What's Your Floorcare Routine? Mop and bucket? Swiffer? Broom?

[launderess]

Am that shocked so many of you get down on hands and knees to wash or scrub floors. Who knew? *LOL*

Speaking for myself, and I am unanimous, day one starts doing floors on hands and knees will be just before taking up donkey stoning front steps. In other words it just isn't going to happen.

 

[thomasortega]

Dreame robot dealing with everything, once in a while darryl mops the floor, to clean those areas the robot cannot reach.

I hate my cheap laminate floors so much I'll soon end up giving my landlord a nice gift: Decent new flooring.

 

[tolivac]

The plank floors in my new Bill Clark house----just vcuum with the hard floor tool on my NSS M1 or Simplicity Brio.Kirby for the carpets.There is NO WAY I am going to hands and knees floorcare-that went out with the dinosaurs!

 

[philcobendixduo]

Vinyl Floor Care....

.....for kitchen and bathrooms;
Vacuum
Mop with Pine Sol and hot water using an O'Cedar spin mop
Dry with an old bath towel

 

[circlew]

If floor needs scrubbed

with a brush, I have a couple that an extendable handle fits onto. The handle also fits a floor squeegee I use for the basement, which has a polished concrete floor. It has drains, so can rinse with a hose if necessary, but that requires moving a lot of stuff.

 

[askolover]

Vacuum with the Kirby tradition Hose attachments then a Rubbermaid wringer bucket and commercial string mophead with either Clorox cleanup or lavender Lysol.

 

[bpetersxx]

various tools

spin mop for bathroom floors

dust mop and spray mops

reusable heads go into washer

dry of top of calypso

cheapo fabuloso

 

[foraloysius]

All vynil floors here. My cleaning lady vacuums twice a week. She wetcleans the floors when necessary. I have Leifheit products for that purpose. A smaller Leifheit microfiber sponge is for mopping just the kitchen and the bathrooms.

 

[panasonicvac]

I use a central vac to pick up the dry dust and dirt. Then I use a Rubbermaid commercial flat wall washer with washable cotton pads to mop the floor. In bathrooms, I spray some Spic & Span around the toilets and wipe them up with a cleaning rag before mopping around them. It's been the best mop I've used overall. I've used a regular mop with a bucket before, it was fine but I like using the wall mop more. I've also used a Swiffer with wet pads, I've noticed it'd feel sticky on the floor afterwards which bothered me even though I thoroughly mopped it really well. Same thing with a Swiffer WetJet which I think did even worse than a regular Swiffer. A regular spray mop I find works better than either Swiffer. Floor cleaners like Hoover FloorMates for example are a waste in my opinion, they can do the job but they require so much time to use and work to maintain afterwards from my experience so I threw mine out. Never hired a pro to clean floors before other than carpet but my parents have tile floors in their bathroom that really needs a scrubbing no matter what we try to do, when they get their carpets cleaned after the bathroom gets done renovating we'll try and see if the pros will do the trick.

https://www.rubbermaidcommercial.com/cleaning/brushes/wall-washer-kit-gray/?sku=FGS22600GY00

 

[launderess]

New to me, one Bissell Crosswave

It wasn't my idea, it were that lot known as fate.

Same ole, person moving house gifted us a Bissell Crosswave. When say "gifted" one means the thing was sitting in recycle area after being binned waiting to be rubbished.

Thing looked barely used so decided to see what some of you were going on about.

Darn thing is rather heavy and somewhat awkward. Certainly not easily stored as mop, bucket and or many of our vacuum cleaners. Even a Swiffer wet jet takes up less room.

Gave thing a through cleaning including dust cup. Am not a fan of such things for many reasons but that's what this Bissell has so. Roller brush had all sorts of bits twisted around (bit of Swiffer cloth, various strings from trainers...). Why persons spend good money for appliances and then don't keep them sorted properly I don't know...

As a vacuum cleaner thing is dead loud. Makes far more noise than my stick or canister Miele vacuums, but then again none of them have a rotating brush. This Bissell does and that seems to generate good amount of noise aside from motor.

