If you have all hard floors-update

[Desert Strawberry]

And they are really clean- not just look clean, but no black on white socks clean- how do you do it? 

How often do you mop, and what do you use? What kind of mop? What method? 

I am clearly doing something wrong.

 

Update: 

One day in, and the floors are SO much cleaner!

 

 

I instituted a no-shoes-in-the-house rule. The kids are so on board, they took their shoes off on the porch :)

 

I set out a foot bath by the back door for muddy bare feet. They thought that was super luxurious. 

 

I pulled out some unused mats for the front and back doors. 

 

I swept up about 1/4 what I usually do. I suspect most of that was what I missed yesterday. 

 

I ran a damp mop over some trouble spots. All clean. 

[bolt.]

I do. I don't check my socks... Usually they are black. Maybe that helps. I don't do more than 1/week. (It might also depend on climate/environment.)

[Whereneverever]

I vacuum 2-3 times a day ( my toddler eats things off the floor if there's a tiny speck to be found) and I wet mop 3-4 times a week. It doesn't take long since they never get super bad.

[Guest]

I buy black socks. 

[PeterPan]

Well, ahem, I don't know if I can claim clean floors at all times, but ours are relatively clean and as clean as we want them.

 

1) rugs at the entry.  You walk across 4 rugs coming into my house, one in the garage, one in front of the door, one in the mudroom, and one in the doorway going from the mudroom to the main area.  The rugs get FILTHY, my floors stay clean.

 

2) no shoes in the house.  I break that rule, because I always wear shoes now for the good of my feet.  Dh wears his workboots in, but then he switches in the evening into house shoes.  The kids wear slippers.

 

3) mop on hands and knees with microfiber cloths.  I'm really partial to the bright orange ones you can get at Target in the car department.  They're thick, huge, and cheap.

 

4) if it's hardwood, wipe behind with a towel to dry as you mop, so they shine.

 

No other tricks, nothing.  Well I do try to vacuum weekly, lol.  I just assume you're doing that.  Kenmore canister vacuum, nothing shocking.  It's the top model and it has a hard surfaces head built in.  Sweep with that and use the bigger rotating head on the carpet. (We have some area rugs.)

 

And yes, I'm serious that I get down on my hands and knees with the rags to mop.  I mop about 5 feet with the rag, get up and rinse, then come back and go over it again real quickly and move on to the next section.  So the rag is always fresh and I am down there getting it all clean.  My kitchen, obviously, gets much dirtier than the rest of the house.  Keep small whisk brooms under the sinks in each bathroom, and you can quickly whisk up messes.  Then when you shower and the floor is steamy, take a paper towel and wipe the floor clean.  We have paper towel holders in every bathroom.  

 

He got me some kind of Shark steam mop thing.  It shoves the dirt around because you don't rinse it fresh, so I don't feel like it really gets stuff clean.  I'll use it sometimes in a bath when there's been some kind of spill, vomit, germs, that kind of thing.  In general though, it's me and the microfiber and water.

 

 

[elegantlion]

Mine aren't spotless, but I have a dog and a cat. I sweep about every other day. I don't mop enough. The hardwood stain is very dark, almost mahogany dark and it shows less. Plus we don't wear shoes in the house. My kitchen floor is lighter and it shows much more dirt and needs more maintenance. 

[redsquirrel]

We vacuum the bare floor a couple times a week. The kitchen gets a daily spot clean and a weekly damp mop. Once a month or so I set the scooba loose.

 

Oh, I spot clean under the dining room table, especially under my 8 year old's chair.

 

It doesn't seem to get that dirty, really. As long as I keep it vacuumed and check the nasty spots it seems good.

[prairiewindmomma]

I vacuum 1-2x/week and I use a Bona mop 1-2x/month.

[PeterPan]

I vacuum 2-3 times a day ( my toddler eats things off the floor if there's a tiny speck to be found) and I wet mop 3-4 times a week. It doesn't take long since they never get super bad.

You realize a small hoover dog could take care of that for you.   :lol:   Seriously, that should have been point #5, hehe.  There's nothing like a small, non-shedding dog to keep your floors clean!  I spend half the day picking up little toys so the dog doesn't eat them.  Then when I want to sweep, the floor is ready!  So I guess the dog has two ways of keeping our floors clean, hehe.  

