How often do you vacuum, sweep, or mop your floors?

[Sun]

This is a S/O of the organization thread where Pretty in Pink shared her lovely home with us. I tend more to the PiP end of neatness, and I was surprised that it seemed unusual to some people that she would clean her floors daily. It got me curious!

 

How often do you clean your floors? For the purpose of the poll, define cleaning as vacuuming, mopping, or doing a heavy-duty sweeping of all or most of your main living areas (i.e. living room, kitchen, dining area).

Edited June 2, 2012 by Sun

[Alenee]

Vacuum my main living room/hallway at least every other day...dog hair and pine needles drive me crazy. However, I do not mop very often at all. I might sweep once every few days. I know, I'm sure some are saying, "Ewwww," but that's just me! ;)

[calimom04]

I vacuum about twice a week. We dont wear shoes in our house and its a small place so no need to vacuum more. I sweep about every other day since we are always dropping things in the kitchen! Mop not as often.

[LadyMSews]

I said generally once a day. The main LR/DR area gets vacuumed once a day, unless the dc have popcorn for snack, then it gets done again. The kitchen gets swept twice, usually, but it is the entrance point for our house, so stuff gets tracked in constantly. And my pet peeve for house cleaning is the floors...I can handle a certain amount of clutter, if the floors are clean. :)

[LillyMama]

We vacuum about once a day, but we miss a day here or there. My kitchen NEEDS to be swept daily, but it's more like every other day. It needs washing more than once a week- but since I don't mop and get down and do it by hand, it becomes more like once a week.

 

I'm not super neat, I just have incredible messy kids and husband.

[Marie131]

We have all tile or wood floors in our house, except the stairs, so I do a lot of sweeping. I sweep the kitchen and eating area at least twice a day (I have a messy toddler and a shedding cat!) and I usually sweep the living room floor once a day. I wash the floors once, maybe twice a week. I know, that sounds like a lot, but I am really not neat freaky. I just have a really messy family!

[LucyStoner]

Sweep- daily on the wood floors and tile. Sometimes I have my son run the vacuum in lieu of us sweeping because he is better with the vacuum than the broom. If I am doing it, I use a broom.

 

Vacuum- a few times a week (we have a cat so it is a MUST on the carpeted areas as well as all the upholstered furniture.) Before the cat, we could stretch to a week if need be. It is worth noting that this would be more if we had more carpeted areas. Most of our public living space is hard floors. As it is we only have carpet on the stairs and the third floor with the bedrooms. If it was in the living room or dining room it would be daily.

 

Mop- I am of the mind that you can use a mop or you can clean a floor but you can not do them both at the same time. Which brings me to:

 

Scrubbing floors: Yes, on my hands and knees with a bucket and rags and cleanser. Once a week for the wood floors (which are in the LR, DR, Kitchen and the 1/2 bath on that level) but I wipe up spots and spills and drips as they happen. For the tile in the entry, about the same or a little less (like every week and 1/2).

 

I have a really small townhouse, otherwise we could not keep up. My secret is that my entire house can be cleaned from a full week or more of straight up neglect to spic and span shining in less than 2 hours by 1 person and maybe an hour tops with all of us working. So doing something everyday means a really small daily commitment. I used to have a cleaning service but when I went freelance I dropped that because of the income drop (I went from FT work out of the home to PT work from home.)

 

This does not include the bathrooms with tile floor. I do those as part of a weekly bathroom big clean.

Edited June 2, 2012 by kijipt

[Lily_Grace]

Once a day here. It should be more, but it's honestly a lost cause. The floor gets swept/vacuumed during nap time because it's the only time when the tiny terror isn't grinding more crumbs, dirt, and grass into the tile and rug.

[Ibbygirl]

This is a S/O of the organization thread where Pretty in Pink shared her lovely home with us. I tend more to the PiP end of neatness, and I was surprised that it seemed unusual to some people that she would clean her floors daily. It got me curious!

