Vinegar: Mix three tablespoons of white distilled vinegar with one cup of water. Dampen a soft cloth with the mixture and dab on a test spot. If it has no negative effect, continue cleaning. Buff with a dry cloth afterward.
In a large bucket or sink, combine 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of distilled white vinegar or 1/2 cup of cleaning vinegar. If you decide to use a commercial hardwood floor cleaner, follow the product instructions carefully. Only use the amount as directed to avoid waxy buildup, which can make wood floors look dull.
Diluted vinegar can dissolve the finish that protects the wood and leave it looking cloudy, dull, or scratched. (The same goes for wood furniture.) Follow the manufacturer's cleaning recommendations or pick a cleaner that's made specifically for hardwood flooring.
For use around the home, combine vinegar with water in a 1:1 solution to clean and freshen many surfaces. Use this solution on glass, windows, walls, cupboards, floors, sinks, stovetops and coffee makers.
Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.
Because vinegar is acidic, it can corrode wood and stone, it can destroy wax, kill plants, and cause other damage.
Say no to H2O.
When it comes to cleaning, skipping chemicals and going straight to plain water may seem like a safe bet, but environmental toxin expert Tonya Harris says you should never use water on wood.
Ask any green-living expert or organic devotee and they'll tell you that the best natural cleaning products are regular white vinegar or baking soda with a little lemon or orange thrown in. “Truly the best way to clean wood floors is with simple white vinegar,” DiPrima says.
Solution 1: Clean dirty wooden furniture with just water, vinegar and olive oil. This cleaning solution is great to freshen up and gently clean varnished wooden furniture. Olive oil adds moisture and shine to wood, while vinegar cuts through sticky grease and acts as a mild disinfectant.
Keeping your varnished wood clean
To stop a build-up of dust and dirt gathering on top of the varnish, you should wipe your wood regularly with a dry, lint-free cloth. If you do find a particularly stubborn or sticky substance on your varnish, you can wipe this with a damp cloth.
If you see the wood getting lighter than you want it to be, stop the action at that point by wiping with vinegar. When finished with either one of these bleaches, it is best to neutralize the chemical action by washing the wood down with white vinegar.
Over time, your wooden furniture may start to lose the bright shine it had the first day you brought it home. Before you decide to get rid of the piece, know that your wooden furniture can easily be restored with a simple mixture of oil and vinegar.
Even though vinegar is a natural, safe cleaner and disinfectant, the acidic formula is also tough on stains and safe for wood. Soak some paper towels in white vinegar and layer them over the stain. Let the soaked towels sit for about 30 minutes to penetrate the stain.
1. Murphy Original Formula Oil Soap. This classic wood cleaner takes care of your wooden furniture, floors, cabinets, tile, and linoleum. In fact, we've also included it on our list of best wood floor cleaners.
Just like hardwood floors, vinegar can eat away at the wax finish on wood furniture, leaving it looking dull and cloudy. But, you'll frequently read that vinegar is ideal for cleaning all types of wood. If you would like to use vinegar on finished or waxed wood furniture, use it extremely infrequently and at your risk.
The only difference between cleaning vinegar and the distilled white vinegar is their levels of acidity. White vinegar is usually 95 percent water and 5 percent acid. By contrast, cleaning vinegar contains up to six percent acid and is around 20 percent stronger than regular white vinegar.
homemade oil & vinegar furniture cleaner recipe
(Example: if you use 3/4 cup of oil, add 1/4 cup vinegar.) 2.) Mix it in a jar, dip a clean cloth into the mixture, then rub it into the wood. You don't need to wipe it off; the wood just soaks it in.
White and distilled are types of vinegar. They differ fundamentally in their acetic acid content. White, also known as spirit vinegar, has 5% to 20% acetic acid. This is generally higher as compared to distilled vinegar's 5%-8%.
To create an all-purpose cleaner for windows, counters, and kitchen fixtures: Combine 1/4 cup cleaning vinegar and 2 1/2 cups water in a spray bottle. Add 1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid. Shake well to mix and label the bottle. To use, lightly spray the soiled surfaces and wipe away grime with a lint-free cloth.
Hydrogen peroxide
If you are looking for an eco-friendly product to disinfect almost every surface in your home, your best option is hydrogen peroxide. Maybe vinegar is acidic enough to act as a sanitizer, but hydrogen peroxide is better at killing bacteria, fungus, and viruses.
Isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, is even better than vinegar for most things! While vinegar is a great acid that can clean build up like coffee makers, steam clean the microwave, or loosen up carpet stains, it is not a registered disinfectant.