[VeteranMom]

I have wood and laminate.  My big issue is I have 2 dogs- one is black and one is white- and they shed.  My floors take a lot of work to look nice.  If I cared, I'd sweep and swiffer the floors several times a day. 

[PeterPan]

Btw, my dh has wanted to get one of those machine things that does it all (Bissell, whatever) and I've been sort of scared of them.  I think if I had a lot more tile than what I do, I'd probably go for that, just because tile is a pain to clean, or at least my tile is.  (very textured, because we wanted it non-slip in the mudroom)

 

I've wondered about those robots, so that's neat to hear they work.  I do have a couple brands of the microfiber mop heads, and sometimes I like them. They're sort of a pain, because I go back to my thing of wanting fresh water to clean with.  It's easier for me to use a microfiber rag and just do it than to use that head, pull the cover off, rinse and ring out, put cover back on, blah blah, blah...  

[PeterPan]

I have wood and laminate.  My big issue is I have 2 dogs- one is black and one is white- and they shed.  My floors take a lot of work to look nice.  If I cared, I'd sweep and swiffer the floors several times a day. 

Oh absolutely on the laminate.  Laminate is hard to keep looking shiny and clean.  You can get it clean, but shiny and clean...  We have laminate in most of our downstairs/basement, and frankly I put down a couple area rugs and gave up.  When we lived down there, I let dh mop and he'd use one of those microfiber head mops.  It's interminable...   Divide it into sections and go for it, I guess.  I like the carpet remnants and area rugs I put down there.  Means there's a lot less to mop.  

 

The stairs are hardwood and a spray on finish, not the pre-finished of the rest of the house.  I sweep them with a whisk broom and damp mop with microfiber.

 

Main thing is to keep the dirt OUT OF THE HOUSE.  You want to clean less and keep out more.

[Desert Strawberry]

I do. I don't check my socks... Usually they are black. Maybe that helps. I don't do more than 1/week. (It might also depend on climate/environment.)

It's my toddler's socks and feet that are grossing me out. Their feet are so filthy!

 

It's super muddy here. That doesn't help.

[regentrude]

It's super muddy here. That doesn't help.

 

Shoes come off immediately at the door. No matter how much mud is outside - it is not allowed to enter the house.

[Desert Strawberry]

I vacuum 2-3 times a day ( my toddler eats things off the floor if there's a tiny speck to be found) and I wet mop 3-4 times a week. It doesn't take long since they never get super bad.

 Is vacuuming better than sweeping? 

I sweep often, but don't have a vacuum anymore. We had one when we moved here. I don't remember why we don't anymore. I have been thinking of getting one again. 

 

How do you manage to mop so often? Do you do it in the evenings? That's the only time I think I could do it without them being walked on. 

[ItoLina]

I vacuum once a day and mop once a week. We also have a strict "no shoes in the house" rule which I think is the thing that helps the most. I think vacuuming is much better than sweeping, especially for the cat hair (we have 2 indoor only cats). With the broom I felt like I was just moving cat hair around.

[Pawz4me]

In our last house we had all hardwoods.  I vacuumed every day with an inexpensive stick vac and Swiffered as needed.  I usually mopped once a week, but it wasn't a big deal if I didn't get to it.  With two kids and four inside pets (two dogs, two cats) the floor stayed quite clean with minimal effort and no tedious taking shoes on/off all the time.  As OhElizabeth said above, the key is keeping the dirt out.  Place good quality mats outside each door and good quality rugs inside each door.  Dirt that never makes it onto the floor won't need cleaning. ;)

[Desert Strawberry]

Rugs and shoes off are  Good ideas. We don't have any rugs because they slide all over the place, even with those grabby things underneath. 

We have a little dog. She doesn't seem to be as much help as I was lead to believe. It's a good thing she's super cute. 

I might have to put together a shoes-off area by the front door. The back door is the killer, and there is absolutely no place, unless I build one outside. Hmm.

 

My floors are vinyl. Stupidly slippery. Ugh. We are sloooooooooowly replacing them, but it will be years. 

 

I have a microfiber mop. I'm not above hands and kneesing it once a week.

 

[sbgrace]

Others have mentioned, but the biggest thing here is we don't have shoes in the house. They come off at the door. My husband has shoes he changes into once inside. The rest of us just go around in socks. They are white, not black. I really don't do anything special with my floors, so I think it's the no shoes in the house. We don't have dogs either. Beyond that, I sweep for crumbs and such, dust mop along baseboards for dust not nearly as often as I should, and use my steam mop periodically. While I will occasionally hands and knees clean a floor, generally I just do that for spots.

