The Best Non-Toxic Floor Cleaners
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It’s time to switch to a non-toxic floor cleaner! These days, floor cleaners can contain many chemicals that can be hazardous to your health, your pet’s health, and the health of your family. The American Lung Association states that many household cleaning supplies contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which cause indoor pollution and contribute to eye irritation, throat irritation, allergic reactions, chronic respiratory problems, asthma, and headaches. In addition to VOCs, several other chemicals can cause immunosuppression, cancer, and allergies. Some were also found to be endocrine disruptors.
What Other Toxic Ingredients Are Found In Cleaning Products?
Phthalates, chlorine, triclosan, 2-butoxyethanol, formaldehyde, phosphates, sodium hydroxide, triclosan, bleach, fragrances, tetrachloroethylene, ammonia, PEGs or polyethylene glycol, SLS, SLES, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, quats, polysorbates, cocamidopropyl betaine, petroleum, and phenol sulfuric acid can all be found in cleaning products and cause problems with your health.
You would be surprised at how many harmful things are in cleaning products. Stick to my list below for non-toxic floor cleaners that won’t harm your health!
1. Shark Professional Steam Pocket Mop for Hard Floor
The first non-toxic floor cleaner is a steam mop. This is my favorite way to clean my floors because it ONLY uses water. It doesn’t use soap or chemicals of any kind. Not only does it clean them, it disinfects them too! I don’t have this particular Shark steam mop. I have a different one, but I couldn’t find it on Amazon. I have no complaints about my Shark steam mop and I’m sure this one is great as well.
How do you use a steam mop? Place water in the mop, plug it in, and start mopping. The natural mopping motion will create very hot steam within 30 seconds. This steam will eliminate 99. 9% of germs and bacteria. This mop has 3 levels, low for dusting, medium for mopping, and high for scrubbing tough messes. If your mop head is getting too dirty mid-mop, you can flip your mop head over to finish the rest of your floor. These mop heads are washable or you can buy new ones.
This steam mop can be used on laminate, bamboo, hardwood, marble, tile, and stone floors. I would be careful using it on untreated hardwood. If you decide to try it, make sure there isn’t a lot of water. When water sits on hardwood floors, it may warp the wood. You can always wipe it with a dry cloth afterwards as well. If you prefer a different one, here is another option for a steam mop as well.
2. Castile Soap and Water
Just in case you haven’t entered the world of castile soap yet, it’s amazing and can be used for so many things like body wash, hand soap, face wash, dish soap, laundry detergent, multi-purpose cleaners, floor cleaners, pet shampoo, toilet bowl cleaner, etc. The list goes on and on.
When I first started my clean living journey, I was hesitant to use castile soap because I was worried that I wouldn’t know how to dilute it and I wanted something easy, but then I started learning ingredients and realized that there are so many unclean products and castile soap is one of the cleanest. Would anyone fight me if I said it is the cleanest? If not, it’s up there. Learning ingredients has made me start to love castile soap.
Again, if you have hardwood floors, be cautious about how much water you use on the floors. I have limited hardwood in my house so for the small amount of hardwood that I do have, I put diluted castile soap in a spray bottle and wipe it clean. You can use a paper towel/towel to wipe or use a dry mop like this cotton one. You might be tempted to get a microfiber mop for your hardwood floors because they are good at catching dust and debris, however, microfiber is made from petroleum. Phthalates, dyes, and flame-retardants are also regularly used in microfiber production so I would opt for a cotton mop.
When it comes to cleaning floors with castile soap, there are many options. These are the ones that I recommend:
Dr. Bronners
How do you use castile soap for mopping floors? On the Dr. Bronner’s website, it suggests to use ½ c. (120 mL) of soap in 3 gallons (12 L) of hot water. Dunk the mop in the bucket and wring thoroughly. This can be used on many floors, but on wood and laminate, be sure to avoid excess water and mop up wet areas.
