Orange Vinegar Homemade Floor Cleaner

Thursday, April 2, 2015

It has been a lot of fun trying to create things at home instead of going to the grocery store to buy them. One thing on my list to try was homemade orange vinegar floor cleaner.  Yesterday, I cleaned my floors with this homemade solution, instead of the usual Lysol concoction that I have cleaned my floors for years with.

This recipe is simple, and once you try it, you will never want to go back to buying the store bought version!  In my opinion, my floors have never felt so clean, nor the house smelled so good once I cleaned my floors with this solution.

I began by using some orange vinegar that I had made.  It is very easy to make.  Simply dry out enough orange peels to fill a quart sized jar.  Pack in the orange peels into the jar, and pour vinegar over them. Let the vinegar sit in a sunny place for a couple of weeks (shake the jar every once in a while), and then after two weeks you can strain off the vinegar.  Now you have orange flavored vinegar!  (Discard or compost the orange peels).



This vinegar can be used wherever you would normally use vinegar, except it now has a citrus-y smell. I used my orange vinegar to clean my floors, but you could certainly just use regular white vinegar.  I know that part of the reason the house smelled so amazing after the floor scrubbing was the fact that my orange vinegar really just made that citrus-y smell come alive.



The recipe is so simple and easy.  You don't even need to make it ahead (although you could if you wanted to), but I simply just poured the ingredients into the mop bucket.

Orange Vinegar Floor Cleaner

1/4 cup orange vinegar
1/4 cup alcohol
2-3 drops dish soap (I used Dawn, but castille soap would work as well)
10 drops essential oil (I used lemongrass today)
1 gallon hot water

Add all ingredients to your mop bucket, swish around with your mop, and you're good to go!


This is a picture of the "before" of my floor... lots of dog tracks in and out!   (sigh!)


Here is the floor cleaner all mixed and ready to be used.


And  here is the floor after being mopped with this cleaner.  One thing I can't share with you is how wonderful it smelled!  It smelled better than any cleaner I've ever used, and left no streaks.

(Of course, as with all floor cleaners, it is best to check a small area on your floor to be sure it works okay with your flooring.)

The nice thing about this cleaner is that you can add whatever essential oils you have, and try different ones.  If you didn't want the citrus-y smell, you could use white vinegar and add in whatever essential oil smell you desired.  I liked the versatility of this recipe, and the fact that the vinegar, alcohol and dish soap did an amazing job of getting my floors clean, without streaks or stickiness.

So if you're in the mood for a bit of spring cleaning, this orange vinegar cleaner will get you motivated in no time with the lovely fresh scent through the house when you are done.  :)



16 comments

  1. Thank you for visiting my blog. I loved visiting your today. I'm going to try your floor cleaner for sure. I also enjoyed your recipe for strawberry ice cream. Have a blessed day.

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    1. Hi Melanie! Thanks for stopping by today! I'm glad that you enjoyed the recipes I've posted, it is always great to hear that, and I too love learning from other ladies! Have a blessed weekend celebrating our Lord's resurrection!

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  2. I love vinegar. It's so versatile. I use it too for cleaning my bath with baking soda. :)

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    1. I agree... vinegar has to be close to being my #1 favorite cleaner around the house! It is so amazing and versatile!

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  3. I love vinegar for cleaning, too...and it is a natural sterilizer, too. This sounds like a great recipe. I keep a bottle of 1/3 vinegar+1/3 Dawn blue+1/3 water mixed in a spray bottle. After showering, I spray it on the shower (or in the tub) on my sinks, etc. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and then use a nylon net scrubby on it. It is marvelous and a heavy duty cleaner.
    Hope you have a great day. xo Diana
    ps. Looking around I realize I need to do my floors again. xo Diana

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    1. I took use the 1/3 vinegar/dawn/water in a spray bottle to clean my bathroom with! It works so great! I like you idea of spraying it in the shower once you are don and then using the nylon scrubby on it. Great tip! ... and yeah this time of year I could mop floors every day, with the dogs tracking in and out, sigh!

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  4. Oh, this marvellous mix of yours must smell so fresh and spring-y!! Vinegar is a little miracle where cleaning, deodorizing, and sterilizing is concerned, and I use it everywhere: to deodorize frying pans after frying fish, to scrub my stone sink, on the floors, and in the fridge! Along with lemon and baking soda, these all natural cleaners are always substances I can count on.

    Thanks for all your tips! Your floors look wonderfully shiny!

    Happy Easter, too!

    Hugs,
    Poppy

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    1. I agree about the wonders of vinegar... it really can get things clean in a jiffy. I also use lemon, baking soda, and essential oils to keep things clean around the house, and I hardly ever have to go down the cleaning aisle at the grocery store any more, which is wonderful! Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

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  5. Clean floors always lift my spirits. Isn't that funny? Love your recipe for floor cleaner. It surely made your floor look great. xo ~ Nancy

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    1. Thanks Nancy! I too love clean floors! There really is something about a clean floor that really does lift your spirit, I agree. :)

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  6. I just saw a recipe similar to yours and copied it thinking I really want to make some of this up. Funny how that works. I think I need to go make some right now.... well, not right now because I'm writing you, but you get my point. :) I love finding these kind of DIY projects that don't break the bank and the benefits are so much better for us all to breathe in..... Thanks for posting!

    I hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday! I am so thankful that He is Risen and that I follow closely with my Jesus. We are all so blessed. Your photos of the Resurrection are simply stunning and they were indeed perfect for the day of celebration!

    I hope you have a lovely week! Hugs,Amy

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    1. Isn't it great to find something you can make at home at pennies of the cost it takes to buy it? That just makes me very happy! And then when it feels and smells so good, even better! I hope it works out for you :) Have a wonderful week yourself... and hoping that spring is showing up in your neck of the woods!

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  7. Love homemade recipes like this! :) Thank you for sharing your version on the Art of Home-Making Mondays!

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    1. You are welcome! Thank you for stopping by here for a visit too!

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  8. I bet this smells amazing! I love citrus smells. Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop this week! I will definitely be giving it a try. :)

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  9. How interesting! I will definitely try this on my wood floors. I had no idea that you can "flavor" vinegar. Do you think you could do this with lemon or other herbs for different smells? I'd like to see if lavender would stick. I’m always looking for something that’s natural and actually works, thank you for your post!

    Bo Tolbert @ HJS Supply

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Your comments are blessings to me, and I appreciate each and every one, they are precious to me! I appreciate you taking the time to comment on my blog... this is what makes blogging worthwhile! Have a blessed day!

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