As thing is too large and unwieldy for doing floors in kitchen or bath haven't tested it for mopping. Balance of floors in our home are wood and am not going to bother ordering the special brush for those surfaces until decide if am keeping the thing. It may join list of appliances being gifted to young family members starting out housekeeping.

Overall Crosswave seems a nice bit of kit, but not sure it's any less bother than using a vacuum or whatever then then mopping.

If thing is used for mopping then tanks have to be emptied, cleaned out and allow to dry before reassembly. Brush must also be removed, washed then allowed to dry as well. Unless brush is taken out of head (say for just vacuuming) it will act as filter for dust and muck that is being sucked up.

 

[givemehotwater]

Former Swiffer Fan

Initially, I was content with using a Swiffer WetJet to clean my condo's travertine tile and hardwood floors. I’d mop weekly and thought it was doing a decent job.

Then, during COVID, when either Swiffer solution or cleaning pads were often out of stock, I switched to the old-school method. I bought a cotton mop, Mr. Clean liquid, and a new bucket. After mopping this way for the first time, I noticed a remarkable difference — my floors looked and felt noticeably cleaner, especially the tile.

It wasn't that the tile was particularly dirty before, but after using the cotton mop, the results were much better. The mop water even turned a light brown, as if I’d been picking up grime that my Swiffer had missed.

Since then, I’ve abandoned the Swiffer and now mop manually with a mixture of Pinealen (a Pinesol competitor with real pine oil) or Mr. Clean and hot water. My floors are left looking shiny and thoroughly clean. After each use, I rinse the mop head well, wring it out, and leave it to air-dry on the balcony.

I mentioned this to someone else, and they had a similar experience. They told me they find the Swiffer better suited for quick clean-ups, but for deep cleaning, it doesn’t compare. I completely agree.

 

[donprohel]

"Wet & Dry vacuums"

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">About the "tanks have to be emptied, cleaned out and allow to dry before reassembly. Brush must also be removed, washed then allowed to dry as well", I have a Osotek Horizon (which is not that different from the Bissell Crosswave, and states the same in the User's Manual) and I do not bother any of that. </span>

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I just empty and rinse the dirty water tank when it is full and reinstall it immediately without worrying about drying it; if it isn't full, I just wait until it is. </span>

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">For the clean water tank, I just re-fill it when it is empty, but never rinse or dry it, and if it is not empty, it stays on the machine ready for use. </span>

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">For the brush roll, apart from the (very) occasional self-cleaning, I never remove it and less than ever let it dry: it stays happily wet between uses. </span>

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Never had any issue, no smell, no mould</span>

 

[petek]

I don't fuss that much with my Crosswave either. I dump and rinse the dirty water tank and put it back on waiting for its next use.

 

[wayupnorth]

I'll vac when it gets ro the point I finally cant stand it and will reluctantly do it and once or twice a year use my O'Cedar mop. I have all original hardwood floors with some braded rugs.Floor care is at the bottom of my liked chores.

 

[gizmo]

We have three floor surfaces at home.

 

1. Glazed tiles in terracotta colour, for most of downstairs. (Lounge/dining, toilet, bathroom, laundry, hallway.)

These get vacuumed every 1 or two days. (Long haired cat, wood burning heater, rural environment with grassy and muddy areas.) Mopped once in a blue moon. Very strong and low maintenance floor that suits the house and our lives, love it.

 

2. Karndean vinyl planks in the kitchen. I wanted something softer underfoot in the kitchen than the ceramic tiles. The plan was for cork tiles which I love in other people's places, but the practicalities didn't work out for us - installers are two hours drive away, would involve 5 to 7 return trips for the stages - slab prep & slab sealing, lay cork &sand cork, and three to 5 coats of gloss sealer with a day drying between coats. Would have cost more in travel time for the installer than the vinyl cost all up. Vinyl installer was 1 hour closer to home, and all installed in 2 visits. I was unsure about the product but it is great. (though does scratch if mistreated.) Gets very frequent vacuuming, and irregular cleaning with Karndean Clean using a flat microfibre mop and once or twice a year refinishing with Karndean Protect (A semi-gloss polish).

