Tidiness is one of the essential things at home.
A neat floor makes your house look sparkling clean and conducive and helps ward off infestation from pests and other unwelcome guests.
The frequency of sweeping or mopping the house varies.
So, How Often Should You Sweep and Mop Your House?
Many factors determine the frequency at which you should sweep or clean your house. The number of people in the place, the activities in the house, and other extrinsic factors determine this frequency. You do not sweep or mop if it is sparkling clean. You do it the moment you notice some debris and dirt on the floor or your carpets.
See Also: Is It Better to Mop with Hot or Cold Water?
What Determines the Frequency of Sweeping or Mopping the House?
1. Traffic
Traffic is the primary agent of dirt on your floor.
Kids, for instance, love moving in an out of the house.
There is no doubt that they bring with them a lot of debris on their feet as they stream into the building.
So, as soon as you notice that your floor is laden with debris and dirt, it is time to take action.
Execute a thorough sweeping and\or mopping.
2. Activity Level in The House
The activity level in the room intensifies with an increasing number of occupants. And this includes pets.
Pets, mainly, love playing and running up and down the house.
In the event, they leave trails of dirt on the floor. It will prompt you to sweep or mob the floor often.
Your kids or pets can walk in the room on a rainy day. Or perhaps they are using the floor and the hallways to play games.
Your kitchen floor equally needs frequent cleaning.
There is every chance that food particles and dirt will find their way onto the floor and makes it dirty.
Such rooms will require you to clean them often.
3. The Nature of Flooring Materials
The nature of the flooring materials in the house dictates the frequency at which you should sweep or clean it.
And it is so because some flooring materials, such as door mats, do not seem to get dirty fast.
Not that they do not get dirty, but they conceal debris and dirt.
However, it would be different if you used a bare floor without a carpet or mat.
It is hard to assume dirt on tiled floors without a rug or a mat. Such floors require frequent cleaning.
Also, if you use door mats on the entryways, you will minimize the quantity of dirt that comes into the house.
This way, you can maintain the floor of your home in a pretty clean condition without the need to sweep or clean it often.
4. Sealed Vs. Unsealed
It would help if you understood what your floors are made of to better master how to keep them clean.
Wooden floors are, for instance, pretty much sealed, proving much better than other unsealed floors.
They can excellently shield from unwanted materials and debris that can make the house untidy.
On the other hand, unsealed floors need more attention and frequent cleaning. One, they cannot resist water percolation.
You will need to keep your mop moist and poised for these floors so that they can last longer and save your expenses.
5. Playing It Safe
It is all about the attention that you give your floors.
Proper attention to your floor can save you frequent sweeping and mopping of the floor.
That means you pick up any debris on sight to avoid massive accumulation that would otherwise compel you to sweep or mop the entire floor.
Also, if you can schedule some cleaning sessions somewhere in the week, you can scale down on the frequency of mopping and cleaning the floors.
How to Clean a Floor
trivial as it may sound, floor cleaning is sometimes an intricate job.
Knowing the best way of doing it can help keep the floors sparkling clean, and you will not have to do it often.
Because let’s face it, floor cleaning is one of those monstrous tasks. You will not be available to do it often. Therefore, you must master all the ins and outs of floor cleaning to guarantee perfection.
What You Need
- Mop / broom/ dustpan
- Vacuum cleaner
- Mop buckets (at least 2)
- Rag
- Sponge
- Paper towels
- Household cleaner
- Mopping detergent
How to Clean It
1. Sweep The Floor with A Broom to Remove Large Debris
The first step is to rid the floor of large debris. You can successfully remove this using a broom. Collect everything and discard them in your garbage pin.
Do not use abrasive brooms on your soft carpets, as this might tear them off. You can later use vacuum cleaners on such surfaces.
2. Dissolve Your Detergents in Water
Depending on the size and number of rooms you intend to mop, create a solution of detergents.
Thoroughly mix them up. You can soak the rag in the solution for later use.
3. Get To Mopping
With everything all set, it is time to clean your floor. Thoroughly mop every corner of the floor and make sure that no debris is left behind.
Scrub stubborn dirt using harsh brushes before sweeping the surface. Do not strain on such parts as you can harm your tools.
See Also: Is It OK To Pour Dirty Mop Water Down The Toilet?
4. Dry The Floor
Once done with the mopping, it is time to dry the floor using a rag. Drying the floor is essential to keep moisture at bay and prevent potential problems.
Water can cause mold and mildew to flourish on the floor.
Consequently, they pose many issues, including respiratory ailments and foul odors.
Use a dry rag to clean up all moisture off the floor. Proceed to leave the floor for a while. Walking on it before it dries will leave dirty marks.
If possible, do not let any pet or kid walk in during your moping routine. You can proceed to reorganize your stuff and put everything in order once the floor completely dries.
5. Dry All Cleaning Tools
You will need them for the next tidying. So, clean them and hang them somewhere to keep them dry.
It will prolong your mopping tools’ lifespan and prepare you for the next similar exercise.
Final Words
The floor gets dirtier than all other parts of the home because it is always on the receiving end.
Everything that falls eventually lands there.
It would help if you kept a close watch on it.
You want to walk on a floor that gives your feet comfort. How often you clean or mop the floor depends on the intensity of activities in the room and other factors mentioned in this article.
