# Cleaning floors



## Camper6 (Jul 26, 2019)

I'm using a mop and as I am cleaning the kitchen floor I am wondering.  Am I really cleaning or just making it evenly dirty?


----------



## StarSong (Jul 26, 2019)

Depends whether you're frequently rinsing the mop in clean water.  Once the rinse water is clean you can be sure you've removed the grime rather than just spreading it around.


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 26, 2019)

StarSong said:


> Depends whether you're frequently rinsing the mop in clean water.  Once the rinse water is clean you can be sure you've removed the grime rather than just spreading it around.


So really I need two buckets and two mops going.  One to wash and one to rinse.  That makes sense.


----------



## Ken N Tx (Jul 26, 2019)

A Police officer called over to the Station on his radio.

“I have an interesting case here. An old lady shot her husband for stepping on the floor she just mopped.”

“Have you arrested the woman?”

“Not yet. The floor’s still wet.”


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 26, 2019)

Ken N Tx said:


> A Police officer called over to the Station on his radio.
> 
> “I have an interesting case here. An old lady shot her husband for stepping on the floor she just mopped.”
> 
> ...


It took me a while to catch it.  But it's a keeper.


----------



## MeAgain (Jul 26, 2019)

Camper6 said:


> I'm using a mop and as I am cleaning the kitchen floor I am wondering.  Am I really cleaning or just making it evenly dirty?



Believe me your really cleaning.
I just mopped my floors yesterday. I have no bacteria  breeding carpets or rugs to trip on so I do lots of vacuuming wood floors and mopping.


----------



## MeAgain (Jul 26, 2019)

Camper6 said:


> So really I need two buckets and two mops going.  One to wash and one to rinse.  That makes sense.



I use Murphy Oil Soap and one bucket. I just keep dipping the mop back into the bucket and wringing out the mop. 
   I use a big janitors mop and bucket with wringer on it. Worth every penny for a good commercial one.


----------



## johndoe (Jul 26, 2019)

I assume you are vacuming first. That should pick up the loose stuff. The mop would get the rest.


----------



## win231 (Jul 26, 2019)

If you're not using one of those "Hurricaine Spin Mops," you're just spreading the dirt around.

I got one of those & I LOVE it.  When I empty the bucket, I can't believe how dirty the water is!!


----------



## hypochondriac (Jul 26, 2019)

You can smell the effort. The worst thing is neglect.
And re cleaning floors especially the kitchen.....i always use very hot water..to kill germs.


----------



## SeaBreeze (Jul 26, 2019)

My kitchen is pretty small, and the vinyl flooring in there is pretty white.  With the dog and cat and us tracking in mud from the back yard or the park, it gets ground in dirt pretty quickly, that a mop won't remove.

I use a Mr. Clean magic eraser and do sections of the floor on my hands and knees, easy to get the edges that way, then I use a cleaner like Lysol Clean & Fresh Tangerine and mix it in hot water in my kitchen sink.  I then dip my crew mop in there and go over the already semi-cleaned section.

I have a double sink, so each time I rinse the Magic Eraser under the tap in the empty sink, before starting another section.  At the very end, I drain the sink and rinse the crew mop under the tap with clear water, and go over the floor one last time to remove any dirt or excess soap.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Jul 27, 2019)

I use a Swiffer on my tiny kitchen floor but every so often I have to give it a good old fashioned scrub to remove the residue left behind by the Swiffer pads.


----------



## hypochondriac (Jul 27, 2019)

One elderly lady got me using her steam mop on her kitchen floor. This comes from the "no chemical school of cleaning" which i dont necessarily agree with.


----------



## Keesha (Jul 27, 2019)

We have hardwood floors and one area rug. The area rug I clean with a professionally cleaner and the hardwood floors I use i swiffer with METHOD cleaner in it. It’s an all natural cleaner spray that works great while leaving the nicest grapefruit scent. The cucumber scent is also wonderful. 
The cleaning pad then gets chucked in the washer. 
It’s easy, breezy.


----------



## Ferocious (Jul 27, 2019)

*Hmmmmm........any volunteers to come and do mine......?   *


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 27, 2019)

Well I have a couple of knee pads and I'm going to scrub with a bristle brush or I will still feel it's not clean. The floor is white. I was thinking of using a lot of water and a wet vac. All methods described are good but eventually a film builds up and has to be removed. I cannot find ammonia in the stores anymore. Dangerous chemical?


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 27, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> I use a Swiffer on my tiny kitchen floor but every so often I have to give it a good old fashioned scrub to remove the residue left behind by the Swiffer pads.


That will be me today. Thanks.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 27, 2019)

I sweep first, then use water only (no soap) and alternate two mop pads.  One is soaking to get the dirt out while the other is on the mop.  Do a section of the floor, then swap out for a clean mop pad.  

I don't stress about the floors.  We're walking on them, not eating off them.  Since we don't bring animal products into our home (no meat, fish, or dairy), the bacteria risk is quite low anyway.  I get them clean enough.  

Housework can easily become of those energy sucking vortexes where perfection is the enemy of good.


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 27, 2019)

My kitchen floor is white.  When it gets that grundchy look I can't stand it.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 27, 2019)

Camper6 said:


> My kitchen floor is white.  When it gets that grundchy look I can't stand it.


Our floors are brown.  Light brown carpet in much of the house and wood floors in the kitchen.  We came as close to the shade "muddy paw print" as possible.


