I recently realized that I have been mopping my floor with nothing but water to get it clean! No soap or cleaner, whatsoever, of any kind.
Gasp!
I am all about going green and all natural, but this is going a little too far.
And for anyone who knows me well, they know I am a clean FREAK. Like seriously OCD about it. Every night before I go to bed, I make sure everything is picked up and put away. I walk around the house picking up all the toys, making sure all the dishes are in the dishwasher, the counters wiped down, and so on.
I have to or I seriously can't fall asleep.
This does have it's advantages. Yes, my house is usually pretty clean. Straightening it up every night before I go to bed, means I never have to clean up a big huge mess from letting it build up.
But I also know I also go too far with it sometimes.
I wipe down the counters 5 times a day. The kitchen is cleaned up from dinner, before dinner is done cooking. I do the dishes immediately, even Joe's glass that he is still drinking out of. Poor guy, he's so used to it now, he just sees it missing and says, "so I guess you put my glass in the dishwasher, huh?" I seriously won't even remember doing it. It's like robot mode or something.
I think vacuuming is therapeutic.
If you think I am trying to brag on my cleanliness... I am really not. This definitely has it's major drawbacks. First of all, my sanity and zen rely heavily upon it. So even if I am exhausted and all I want to do is crawl into bed, I can't! I have tried. Unless I am under the influence, I can not fall asleep if the house is a mess. It's the same at work. If my desk is a mess, my brain is a mess, and all my creativity flies out the window.
Since the munchkin's birth, I have actually gotten better about it. I am working on it. Baby steps.
I could care less about other people's houses though. I really truly am only that way with my house and anything that I am in charge of. Infact, I often envy someone with a slightly messy home and a relaxed look on their face... no hint of crazies in their eyes at all. It's only my own home that messes with my zen state.
So there, the cat is out of the bag. I'm a clean freak wierdo. Whatever.
So surely you can now understand my shock and horror when I realized what I had done.
Okay, maybe it's not quite that dramatic, but still....
I usually mop the whole floor once a week (aside from the immediate spill clean up here and there). I vacuum the floor and then go over it with my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser mop. I bought the mop a while back. I followed the directions. Simply get the sponge wet, scrub the floor with it, squeeze it out, rinse, repeat and then I would go over it all with a towel to dry it. Once the mop was dirty looking enough, I would replace it. It seemed to do a really good job. It scrubbed up spots really good and was super easy to use.
And the floor looked clean after I mopped it.
Then a a couple weeks ago, Joe and I started realizing that after walking around the house barefoot, our feet would get really dirty. Like really dirty. Like you would see black on our feet. I started wearing socks or sandals around the house at all times. You can imagine my unrest.
What the hell?
I started to question my mop, then after some reading of the fine print on their website, I saw this:
"For best results, use it with your favorite Mr. Clean all-purpose cleaner."
Ooops.
I seriously thought there was cleaner in the sponge already. This whole time I thought I was actually cleaning my floors, instead of just getting the dirt wet, pushing it around and then letting it dry again. I felt like such an idiot!
This has been going on for months. What a dummie!
So last week, Joe went to the store and brought me back a Swiffer Wet Jet. When I was done, the pad was black. Black!!
Oh the shame!
And shame on you Mr. Clean!
I have cleaned the kitchen floor with it twice now and it definitely gets it clean. I HATE the strong chemical smell though and don't like using it on the floor. I am definitely going to have to switch to something else. I have tried Seventh Generation and didn't think it worked that great on the floors.
Any ideas or suggestions? How do you ladies clean your floors?
11 comments:
I have the coolest and my most favorite mop I've ever had! It's an awesome everyday straightening & cleaning type mop. It's so funny I caught you writing about this, cuz I recently realized I was going on and on about it not that long ago. It's called a Rubbermaid Reveal. It has an empty solution bottle, so you can put whatever the heck you want in it. Any cleaning solution (or just water) your little heart desires. It has a HUGE strong swivel head on it...like 4 times the size of a swiffer and you just un-velcro the awesome cleaning head and throw it in the wash. I've already used and abused and washed the head a million times and it has not lost any of it's strenth or durabilitly. It's pretty versatile and awesome and very green. My mom came over one day and wanted to know what kind it was cuz she fell in love with watching me use it! It almost looks like a dust mop, but on steroids. Mine's the rubbermaid reveal, like I said, but there are some other brands coming out with the similar style. It's the only mop I would truly recommend. Even my mom and Jay were making fun of me and told me I should be on an infomercial when I was showing my mom after she asked how great it was and how I use it. (By the way, my mom has hardwood floors, so she loved it because she could use it on her hardwood floors too!) So, it's pretty versatile. I dare anyone who owns one and mops regularly to have anything bad to say about it.
Thanks for the tip Sarah! I am going to check it out right away. I love that you can put your own cleaner in it! Then I can use something more green and not stank up the kitchen with the chemical smell.
Ooops...I forgot to say it has the spray trigger thingy...but you probably already assumed that. It's cheaper too. Instead of buying solution refills and replacement heads. My favorite solution combo is hot water mixed with a little murphy's oil soap! Jay's sockies stay nice and white!
I've already found it on Amazon and saw that it had the sprayer! I think I am going to try it out with a vinegar/water mix! I'm excited! lol
I use the shark steam mop, it is the best thing ever for cleaning hardwoods, laminate, or tile. Its a little pricey up front, but you never have to buy anything else like cleaner or pads. It just uses steam to clean the floor. You can throw the pad in the washer each time you are done. Check it out, its the best product I have tried
Ya know what?! I actually have a shark steam mop! My grandma gave me one a couple of years ago. I put it in the closet and never thought about it again. It seemed like it would be a pain in the butt to use. Okay... before I invest any more money, I am going to dig it out and try it out!
I use an old swiffer wet jet (probably about 8 years old). I recently started refilling the wet-jet bottles with liquid dr bronner's soap mixed with water. It seems to be working fine so far, and is much better than the stinky chemical smell of the swiffer stuff. I'm planning to try an old cloth diaper insert instead of the throw away pad once I run out of those.
I love how some of these suggestions may not require any more money spending on my part. I have a huge bottle of Dr. Bronner's (I use it for lots of other stuff) and could try that out added to my Swiffer wet jet... sweet! Lots of good ideas!
This is too funny. I would totally do the same thing and wonder why my feet were always dirty. Here's to clean floors!
I either use a steam mop or Method floor cleaner (the lavender scent). But then again, you KNOW how messy/dirty my house usually is.
Just so you know, you're not alone. Brent and I have the cleanest, tidiest house ever. We can't STAND clutter and even on our busiest days with a brand new baby, it was probably in better shape than 99% of the rest of the homes in America, lol. I hate going to bed in a messy house. It drives me CRAZY!
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