How should I mop the floor? Learn the correct way to mop a floor with a sponge mop. Before mopping the floor, you must decide which type of mop to use. First, there is the standard dust mop for dry-mopping....
Before mopping the floor, you must decide which type of mop to use. First, there is the standard dust mop for dry-mopping. This type of mopping doesn't need much explanation. Dust-mopping is simply a quick way to pick up loose soil, crumbs, and hair. It is not intended for deep cleaning. For deep cleaning, you should wet-mop your floor with either a rope-type mop or a sponge mop.
Rope-type mops can hold a lot of water, and so they are very useful when mopping large areas. For normal household mopping, however, Melissa Briones, owner of Melissa's House Cleaning in Lawton, Oklahoma, says, "A sponge mop is sufficient. I wouldn't recommend the old, traditional rope mops. Some housecleaners insist on using those. I don't. They're heavy, hard to rinse, and, if not taken care of properly, they get moldy."
Sponge mops are lightweight, easy to work with, and the sponge heads can easily and inexpensively be replaced.
Before mopping, you should move the furniture out of the room if possible. You can mop around the legs of a large table, if need be, but removing chairs and other smaller pieces of furniture will make the job much easier. Next, you should prepare your floor by vacuuming or dust-mopping to remove any loose particles that could scratch your floor's finish. After that, you will want to fill a bucket with warm water and a mild floor cleaner such as Spic and Span, Mr. Clean, Pine-Sol, or another brand of your choosing.
Briones says, "You have to plan ahead before you mop. For example, start from the back of the room and work your way out. You want to make sure you are not stepping on the part you just mopped." So, start mopping in the far corner of the room, farthest from the exit. Mopping in the other direction will force you to step on the damp floor in order to leave the room.
You should mop in a straight line, either horizontally or vertically. Briones says, "I would move the mop in the same direction. If you are moving the mop sideways as you clean, horizontally, do it that way throughout. If you mop vertically, use that throughout the process." By keeping the same pattern you will not waste energy by mopping the same area over and over again, and you won't risk missing any spots. Keep the water bucket to your side or behind you, not on the freshly mopped part of the floor.
Some floor cleaners don't require rinsing, but if you do need to rinse, be sure to use fresh water. Rinse in the same way that you mopped originally, this way you won't miss any areas. If any sticky residue is left behind on your floor, it can become a magnet for dirt, and you will find yourself needing to mop more frequently than you would if you simply took the extra time to rinse properly in the first place.
Wait until the floor is entirely dry before replacing the furniture that you had moved prior to cleaning. You will also want to be sure your bucket and mop are dry before storing them away in a closed area.