----------



## Camper6 (Jul 28, 2019)

I need some runners for the high traffic areas.


----------



## MeAgain (Jul 28, 2019)

johndoe said:


> I assume you are vacuming first. That should pick up the loose stuff. The mop would get the rest.



Always use vacuum first. Also inbetween mopping.


----------



## MeAgain (Jul 28, 2019)

I use to use Pinesol that was good for wood floors and killed germs but like everything else they changed it to Chemicalsol so now I take mt chances and let my immune system worry about it. Nobody is doing anything on our floors I'm worried about anyway. I'm careful who comes in. 
   Murphys Oil soap does it good.


----------



## Patio Life (Jul 28, 2019)

My tile floors get cloudy when I use a cleaner solution. The answer was glass cleaner. I use a steam mop and have a robot to vacuum. When my back, and then my knee, got really bad I had to learn new ways to clean.

When I used a regular mop I always made sure the water was clean. Spreading dirty water on the floor won't get it clean.


----------



## Ruthanne (Jul 31, 2019)

I sweep first and then use my spray mopper.  It's all I have and it works well...I think!   When the floor changes from a dirty color to a much lighter one it's clean IMO.  I use hot water, too.


----------



## Lc jones (Jul 31, 2019)

I love a bleach/water combination. It kills all the germs and makes my floor sparkle!


----------



## Aunt Bea (Jul 31, 2019)

Lc jones said:


> I love a bleach/water combination. It kills all the germs and makes my floor sparkle!


I had a friend that always used bleach at work because even if the place wasn't totally clean it smelled clean and that satisfied most people.


----------



## Seeker (Jul 31, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> I use a Swiffer on my tiny kitchen floor but every so often I have to give it a good old fashioned scrub to remove the residue left behind by the Swiffer pads.




This is how I cleaned my floors for years...I even have knee pads just for that...

Since we got the LVT..Whole nother story...Actually I'm starting to hate it.

It shows every single foot print..I think my OCD is getting out of control...


----------



## AnnieA (Jul 31, 2019)

I vacuum before mopping, then use a Rubbermaid Reveal spray mop with a solution of warm water, vinegar and lavender essential oil. Then throw the reusable pad in the wash, put a clean one on and go over once more. The lavender oil keeps the solution from smelling too vinegary and both are antibacterial.


----------



## fmdog44 (Jul 31, 2019)

The Ancient Law of Soapious & Waterious:
_"Everything is as dirty as the frequency of which they are washed."_


----------



## Lc jones (Jul 31, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> I had a friend that always used bleach at work because even if the place wasn't totally clean it smelled clean and that satisfied most people.


bleach is a great cleaner in moderation


----------



## Aunt Bea (Aug 1, 2019)

Seeker said:


> This is how I cleaned my floors for years...I even have knee pads just for that...
> 
> Since we got the LVT..Whole nother story...Actually I'm starting to hate it.
> 
> It shows every single foot print..I think my OCD is getting out of control...


It's time to put the whole family to work!


----------



## Ronni (Aug 1, 2019)

Well, as I'm not going to eat off my floor I am not overly concerned with keeping it completely sanitary.   I want the dirt to not be visible..the spots and drops and bits.  I vacuum or sweep to get the loose bits up, and then I mop.  I am very old fashioned about my mopping...I like a regular old fashioned cotton mop which I use with a bucket of lemon scented pine sol or Lysol, and wring it out by hand.  I can get into all the corners with that kind of mop, swipe at the baseboards as needed, get around the chair and table legs easily, and cut a large swath with it, reducing the time it takes to mop the floors.  

I switch to bleach water for the bathrooms .. stronger germ killing properties.  I always end my mopping with the bathroom floors so that even after I rinse the mop enough bleach moisture remains on it to keep it from smelling.


----------



## win231 (Aug 1, 2019)

Ronni said:


> Well, as I'm not going to eat off my floor I am not overly concerned with keeping it completely sanitary.   I want the dirt to not be visible..the spots and drops and bits.  I vacuum or sweep to get the loose bits up, and then I mop.  I am very old fashioned about my mopping...I like a regular old fashioned cotton mop which I use with a bucket of lemon scented pine sol or Lysol, and wring it out by hand.  I can get into all the corners with that kind of mop, swipe at the baseboards as needed, get around the chair and table legs easily, and cut a large swath with it, reducing the time it takes to mop the floors.
> 
> I switch to bleach water for the bathrooms .. stronger germ killing properties.  I always end my mopping with the bathroom floors so that even after I rinse the mop enough bleach moisture remains on it to keep it from smelling.
> 
> View attachment 73649



That makes sense.  I always laugh when I hear about "killing germs on a floor."  Maybe that would be important - if no one ever walked on it again.  Clean is OK, but germ-free?


----------



## Camper6 (Aug 2, 2019)

I found a good scrub brush so that I don't have to get on my hands and knees.

It's a curling brush.   A long handle with a brush on the end used for brushing the ice in curling.

It worked great.

And then the mop.  Finally I was satisfied.  The mop by itself won't scrub.


----------



## Seeker (Aug 2, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> It's time to put the whole family to work!



I seriously need these....


----------



## Camper6 (Aug 5, 2019)

Two buckets. One with a cleaner diluted and a curling push broom.
The other bucket with hot water and a mop.
Scrubbed standing up in sections. Rinsed with the mop.
Finally the results I wanted.  Happy Camper.


----------