 

If you clean your floors really well (you'll probably have to do hands and knees) and then prohibit shoes, I think your black sock problem is likely to go away. I will add that I had slate in one area of my old home. I could never get that stuff completely clean no matter how hard I tried!

[Amira]

Our entire house is white tile. We sweep/dust mop the entire place every day, steam mop weekly, and shoes aren't allowed inside. I think no shoes in the house makes a big difference, but we usually live in places where our shoes get dirty. I also really like the steam mop because I can pull it out quickly and mop as needed between weekly moppings with very little effort.

[kwickimom]

I vacuum once or twice a day, damp mop like every other day, steam mop once a week and do a homemade shine (lemon juice, olive oil and water) once a month. 

[Alicia64]

Well, ahem, I don't know if I can claim clean floors at all times, but ours are relatively clean and as clean as we want them.

 

1) rugs at the entry.  You walk across 4 rugs coming into my house, one in the garage, one in front of the door, one in the mudroom, and one in the doorway going from the mudroom to the main area.  The rugs get FILTHY, my floors stay clean.

 

2) no shoes in the house.  I break that rule, because I always wear shoes now for the good of my feet.  Dh wears his workboots in, but then he switches in the evening into house shoes.  The kids wear slippers.

 

3) mop on hands and knees with microfiber cloths.  I'm really partial to the bright orange ones you can get at Target in the car department.  They're thick, huge, and cheap.

 

4) if it's hardwood, wipe behind with a towel to dry as you mop, so they shine.

 

No other tricks, nothing.  Well I do try to vacuum weekly, lol.  I just assume you're doing that.  Kenmore canister vacuum, nothing shocking.  It's the top model and it has a hard surfaces head built in.  Sweep with that and use the bigger rotating head on the carpet. (We have some area rugs.)

 

And yes, I'm serious that I get down on my hands and knees with the rags to mop.  I mop about 5 feet with the rag, get up and rinse, then come back and go over it again real quickly and move on to the next section.  So the rag is always fresh and I am down there getting it all clean.  My kitchen, obviously, gets much dirtier than the rest of the house.  Keep small whisk brooms under the sinks in each bathroom, and you can quickly whisk up messes.  Then when you shower and the floor is steamy, take a paper towel and wipe the floor clean.  We have paper towel holders in every bathroom.  

 

He got me some kind of Shark steam mop thing.  It shoves the dirt around because you don't rinse it fresh, so I don't feel like it really gets stuff clean.  I'll use it sometimes in a bath when there's been some kind of spill, vomit, germs, that kind of thing.  In general though, it's me and the microfiber and water.

 

I'm curious what you think of Bona? Is it necessary to Bona hardwood or is my landlord being too picky?

 

Alley

 

 

[Alicia64]

I vacuum once or twice a day, damp mop like every other day, steam mop once a week and do a homemade shine (lemon juice, olive oil and water) once a month. 

 

Twice a day?? I was feeling so proud of twice a week!

[MarinesWife]

We sweep nightly and mop every couple days nut when we had vinyl it was daily. I use a sniffer mop with wet pads. The cost is worth it to me as everyone can use them and it is quick and easy.

[Gentlemommy]

We have mostly wood floors downstairs. I sweep 3x a day, mop once, spot clean as needed. I just use a microfiber mop with a pad and a squirt bottle attatched to the stick of the mop. I squirt once, mop it up, squirt, mop, ect. I use 1-2 TBSP Murpheys oil soap and fill the rest of the squirt bottle with water.

[Whereneverever]

Is vacuuming better than sweeping?

I sweep often, but don't have a vacuum anymore. We had one when we moved here. I don't remember why we don't anymore. I have been thinking of getting one again.

 

How do you manage to mop so often? Do you do it in the evenings? That's the only time I think I could do it without them being walked on.

I have a canister vac with a hepa filter. I do think it's better then sweeping because it doesn't just push dust around and back into the air.

 

Kids pick up toys before bed off the floor and then I mop. I put on music and sing and dance and count it as a bit of exercise, too. 😃

[Jackie]

Wow, y'all make me feel like a slob!

