[Carolinamidwife]

I'm not satisfied with my mop anymore but have not had success with new techniques.

I have the envirosteamer which I do love but it doesn't do any kind of scrubbing or getting in corners or anything. We have a few hundred square feet of ceramic tile with grout and I would like to be mopping at least twice a week.

I switched to a mop and bucket briefly, with a recipe from Clean House Clean Planet. I did this for a few sessions and then one day I spilled some water and when I wiped it up the towel was FILTHY.

Oh, I should mention that I have a 5.5 year old, a 1 year old, and 2 Great Danes, lol.

Help!

 

[alegna]

Okay- admittedly this sounds weird- but I SWEAR it works better than any mop I've ever used! :LOL I have an assortment of old (usually hole-y) towels. I get one damp with warm water and wring it out really well, then I kinda spread it out on the floor and stand on it. I walk-shuffle across the floor- back and forth. If it's really grimy I might go through 3-4 towels. Toss the dirty towels in the wash and call it done. I usually do it bare-footed (cause I never wear shoes...) and then can use one foot/toes easily to scrub at any spots. I know it sounds harder, but I swear it is so much LESS work than using a mop.

Try it. When we lived in a duplex with all hardwood and tile floors I'd do the whole thing... SO much easier than lugging a bucket around.

-Angela

 

[Carolinamidwife]

LOL!

That sounds like something I could do, lol. It has to be good leg exercise too, lol.

 

[bonbon mama]

I enlist my 22 month old and 4 1/2 year old to help. I give out a squirt bottle of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water and let them spray and then we wipe up with a pile of cleaning rags. Toss them in the wash with the kitchen laundry from that day and we are done. The floor gets tabletop clean this way.

 

[alegna]

It is good leg exercise... But I HATE using a mop because of how your back ends up feeling... and my legs never bother me after this way.

 

[Carolinamidwife]

Oh yeah, my back always KILLS after I mop. Especially because I have to vac the floor first.

Gah, I hate floor care.

 

[alegna]

Try it with your feet- really!

I bet your 5 yr old could get into it with old washcloths or rags under each foot too

-Angela

 

[blessedwithboys]

i do bathrooms on hands and knees so i can be sure to get all the overspray from the boys.

for the kitchen, i have found only one mop i like. its by o-cedar. $10 bucks at walmart, plus it comes with one terry cover. extra covers are $5 a piece. it has a swivel handle, and the mop part is a big rectangle. the terry covers have elastic like a bed sheet, and fit over the rectangle. you can turn it every which way to get into tight spots. i use the cover maybe 2 or 3 times b4 i wash it. to use, i wet the cover in hot water and wring it a bit, then pour white vinegar right on the floor, plop the mop in the puddle and go.

 

[katja]

I'm with you, blessed with boys. I got a similar mop online called a shmop, but the covers are cheaper. I LOVE it! I mean I really do! I can mop the kitchen, hallway, and bathroom in less than 10 minutes, and it is dry pretty much as soon as I'm done. It is much more conducive to frequent mopping. In 3 years I mopped my living room maybe 3 times, and in the few months I've had my shmop, I've mopped many times! Maybe even 6 or 7. And it is good for washing walls and removing cobwebs. I think it might be quicker than standing on rags. I will never go back to sponge mop or hands and knees.

 

[blessedwithboys]

i/ve heard of the shmop, but i got the ocedar b4 i had internet. where did you get the shmop? and how much cheaper are the covers? i bet a crafty mama could sew her own. not me, i can't sew!

 

[katja]

I got the shmop at florstor.com. I think the covers are 15 or 18 dollars for a pack of 6. I don't know if I'd bother sewing them...takes too much time, not the most exciting of projects IYKWIM!

 

[rainsmom]

I found a microfiber mop at Target that is really working out well. I vacuum first (2dogs and a cat here), then go over the floor with the floor cleaner recipe from Clean House Clean Planet, basically water and vinegar w/essential oil. THe microfiber mop really picks up hair,dust and dirt pretty well. FOr the tough corners, I get on my hands and knees and scrub with a towel. ITs really the only way to get it really clean.

We've got tiled floors in kitchen and both bathrooms and a new laminate floor in the playroom.......

 

[onthemove]

i finally got a mop yesterday! up until now i have always been on hands and knees to wash my floors. can't wait to use it this afternoon... i'll let everyone know how it goes. yippee!

 

[pixiedust]

I just tried the "feet" method after reading this post.

I got two towels, stood on them, got my spray bottle of mixed up cleaner, turned on some music and danced/cleaned to floor. My husband who works at home saw me and thought I was insane. :LOL But, I got a decent workout and it was fun! Plus the floor looks great, and I didn't have to clean the mop, just threw the towels in the washing machine.

 

[alegna]

Glad it worked for you. I felt really silly the first couple of times I tried it... just SURE I was making extra work for myself somehow... but it's really easier!

-Angela

 

[~Quse~]

I was just thinking of posting the same question. My entire house has hardwood flooring or tile so mopping is a major chore. I've been using a plain old butterfly mop but I never feel like it's getting the floor clean enough. I'm going to try the towel method next time.

 

[onthemove]

I love my mop! I use the towel/foot method often especially under youngest dd's chair.

another question does anyone wax their floors? mil was helping me clean one day and asked where the wax was and I was dumbfounded.who knew?

 

[charmarty]

smop?? Clean planet??? links please!!!!!!!!!

 

[Irishmommy]

I just use a bucket with a string mop (except they're strips of fabric) that I wring out. Water with vinegar.

 

[kavamamakava]

I get on my hands and knees. It's faster and easier for me than using a mop because I'm right down there and can see the problem spots.
First I use a spray bottle with soapy water and spray the whole floor. Then I get down there with two rags and go to town. I keep a bucket of clear warm water to rinse the rags in. Sometimes the kids help me but I make them sit on dish towels so they don't slip. I certainly don't mop 2-3 times a week though. I do the kitchen about twice a week but it's small and I do the family room about once a week. I kind of like the exercise.

I also vacuum the floor when I'm vacuuming the living room. It picks up dust and dog hair that is hard to sweep up anyway.