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How to mop floors so they actually get clean?
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 10:54 am
I feel like after I wash my floors they are still dirty. I have an infant who crawls around and her knees or pants are always black. Also, the bottoms of my other kids socks are always black. My baby crawls around all day at her babysitter and comes home clean but when she crawls around at home her legs are always dirty. Right now I wash the floors using a spray mop with removeable pads (mixed soap and water gets sprayed on the floor and then wipe over it with the mop. The mop has removable washable pads which I change a few times while mopping.) So what's the secret to getting my floors to actually be clean? At this time I feel like they need a power washing to really get clean. I'm willing to take the time once to get down on my hands and knees and really scrub but after that how do I keep it up (I don't have time to do that every week)? All you savvy homemakers I need your help!
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 11:02 am
Frankly the only way to keep a kitchen floor really clean is to get down on your hands and knees and scrub. I don't know if you have to do it every week but sadly, in my experience, the spray type of mops - or even just an ordinary mop with a bucket of cleanser doesn't really take off all of the grime and little food bits that get ground into a kitchen floor.

Of course if one is meticulous about sweeping and mopping every day, the floor stays cleaner. In the "olden days" women would mop their floors every night as part of the kitchen cleaning routine and then do a hands and knees type of scrubbing cleaning less frequently.

I have heard that people like the steam cleaners a lot as they do a good job of degreasing and getting floors clean without scrubbing. However, a Swiffer type of spray system doesn't - SADLY - replace scrubbing floors.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:17 pm
If you have a safe enough floor surface for this, steam mops work wonders.
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bluebird




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:23 pm
Have two buckets: one that you squeeze your mop into, and one that you have your cleaning water/solution in. If you use only one bucket you're just spreading the dirt around.

I agree about getting on the floor and scrubbing, but I don't do it often.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:29 pm
I totally agree with Amarante. Since it's only me I can swifter once or twice a week and sweep at least daily depending on what I'm doing. Once a month I get down on my knees and do it by hand with a brush and then rinse with a sponge mop. I think the rinsing is very important since detergent residue is a bit sticky.
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:44 pm
my floor is scrubbed once a week but if I don't do daily washing at least with the swiffer my baby's knees get dirty. So once a week is like a joke in this house we have a lot of dust.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:53 pm
amother wrote:
my floor is scrubbed once a week but if I don't do daily washing at least with the swiffer my baby's knees get dirty. So once a week is like a joke in this house we have a lot of dust.


Why amother LOL LOL ? Normal schmootz is not such a terrible secret. Very Happy
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amother
Smokey


 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 12:59 pm
Amarante wrote:
schmootz


What?
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:00 pm
amother wrote:
What?


Shmutz? Schmutz? Yiddish for dirt. Very Happy
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:02 pm
OP here. So basically I have to wash the floors everday for them to stay clean? Right now the floors get swept everyday but only get washed once a week. I know that they really need to be washed more often but I just don't have the time. As it is my DH is usually the one to mop the floors since for now I work longer hours than he does plus on Friday he's off and I work. I don't feel like I can ask him to start mopping twice a week and for now outside cleaning help is just not in the budget. I was hoping for some ideas on a better method to mop floors that really gets all the dirt off so they stay cleaner longer. Oh well I guess I'm dreaming that such a method exists.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:03 pm
Attach dusting cloths to your baby's knees. Kill 2 birds with one stone Wink
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:10 pm
Amarante wrote:
Frankly the only way to keep a kitchen floor really clean is to get down on your hands and knees and scrub. I don't know if you have to do it every week but sadly, in my experience, the spray type of mops - or even just an ordinary mop with a bucket of cleanser doesn't really take off all of the grime and little food bits that get ground into a kitchen floor.

Of course if one is meticulous about sweeping and mopping every day, the floor stays cleaner. In the "olden days" women would mop their floors every night as part of the kitchen cleaning routine and then do a hands and knees type of scrubbing cleaning less frequently.

I have heard that people like the steam cleaners a lot as they do a good job of degreasing and getting floors clean without scrubbing. However, a Swiffer type of spray system doesn't - SADLY - replace scrubbing floors.


Surprisingly the kitchen floor is usually the cleanest. I guess because as things spill I spray the floor and wipe it up so it gets cleaned more often than the dining room or living room floor.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:10 pm
What kind of surface do you have on the other floors?
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:12 pm
Hashem_Yaazor wrote:
If you have a safe enough floor surface for this, steam mops work wonders.


