One of the main problems with most commercial laminate floor cleaners is that they may contain harsh chemicals. That means these cleaners aren’t all that eco-friendly, which may concern you. Even if you’re not “green-minded” in general, you have to worry about these harsh chemicals when you have pets or crawling kids playing around on your laminate flooring.
The good news is that you can mix your laminate floor cleaner yourself, using ingredients that you can probably find in your home. You can also use an ecofriendly laminate floor cleaner.
Better Life Naturally Dirt-Destroying Floor Cleaner
If you just want to buy a natural laminate cleaner instead of mixing ingredients yourself, you can just go with the Better Life Naturally Dirt-Destroying Floor Cleaner. Just about everyone who has used it give rave reviews, and most experts recommend it above all others.
This uses only natural ingredients, without any chemicals that you might find objectionable. It uses purified water (and not just regular water, mind you), plus natural coconut and corn-based surfactants. The ingredients also include essential oils of grapefruit, spearmint, and bergamot, along with vegetable glycerin.
That nice citrus scent you get isn’t from chemicals, but from actual oranges and lemons. This doesn’t have any solvents, dyes, sulfates, or even artificial fragrances.
It’s simply eco-friendly, and it’s also great for your laminate flooring. It works for hardwood and bamboo flooring as well. It’s gentle enough for the environment and for your flooring, but it still gets rid of the dirt.
Castile Soap Laminate Floor Cleaner
You mix this yourself, using the following ingredients:
- 2 cups of warm water
- 2 drops of Castile soap (or any other vegetable-based soap)
- (Optional) 2 drops of tea tree oil
- (Optional) 3 drops of lemon or orange essential oils
Yes, this uses soap, which some people may not like. But there’s very little of it, plus the soap is actually vegetable-based. The essential oil act as disinfectants and offer a terrific fragrance. Actually, you can add just about any essential oil you prefer.
Just use a spray bottle for this, instead of a plastic bottle. The essential oils will degrade plastic over time.
This mixture works nicely with real wood flooring, and for other types of tile flooring. You can just use a regular mop with this.
Vinegar Laminate Floor Cleaner
This time, you use vinegar. Some people object to the vinegar, since it’s acidic and pure vinegar can damage your laminate floor. But it works when diluted enough, plus it’s also eco-friendly.
- 2 cups of warm water
- 2 cups of distilled white vinegar
- 5 to 10 drops of essential oil (recommended that you try lemon eucalyptus, lemon, or orange)
Vinegar is a disinfectant, like the essential oils. You need more essential oils for this mixture (as you may have noticed) to cover the vinegar smell. If there’s a hint of vinegar smell afterwards, don’t worry too much about it. The smell goes away once the floor dries completely.
Because there’s no soap, there’s no risk that you’ll end up with slippery floors.
Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol Laminate Floor Cleaner
In this day and age of pandemics, adding rubbing alcohol may actually be reassuring for some folks. Use the following ingredients for the mixture:
- ½ cup of distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup of rubbing alcohol
- 4 drops of liquid dishwashing detergent
- 5 drops of essential oil (again, try lemon eucalyptus, lemon, or orange)
The liquid dishwashing detergent gets rids of oil spills and tough dirt, and you don’t have to rinse it off.
Use this with a spray mop or a microfiber mop. You can also use this for mirrors, windows, and countertops.
Homemade Laminate Floor Polish
When you’ve cleaned your laminate flooring and you want to get back its original shine, try this homemade polish mixture:
- 2 cups of warm water
- 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- (Optional) 5 drops of essential oil (lemon eucalyptus, lemon, or orange)
The vegetable actually makes the laminate shiny, but you only need a thin layer of it. Apply it sparingly and don’t let it pool.
Final Words
You may have noticed that we recommend lemon, orange, and lemon eucalyptus essential oils frequently. That’s because citrus scents are pleasant for just about everyone. In addition, it can even lift up your mood. It’s no coincidence that many commercial cleaning products also cone in citrusy scents.
Just use these mixtures properly, and don’t get your laminate flooring soaked with the stuff. Use just enough, and make sure you wipe your laminate flooring dry afterwards. Don’t worry too much if your laminate flooring is still damp after wiping them—they’ll dry quickly enough!