How to clean my floors? so clueless...

amother

Khaki

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 2:54 pm

Hi, can someone guide me on how to clean my floors?
Need to go amother bec so embarrassed that I don't know.

I will give the breakdown:
I live in an apartment and almost the entire place besides kitchen is wood. I think it's called hardwood? It's like really nice and shiny. IT's also in the bedrooms. There is no carpeting.
There is an area rug in the living room though.
The kitchen is marble/stone (I don't really know exactly what it's called but looks like a spotted marbly tiled floor).

So what do I use for the wood? and what for the kitchen?
I know there are a lot of wood cleaners- which is the best? and please can you also tell me how to do it? embarrassed

Like do I use a mop? what kind? how do I use it? omg so embarrased. Please don't bash that I don't know how to clean.

is a swiffer good enough for the kitchen? it's a small area. can I use the same mop for that and the wood?
how often to do it?

anything you can think of can you tell me?
thanks!!

Stars

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 3:38 pm

First I vacuum or sweep the entire area I want to clean, especially the rug area.

for soap, I like Pine sol or Murphy for wood, and nice smelling mr clean for tiled areas. pour a lttle bit into a pail of warm water.

I do a swiffer (more like I take a broom and twist a large rag around the bottom) twice a week (approx) and then get on my hands n knees with a rag about twice a month or when I'm in the mood. You can use the same mop but dip and wring the cloth in the soap water a few times while you clean.

Sometimes I vacuum without doing a full wash up.

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 3:50 pm

For a very small kitchen, don't even bother with a mop. Vacuum, then wipe with window cleaner and a rag. For a bigger kitchen, I prefer a steam cleaner ("Shark") for really clean floors without chemical fumes.

For bare wood floors, vacuum using a floor attachment or setting (no rotating beater brushes).

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 4:52 pm

Stars wrote:

I have a pretty small kitchen but the floors attract dirt like a magnet. I cant imagine using only window cleaner , they would be filthy after a week.

It's ammonia, pretty strong stuff. Or one could use Mr. Clean, although I don't see how that would keep floors cleaner longer. My point is that a mop is not necessary.

amother

Oak

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 4:57 pm

cm wrote:

I want to get myself a "pesach gift". Not taking any cleaning help and would like to get something to make cleaning a little easier. Can u elaborate on the shark pease. Sorry op hope I'm not hijacking...

amother

Purple

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 5:54 pm

I sometimes use warm water and vinegar for both the tile and the wood. So if you don't have any cleaner you can start with that. I used to use a cheap mop that had a rectangular sponge on the end, but now I use a "string" type mop, I think I have the following.

"O-Cedar EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop and Bucket Floor Cleaning System" which I like a lot.

The basics of mopping (not including sponja)
After you have swept or vacuumed a floor, you put the mop in a clean bucket with warm water mixed with a little bit of your selected cleaner and with most mops you wring out the excess clean water mixture back into the bucket. Then you push the mop back and forth on the floor on a portion of the floor. Then you need to wring out the dirty water into something else (I.e. different bucket, sink, toilet...), and only after it is wrung out, do you repeat and put in the clean water again so that you do another part of the floor. Remember to leave yourself an escape route - basically start on the inner most part of your room, so you are working your way out of the room. So you don't get stuck in a corner and not wanting to walk back over your clean wet floor. If there is a stuck on spot (I.e. spot of ketchup...), some mops have a little brush type thing that you can use to try to scrape off the dirt.

In a pinch a wipe on the end of a swiffer does work for quick easy jobs.

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 7:13 pm

amother wrote:

The Shark steam mop is an electric floor cleaner about the size and shape of a "stick vacuum." You cover the foot of the mop with a terry pad, fill the reservoir with water, plug in the mop, and go. (Vacuum first). Steam comes out through the terry pad on the bottom of the mop. There are several setting for light through heavy steam. The foot flips over so you have a double-sided cleaning surface. When you're done mopping, toss the terry cover in the laundry and pour out any leftover water from the reservoir.

Here is a mid-range model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.ht.....TCLEA

I also have a hand-held Shark with various attachments which I find invaluable for spring cleaning.

I hope this helps!

amother

Oak

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 9:13 pm

cm wrote:

Thank you! In what way is it different than a Swiffer wet jet? Is it because this is steam?
And what do you use the handheld shark for?

Wed, Mar 22 2017, 9:30 pm

amother wrote:

Thank you! In what way is it different than a Swiffer wet jet? Is it because this is steam?
And what do you use the handheld shark for?

I'm not familiar with current Swiffer products, but compared to an older Swiffer wet jet-type (I think it was from Clorox) the shark is much larger. It took me forever to clean my kitchen with the wetjet, and it took multiple disposable pads compared to one washable Shark pad. The Shark uses only water and produces steam; there are no cleansers.

The handheld is useful for the stove top and just about every surface in the kitchen. It blows the steam with some force, which washes grime out of all sorts of hard-to-clean crevices. With the squeegee attachment, it is great for the shower.