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Why aren't my floors clean?


TechWife
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I have laminate flooring and the house is newly built this year. I use Mr. Clean and a sponge mop to mop the floors. I follow the directions on the bottle. When I finish, if I wet a paper towel and wipe, there is still a lot of dirt on the floor.

I am confused. Any tips for me?

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Is it time to clean or replace the mop head?

If the mop head is clean, try using two buckets, one containing your cleaning water and a second with plain rinse water.  Dip it in the cleaning water, wring, then mop the floor.  Dip the mop in the rinse water and wring before dipping it in the cleaning water again.   When the rinse water becomes dirty, empty the bucket and refill with fresh water.  Also change cleaning water as needed.     

If that doesn't work, try a different style of mop.  In my experience string and microfiber mops work better than sponge mops.  Getting down on hands and knees and using a rag works even better although it is time consuming and hard on the back and knees.

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If the Mr Clean is too concentrated, you might need to rinse or it might get stickier than just using water.

I've always found that with any sort of plastic floor (vinyl, laminate) at some point (maybe quarterly) I have to get down on my hands and knees and scrub it with hot soapy dishwater (well wrung out, don't drench laminate or it will warp).

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You don't need the cleaner. Just a microfiber head and water. I have a couple different microfiber mops. Lowes/Home Depot had one with a velcro head. The other has a head that collapses. Either one works though I probably prefer the velcro. Both are fine. Mop, rinse as it dirties, keep going. Then occasionally use something like the Bissell Crosswave (LOVE, got it based on the recommendation of the boards here) every so often.

But really, you shouldn't need cleaner. Just water and a microfiber head. If it's not a lot of space, you can even just use big microfiber rags and do it yourself, Cinderella style. I get those rags in the car section. Target's are nice and thick, but the Walmart ones are ok too.

Ok, I was looking for a link for you on the microfiber mops and realize I had FORGOTTEN about the OCedars!! I know we had a thread on this. They were supposed to be the BOMB. The bucket has fresh and grey water compartments, make it easy to keep your microfiber mop fresh. Could be worth trying. But mainly ditch the chemicals and your floor will look fine. Also you can get $1-2 towels at Walmart, thin white ones, and use them to dry afterward. That proves your floor is CLEAN. :biggrin:

Yes, apparently I'm that OCD because I really do dry my floor with white towels, lol.

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https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Products-Cotton-Dust-Mop/3699198  This is the velcro head mop I was talking about. Also handing for getting things out from under beds. :biggrin:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/BISSELL-Spin-Mop-With-Bucket/1000533385  Lowe's is showing this. I don't own it. They also carry a $35 O'Cedar spin mop. 

This may have been the thread I was remembering.

 

Edited by PeterPan
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Crazy idea, but is it possible it isn't dirt?  Could it be coloring or something from the material the floor is made of?

That said, it takes more passes with the mop than I've ever had the patience to do to get our hardwood floors completely dirt free.

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10 minutes ago, EKS said:

That said, it takes more passes with the mop than I've ever had the patience to do to get our hardwood floors completely dirt free.

Entry rugs, entry rugs, entry rugs. And shoes off when they walk in the door if you can.

I'm also pretty OCD about my dog. He has a rug at the door he uses and he's trained to let me wipe his feet before he comes in. Dogs are MESSY! :biggrin:

 

Edited by PeterPan
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I have never been able to get things clean with a sponge mop, and laminate floors/wood floors are pretty unforgiving if your water is dirty at all.

I use a Bona mop and the accompanying spray. One of our laminate floors got hazier and hazier, and we thought we were using too much. It was a floor that was here when we moved in, and our other floors were cleaning beautifully. We eventually realized there was just something on the one type of flooring that the Bona was partially removing. We ended up using more spray and maybe changing the mop head more often, and it's all fine now. The haze is gone, and it cleans just fine now. 

 

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I have noticed that a lot of cleaners leave streaks now.

I’d say try a different cleaner and try it very diluted so that you don’t have detergent residues.

The Hive saved my big mirror by recommending using a windshield glass cleaner rather than the worse than useless interior glass cleaner (Windex?  I forget) that had been reformulated and now leaves residues everywhere.  Maybe there is an equivalent for flooring.

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Perhaps what you are seeing is build up of cleaning fluid. Manufacturers want us to use lots of their product. I use half the recommended concentration of cleaning product for mopping wood floors. For vinyl and tile, I use a couple of drops of dish soap in a bucket of warm water. The vinyl salesman recommended this as less likely to damage the surface.

We do take off our shoes at the door.

Edited by Laura Corin
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Make sure you've swept and/or vacuumed enough. 

Then invest in the O'Cedar spin mop. I like having an extra head because: bathroom floors. 

Next, look up the Go Clean Co. She sells a $14 (Candadian, so less in the US) ebook, but you can get tons of free tips from her IG account. I now mop my tile floors w/ 1 teaspoon powdered Tide and piping hot water using the mop above and my floors are so clean! No streaks. Watch her stories and highlights if you can about what solution to use on wood, laminate flooring, etc. 

The Go Clean Co lady says to spin the mop it 8-10 times (pumps). 

Warning: She uses a little bad language.

 

 

Edited by Angie in VA
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I had the same issue with our wood floor when we moved into this house. I found that I just needed to get down and do the whole floor on my hands and knees, washing and drying, washing and drying with rags. After that, I was able to keep it clean easily with a Swiffer dust mop and occasional wiping with a wet cloth. It helps tremendously that we don't wear shoes in the house and our dog has her paws washed after going outside.

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