We have wooden floors. Is it safe to use a steam mop on wood? Also why is a steam mop better than a regular mop? My in-laws used to have one and I never felt like it actually cleaned the floor since they didn't use soap with it. If no soap is used how does it clean?
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:13 pm
Hashem_Yaazor wrote:
Attach dusting cloths to your baby's knees. Kill 2 birds with one stone Wink


Haha! I joke about that with DH all the time.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:17 pm
lfab wrote:
We have wooden floors. Is it safe to use a steam mop on wood? Also why is a steam mop better than a regular mop? My in-laws used to have one and I never felt like it actually cleaned the floor since they didn't use soap with it. If no soap is used how does it clean?


Unfortunately you can't use steam with wood floors just as you can't use water with wood floors. You need to use special wood cleaners or else the wood becomes ruined.

Steam is great for tile, linoleum or other hard surfaces. The heat has the same effect on grease and dirt in terms of hot water breaking it down that the chemicals in dirt detergent have. Detergent or soap or cleanser just causes a chemical reaction with grease and dirt that breaks it down just as soap and shampoo do. Steam also sterilizes the surface although that's a bit of overkill for most people since any normal bacteria in the air is going to be there immediately anyway.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:18 pm
lfab wrote:
OP here. So basically I have to wash the floors everday for them to stay clean? Right now the floors get swept everyday but only get washed once a week. I know that they really need to be washed more often but I just don't have the time. As it is my DH is usually the one to mop the floors since for now I work longer hours than he does plus on Friday he's off and I work. I don't feel like I can ask him to start mopping twice a week and for now outside cleaning help is just not in the budget. I was hoping for some ideas on a better method to mop floors that really gets all the dirt off so they stay cleaner longer. Oh well I guess I'm dreaming that such a method exists.


You could compromise and just do a Swiffer frequently over the parts of the floors that are well traveled. That shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most since you wouldn't be moving furniture or trying to get into difficult areas.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:19 pm
lfab wrote:
We have wooden floors. Is it safe to use a steam mop on wood? Also why is a steam mop better than a regular mop? My in-laws used to have one and I never felt like it actually cleaned the floor since they didn't use soap with it. If no soap is used how does it clean?

Nope, not safe Sad

Instead of spreading dirt around, it actually lifts up the dirt. It really works. I had a steam mop in my old apartment and compared it to other methods of cleaning, and besides hands and knees scrubbing, it did the best job. I could wipe up a spill after steam mopping and see absolutely no dirt on the floor besides the spill, which I didn't see with other methods.

Sponja is also good, but it's hard on American floors, and a no-no for wood too.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:20 pm
The only way to really accomplish what you want is to get down on your hands and knees with a pail of cleaning solution and scrub with rags, going over everything again with clean water/cleaning solution until the water/solution runs clear. (Could take two or three washes.) I don't know of it's worthwhile to you, but if it is, doing this twice a week, with your regular upkeep of washing spills in between, should keep things really clean. Even once a week would help you maintain your floors better.
I usually don't have time for this and would rather wash things down rather quickly every other day with a scotch brite mop, but every so often when it's important enough to me and I have the energy I get down on the floor. Lately I feel like I need to get myself back to doing the deep scrub once a week. Maybe it's the change of season. Trying to find the energy Smile


Last edited by ra_mom on Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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lfab




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:23 pm
Amarante wrote:
Unfortunately you can't use steam with wood floors just as you can't use water with wood floors. You need to use special wood cleaners or else the wood becomes ruined.

Steam is great for tile, linoleum or other hard surfaces. The heat has the same effect on grease and dirt in terms of hot water breaking it down that the chemicals in dirt detergent have. Detergent or soap or cleanser just causes a chemical reaction with grease and dirt that breaks it down just as soap and shampoo do. Steam also sterilizes the surface although that's a bit of overkill for most people since any normal bacteria in the air is going to be there immediately anyway.


Oops embarrassed We've been using soap mixed with water to wash our wood floors for years. It doesn't seemed to have ruined it but then again I'm not an expert. How does it ruin it? (now I'm feeling ignorant for not knowing this! Oh well live and learn)
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