4 Homemade Laminate Floor Cleaner Formulas You Can Try Right Away With Things In Your Cabinet
The good news is, you can totally make a diy laminate flooring cleaner. For those who want this natural option, we have 4 formulas you can make at home to clean your laminate floor for a safe and streak-free result.
You can make diy laminate floor cleaner instead of using a store-bought one
What you will learn in this post:
- 4 different homemade laminate floor cleaner solutions.
- Extra pro tips to keep your laminate floor shiny.
- FAQs segment to satisfy your curiosity about floor cleaner solutions.
Let’s dive into it!
Things you’ll need for the formulas
To make a diy laminate floor cleaner, grab these ingredients. I’m sure we have all of them lying around the house, and they’re easy to buy too:
- Rubbing alcohol
- White vinegar
- Dawn dish soap
- Castile soap
- Essential oils (choose your favorite scents)
- Tea tree oil
- Distilled water
You also need these tools to pair with the laminate floor cleaner solution:
- A spray bottle (plastic is fine but glass is better for formulas with essential oil)
- Microfiber mop or cloth
Got everything? Let’s start making the best homemade cleaner for laminate floors.
Formula 1: The dynamic duo - Rubbing alcohol ft. vinegar
This formula is suitable for treating spots and weekly cleaning. That’s why we need to add a special ingredient besides the two stars of the show to keep the air fresh. To make this formula, follow these steps:
- Step 1: Add distilled water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle with a ratio of 1:1:1.
- Step 2: Add a good amount of your favorite essential oil into the mixture until it smells decent.
- Step 3: Shake gently to mix the solution.
To clean your laminate floor with the formula you just make, follow this tutorial:
- Step 1: Spray a small area of the floor, remember to keep it light so the material won’t absorb excess liquid.
- Step 2: For those stain spots, you can spray a little bit more if they don’t come off easily.
- Step 3: Use a microfiber mop or a cloth to clean the laminate floor.
- Step 4: Repeat steps 1 to 3 one section at a time until the whole floor is clean.
It’s important to clean one area at a time so your laminate floor doesn’t absorb too much water
Formula 2: The only hero you need - Vinegar
This formula is very easy to make so it’s suitable for quick spot cleaning. Vinegar floor cleaner laminate is available every time you need and all you have to do is follow this 3 steps tutorial:
- Step 1: Add 2 parts distilled water to 1 part vinegar in a spray bottle.
- Step 2: Slightly spray the floor with the mixture.
- Step 3: Clean it off with a microfiber mop or a cloth and continue to the next area until you finish cleaning the whole floor.
Formula 3: The Dawn favorite
If you’re not a fan of cleaning laminate floors with vinegar because of the smell, we have a formula without vinegar in store for you:
- Step 1: In a spray bottle, combine 1 cup of distilled water, 4 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol, and a small squirt of Dawn.
- Step 2: Shake gently to mix the formula.
- Step 3: Spray the floor with the mixture you just made (keep it light in a small area) then mop it off.
- Step 4: Keep doing step 3 until you finish cleaning your laminate floor.
Formula 4: The streak-free solution with the right amount of soap
You must be skeptical to hear that using soap won’t leave streaks on your laminate floor. But making a natural laminate floor cleaner requires a little “official” cleaner to deal with the problem. So we’ll learn the right ratio of soap to put in the solution to prevent streaks. We’ll also be using castile soaps to decrease chemical harm.
- Step 1: Combine 2 drops of castile soap with 2 cups of distilled water in a spray bottle.
- Step 2: Add 5 drops of tea tree oil for disinfection.
- Step 3: Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil into the mixture to create a pleasant smell.
- Step 4: Mix the formula by shaking the bottle.
And then you can clean the floor with this mixture one area at a time with the help of a microfiber mop or a cloth just like the 2 formulas above. This is the best homemade laminate floor cleaner for a mild dirty condition.
Pro tips for a shiny laminate floor
There are many things you can do wrong that leave streaks on your laminate floor and it won’t be shiny like new over time. Learn these pro tips whether you’re using a homemade laminate floor cleaner or a chemical one.
Tips 1: Use the right kind of mop
Mop solution for laminate floors shouldn’t be the kind of material that holds a lot of water. This means a sponge mop is what you should avoid because too much water can cause the laminate floor to warp.
We have already recommended the Best Mop For Laminate Floors which is a microfiber mop. If you don’t have that at home, remember that cloth is always better than a sponge.
