Anti-Shopping List: Floor Cleaner

The most efficient way to deal with a dirty floor is to ignore it. Of course that means germs tracked in by your family and pets will linger and likely lead to illness. Especially if you have little ones crawling about, floors should be kept clean. Clean surfaces can also improve mood and clarity of thought. You want to keep your spirits up and your family healthy, but you don't have any money for floor cleaner? No problem.

There is really no reason to purchase official floor cleaner when so many other household products can be put to the job. The internet is full of recipes that use baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol, olive oil, borax, and laundry or dish detergent. Here are the combinations I have tried and how I thought they rated.

Baking Soda & Vinegar

This combination is said to be good for cleaning just about anything, from dishes to countertops to your own head of hair. For use as floor cleaner, apple cider smells better, but white vinegar cleans better. The best option might be to add a touch of essential oil to white vinegar. A little baking soda can be added to a bucket of warm water and vinegar, or it can be placed directly on the floor first to break up a tough stain. A little elbow grease and a brush and voila! I've used baking soda and vinegar in my kitchen and bathroom, but I am afraid to use it on my wood floors. Adding a little vegetable oil to the concoction should moisturize and protect the wood.

Lemon Juice & Rubbing Alcohol

I have used this recipe for my wood floors, without the fear of baking soda possibly scratching. To a gallon of water, add about a half-cup each of rubbing alcohol, lemon juice, and olive oil. It smells really good and makes the floor shine. Rubbing alcohol is an often neglected cleaner. It's used to disinfect laboratory tables and it is also available fragranced like mint. Lemon and olive oil are very safe and natural, but all other ingredients in these pages should be locked away from children and used with caution.

Borax

There are many people who swear by boron-based additives for many household uses. Some studies have shown, however, that borax can cause reproductive problems if it enters the body. Pregnant women and children are especially susceptible. Walking barefoot on a floor that has been cleaned with borax, the chemical is absorbed through the skin. It can also be inhaled or accidentally ingested, and should never be used to clean a food surface. (If you literally want your floor clean enough to eat off of, don't use it.) Borax is harmless if properly rinsed, but in large quantities may harm surrounding flora and fauna. I might kill roaches with Borax, but I probably won't use it to clean my floor.

Laundry Detergent

My favorite alternative floor cleaner takes no mixing or measuring or personal protective equipment. It's just a little laundry detergent and warm water in a bucket. Dish detergent works too, but not as well. Both are concentrated soaps that fight stains, smell fresh and are trusted safe enough to clean objects as intimate as underwear or baby bottles. (My dishes are so clean I could walk on them?)