If you prefer, use castile soap mixed with water in a spray bottle and then mop afterwards or wipe with a towel like I do. To use a spray bottle and mop, you don’t need a lot of castile soap. If you do the math for the dilution of 12 L of water, you only need 5 ml (1 tsp) of castile soap in this 16 oz spray bottle.
My other castile soap pick is MamaSuds, which I mainly use.
I love this non-toxic floor cleaner. I’ve used it to clean my shower, my floors and I have even used it as dish soap. On the MamaSuds website, it gives dilution instructions. To clean floors, counters, tubs, and walls mix 1-2 tablespoons of soap to one gallon of hot water. If you prefer to use a spray bottle, I would put very little soap in it. A couple of drops will do!
3. Vinegar and Water
Vinegar and water is a great option if you want to clean your floor without chemicals. To prepare the solution, mix 1/2 c to 1 cup of plain white vinegar with a gallon of warm water in a bucket. Yes, it does have a little bit of a smell, but I found that it dissipates quickly. If it’s nice weather, open your windows to help air out the smell.
4. Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda
These cleaning products are actually to clean grout! I tried this last year because my tile floor was looking so terrible. It took me a long time on my hands and knees, but when I was done, it looked like a new floor. My mother-in-law was visiting when I was cleaning and she was so impressed that she went home and cleaned her kitchen floor with peroxide and baking soda as well.
You will need baking soda, scrub brushes, hydrogen peroxide with a spray bottle top, a bucket of warm water, and a rag. I sprinkled baking soda directly on the grout. Then I sprayed the hydrogen peroxide on the baking soda. I waited a few minutes, scrubbed the area with the scrub brush, and then wiped away the mixture with a rag and some warm water. My floor never looked so good!
5. Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray – 32 fl oz – Unscented
So this is the one hardwood floor cleaner that isn’t horrible. I don’t think there is another one that I would consider using. Overall, it’s not bad! The other options above (steam mop, vinegar, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide) are more natural, but if your hardwood floors don’t look the way you want them to look, I would opt for this cleaner.
The ingredients that are listed on Amazon are wrong. So no, I am not recommending a cleaner with PPG-2 methyl ether, butoxypropanol, colorants, methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, and methylchloroisothiazolinone. If you look on the Bona website it states that the ingredients are:
| Water | 7732-18-5 | Solvent |
| Isopropylideneglycerol | 100-79-8 | Solvent |
| Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside | 68515-73-1 | Surfactant |
| Sodium Decylglucoside Hydroxypropylsulfonate | 742087-48-5 | Surfactant |
| Propanediol | 504-63-2 | Solvent |
| Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate | 27252-75-1 | Surfactant |
| Hydrogen Peroxide | 7722-84-1 | Solvent |
| Sodium bicarbonate | 144-55-8 | Buffer |
| Citric Acid | 77-92-9 | pH Regulating Agent |
This cleaner also has a Safer Choice Label. It would not have one if it had the ingredients listed on Amazon so I’m assuming the website ingredients are accurate. If you buy a bottle and the ingredients don’t match, please comment below and let me know. Also, make sure you get the unscented one if you decide to go for it. It has great reviews on Amazon (at the time of this article) so I’m sure it will help your floor shine!
Final Words On Non-Toxic Floor Cleaners
So many floor cleaners have harmful chemicals in them. If you decide on a different floor cleaner, always make sure to look at the ingredients and look up any chemical names that you aren’t sure of. Floor cleaners can be toxic to babies (who are more susceptible to environmental toxins) and pets. Also, check to see if your floor cleaner has essential oils. While essential oils are mostly safe, some are unsafe for babies and animals.
I am very picky when selecting my cleaning products, therefore, I only listed the safest ones that I feel comfortable using. I hope you find a natural floor cleaner that works well for you!
Are you also looking for a non-toxic all-purpose cleaner? Check out my article for non-toxic all-purpose cleaners!
