Until my grandma introduced me to polishing wood, I didn’t even know it was something people did. I couldn’t believe the difference it made when she started polishing some of my wood in my old house just for fun. She was so generous in helping me with numerous projects and taught me a lot about cleaning. I never felt like my house was clean enough when she would stop by, but she would always humbly say, “My house was far from perfect when I had kids.” I’m not sure I believe it, but it was very kind of her to say.
I used to do a lot of dusting and polishing at our old place, but since we have moved, and our house is better sealed, I don’t have to do near as much. As I shared here, I threw out my toxic dusting spray and polish, and quit using my “natural” dusting spray a few years ago. Then I started experimenting with homemade recipes. I have tried a lot of different combinations, but this is my favorite recipe for polishing wood. I do this a few times a year and then use a homemade dusting spray in between that. Lord willing, I will share this before our Get the Toxins Out . . . is up. This polish is so simple to make with just 3 ingredients, and I never feel bad after I use it. The ingredients include juice from one lime (or lemon), olive oil, and vinegar. Sometimes I will add a few drops of essential oil to the mix too. I recently learned that you can add orange, lemon, or lime peels to vinegar and let it sit for two weeks to take away the “vinegar” smell. I use distilled vinegar a lot, and I look forward to trying this in the future and will share my results.
Today I was doing some polishing and took a picture of Lillian’s high chair before I was completely finished. You can see that most of the left side of the tray has been done. You can kind of see the line. I have done a lot of research in caring for wood naturally, but I’m far from an expert in this area. While I have used this on unfinished wood and finished wood I highly recommend doing your own research and always doing a small unnoticeable area to be sure the results are what you want. I love to use this on my finished, real wood floors, but it does make them a little slippery. This would be a safety issue on floors.
Homemade Toxic Free Wood Polish
Materials
- 1/8 cup Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Distilled Vinegar
Instructions
- Juice one lime (about 1/8 cup) into a glass container. Add the olive oil and vinegar to the juice and give it a stir. I then use a rag to dip into the oil and rub that on the wooden surface. Then I take another rag to wipe off any excess oil. It's important to use this up the same day you make it.