Laminate floors are a blessing and a curse. Our kitchen has laminates that take a beating thanks to two animals and two work-from-homers who are always hanging out near the food. The good news is that they don’t show wear and tear quite like our hardwood floors, even after all the scratches, scrapes and scuffs. But the bad news is that they’re a beast to clean. Most of the floor cleaners I’ve tried leave a waxy film that’s hard to get rid of, and the last thing you want is to clean your floors after cleaning your floors. That’s where this homemade laminate floor cleaner.
It’s cheap, easy to whip up and effective. Plus it’s made with only 3 ingredients, so you never have to worry about running out.
DIY Laminate Floor Cleaner
Laminate floors may look like other types of flooring, but you can’t actually clean them like other floors. That’s because laminates are made of a type resin with a clear protective coating on top. If you get them too wet you can end up with a streaky, waxy mess that’s hard to get rid of. And if you drench them, letting lots of water puddle in the cracks, you can even cause them to bubble, separate at the seams, or fade in color.
That’s why you need a cleaner that evaporates quickly and gives you a nice, streak-free shine.
Vinegar and rubbing alcohol are king when it comes to homemade laminate floor wash. Vinegar helps disinfect and deodorize, and rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly without pooling or leaving streaks. While a water-based solution isn’t ideal, a little bit of water extends the life of your cleaner and makes it gentle enough to use on your floors everyday. And a couple drops of orange essential oil gets rid of grease and helps mask the scent of vinegar and alcohol, which can be overpowering at first but should fade as the solution dries.
Before washing your floors, start by sweeping with a soft bristle broom to collect hair and dust. Then tackle dried spills and stains by blotting them with a microfiber towel. For tough spots like grease, wax or dried on food, place an ice pack on top of them for several minutes, then gently scrape them off.
Next, wash your floors to get rid of lingering dirt and grime. Do yourself a favor and pick up one of those spray laminate floor mops that looks like a reusable Swiffer. A mop and bucket will work, but you need to wring out the mop until it’s almost completely dry to prevent damaging your floors. Instead, a refillable spray mop spritzes a fine layer of cleaner without the mess of a bucket, and it can be used for all types of floors (a win-win). After mopping, go over floors with a dry microfiber cloth or a dry mop to ensure no water remains on the laminate.
Every six months or so you can use a steam mop for a deeper clean. Just be sure to dry your floors immediately with a dry mop or microfiber cloth.
Laminate Floor Cleaner
Yield 1.5 cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 5 drops sweet orange essential oil
- glass spray bottle or laminate floor mop
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Transfer to a glass spray bottle or the solution reservoir in a laminate floor mop.
- Lightly spray on floors and mop up, making sure no solution is left to pool in cracks. Use within one month.
What is the black and white wet swiller you have? Its beautiful!
I love your blog, to think you should definitely stop recommending people to buy plastic products like spray mops. Because of people and plastic, Earth is facing an existential crisis with no way of fixing it. Think about advocating zero Waste products and ditch plastic products of products packaged in non-recyclable plastics. Only 9% of all plastics can be recycled. Just because you throw it in the trash doesn’t mean it goes away. It goes into our earth our oceans, and by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. We have enough plastic trash to fill up every single skyscraper on the planet multiple times. Help all life on earth by advocating a zero waste lifestyle. From one conscious consumer to another, thank you.