You Probably Already Have The Best Product to Clean Your Floors At Home (and its non-toxic too!)
If you have kids that love playing outdoors, then love coming inside and then love going back outside and then inside.......cleaning floors quickly becomes an almost daily necessity (obsession?). Perhaps I am a bit obsessed with clean floors (ok, very obsessed) and perhaps deep down I am fascinated, yet terrified and grossed out, when I broom the floors and collect so. much. STUFF. But, whether you love it or hate it, and regardless of how often they are cleaned in your home: cleaning the floors in your home is important stuff. Just as important? The products you use to clean them with.
WHY YOU HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR FLOORS
Our home floors can be filled with dirt, grass and dust that can contain a host of chemicals including flame retardant chemicals. If you use shoes inside your home, bacteria and other nasties from our shoes transfer to our floors up to 90% of the time. Shoes bring in fecal material, industrial pollutants, pesticides and bacteria. In fact, the floor in front of the kitchen sink on average contains more bacteria per square inch than the garbage can!
WHY WHAT YOU USE TO CLEAN YOUR FLOORS IS IMPORTANT
Think about it: whatever you use to clean your floors will remain, to some degree, on the floor and in your home's indoor air for a period of time. This means that not only the person who is cleaning the floors is exposed to these chemicals but the entire family is.
If you have kids in the house they probably spend a great deal of time on the floor; walking barefoot, touching the floor with their hands, playing and laying (and maybe having tantrums.. sigh) on the floor and breathing in any fragrances or chemicals the product used gives off.
It makes sense that you would want to avoid potentially toxic chemicals in your floor cleaners.
Some of the most popular floor cleaners including Method, Fabuloso, Pledge, Old English and Swiffer Wetjet all contain known toxic chemicals linked to asthma, hormone alteration (endocrine disrupting chemicals) and even cancer.
The good news is that it is really easy ( and cheap!) to effectively clean floors.
Making your own floor cleaner is not only super easy (as in your kids can do it) but for many floor types the recommended method of cleaning.
Wood Flooring, Parquet, laminate and bamboo: Mix a 50/50 water & vinegar solution or water with a couple of drops of dish soap (I like castille soap). Add your favorite pure organic essential oil if you like an additional smell; make sure never to use excessive amounts of water- a damp cloths will do.
linoleum tile and stone: water and vinegar with a one-to-one ratio
marble and limestone: squirt one or two squirts of castille soap (I like Dr Bronner's with tea tree for added antibacterial power) to a bucket. Don't use too much soap to avoid soap buildup. Wipe dry. Never use vinegar or lemons on these stone floors
IF you still prefer to use store bought products these are the best rated (ie no dangerous chemicals!) by the Environmental Working Group
Aunt Fannie's Floor Cleaner Vinegar Wash, Sweet Mandarin, 32 Ounce