Microfiber mop is the best mop for laminate floor.
Tips 2: Clean a small part at a time
We have mentioned this technique in every cleaning tutorial in all the formulas above because it’s important. The reason behind these tips is similar to the first one: to keep your laminate floor from excess water to prevent damage.
Tips 3: Stay away from abrasive cleaners
Abrasive cleaners can easily scrub stains off your laminate floor. But they can also scratch or mar the beautiful surface, making your laminate floor less shiny and no longer flawless. To get rid of stubborn stains, be extra patient and use mild cleaners only.
Tips 4: Deal with wet spill right away
When you have a large wet spill on the laminate floor, clean it off immediately (this is where a sponge mop would help). The key is to prevent your laminate floor from absorbing water from the spill as much as you can.
Final words
We hope you’re happy with this little “science project”. Try one (or all) of these formulas at home to create a homemade laminate floor cleaner for yourself. Don’t forget to use our pro tips to make your laminate floor extra shiny and beautiful. You can ask more questions if the FAQs segment is not enough. We’re always happy to help you take care of your home. Your happiness and satisfaction are our top priority.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- 01. Is Dawn dish soap safe for laminate floors?
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Dawn dish soap sounds nothing like a natural ingredient for a laminate floor cleaner solution. But you can use it for stubborn grease stains when other natural formulas fail. Just a bit Dawn won’t harm your laminate floor. Just make sure you use a reasonable amount and clean the floor carefully after.
- 02. Does vinegar dull laminate floors?
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Laminate floors have this special coating to preserve the wood and prevent damage. That’s why we have to be careful about what chemicals we throw on them. But unlike chemicals, vinegar is a natural cleaner so it can get rid of the stain without also removing the protective coatings of laminate floors.
- 03. Can you use laundry detergent on laminate floors?
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Laundry detergent is pretty heavy for the laminate floor to handle. It can definitely damage the protective coating while cleaning off stains. So you should never think of using laundry detergent on a laminate floor.
- 04. What can I put in my mop water to make my house smell good?
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We have included essential oils in several formulas in case you can’t stand the vinegar smell. But they also help your house smell good after cleaning. You can use curtis essential oil like lemon or orange for a fresh atmosphere. Lavender is also a refreshing choice.
Use lemon essential oil in the mop water to freshen up your house
- 05. What is the Best Laminate Floor Cleaner Machines?
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You can clean laminate floors with steam mop and vacuum cleaner. Both have their pros and cons to the job so it’s really up to you to decide you prefer which option is better.
With a vacuum cleaner, you can clean without worrying about damaging the surface of your laminate floor. But for stubborn stains and spills, you may need to get on your knees to deal with them.
With a steam mop, you can clean and polish the floor at the same time. This laminate floor cleaner is great with both stubborn stains and spills. But the heat and the steam can damage your laminate floor if you don’t know how to do the math.
- 06. How do I make my dull laminate floors shine?
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How to shine laminate floors has always been a hot topic. It seems even harder to make a dull laminate floor shine. If you haven’t taken good care of your laminate floor for many years, it’d help to follow this tutorial to make it shine again:
- Step 1: Vacuum/sweep the floor to get rid of all debris. Make sure there’s nothing left that can scratch the beautiful surface in the next step.
- Step 2: Mop the floor with a suitable laminate cleaner, or try using one of the diy laminate floor cleaner solutions we talked about earlier.
- Step 3: Remove residue by damp-mopping your laminate floor. You shouldn't use a steam mop now because it will decrease the shiny effect in the next step.
- Step 4: Polish the floor by using a dry cloth or a microfiber cleaning cloth. Buff your floor dry inches by inches. Don’t use wax, use your patient instead for the sake of a healthy laminate floor.
- 07. Can I make a laminate floor cleaner with vinegar and baking soda?
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Another cleaner recipe that many people know (and usually use) is vinegar and baking soda. Vinegar is no harm to our laminate floors, we already know that. But baking soda is not the case. Although this ingredient doesn't actually do any damage to your laminate floor, it can leave a stain on the surface and we definitely don’t want that.
Baking soda can leave white stains on your laminate floor
- 08. How do you get streak-free laminate flooring?
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Streak marks are usually the result of using too much chemical cleaner. We know at some point a natural laminate floor cleaner may not be strong enough to help you clean really stubborn stains. Don’t be afraid to let some chemicals be involved in the cleaning process. Just keep them at a minimum level and be patient to get the stain off.
