Nontoxic Recipes for Cleaning the Kitchen Floor

Reduce your exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals by harnessing the power of nature. Clean your kitchen floor with pure, simple ingredients, including essential oils.

Our family has trampled on several different kinds of flooring over the years, from white tile (who does this in a kitchen?) to the 200-year-old wide-plank hemlock flooring in the home that we currently occupy. Although the children have fled the nest and all the fur-kids have crossed the bridge, my husband and I still manage to make a mess on our own. Then there are grandchildren, “grand-pups,” and other canines that accompany visiting friends. It’s a blessing and a joy whenever our cherished loved ones find their way home to us. Dirt? Not so much.

The type of cleaner to use on your kitchen floor will depend on the type of flooring you have, as well as the foot traffic. While all of the formulas suggested here are effective and safe for people and pets, you should avoid the use of white vinegar if you have hardwood or no-wax floors because its acidity may damage the finish over time. This is also true for stone surfaces.

Nontoxic Pine-Fresh Floor Cleaner

This formula isn’t at all like the old pine-solvent cleaners you may be used to. It works just as well but leaves a light scent more reminiscent of a pine forest than a bucket of chemicals. You can adjust the scent to your preference by increasing or reducing the amount of essential oil used.

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon hot water
  • 2 tablespoons liquid castile soap
  • 10 drops pine essential oil
  • 5 drops cypress essential oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bucket. Dip a mop into the bucket and squeeze out excess liquid. Clean the floor by working in sections, using short strokes and dipping the mop as needed. Rinsing is not necessary.

Nontoxic Citrus Floor Cleaner

Nothing works like citrus in the kitchen!

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon hot water
  • 2 tablespoons liquid castile soap
  • 15 drops sweet orange essential oil
  • 8 drops lemon essential oil, or ¼ cup lemon juice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bucket. Dip a mop into the bucket and squeeze out excess liquid. Clean the floor by working in sections, using short strokes and dipping the mop as needed. Rinsing is not necessary.

Excerpted and adapted from The Naturally Clean Home, 3rd Edition © Karyn Siegel-Maier. Photo © Kimberly Thompson Panay.

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Karyn Siegel-Maier

Karyn Siegel-Maier

About the Author

Karyn Siegel-Maier is the best-selling author of The Naturally Clean Home and a writer who specializes in herbal medicine, natural health and wellness, and green living. Her work has appeared in numerous consumer and industry publications, including Mother Earth Living, Mother Earth News, Let’s Live, Natural Living Today, Real Woman, The Herb Quarterly, Delicious!, Better Nutrition, Natural Pharmacy, and Energy Times. A life-long student of herbal wisdom, guided by the seasons, she spends her time writing, foraging, gardening, cooking, and practicing the botanical arts, from tincturing to blending teas and making natural products for the home and body. She lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York and can be found online at herbalmusings.com.

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