House cleaning is always a "holiday". In a figurative sense, of course. This procedure takes a whole day, and after a few days it becomes dirty again. In a word, the work is ungrateful, but necessary. Well, the dirtiest and most difficult to clean surface is the floor. Therefore, many housewives often have the question of how to clean the floor so that it does not have stains, so that it sparkles and does not get dirty. The latter, of course, is difficult to fulfill: people need only fly. But on the first two points, some recommendations can be given.
General rules
Before you are going to wash the surfaces on which you walk, you need to familiarize yourself with the general rules for this manipulation. These rules apply to all types of floors. Regardless of how you assemble the floor, with your hands or with a mop, you must first remove all objects that are possible from the surface. Thus, the territory will be free, and cleaning will become much easier.
It is very important to clean the floors with a broom before wet cleaning. Thin twigs help pull dust out of far corners and crevices. It is only necessary to work with a slightly wet broom: in the bucket of water you should moisten the ends of the rods a little, and then lightly tap the edge of the bucket to shake off excess droplets.
Now you can start cleaning the floors. This is done from the most distant corner of the room, moving gradually towards the exit. These are general recommendations, and now we’ll figure out how to use a mop, what detergents are suitable for which surface types, and how to make surfaces clean without using a mop.
Type of floor and rules for washing it
Modern floor coverings can be made of laminate, they can be parquet, they are also covered with linoleum and tiles, unpainted and painted wood. Each type of floor needs a special cleaning agent and has its own specific processing.
Laminate is allowed to be washed only once a year. The rest of the time it is only wiped with a damp cloth soaked in soapy water.
The parquet floor is cleaned in the same way as the laminate, only after wet wiping it should be rubbed with mastic.
You can completely wash the floor with soap only if it is covered with linoleum. Water should be warm, and cleaning allowed regularly.
Wooden painted floors can also be washed every day. It is especially important to do this in the hallway and in the kitchen, where they get dirty most. Such coatings are not afraid of moisture. Stains can be removed with ammonia.
If you have a wooden floor in your house, but not painted, then it is allowed to wash it only once a week. To do this, use hot water and soap. Then you need to rinse the coating well and wipe it with a dry rag.
The easiest to clean are tiled floors. They can even be wiped daily with a damp cloth.
Choose a detergent
It is incredibly important to choose the right detergent for the floor. The market today has a huge number of different products for cleaning floor surfaces, but each type of coating has its own product. So, for parquet it is necessary to choose a delicate composition that will not damage the floor.
Cliners that contain alcohol are not suitable for linoleum. Powdered detergents are also not recommended. Such concentrates will darken the coating or leave whitish stripes.
Floor tiles must not be cleaned with liquid soap. It is better to rub a little laundry soap in water or find a detergent with an acid content. Such a product will remove dirt and destroy germs.
For laminate flooring, try to buy a pH neutral detergent. Abrasive materials must not be used for cleaning flooring from this type of material.
Mop wash
Whether to wash the floors of the house, with a mop or hands, each housewife decides for herself. If you need to do everything quickly, then a mop, of course, is better. But if, at the same time as cleaning, you want to do exercises, you should work with your hands. But if you decide to use only a mop, then you should first familiarize yourself with the modern types of this tool. In stores you can find such mops:
- rope
- butterfly mops;
- with microfiber:
- with a sponge;
- steam;
- flat.
Which product to choose, it is also up to the user. It is only important that the mop is as comfortable as possible for you.
Now consider how to properly handle this straightforward tool. The mop should be thoroughly moistened in water and squeezed a little for the first time. They wash the floors, as mentioned above, from the far corner of the room to its exit. From time to time, the mop needs to be re-moistened with water. In heavily contaminated places you need to rub with a mop more thoroughly, gently pressing it.
When washing a rough tile or other floor covering with a texture, a mop it is necessary to make such movements as if you were drawing a figure eight. Thanks to this, you will perfectly wash the dirt off the floor.
When everything is done, you need to rinse the mop in clean water, squeeze it and set to dry upside down.
Washing floors with my hands
Many housewives are interested in the answer to the question of how to wash the floor with their hands. Everything is very simple here: choose a suitable rag and cleaning agent. Add washing liquid to the bucket of water and dip a rag there. Soak it thoroughly and wring it out. Now, just like in the case of a mop, it is necessary to wash the coating from the far corner to the middle of the room. Rinse the rag, wring it out and wash the other half of the room. If necessary, wipe the washed surface with a dry cloth.
Which rag is best?
Which floor detergent to choose, we have already figured out. Now you have to figure out which rag is best for washing floor coverings with your hands. Previously, old T-shirts and t-shirts were used for this purpose. Today, in stores there are entire departments in which all kinds of rags are presented. Consider their most popular types.
Canvas made of viscose. This material perfectly absorbs and retains moisture. But when wet, he loses his strength. In addition, twisting and hot water are contraindicated for him. Therefore, it is better to purchase not natural viscose, but a viscose rag with the addition of synthetic fibers. A viscose rag in combination with polyester perfectly absorbs moisture from the floor and wipes it dry. For washing coatings by hand, this is an excellent solution.
The rag, in the composition of which there is cellulose, is characterized by increased absorbent qualities.
Synthetics (polyester) copes with pollution better than any natural materials. Such rags dry quickly and are durable.
Microfiber is considered the material of the new generation for mopping. It consists of microscopic fibers of polyester, cotton and others. Such tiny fibers can penetrate the smallest and farthest crevices and wash out dust and dirt from there.
Floor cleaner
Modern housewives are increasingly wondering whether it is possible to wash floors with a steam cleaner. If you have linoleum floors in your house, then, of course, you can use this unit to clean it. For any other surfaces, its use is prohibited.
The steam regulator must be switched to the “Two” or “Three” mode: this way the steam temperature will become lower and will not spoil the coating. After such cleaning, no traces will remain on the floor.
Folk remedies
Readers will also be interested in learning how to clean the floor with folk remedies. If there are children in the house, then it is possible that the flooring can be painted with felt-tip pens. To wipe it off, you need to moisten a small rag in gasoline and rub the “image" lightly. Then this place should be wiped with a damp, clean cloth and wiped dry. In the same way, traces of sneakers are removed.
To make the floor shiny, it is recommended to wash it with a solution of milk and water. Liquids need to be mixed in proportions one to one. The floor just washed can be greased with linseed oil, which forms a protective film and thus protects the surface from damage.
