3 Easy Steps To Perfectly Mopped Floors

You know how much we love getting into all of those nasty little nooks and crannies to clean the areas that most homeowners ignore. But you can think of cleaning light switches, window tracks, and laundry room baseboards as advanced cleaning. If you haven’t tackled the basic-level cleaning tasks, then your house is still going to feel like a hot mess. 

That’s why we recommend starting with the basics. And there’s one part of your home that has more surface area for germs and bacteria to cling to than anything else.

We are talking about your FLOORS!

Seriously, if you aren’t cleaning your floors the right way, you are wasting your precious time. 

Your floors are filthy. Period.

That’s not a knock on you – it’s just the facts. If you aren’t cleaning your floors regularly and correctly, your floors aren’t any cleaner than a public restroom or supermarket. Every germ that’s on those floors is getting tracked into your house via shoes.

And do you want to know something gross? Your family’s shoes are dirtier than most toilet seats. If you wear your shoes in your house, just think about all of the places you, your kids, and your pets have walked over the past couple of weeks. Now imagine all of that being transferred to your floors. 

Studies show that the soles of our shoes track millions of organisms into the house. In fact, 39 percent of shoes have clostridium difficile (C-diff), which is not pretty. And that’s just one type of bacterium we’re bringing into our homes daily.The point is, you need to clean your floors correctly. So let me show you how to mop your floors the House Work way.

If you’re ready to purge the germs for good, check out our Free Downloads for quick checklists, or dive deep with one of our full Cleaning Guides to reclaim your space.

The House Work Mopping Method

What You Need: Spin mop, Hot Water, Tide® Powdered Laundry Detergent. We recommend the O-Cedar Spin Mop (USA) (Canada)
How Often? At least once per week in highly trafficked areas

Step 1: Vacuum

Never mop without first getting all of the dust and crud out of the way – and don’t go reaching for the trusty broom. I repeat, no brooms allowed! They just kick more dust into the air and undo all your hard work! Instead, grab the vacuum and use a floor attachment to canvas the area. 

Step 2: Mop

Now that your floor is free of dust and debris, it’s time to mop. For hard floors, fill the bucket up to the line with hot water and add 1 teaspoon of Tide® Powdered Laundry Detergent. Dunk your mop and then push the foot pedal 7-10 times. You don’t want any drips at all.

Mop your floors, making sure to change out your water when it starts looking dirty. You’re not cleaning anything with dirty mop water. Let your floors dry fully before putting any furniture back.

Step 3: Vacuum

Once the floors have dried and you’ve put everything back in place, go back over your floors with the vacuum one last time for good measure. This will pick up anything that may have been stirred up during the process.

Mopping Floorboard FAQs

Can I mop floorboards with bleach?

Only use a small amount of bleach when you need to sanitize. For regular cleaning, stick to Tide and water.

How do I prevent streaks on dark floorboards?

Tide and water shouldn’t streak, but you may need to mop a few times until the water runs clean. Streaks usually mean there’s still dirt on the floor or you have added too much Tide (it has to be powdered Tide). Bleach can cause streaks on darker floors as it dries so skip bleach if the wood is dark. Or you can mop with only water after to rinse the bleach. 

How often should I mop high-traffic wood floors?

It depends on your home. Kids, pets, and wearing shoes indoors mean more frequent mopping. For most busy households, once a week works well.

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