 

3. Wool carpet upstairs - the only "no shoes" part of our home. Vacuumed regularly, no other cleaning required.

 

Oh, and wooden stairs finished with "natural oils" product that looks lovely but isn't very durable- vacuumed when downstairs floors are done, desperately needs to be sanded off and refinished but that will happen in the future....

 

[dermacie]

My home is hardwood and vinyl tile, and some asbestos tile ( don’t tell anyone). I use a Kirby vacuum and a Karcher SC3 floor scrubber. I also use an o cedar spin mop which I love. All floors get touched up on Mondays. The hardwood has a coating of Simoniz polish wax along with the asbestos tile. The coating is removed and replied once a year before Christmas. I wash the o cedar mop head and Karcher rollers in the machine after every use.

 

[tolivac]

The plank floors in my new home-just vacuum!!!Thats it.

 

[johnb300m]

The Robot Age!

Slightly off-topic, but I've been following robot vacuum products for a few years now, and I myself just got a 2nd Roomba for the basement (1000sq. ft. finished).
Both are J7 models with the obstacle detecting camera. Upstairs unit has the self-empty base.
They are....AWESOME. Work perfectly. And don't at all get stuck on stuff like my one cheaper Wyze robo-vac did. That's the model that got me into them.
I will add, both my Roomba models were gotten with great savings by getting "reconditioned" models. Which were in excellent shape for used electronics.
They're a huge help with upkeep with the two dogs. (Very short hair but they do shed a lot)
I only deep vacuum once a month now, and even then, the Dyson bin only fills up part way with very fine dirt through the whole house.

But the main off-topic topic is, it seems everyone in the market is raving about "mopping" robot vacuums.
Which to me just seems.....ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS.
Mopping vacuums seems to be what's destroying Roomba at the moment. (which are the BEST vacuuming robots out there still)
I've just seen so many in action on YouTube....and it just seems to me, more problematic than it's worth.
You've got a robot dragging a wet pad around your floor.
Some units have spinning mops.
These things don't at all seem like they can actually CLEAN your hard floors!
They are smearing around messes AT BEST.
It's as if I took my Swiffer wet pad mop, and just walked around the kitchen in a snake line.
Sure, it's adequate to wipe up a few water stains from the dogs, or small coffee spills or little grease drops by the stove.
But I cannot at all fathom these things actually cleaning up messes that I know people in the public are using them for.
Not to mention, the market is absolutely demanding "self cleaning" mopping robots.
So now you have this electro/water filled base with pumps, fans etc, trying to clean a filthy grimy mop pad.
I don't have to tell you what that's like.
Whatever moldy, smelly mess you're envisioning? That's what's in those clean bases after a week for sure.
Then you send that around your house again????
WTFFFFFF.

Water and dirt don't mix, it's so dumb.
Wait, yes they do, they make MUD.

(hops down off milk crate)

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

For tiled floors:

We used to have an electric floor scrubber which got to be hard to use because of the dirty water it sucked up having to be drained out and filters in it needing to be cleaned, so no surprise it disappeared having probably, just setting it on the lawn for someone to pick up and have,,,

That leaves a mop and bucket of which the head on the former probably never got changed or even take off and washed while the former was hard to fill asin water having to be directed to it under a faucet of which the bathtub could do and also when emptying dumped anywhere where after the dirty water is dumped the faucet over it gets turned on to rinse everything away...

That leaves a swiffermop with replaceable sponges then, but sadly I try to trust our floors to stay clean enough that I don't have to worry that much about them unhealthy or dirty, as long as I at least take my shoes off in the house... The swiffer is good for the wood floors as well...

Carpeting:

We have a canister vac which we no longer use, and I don't even know if I can get bags for it, leaving a second bagkess upright if two we'd owned and dispointed in the first one we parted with and I once had a carpet scrubber as well which I know got out out with the first vacuum...

Only two rooms are fully carpeted, one bedroom and the den, as well as the entire main area of our basement, so another bedroom just has a big area rug with a smaller are rug going across it… And we have a few other mats and small rugs in the kitchen, bathroom, living room/foyer etc.

-- Dave