Last Updated on December 16, 2024 by Kiersten James, BS, RN

This homemade floor cleaner smells AMAZING, won’t leave streaks, contains safe ingredients and can be used on all floor types.

This homemade floor cleaner has been a rockstar DIY natural cleaning solution for us going on about 6 years now. A while back, somewhere around 2019, I was doing everything possible to get my autoimmune disease under control.

During that process, I gradually removed almost all of the commercial products from our home.

Nowadays, nearly every cleaning product like the powdered laundry detergent, liquid laundry detergent, hand soaps, oven cleaner, and reusable disinfectant wipes will be made here at home. Truthfully, I find that they’re just as (if not more) effective.

Another major benefit to making homemade cleaning solutions yourself is the cost savings. I haven’t purchased laundry detergent in quite some years now but I couldn’t believe my eyes yesterday when I saw that it was roughly $22 for a container of Tide detergent. Sheesh!

Can You Use Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) on Wood Floors?

Yes! I include isopropyl alcohol (aka “rubbing alcohol”) in the ingredients for this homemade floor cleaner. Contrary to popular belief, isopropyl is safe for hardwood flooring.

Isopropyl alcohol has a pH level that is very close to being neutral — meaning it is neither acidic nor alkaline. It will clean, protect, and preserve your floors.

While I wouldn’t use it on furniture, the alcohol is not strong enough to remove the finishing from hardwood flooring.

I prefer alcohol because I can’t stand the lingering smell of vinegar-based cleaners. We also have granite counter tops so to avoid a bottle mix up and the possible resulting damage, I use isopropyl alcohol across the board when I clean.

If you prefer vinegar or that’s what you have on hand, feel free to replace the alcohol with 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar to achieve similar effect.

EWG Ratings – Homemade Floor Cleaner

How to Make Homemade Floor Cleaner

Ingredients:

2 gallons warm water
1/2 cup 70% isopropyl alcohol
1/4 cup liquid castile soap (unscented)
20 drops lemongrass essential oil
15 drops sweet orange essential oil
10 drops lemon essential oil

Instructions:

Mix essential oils, alcohol and Castile soap in a small container such as a mason jar.
Fill the mop bucket with two gallons of warm to hot water. Pour in the alcohol mixture.
Clean the floors as you normally would. Rinsing is not necessary.

Homemade Floor Cleaner

Yield: 2 gallons

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $

This homemade floor cleaner smells AMAZING, won't leave streaks, contains safe ingredients and can be used on all floor types.

Materials

2 gallons warm water
1/2 cup 70% isopropyl alcohol
1/4 cup unscented liquid Castile soap
20 drops lemongrass essential oil
15 drops sweet orange essential oil
10 drops lemon essential oil

Tools

Mop bucket
Measuring cups

Instructions

Mix essential oils, alcohol and Castile soap in a small container such as a mason jar.
Fill the mop bucket with two gallons of warm to hot water. Pour in the alcohol mixture.
Clean the floors as you normally would. Rinsing is not necessary.