 

That said, my socks usually don't get notably dirty in the house. The two cats and the three year old are not helpful in keeping the house clean. Neither is my husband, come to think of it. I have a Neato Robotics XV-11 robotic vacuum cleaner that does a lot of my work for me. The three year old thinks it is an awesome privilege when I "allow" her to use the Swiffer - she's not efficient, but any dirt stuck to the Swiffer pad is no longer on my floors. I damp mop once a week (or once every other week...) using a bucket of hot water with about a cup of white vinegar and a teaspoon of Dawn dish soap.

[Bootsie]

I thought my hardwood floor were clean until I got a robot.  I couldn't believe how much it keeps getting up.

[coffeegal]

As for sweeping versus mopping: we've found sweeping is better for large objects such as wads of paper, legos, sticks, dog food, etc., and vacuuming is better for small items such as dirt, dust, hair, crumbs, etc.

 

 

[PeterPan]

It's my toddler's socks and feet that are grossing me out. Their feet are so filthy!

 

It's super muddy here. That doesn't help.

 

 

 Is vacuuming better than sweeping? 

I sweep often, but don't have a vacuum anymore. We had one when we moved here. I don't remember why we don't anymore. I have been thinking of getting one again. 

 

How do you manage to mop so often? Do you do it in the evenings? That's the only time I think I could do it without them being walked on. 

When we built our house, we had mud completely around in the first year till the grass came in.   :svengo:   You can get remnants of carpet at the carpet store and duct tape them down to the concrete in your garage.  That's what we have in our garage as the first rug.

 

I have a rug at the door where the dog goes in and out too.  I got a little hook for the wall from ikea and I keep a rag there to wipe his feet.  Ok, the truth comes out, I'm a nut.   :thumbup:  But seriously, it's not how hard you clean but how much you keep out.  Go OCD about it and make your lives easier!  We put down mulch where it was muddy so the dog wouldn't bring so much in on his feet.  I buy packs of the thin wash cloths at Walmart and use those to wipe his feet, wipe up spills, etc.  

 

When dd was little, we used a dishpan for her shoes.  I expect the room where the shoes land to be messy, kwim, so just plan on it.  That way the mess stops there.  I don't even have to ask people to take off their shoes when they come to my house.  A lot of times people will ask or immediately do it.  I think if we didn't grow up that way, we don't realize how common it is in the rest of the world.  

 

I guess I'm confused why your rugs move?  Mine have latex on the back, and unless my ds turns them into blankets or dog containment devices  :scared:  they usually stay put.  Maybe the size is part of it?  A couple of my rugs are about 3' long, kinda like bath rugs.  I got them at Lowes, and they're very heavy and thick berber.  They wash like a dream and catch MASSIVE amounts of dirt.  When I take them out to shake them, it's astonishing.  I'd much rather the rug caught it than my vinyl or hardwood.  

 

I had regular vinyl at our other house, and it was a nightmare to keep clean with dh's work boots. Totally feel for you.  When we built this one, I got commercial vinyl.  I don't know what it cost, but it's a dream to keep clean.  Might be something to look for as you're replacing, if you think it's worth it.  (a house you're staying in, whatever)

 

Sometimes I sweep and sometimes I vacuum the vinyl, but we always vacuum the hardwood.  I don't want stuff shoved in the cracks.

[Rachel TX]

Dust mop from the janitor supply store. Takes two minutes, I use it daily. Almost never have to mop.

 

Also no shoes in the house.

[Deee]

I'm feeling like a complete slacker after reading how often you lot clean your floors. Mine get vacuumed and mopped once a week whether they need it or not. I sweep in between (large shedding dog). No shoes in the house, but our house is weird and has two buildings almost joined by a verandah, so we do track some dirt in. Honestly, I'd rather wash socks than the floor!

D

[Camelfeet]

My white socks usually look greyish by the end of the day.  :/  I have tile throughout the house.  No hardwood - I think hardwood is harder to keep clean than tile.  I have a roomba that runs daily.  I vacuum 1-2 times a week in addition to the roomba, usually before guests come.  

 

I mop at most 1 time a week, but I make the kids do "spot patrol" with a wash cloth occasionally as well.  Sometimes less.  No shoes allowed.    

 

  

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I vaccuum daily- we have a small space, so the dirt is more concentrated.  We are also a shoes-off-at-the-door-family. 

 

Steam mop every 2 weeks or so, but it probably should be every week.  I forgot that I have a dust broom like PP mentioned... I'll have to dig that out! 

