wood floors, this is a gentle cleaning product to consider. This is also ideal for busybodies who have no time to rinse the floor after mopping, as it only comes in a spray bottle that’s meant to dissolve all the stains and messes in one go.
Since it is made with plant-based ingredients that are also ethically and sustainably sourced, it is gentle on the environment and not just on your flooring. Bearing a neutral pH level, it won’t affect shiny surfaces and it has a non-stripping formula. It is even free from dioxane – a known carcinogen to humans.
Biokleen Floor Cleaner
If you have a house that has a multitude of flooring types, such as ceramic, marble, laminate, hardwood, laminate, and the like, this is a natural floor cleaner to try out. It uses citrus extracts to give off a fresh scent plus it uses a plant-based solution so it’s eco-friendly.
What’s more, to become effective for various surfaces and different kinds of messes, it uses unique natural live enzyme culture technology (think yogurt and its probiotics). It will clean most food stains, grime, grease, dirt, and the like.
Better Life (Simply Floored) Floor Cleaner
This gentle floor cleaner will work well for marble and hardwood thanks to containing no alcohols, solvents, or any harsh irritants that would ruin your flooring finish.
The formula contains a light mint and citrus scent so it will smell fresh. If you have a bigger house or if you need a floor cleaner for a business establishment, industrial sizes are also available for this product.
Eco-Me Floor Cleaner
This floor cleaner, which is vegan, works well for various flooring surfaces, such as wood, marble (sealed), and the like. You do have to know, though, that this is a concentrated mix so you have to mix it with water. Since it is free from harsh chemicals, it is eco-friendly.
To prove its environmental advantage, it doesn’t contain any of the following:
- bleach
- ammonia
- phthalates
- sulfates
- phosphates
- dyes
- artificial fragrance
- preservatives
- animal by-products
Homemade Tile Floor Cleaner With Baking Soda
As mentioned above, baking soda has always been a timeless ingredient in most homemade cleaning recipes. With the recipe below, we will show you a simple way of cleaning your ceramic tiles in a DIY fashion with items that are available in the home.
Baking Soda Ceramic Tile Floor Cleaner
What you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 gallons hot or warm water
- 1 tbsp dish detergent
Directions:
- Mix all of the ingredients into a bucket.
- Use either a damp cloth or a mop to apply it to the affected area.
- Wait for a while and then rinse the area with fresh water.
- Let the area dry to avoid accidents.
Homemade Cleaner for All Floor Types
Tiles aren’t the only type of flooring that people have. For instance, your home could have tiles in the kitchen but wood upstairs. You may even have other types of flooring around the house, which would make it confusing when choosing the right floor cleaner formula.
Therefore, we made a convenient all-purpose cleaner that you can formulate at home. Here’s the recipe below:
All-Purpose Cleaner for Multiple Floor Types
What you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 2 cups warm water
- 1/8 tsp dish soap (no bleach)
- lemon juice or essential oils
Directions:
- Mix the ingredients in a spray bottle or bucket.
- Start applying the mixture to the affected area.
A word of advice: do not use the above-mentioned recipe for natural stone flooring as you’ll need a different (and gentler) kind of recipe for that.
Homemade Wood Floor Cleaner
If most of your home flooring is made with wood, you will need a gentler recipe. After all, staining wood isn’t very good since it’s difficult (and pricey) to find replacement wood. Here are two recipes that you can try:
Wood Flooring Cleaner
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1-gallon warm water
- essential oil or lemon juice
Wood Floor Cleaner and Polisher
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1-gallon warm water
Name: Rebecca Tarvin
Discipline: Integrative biology
Degrees: B.A., Biology, Boston University, 2010; Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin,2017
Rebecca Tarvin is broadly interested in integrating studies of natural history with molecular genomics and phylogenetics. Specifically, she aims to elucidate causal genetic mechanisms underlying novel traits, characterize phenotypic diversification at macro and micro-evolutionary scales, and identify factors that promote and constrain biodiversity.
She also likes to write about eco-friendly lifestyle and other material alternatives that are eco-friendly, aside from other ways to save Mother Earth
