I read a Bettina Blog quite some time ago which talked about caring for wood floors without using the petroleum derivative products and others, which are harmful to humans. I don’t remember its title, but it made a lot of sense to me and I used its suggestions and have added a few of my own.
The one I found sensational is caring for wood floors with coconut oil – organic, expeller pressed, coconut oil and nothing else – except a soft rag and 0000 steel wood if the floor is really dirty with stuff crusted into the wood.
The first time I cleaned my floor with coconut oil I had to use the 0000 steel wool and it took a long time because I could only do a section at a time. My energy didn’t last for the entire floor, but that worked in my favor because I could move furniture over in a small section of the room – go over the floor, pouring a bit of coconut oil onto the floor and wiping back and forth with the 0000 steel wool. I then went over it again with a soft rag pouring the coconut oil sparingly onto the rag to wipe up the remains of the steel wool, dirt and whatever else this process got off the floor.
I let the floor dry for a day or two and then wiped it with a soft dry rag. There was a soft film over the floor and the dry, soft rag wiped it off quickly leaving the floor unbelievably beautiful. It looked like the real mahogany wood I loved so much when it was first installed. It did not have that look of a plastic covering, only being able to see the real wood through that thick coating – it had the look of well taken care of mahogany wood.
That was a couple years ago. I first tried olive oil on the floors, but after a couple cleanings, that left a sticky surface. And I tried a few other oils, but the one I am sticking with is coconut oil. I put the glass jar of coconut oil on top of the stove before cleaning so it will be liquid. I now clean my floors once a year with the coconut oil and after only about three years, the floors are now easy to clean – I rarely need the 0000 steel wool anymore and each time I clean the floors with the coconut oil, the floors look better than they did the time before.
What a fantastic and simple way to keep your house clean.
A bonus comes from the really nice odor the coconut oil leaves. No one can put their hands on exactly what is the smell, but people now notice and comment when they come in the house.
I now put a bit of essential oil of lavender in the coconut oil before using it and that has enhanced the really great feeling of the house – and its odor.
A friend of mine has taken up the habit after she saw my floors. She puts essential oil of roses – which she calls rose otto – in her coconut oil and her house smells great. That is her preference – wouldn’t be mine, but I still enjoy the odor when I go to visit.
Thanks for that!
Keep those suggestions for this organic kind of house keeping coming. I feel as though I have added a few years onto my life and the lives of my family. No off-gases from those other kind of cleaning ingredients, which I think are dangerous to your health.
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