Tags
Baby, Cement, Clean, Cleaning, Dishwashing, DIY, Do, Eco, Essential, Favorites, Floor, Friday, Friendly, It, Kid, Libman, Make, Mop, Oil, Own, Pet, recipe, Scent, Soap, Spray, Tile, Tip, Vinegar, Water, White, Wood, Your, Yourself
When Ava started crawling around the floor more, I began to notice red bumps (sort of a rash) on the tops of her feet, fronts of her legs, and backs of her forearms (the places where her body touched the floor when she crawls). The only thing I could think of was that she was having a reaction to the cleaner I was using on the floor. So, I didn’t let her crawl on the floor until I could find a new floor cleaner that was more environmentally friendly. Meanwhile, the bumps started to go away. I never found any cleaner that I was comfortable with, so I decided to try to make my own. After finding lots of floor cleaner recipes all over the internet, this is what I came up with:
- 1 cup white vinegar* (everything I read said that the vinegar smell is very overpowering so I thought it was best to use this amount as opposed to equal parts as some recipes called for)
- 1/4 cup scented dishwashing liquid (this will help with the vinegar smell also, but beware that it doesn’t take much … you don’t want to have slippery floors that you just have to go over again with water to get it all up. FYI, I just bought the cheapest brand.)
- 1 gallon water
- A few of drops of your favorite essential oil (optional, I didn’t use this)
*You can experiment with this recipe … if you don’t mind the vinegar smell, add a 1/2 cup more until you’re satisfied, as the vinegar is the cleaning agent.
I have wood floors, so I use one of those spray & mop swiffer-type-mops that you can add your own cleaning agent to, shown in the photo (it also has a washable pad … most AWESOME invention ever and highly recommended for penny-pinchers), to avoid getting the wood too wet and ruining it. I have also used this on cement and tile floors and it works great. And best of all, Ava doesn’t have a rash from crawling around on my floors anymore! I suppose you could also use this stuff on the counters in a spray bottle as well.
Until next time, this has been a real housewife in Houston moment.