If you have flooring in your home like tiles, laminate, hardwood or concrete, you ideally want to give them a good mop once a week. If you have pets, children or a lot of visitors in and out, once a week is the bare minimum – you might need to consider doing it twice a week too.
Floor mopping is a simple cleaning exercise that – if done properly and with the right products – can be easy to do, leaving you with a lot of satisfaction afterwards. Read on for more on how to mop the floor dos and don’ts.
Best Way to Mop the Floor
There really aren't a whole lot of different ways to mop the floor. If you follow these easy steps, you’ll get floor mopping done right, every time.
Step 1 – Clear the Area
For a good clean, try and clear the area of as much furniture as possible. Move what you can (without hurting your back) out of the way for the duration of the cleaning in order to get as much of the floor surface cleaned as possible.
Step 2 – Sweep
Always make sure you give the floor area a good sweep or vacuum before mopping. This is to make sure that as much dirt, dust and debris is collected so that it doesn’t get mushed around in the water and turned into mud. Use a good-quality broom and dustpan for this step.
Step 3 – Prepare the Solution
Using a good quality floor cleaning bucket, fill it with warm water and the floor cleaning solution of your choice. We love Handy Andy All-in-1 Floor Cleaner because it can be used on just about any floor surface and really works to give the floor a shiny, streak-free clean.
Step 4 – Choose Your Mop of Choice
Whether you like a string mop or a sponge mop, make sure that the mop you choose is clean when beginning to mop your floors. Put it into the soapy water solution and allow it to soak for a few minutes before wringing out and beginning to mop.
Step 5 – Allow to Dry
Work your way around the floor so as to leave yourself enough room to exit the space at the end of the mopping without having to walk over where you’ve just cleaned. Start at the far end of a room and end at the door. Leave the room to dry properly before returning the furniture and styling.
Step 6 – Clean Your Tools
Never leave your mop soaking in the bucket of dirty water – unless you want to have to throw it away. Give the mop a thorough clean after every floor wash and hang it on the line to thoroughly dry too.
Want to know more about the best way to clean your floors with products that work? Read our blog on The Complete Floor & Surface Cleaning Product Range now.
Floor Mopping Dos and Don'ts
When it comes to floor-mopping tips, there are a few absolute dos and don’ts to follow to get the best results (and the shiniest floors):
Don’t use dirty water to mop the floor, you will simply have a sticky, dirty floor afterwards if you do.
Always wring out your mop well, excess water can damage flooring, especially wooden or laminate floors.
Don’t use an abrasive mop or cloth on flooring. The mop you use should always be soft and smooth.
Don’t throw your dirty floor water on the flowers. You might think you’re giving them water, but you’re actually putting all the germs and chemicals from the cleaner on them.
We have more floor and surface cleaning blogs for you to read today!