Mopping Theory and Aplication

What the hell is up with mopping a floor. How do you do it and what is the right way? I do it the way my janitor at work does it, my Parents did it, and SWMBO agrees with. Fill large basin with water with some kind of cleaner. Take mop with minor squeeze and wet the floor, wring it out and "dry" the floor. This works great. 1 time. Now I have dirty water that I'm spreading around and by the end of the floor I'm just making the floor dirty. To combat this I start and finish on different sides each time. That way the middle is mildly gross and the ends of the room alternate from clean to disgusting.

There has to be a better way!

Also please don't turn this political. I know mopping can be a divisive topic. The number of Mop options alone can generate strong affiliation and that doesn't even consider the different bucket types, wringing mechanisms and do not get people started on different cleaning solutions. The goal is clean floors one all of us can believe in.

in before the lock

nocones wrote: What the hell is up with mopping a floor. How do you do it and what is the right way? I do it the way my janitor at work does it, my Parents did it, and SWMBO agrees with. Fill large basin with water with some kind of cleaner. Take mop with minor squeeze and wet the floor, wring it out and "dry" the floor. This works great. 1 time. Now I have dirty water that I'm spreading around and by the end of the floor I'm just making the floor dirty. To combat this I start and finish on different sides each time. That way the middle is mildly gross and the ends of the room alternate from clean to disgusting. There has to be a better way! Also please don't turn this political. I know mopping can be a divisive topic. The number of Mop options alone can generate strong affiliation and that doesn't even consider the different bucket types, wringing mechanisms and do not get people started on different cleaning solutions. The goal is clean floors one all of us can believe in.

Implement a two bucket system.

Bucket 1 - plain water, Bucket 2 - water with detergent/soap

Dip mop in bucket, clean floor. Wring out in sink/outdoors then dip in Bucket 1 for cleaning. Wring out in Bucket 1, then dip in Bucket 2. Repeat. Once bucket 1 gets gross, dump it and refill.

I do this for floors and car washing.

I will attempt this 2 bucket approach but it is weird and foreign to me..

I used to "mop" my postage stamp apartment kitchen using a towel. I'd spray the floor with Windex, throw down an old towel, step on the towel and scuff my feet around the floor til it was clean. I'd toss the towel in with my garage work clothes pile and I was done.

My wife has since introduced me to the Swiffer and we've never looked back. If you are cheap (and I am) you can refill he Swiffer cleaning bottle with your own cleaner of choice.

We have lots and lots of tile and two dogs--two dogs who love to dig, roll in stuff, etc. We use one of those FloorMates. Works nicely. It's more expensive than a mop, but it's way quicker and easier.

Step one: Hire a janitor.
Step two: Command him to mop floor.

For the DIY'er:
Squirt soap onto floor.
Apply liberal amounts of water from hose.
Scrub with push broom.
Apply liberal amounts of water from hose.
Dry with leaf blower.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Step one: Hire a janitor. Step two: Command him to mop floor. For the DIY'er: Squirt soap onto floor. Apply liberal amounts of water from hose. Scrub with push broom. Apply liberal amounts of water from hose. Dry with leaf blower.

I actually can do that in my house. I did the wet stain & texture of the concrete and then raised the baseboards 1/4". I have to be careful around the edges, but it works. I open the front door and the back door to get the water out.

I was planning ahead.

But I'm with the guys on the 2 bucket approach. Otherwise you have to change the water out way too often. On tile, stone & concrete floors all you need is a bucket of water with a small amount of bleach to clean. Then there's no soapy residue.

Enyar wrote:

nocones wrote: Now I have dirty water that I'm spreading around and by the end of the floor I'm just making the floor dirty... There has to be a better way!

Implement a two bucket system... Wring out in Bucket 1, then dip in Bucket 2. Repeat. Once bucket 1 gets gross, dump it and refill.

Well I'll be damned:

Glad I could finally contribute something worthy to this great forum!

Sweep/Vac, then steam mop. Against instructions, but mix the water in the steam mop with a small amount of nice smelling detergent.

Whoever invented the Swiffer is a goddamned genius.

1988RedT2 wrote:

This thread is about mopping I already have her do my dusting.

Thread's about what now?

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Step one: Hire a janitor. Step two: Command him to mop floor. For the DIY'er: Squirt soap onto floor. Apply liberal amounts of water from hose. Scrub with push broom. Apply liberal amounts of water from hose. Dry with leaf blower.

How dare you suggest a liberal agenda. It's obvious it should be:

Squirt soap onto floor.
Apply conservative amounts of water from hose.
Scrub with push broom.
Apply conservative amounts of water from hose.
Dry with hot air from politician of choice.

nocones wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote:

This thread is about mopping I already have her do my dusting.

By the time you have her on the floor, she'll work quite well asa mop

Mop more often so the floor isn't disgusting?

I have about 1800 sq\ft of travertine (sp?) tile in my house, so mopping is our main floor cleaner. With 2 kids and a dog we definitely have our fair share of filth. I've never noticed the mop water getting that gross at the end. If it's a good cleaning chemical, it should still be strong enough to clean by the end of the cycle either way. I'll use a second bucket of just water as a "rinse" when I'm done with the soapy water. That's to keep down the (sometimes) strong odor of the cleaner and also keeps the floors from getting sticky or filmy from soap residue.