[Heather in Neverland]

We have ceramic and wood. Our maid sweeps and mops every day. We also never wear shoes in the house.

[prairiewindmomma]

Imo, as to the Bona question, yes it's necessary. We have 1000sq of hardwood (tile elsewhere), so I spent time researching online and talking with floor installers locally. Bona doesn't leave a buildup or film, it provides good shine, and the floor never gets wet enough to be damaged. I buy it in bulk affordably at Costco. The gallon jug lasts a year.

[KungFuPanda]

I think some of it is luck. My house doesn't get dusty very fast. I've lived in houses where dust showed the day after dusting. My kids don't really track dirt in and out very much and neither does my dog. We take our shoes off as soon as we get inside. I vacuum the hard floors a couple times a week and steam mop weekly. Our socks stay white. They may get dog hair on them, but we're not getting dirty feet or socks from walking around the house.

 

Only half of my house has hard floors, but these floors are at every entrance.

[kroe1]

I just happen to be cleaning and resealing grout this month. It usually takes me a month or two to do the entire house. Normally the dog hair knocks us out of the running for clean floors.

[Liz CA]

Bona helps with wood floors. The swiffer thingy (or any quick, dry mop) helps with picking up dust and dog / cat hair.

Just tell yourself that even a slightly dusty hardwood floor is likely cleaner than any carpet.

[Guest]

Those of you who mop a lot must not have as much hard floor as I do, lol! It takes me two hours to mop and I do it once a week on Saturday mornings. I try and vacuum everyday, but it more often gets done every few days. We have two cats and a dog and a dirt backyard. We have very light tile throughout our downstairs. My house is pretty clean, but socks are probably grey-ish at the end of the day.

[Shellydon]

I have a central vac, so I vacuum daily and mop twice a week.  I use a steam mop. 

We allow shoes in the house, that is the norm in my area.  The no shoes thing seems odd here.

[Bootsie]

Bona helps with wood floors. The swiffer thingy (or any quick, dry mop) helps with picking up dust and dog / cat hair.

Just tell yourself that even a slightly dusty hardwood floor is likely cleaner than any carpet.

Every time I clean my floor, I think of how all of the stuff I am getting up would be in carpet also--just not so visible and harder to ever get so clean.

 

I tend to take my shoes off in the house--I prefer being barefoot and I have visited other countries where this is standard--it would be rude to walk into someone's home with your shoes on.  However, my next door neighbor was appalled when her sister-in-law visited and removed her shoes.  She could not believe how rude she was to come into her home and take her shoes off--after all she didn't want the woman's dirty feet touching her floor.  I thought the culture difference was interesting:  some people think it is rude to leave your shoes on, others are highly insulted when you take them off.  

[thessa516]

I've given up on white socks until I can get my hardwood floors refinished and resealed. I think having a good seal on your hardwood floors helps tremendously.

[Acorn]

I barely give the floors any attention but socks stay mostly white. I don't have any special tricks, I guess  taking shoes off at the door helps us the most.  If we had outdoor pets, they would be towel dried before entering the house. Our hardwood is loosing its finish, so there are cracks between the boards.  I vacuum at least once a week, more if there are obvious crumbs in the dining room.

[kbutton]

My hardwood floors have spotty, peeling finish, so I don't subject them to a lot of water for now. They need to be redone, and it's not going to be soon.

 

If your floors are as clean as you want or can keep them for now, I do have a little sock trick...round up all the light-colored socks once every few weeks, and soak them in warm water and Borax (or lye soap--we had some given to us homemade). Overnight if you can. Agitate the socks from time to time. If you have a really bad pair, rub the bottoms together, or rub them directly onto the bar of soap. Rinse really well, and put them in the regular wash. It helps tremendously.

 

Even if I could keep my socks perfectly white on the bottom through clean floors, my kids play in the dirt all summer long. The socks get really gross from the ankles up as well as on the bottoms.

[Susan in TN]

I'm curious what you think of Bona? Is it necessary to Bona hardwood or is my landlord being too picky?

 

Alley

 

 

Our hardwood flooring guy suggested we use Zep hardwood & laminate floor cleaner. It works as well as Bona but is less expensive. We get it at Home Depot. We also keep a spray bottle of water/vinegar for quick clean-ups.

[Desert Strawberry]

Bump for update.

[PeterPan]

Yay, congrats on your progress!!!!!!!!!!!   :thumbup: