Olive oil naturally hydrates and polishes wood floors without leaving behind the dirt-attracting film common with store-bought products. It can clean and polish your floor at the same time or allow you to quickly buff dull areas back to a stunning sheen.
Combine 1/4 cup olive oil with 1/3 cup white vinegar and five cups of hot water. Add a few teaspoons of lemon juice (or lemon essential oil) to add a fresh citrus scent. Dip a mop or rag in the solution and use it to polish your floors just like you would if you were using a store-bought solution.
Tung and Linseed oil are the best natural penetrating oils for hardwood floors. The technical term for these oils is drying oils because they polymerize, forming a long-lasting protective layer on wood and stone. Tung provides the most durable finish of the oils and linseed is not far behind.
Cooking oil, greasy or oily food can damage floors and other wooden surfaces. Oily body lotions and other beauty products can cause problems too as any of these substances can spill and cause damage to the wood in your home.
In most homes, the best wood floor cleaner is plain old soap and water, and the only tools you need are a broom, vacuum, and mop. The best mop for wood floors is a microfiber flat-head or string mop you can easily wring out.
Don't use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They'll dull or scratch the finish. Don't rely on lemon juice or a vinegar-and-water solution to clean hardwood floors. "I don't recommend using vinegar or lemon juice, at least not in large quantities, as these can damage the floor's seal," said Wise.
Whether you're cleaning one area or all of your flooring, Murphy® Oil Soap is safe to use on hardwood floors.
Baby oil works wonders for dusting wood items–even in a hurry. Just apply a few dabs to a cloth and wipe down the area you'd like to clean and it'll shine-on like a crazy diamond. … with a cloth and a touch of oil to dust and shine wood floors.
dish soap and 1 cup white vinegar. The soap and vinegar mixture cut through and remove the olive oil, and diluting the solution makes the cleaner safe for any floor type.
Do NOT clean your floors with Murphy's Oil Soap, Mop and Glo, Orange Glo, Swiffer Wet Mop, furniture polish such as Pledge, vinegar, ammonia, or any pine cleaners! All of these cleaners, over time, will dull and damage the finish.
Oil-Based Polyurethane
Oil-based polys are the mainstay of floor finishing and widely used by professional finishers. Although they're tough, long-lasting, and less-expensive than water-based polys, oil-based polys have a higher VOC content and stronger odor during application.
Try a natural oil like linseed oil, tung oil or Jojoba oil, all of which provide an excellent finish without endangering your health or the environment. If you prefer a commercial finish, or are looking for a specific color finish, look for a natural finishing wax derived from renewable oils and waxes.
After installing such beautiful natural flooring, you may wonder if it is really necessary to apply wood stain and finish products. Is it okay to leave hardwood floors unfinished? The answer is yes, you do not have to finish a hardwood floor!
Vegetable Oil & White Vinegar: Mix equal parts vegetable oil and white vinegar together to make a simple, yet effective, cleaner for your hardwood floor. Vinegar is a natural polish that is perfect for cleaning. It's acidity will help break down dirt and grime.
According to wood flooring experts, moisture levels of between 6-9% enable wooden floors to maintain optimal performance. Therefore, if your hardwood floor is too dry, you can rehydrate it to the recommended levels using vinegar solution, a humidifier, water-based polyurethane, or oil-based urethane.
#2 Use Homemade Polish to Camouflage Scratches
Mix equal parts olive oil and vinegar, which work together to remove dirt, moisturize, and shine wood. Pour a little directly onto the scratch. Let the polish soak in for 24 hours, then wipe off. Repeat until the scratch disappears.
If you want a natural solution, try making your own laminate polish with olive oil, water, vinegar, and essential oils. Use this polish in the same way that you would use store-bought polish. Both of these methods are quick, easy, and effective!
Begin by pouring a pile of absorbent powder, such as baking soda or sawdust, over the stain until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Leave the powder on the stain for several hours or overnight. Sweep or vacuum up the powder. If any stain remains, repeat the steps above as many times as needed to fully remove the stain.
Salt can cause a chemical reaction to cause the oil to degrade prematurely. Salt increases the oxidation of fatty acids, which causes the oil to breakdown.
Mineral Oil Alternatives
Examples include coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil. Hewett says to specifically look for oils with larger molecules that don't penetrate the skin easily to replicate the effect of mineral oil. They include castor oil, avocado oil and grapeseed oil.
Orange oil is great as a wood cleaner, conditioner, and polisher. Natural orange oil contains limonene, which is great for cleaning wood without damaging its finish. It not only cleans the wood, but if you apply it on unsealed wood, it will also replenish its natural oils.
Linseed, sunflower and rapeseed oil have been used for years as wood preservatives. Fences, logs and furniture are typical wood surfaces appropriate for linseed oil treatment. These oils work as preservatives by repelling water and are usually applied directly to the wood surface.
Laminate wood floors are made of manufactured wood, so they're unbelievably durable. You can use either a natural multi-surface cleaner or mop with a bucket full of dish soap-infused water.
Vinegar and vegetable oil both disinfect and protect wood floors. You can use vinegar and vegetable oil to clean hardwood floors and leave them with a shine.
Neutral pH
Vinegar is an acidic substance and over time, can eat away or deteriorate the finish on a hardwood floor. The process may be hastened if vinegar is used in conjunction with very hot water. The result will be cloudy, dull or white patches on your floor.