 

How often do you clean your floors? For the purpose of the poll, define cleaning as vacuuming, mopping, or doing a heavy-duty sweeping of all or most of your main living areas (i.e. living room, kitchen, dining area).

 

I answered maybe twice a week because sometimes I do it every other day, sometimes I get busy and don't get to it (sweeping and mopping in my case) so I kind of averaged it out and figured twice a week would cover it. :) I would like to be able to do a quick buzz down everyday, but life sometimes gets in the way. :D

 

ETA: my kids are older now, but when they were younger I used to clean much more frequently (after every meal in most cases). :)

[Melissa in Australia]

sort of difficult to answer your poll, the kitchen floor gets swept several times a day, the whole house gets vacuumed twice a week, and mopped once a week.

[sewingmama]

If you look at pics on my blog you will often see the vacumm cleaner in the background :D It is not worth it in my house to put it away. I vacumm multiple times a day and mop twice a week. We have white tile and one of my main annoyances is a gritty floor -which my children provide often.

[Soror]

I voted generally once a day. Often it is more than that but sometimes I might skip a day for a random reason(as of late that random reason is pregnant and tired).

[Carrie12345]

I averaged it out. My main living areas have both carpet and hard floor. Vacuuming is almost daily (occasionally more), sweeping is multiple times a day, and mopping is... um... rare.

 

I voted once a day.

[Butter]

A couple times a week on average. Kitchen and dining room are swept more often and the rug in the living room is vacuumed more often. But the library and entry and bathrooms are swept about once a week. Bedrooms and hallways are swept every couple weeks usually.

[GSOchristie]

Kitchen: swept after all three meals every day, mopped on Wed and Saturday

 

Hardwoods: swept twice a week, mopped on Wed

 

Carpet: downstairs (only a playroom) Wed and Sat, upstairs Friday.

[DawnM]

The entire main floor is hardwoods. We have a hardwood floor attachment to our central vac that we use.

 

I aim for once a week in the main areas.

 

Sometimes the LR isn't used much so it doesn't get done as often. The kitchen needs it more than once a week, but again, it doesn't get done as often as it needs to be.

 

Bedrooms are done even less often. I just don't do them!

 

Dawn

[nova147]

I didn't read before I voted and wish I could change my vote! I voted every couple of days, but that's just for a quick sweeping or maybe vacuuming some mess.

 

I'm a terrible housekeeper! I probably sweep every week or week and a half. I don't really mop - I have a swifter wet jet kind of thing that I spot clean with. I do the whole floor with it every couple of weeks. And several times a year I give the kids bowls of soapy water and wash cloths -- they wash the floor in swimsuits and have a grand time! Then we rinse and dry. Vacuuming probably gets done twice a month.

 

Right now, I'm a little more on top of the floors because the baby just started crawling. If I don't keep the floors clean, he'll eat every little thing the other kids drop!

[Gentlemommy]

Kitchen, school room (technically dining room), living room, and hallway get vacuumed daily. Bedrooms and bathrooms every other day. I mop the kitchen and bathrooms every other day.

[sparkygirl]

We have a toddler, a dog and two cats in a small house, we vacuum and sweep several times a day.

[freesia]

I had difficulty answering,too.

 

We sweep the kitchen,dining room, wood areas of living room once a day.

 

Vacuum living room rug once a week.

 

Mop kitchen, bathrooms once a week.

[MissKNG]

Every couple of days. I love the look and feel of a freshly vacuumed carpet!

[vettechmomof2]

I marked multiple times per day but really that is only during 3-4 months of the year during heavy coat blowing season, otherwise it is once daily.

I have xl dogs with heavy undercoat, plus I have cats and a cat allergy so keeping up on that helps a lot.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Living room: daily (we have a baby)

Kitchen/dining room: every couple days

[LuvToRead]

I vacuum daily (or more if needed). I have one of those little Shark vacuums that I do spot vacuuming with.

I sweep at least once a day.

I mop at least twice a week, but spot clean spills as needed. I also scrub floors once a month.

