Homemade Disinfecting Floor Wash with Tea Tree Oil and Peppermint

With all the happy four legged furry friends in my home, my linoleum floor tends to get dirty fast. However, I hate using chemical filled floor cleaners to wash and get my floors squeaky clean. Instead, I like to make a homemade disinfecting floor wash that not only get my floors sparkling clean and fresh, but it also helps disinfected them as well while ridding awful pet odors.

Useful Ingredients for Making the Floor Wash 

The ingredients I like to use to make my homemade disinfecting floor cleaner are one liter of distilled vinegar, one gallon of distilled water, and an eight-ounce bottle of hydrogen peroxide, ten drops of peppermint oil and fifteen drops of tea tree oil. I always have these products in my kitchen and bathroom cabinets, but if you do not you can easily purchase them from the drugstore or grocery store at affordable prices.  

Cleaning Benefits of the Ingredients

The cleaning benefits I receive from using these natural ingredients in my floor wash are outstanding. The vinegar acts as a natural disinfecting agent that kills germs, mold, mildew and harmful bacteria and viruses, and it has the ability to cut heavy grim, grease and dirt wonderfully due to the natural acid it contains. Not only does vinegar act as a disinfecting agent and grim and grease cutter, but it rids odors. The distilled water is simply used to make the vinegar not smell as strong and it helps cleanse the floor well from pet paw prints and any other kind of dirty footprint or food spills left behind on the floor. Hydrogen peroxide is used in the floor wash because it also is a disinfectant, but also uses oxygen to blast away heavy debris from the floor naturally. The essential oils are added do to their ability to kill the common cold and flu viruses and to help add a pleasant scent to the floor cleaner. 

Making the Disinfecting Floor Wash  

The easiest way I find to make the disinfecting floor wash is by pouring them directly into my mop bucket with an additional amount of water until my mop bucket is full. Then, I dip my mop into the bucket full of the floor wash, squeeze the access water out and begin mopping my floors until they are clean. The floor wash has a lovely tea tree oil mint scent that is refreshing and clean and it does tend to linger on after washing the floors, which I like. Using this homemade floor wash does keep me from having to scrub the floors down with all my might. All that is needed is a gently wipe with the mop and the yucky stuff on the floor comes right up wile germs and odors are washed away. However, I would not use this floor wash on finished hardwood floors because it might cause discoloration. Although it is perfectly safe to use the wash on tiled, stoned and marbled floors if you wish. 

Bottom Line for Disinfecting Floor Wash

The next time you need to wash your dirty surfaced floors make, the homemade disinfecting floor wash instead of using a chemical filled one. It is safer for your environment, your health, your pet’s health, the family’s health and the earth. 

Creating Your Own All-Purpose Wipes

Cleaning is not something I enjoy doing with chemical-filled cleaning products. I like cleaning my home with my own homemade natural tea tree oil mint cleansing wipes instead. They contain antibacterial and antiviral properties to kill those nasty germs on hard surfaces but without toxic chemicals that pollute my home and harm my family's health. In addition, they pick up sticky messes fast and are excellent for cleansing the hands with when water and soap are not an option. In fact, I have made up a few jars of these cleaning wipes to have on hand and one is in our vehicle to travel with us for easy clean up in messy situations. 

Necessary Ingredients Needed to Make the Wipes 

The necessary ingredients needed to make the wipes are tea tree oil, peppermint oil, rubbing alcohol and simply water. However, if you are allergic to tea tree or peppermint oil, you may substitute them for other essential oils such as rosemary, lavender, or citrus. I choose to use tea tree oil and peppermint oil because they contain potent antibacterial and antiviral properties that kill germs on contact. The rubbing alcohol is used in the wipes simply because it is a disinfectant, which is what is needed in a home where tons of messy of all kinds are made. 

Materials Needed 

The materials you will need to make the wipes are a large mixing bowl, spoon, a roll of strong eco friendly paper towel and a large wide mouth mason jar with a lid. If you do not have these materials on hand, you should be able to find them at any kitchen shop or grocery store near you at an affordable price. 

Creating the Tea Tree Oil Mint Cleansing Wipes 

When I create the tea tree oil mint-cleansing wipes, the first thing I do is fill up my large mixing bowl with about six to eight cups of cool water. Then, I add ten drops each of tea tree oil and peppermint oil into it along with a forth cup of rubbing alcohol. After, I take my mixing spoon and combine the ingredients together well. Then, I tear several pieces of paper towel off a roll and dip each piece into the liquid one at a time squeezing each one out after dunking it in the liquid so they are simply damp. Then I place each dampened paper towel into my wide mouth mason jar one at a time so they are gently stacked on top of each other until the jar is full. After, I place the lid on my jar and than I have my homemade tea tree oil mint cleansing wipes that are refreshingly minty in scent and ready to be used for cleaning up messes in a pinch. 

Surfaces that Can Be Cleaned with the Wipes 

The surfaces I clean with the homemade wipes are typically glass, plastic, tile, vinyl and metal. I do not use the wipes on wood surfaces because the side effects are unknown at this time. I use the wipes on a regular basis to wipe down my bathtub, toilets, bathroom and kitchen sinks, counter tops, refrigerator, stove, oven, doors, windows, tables, chairs, and car dashboard. Once in awhile I will use them to wipe down the garbage cans in the house when I do not have time to hose them out with soap and water outside in the yard. I also like to wipe down the tops of my washer machine and dryer with the wipes to remove dust. The wipes even work great for cleaning up accidental pet accidents on the floor such as urine. 

On the go, when we don't have access to running water and soap to wash our hands we do use the wipes to cleanse our hands because they kill germs like I have mentioned. They do help get rid of sticky messes well and we use them all the time to wash down the children's faces after a messy ice cream treat or snack. 

My friend has also used the wipes to wipe down her shoe after stepping in dog poop and she was surprised at how well the wipes deodorized and cleansed her shoe. Therefore, for those of you wondering if these wipes kill odors the answer is, "yes they do." I know every time I use the wipes the scent of tea tree oil and mint linger in my house for hours afterwards. My house always smells fresh and clean and I love it because I have four pets that are messy and cause odors all the time. 

Another surprising way I use the wipes is to cleanse my face from all my makeup at nighttime. The tea tree oil and peppermint oil help not only remove my makeup, but cleanse my pores from harmful bacteria that cause blackheads and blemishes. The wipes also treat acne and help exfoliate the skin. My skin is always left with this cool clean tingly feeling after using the wipes to cleanse my face. However, the wipes can cause a bit of dryness to the skin so make sure you use a good facial lotion or cream afterward to help hydrate and nourish the skin. 

Bottom Line for the Wipes 

As you have learned, making the tea tree oil mint cleansing wipes is easy to do and using them to clean up all kinds of messes is simple and quick to do. Best of all they are eco friendly, for all-purpose use and not just for cleaning the hard surfaces in your home.