Wood floors lose their shine fast when cleaner leaves a film behind or the finish starts looking thirsty around every doorway. This old-fashioned mix tackles routine cleaning while adding a bit of oil back into the job, so your floor doesn’t look dull five minutes after you mop (because that gets old in a hurry).
Making your own costs less than buying a specialty hardwood cleaner. Using current Walmart pricing, the concentrate in this batch comes out to about $1.70 per cup of cleaner used, which is in line with or lower than many ready-made wood-floor formulas, and you control the exact ratio instead of settling for whatever scent, strength, or extra additives came in the bottle.
You only need 4 materials for this batch: ammonia, turpentine, mineral oil, and vegetable oil. The cleaner is mixed in a Mason jar as a concentrate, and you’ll also need measuring spoons, a liquid measuring cup, and a mop bucket when it’s time to use 1 cup of the mixture with warm water.
- 🧰 Materials You'll Need
- 🔧 Tools/Equipment
- 🛠️ How to Make and Use Wooden Floor Cleaner II
- 🎨 Customization Ideas
- 🛠️ How to Use It
- 🛡️ Safety Information
- 📦 Storage
- 💸 Cost Breakdown
- 🛍️ Need Help Finding Everything?
- ❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Wooden Floor Cleaner II
- 📌 Love this Wooden Floor Cleaner II? Pin it!
- 🖨️ Print-Friendly How-To: Wooden Floor Cleaner II
Materials You’ll Need
- 2 tablespoons ammonia
- 5 tablespoons turpentine
- 1 pint mineral oil
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- Warm water, for use in the mop bucket
Tools/Equipment
- Mason jar
- Measuring spoons
- Liquid measuring cup
- Mop bucket
- Mop
How to Make and Use Wooden Floor Cleaner II
- Measure the ammonia, turpentine, mineral oil, and vegetable oil into a Mason jar.
- Close the jar and combine the ingredients thoroughly.
- Fill a mop bucket with warm water.
- Add 1 cup of the cleaner concentrate to 1 mop bucket of warm water.
- Mop the wooden floor with the diluted cleaner.
- Dry the floor after mopping.
If you like older-style wood-care formulas, you might also want to see Wooden Floor Cleaner I or Wooden Floor Polish for a similar Budget101 approach.
Customization Ideas
This formula is already specific and measured, so don’t change the ingredient ratios if you want the same result. If you need a different wood-floor approach for another finish or cleaning job, keep this batch as written and use a separate formula instead of improvising in the jar.
- For another homemade option, compare it with Floor Mop Oil.
- If you’re cleaning parquet specifically, a dedicated Parquet Floor Cleaner may fit better.
How to Use It
Use this as a diluted mop-bucket cleaner, not straight from the jar. One cup of concentrate per bucket gives you the working solution, and drying the floor afterward helps prevent leftover moisture from sitting on the wood.
Safety Information
Keep this cleaner clearly labeled and out of reach of children and pets. Use it with good ventilation, and never mix ammonia with bleach or other household cleaners. For storage and disposal, the U.S. EPA advises keeping household hazardous products in their original containers when possible, never using food containers, and checking local hazardous-waste guidance for disposal options. You can review that guidance here: Household Hazardous Waste guidance from the U.S. EPA.
Storage
Store the mixed concentrate tightly sealed in the Mason jar and keep the label on it. Set it in a cool spot away from heat, flames, and direct light, and keep it away from food-prep areas and anything that could be mistaken for a drink.
Cost Breakdown
Using current retail pricing for common-size containers, this batch is estimated at about $4.35 total for the consumable materials used, or roughly $1.70 per cup of concentrate. Actual cost will vary by brand, bottle size, and what you already have on hand.
- Ammonia, 2 tablespoons: about $0.03
- Turpentine, 5 tablespoons: about $0.94
- Mineral oil, 1 pint: about $2.58
- Vegetable oil, 1/2 cup: about $0.80
🛍️ Need Help Finding Everything?
- Clear ammonia at Walmart
- Gum spirits turpentine on Amazon
- Mineral oil at Walmart
- Vegetable oil at Walmart
- Mason jars at Walmart
Frequently Asked Questions about Wooden Floor Cleaner II
No. This one is meant to be diluted. Use 1 cup of the concentrate per mop bucket of warm water, then dry the floor after mopping.
The mixed concentrate makes a little over 2 cups total. Since the directions use 1 cup per mop bucket, you’ll get about 2 buckets of cleaning solution from one batch.
Yes. The original directions say to dry the floor, and that’s worth following. It helps remove leftover moisture instead of letting it sit on the wood.
Don’t do that. Keep it in a clearly labeled cleaning container so nobody mistakes it for something edible. A Mason jar works for mixing and storage, as long as you label it well and keep it out of reach.
This formula is best left as written. Extra ingredients change the ratio, and this isn’t the place for kitchen-sink creativity.
Wood floors don’t all have the same finish, so test it in a hidden spot first. If your floor manufacturer gives specific cleaning instructions, follow those before trying any homemade formula.
The directions call for warm water, so that’s the best choice if you want to follow the formula as written.
It’s a mop-bucket floor cleaner concentrate. It contains oils, but the actual use directions are for cleaning the floor with a diluted solution, not applying it like a straight polish.
Use the exact 1-cup-per-bucket ratio and only mix a bucket when you’re ready to clean. That way you won’t waste diluted cleaner you can’t store neatly afterward.
📌 Love this Wooden Floor Cleaner II? Pin it!
Keep this formula handy for the next time your wood floors need a simple mop-bucket cleaner without the store-bought markup.
Did you try this project? Tell us how it worked for your floors or what other wood-floor cleaning tricks you’ve found useful.
🖨️ Print-Friendly How-To: Wooden Floor Cleaner II
Wooden Floor Cleaner II
Equipment
Materials
- 2 tablespoons ammonia
- 5 tablespoons turpentine
- 1 pint mineral oil
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- Warm water for use in the mop bucket
Instructions
- Measure the ammonia, turpentine, mineral oil, and vegetable oil into a Mason jar.
- Close the jar and combine the ingredients thoroughly.
- Fill a mop bucket with warm water.
- Add 1 cup of the cleaner concentrate to 1 mop bucket of warm water.
- Mop the wooden floor with the diluted cleaner.
- Dry the floor after mopping.
- Estimated cost is based on consumable materials only and will vary by brand and package size.
- Label the jar clearly and keep it out of reach of children and pets.
- Never mix ammonia with bleach or other household cleaners.
- Use with good ventilation.
- Store tightly sealed and away from heat or flames.