 

I have carpet in my kitchen, so I need to vacuum at least once a day. If I had a hard floor in my kitchen, I would probably mop daily. I can't stand sticky spots.

 

My house is tiny, so the floors get dirty fast. Shoes are not allowed in the house.

[The Girls' Mom]

When it needs it...lol. Sometimes not until it REALLY needs it. When the kids were little and on the floor a lot, I did it pretty much daily. But they are older, less messy, and less prone to playing on the floor so it really just gets done when it is needed.

[ErinE]

I have to clean my floors daily. We have very dark wood floors, essentially black. They are beautiful but require daily sweeping and weekly mopping (bi-weekly if we haven't been outdoors much).

 

I am fanatical about children's shoes in the house, although adult visitors are fine. Children with bare feet are required to wash them before coming in the house. Food and drinks are restricted to the dining table. Even then, the floors get dirty. If you ever want to see how gross your house is, get black floors.

[Canadianmumof5]

Maybe once our toddler stops throwing his food on the floor - we can go down to once a day. Right now it is after every meal in the kitchen and since we have the vacuum out - we end up doing a quick job on the rest of the main floor.

[jenangelcat]

I vacuum and sweep at least once a day. I was avoiding mopping because I hate it but then I bought a steam mop. It needs to be mopped every other day and now I do it happily.

[JennyD]

The kitchen, dining room, and mudroom are vacuumed several times a day. Living room area and study (aka schoolroom) once a day. The whole house gets vacuumed and mopped once a week.

 

We don't wear shoes in the house and neither DH nor I can abide grit (or crumbs, or teeny little shreds of paper) on the floor.

[Guest]

This is a S/O of the organization thread where Pretty in Pink shared her lovely home with us. I tend more to the PiP end of neatness, and I was surprised that it seemed unusual to some people that she would clean her floors daily. It got me curious!

 

How often do you clean your floors? For the purpose of the poll, define cleaning as vacuuming, mopping, or doing a heavy-duty sweeping of all or most of your main living areas (i.e. living room, kitchen, dining area).

 

What thread are you referring to? I have read a couple of threads now where Pretty in Pink's name is mentioned. I love reading organization threads and seeing pictures, so please enlighten me! :)

[Guest]

I have to clean my floors daily. We have very dark wood floors, essentially black. They are beautiful but require daily sweeping and weekly mopping (bi-weekly if we haven't been outdoors much).

 

I am fanatical about children's shoes in the house, although adult visitors are fine. Children with bare feet are required to wash them before coming in the house. Food and drinks are restricted to the dining table. Even then, the floors get dirty. If you ever want to see how gross your house is, get black floors.

 

Unfortunately, I have to agree! Our current house has very dark floors that have just been a bear to keep up with! I currently vacuum carpets every other day, vacuum hard floors every other day, use the Shark at the dining area multiple times a day, and I am trying to mop twice a week. Since I have to vacuum before mopping and we have so much tile, mopping takes me about an hour. I just can't do that daily.

 

What is your procedure for kids washing feet before entering? We have three doors that the kids enter equally from outside and their feet are always black. I am not sure how to implement that.

[SKL]

We have a maid service that theoretically comes every 3-4 weeks. I don't do much of this type of work in between.

 

I don't have pets, don't cook most days, and we often eat outside of the house. The kids aren't home that much during waking hours to create the kind of mess that would require sweeping/vacuuming.

 

Sometimes we do need a sweep on the hard floors. I just recently made that the "chore" of my five-year-olds. I'd say it gets done about once a week now - but not at a professional level.

 

Of course, I don't plan on using my house as an example for "house beautiful." It's deteriorating and doesn't look that great even when squeaky clean. So I see no need to get concerned over a little dirt.

[mommy5]

Not a good time for me as far a cleaning (with having a newborn) ... but my norm is vacuum 1x a week, mop every other week, sweep 3x a week ... except the kitchen which is multiple times per day (kids make a mess!).

