Cleaning your dirty house floors seems like a daunting task when you don’t know how to. Follow this guide to learn how to clean any flooring type, from bathroom tiles to laminate floors.
Best Practices for Cleaning a Dirty House Floor
Cleaning sticky floors can be a pain when you don’t know the best way to do it. Follow these best practices for cleaning dirty house floors to simplify the process:
Hand Washing Floors
While hand washing floors takes some time, it’s a foolproof floor cleaning technique, especially if you hire an outsourced cleaning partner. The supplies you need to hand wash floors are:
- A clean mop with cold water
- High-quality towels or rags
- A bucket of clean water
- Floor cleaner
The process of hand washing floors is simple and can be broken down into five steps:
- Start by thoroughly sweeping and vacuuming your dirty house floors. This first step picks up all the dirt, dust, and debris you don’t want in your mop water.
- Next, fill your mop bucket with water and the correct amount of floor cleaner. Always read the directions on the back of your cleaning supplies for safe and effective results. Dampen your rag with the cleaning solution and squeeze out excess water.
- Now, work in small sections. Scrub your designated area and surrounding baseboards in a pattern that works for you. Once your rag collects enough dirt and grime, rinse and repeat, or get a new one if it’s too dirty to use again.
- Change your mop water once it gets too dirty to reuse. After you finish mopping, it’s time to rinse the floors.
- Get a clean bucket of cold water to rinse your floors immediately after washing them. Rinsing helps eliminate any product residue left from your cleaning solution. Dump the water out, and let your floors dry.
And that’s it! Now, you have clean floors. We recommend hand washing floors because it’s an incredibly effective way to give your floors a deep scrub since you have to get on your hands and knees. This technique works for:
- Bathroom floors
- Wood floors
- Vinyl floors
- Laminate floors
- Tile floors
- Plank floors
- Resin or concrete floors
Since it’s a long process, especially for larger homes, it doesn’t need to be done weekly. Hand wash your floors during your regular deep clean, or hire a professional cleaning company to do the dirty work for you.
Don’t have time to deep clean your floors?
Do You Use Hot or Cold Water To Mop Floors?
We’re glad you asked! A common misconception is that hot water is preferred when hand washing floors—but it’s actually the opposite. Cold water is best for cleaning dirty house floors because it doesn’t damage flooring materials and helps floors retain their shine.
Cold water effectively removes bacteria when used alongside cleaning solutions, just like hot water. So pro-tip: If you want to keep your floors shiny, use cold water while mopping.
Use the Proper Cleaning Solutions
Always use the proper cleaning solutions for your flooring material. Every floor is different, and some floors react negatively to cleaning products that work just fine on other materials. Most cleaning products these days describe what they clean in their name. There’s wood cleaner for wood floors, bathroom cleaner for bathroom floors, and so on.
To avoid misusing cleaning chemicals, partner with an expert janitorial cleaning company. They have the experience and knowledge that can help you clean your dirty house floors properly.
Partner With a Professional Residential Cleaning Company
If you’re a busy parent or full-time worker, you might not have the time to dedicate to properly cleaning your dirty house floors—and that’s where The Purple Maids come in.
The Purple Maids is a Seattle-based residential and commercial cleaning company that truly does it all, from regular house cleaning to specialized floor care. We know what it’s like to not have enough time to keep your home clean and want to make your house a comfortable and clean place to start and end your days.
Contact our team of experienced janitorial professionals for floor care and other regular and deep cleaning services.
