Mopping a floor today

Floors are probably one of the most soiled surfaces in any building and to keep well maintained demand the most time and attention. 
Hard surfaced floors are the most difficult area to clean properly and being the clever little humans that we are, many ideas have been developed over the years to make the “best ever” floor cleaning tool. Vacuum cleaners and scrubbing machines are obviously front-runners in the “best” competition with ease of use and performance these machines are hard to beat for larger areas.

If using a machine is not suitable and you don’t fancy a bucket with a scrubbing brush then there is a wide range of tools available to wet clean your hard floor. Some work better than others and here are several observations we have made.

Sponge mops are OK for cleaning light soil or maybe a small spill pickup in a hurry. Generally though they tend to mop the floor too dry (damp) and over time the soil gets smeared and a brown build up will often become apparent. The soil may be loosened by the sponge but is not well picked up and floors can even start to feel sticky when dry especially where the soil contains food deposits or too much detergent has been used.

Microfibre flat mops are generally better for damp cleaning as the micro fibre’s are much more aggressive at cutting the soil from the surface and lifting it into the fabric where it will remain until rinsed. Remember tough that like the sponge a microfibre mop can become overloaded with soil and several fresh covers may be required to mop a larger area if regular rinsing is not practical.
Microfibre flat mops may have limited use for picking up spills depending on the quality of microfibre.

An advantage of sponge and microfibre mops is that the buckets used with them are often smaller and lighter and this can also be a plus for storage.

In this day of techno wizardry the simple idea’s often still work the best and this is true in the case of wet mopping floors.

Wringer mops - To get a floor really clean without the use of a machine the wet mop and wringer bucket is still the most reliable method that can be used by anyone with minimal training. The plastic wringer buckets  sold these days are easy to use and available in various sizes and colours.

The secret when using a wringer mop and bucket is in the amount of water that can be easily applied to the surface being sufficient to “float” the soil. The soiled solution can then be picked up with a wrung out mop or a wet vac if you have one.
The mop head itself can be selected from a range of yarns to suit the floor surface and a good quality neutral pH chemical cleaner will also greatly assist the cleaning process.
Maintaining the mop head after mopping will help ensure a good job next time you mop. As for any cleaning cloth it will need a good rinse out before drying for storage. This will extend the life of the mop head and eliminate odours.