[WistfulRidge]

I voted once a day (because everything gets done at least once) but the reality is that I usually sweep the kitchen after every meal (and sometimes even after snacks) and vacuum the living room at least once a day (though usually it ends up happening twice). Our apartment is right around 500 square feet, so crumbs get tracked everywhere very easily and crumbs on my feet drive me absolutely bonkers.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I aim to vacuum once a week. I know it needs it daily, but once a week is my realistic goal. I also aim to mop once a week. I had been trying for twice a week, but I can't seem to make it happen. The kitchen and dining room floor are normally swept daily, but there are days.....:001_smile:

[justLisa]

Ugh. My house is 3000 square feet. It takes forever to vacuum. Right now we have hardwood flooring in the kitchen and foyer, because I am totally not ready for what it would take to empty our home and rip up the carpet.

 

I vacuum daily the main floor area with a Dyson. I do not sweep but rather vacuum the kitchen. I vacuum the entire upstairs once a week and dust. The floors in the bathroom get scrubbed every Sunday right before I shower. I use a bucket of bleach water and do it by hand with a rag.

[arghmatey]

I did not reply to the poll.

 

Vacuum upstairs once per week

Vacuum downstairs three times per week

Steam clean or wash the floors in every room once per week

Spot clean floors with vinegar solution every day (they don't need it much--just if the dogs track in mud or for splashes in the kitchen / bathrooms / dining room)

Sweep the kitchen and dining room at least once per day

 

We do not wear shoes inside the house.

[MamaT]

Vacuum basement bedroom/family room and stairs/landings twice a week

 

Sweep hardwood/tile daily (along with spot cleaning when needed). This is most of the house - all bedrooms except the one in the basement, sunroom, living room, kitchen, and bathrooms.

 

Mop once a month.

[heart'sjoy]

Eating area was cleaned after every meal.

 

Otherwise we all cleaned on Saturday.

 

My house wasn't nice but not a health hazard either while the kids were young. I chose to trade a not nice house for keeping my sanity, reading books aloud, and taking lots of walks/ playing outside with the kids. It was totally worth it.

 

Now that the kids are 12 and under, their daily chores keep things at a nice level most of the time, and I can get at the deep cleaning on Saturdays.

[Ibbygirl]

We have a maid service that theoretically comes every 3-4 weeks. I don't do much of this type of work in between.

 

I don't have pets, don't cook most days, and we often eat outside of the house.

 

Can I come live with you? :D

[Devan]

I sweep once a day, sometimes twice. We have 2 cats and a dog, so the hair gets to me!

I mop about once a week, generally.

We vacuum 1-3x per week. The main living areas are wood with a couple rugs and the bedrooms are carpet.

Edited June 2, 2012 by Devan

[momtoamiracle]

vacuumed daily, kitchen is swept in morning and vacuumed at night.

 

 

I can't stand feeling stuff under my feet.

 

 

 

I don't mop that often tho. If I'm on top of it it will be once a week, otherwise it might be once a month... I wipe spills up so it doesn't get sticky. I'm getting better about mopping now that I have a steam mop, but I have a bum shoulder right now so it's difficult.

 

 

I just had to buy a new vacuum cleaner because my 12 yo one died. I think 12 yrs of daily use is pretty good. I hope to get at least five years out of my new one.

[TammyinTN]

The basement and upstairs gets vacuumed every Saturday...the main floor with our shedding Border Collie gets vacuumed daily.

[Sun]

What thread are you referring to? I have read a couple of threads now where Pretty in Pink's name is mentioned. I love reading organization threads and seeing pictures, so please enlighten me! :)

 

This is the thread where Pretty in Pink posted pictures of her lovely home.

[Guest]

This is the thread where Pretty in Pink posted pictures of her lovely home.

 

Ohhhh....very nice! Thanks for the link to the pics and all the inspiration in that thread! I think I missed that one! (Or I posted and forgot..:lol:)

[Tammyla]

My floors needed a lot more attention when my kids were little and we had a dog. Now they get cleaned out of habit vs. need.