Cleaning Tile Floors – how to do it safer and make your house smell great

If you’ve ever walked into my house within a few hours of me mopping you will be hit with a wall of peppermint and lavender. If someone drops over I always hear, “your house smells amazing, what do I smell?”

Well, I got rid of most “smell” good things over the course of my healing journey because most included icky chemicals or “fragrance” which is just code for lots of things companies aren’t going to list, but I learned that essential oils are wonderful for many things – especially cleaning and leaving a wonderful smell throughout the house.

I am slightly obsessive about my tile floors being clean. I am the mom who likes no shoes in the house, but dirt somehow still manages to travel in. Combine the occasional dirt tracked in with cat fur and the insane amount of food crumbs that fall below wherever my son is eating. Side bar, can anyone explain to me how kids make the amount of crumbs they do when they eat? Are they actually eating anything or just pulverizing it into tiny pieces? Sorry, yes, the crumbs drive me most nuts…I hate the feel of anything under my feet when I walk around my house – yes it is an issue 🙂

Back to the cleaning…

Over the course of a few years I have researched and tried so many safer cleaners that I finally through trial and error ended up with a great recipe that I whip up each time the floors need done.

It is safe for you and your kids, leaves a nice lasting clean smell, and the oils I choose were quite specific to our Florida landscape to keep ants and silverfish, which love invading kitchens in Florida, at bay. Did you know ants hate the smell of peppermint, and silverfish won’t go near lavender?

Into a 2.5 gallon bucket I add:

• Hot water – about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bucket
• White Vinegar – 1/2 cup or so
• Rubbing Alcohol – 2 or 3 TBSP
• Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (peppermint) – 10 drops
• Essential Oils – 20 drops peppermint oil, 10 drops lavender oil

This floor mix works great for my tile, and we haven’t used indoor pest control in over 3 years and do not have any bug problems.

You could definitely change up the essential oils to your liking or based on bugs in your neck of the woods. When we have colds running through the house I tend to use oregano oil in the mix since it is a great anti-viral and anti-bacterial.

There are many other ways I use essential oils for cleaning in my home, and can’t wait to share more tips and tricks for living healthier.