I usually mop the kitchen and dining room floors with a regular normal mop. Lately I don't feel like they are getting clean. I have been thinking about getting one of the steam mops. Does anyone have one that they really like and would recommend? Any other suggestions on getting the floors clean? I would prefer something simple and preferably chemical free. (I have a two year old that loves to help as well as takes a lot of my time.)
Thank You in advance for any suggestions!
Vinegar! One part white vinegar to one part water. No chemicals - cleans about anything. Safe for drains, around children and pets, and for the environment.
personally, i prefer just getting down on my hands and knees. I use a naturally based cleaner, a bucket, and a rag and i get down and scrub on my hands and knees. that is the only way i feel they are really CLEAN.
I have a steam mop and I don't feel it's really any different than using a Swiffer-type product. You put a pad on the mop and the pad gets dirty, so then you are basically using steam and a dirty towel to clean the floor.
I have seen a Hoover product that I would love to get but it's a couple hundred dollars. From what I understand it works more like a carpet shampooer but it's for hard floors. It has scrub brushes and then sucks up the dirt and water.
I have used a steam machine before, but not a mop. I do use a mop with natural products to clean my house and it smells so clean and I know that the bacteria are gone. If you would like to know about the natural products please call me ###-###-####. My name is S. LLC
I have a shark steam mop I bought at Wal-mart and I would seriously have fits if something happened to it. I like it because all it requires is water! Much cheaper than having to purchase those cleansers and even the all-natural ones.
When I bought mine that exact day I had just mopped my floor with a regular mop and then of course I just had to test out my new toy and you would not believe the amount of dirt that was picked up-yuck! Take it from a germ-a-phobe I think the steam mop cleans the best and sanitizes the best but I have no solid scientific proof of that! I love my steam mop!
how often do you replace your mop? & how often do you scrub & sanitize your bucket? ......just a thought!
I have a canister steam cleaner with a wand and attachment for floors. I like that it does get the floors clean. I also like that it's a canister and I can get down on the floor and clean hard to reach places with it as well as steam surfaces above floor level. But.....because it's a canister I don't get it out very often. It does take 15 minutes or so to get it out and running. If I had it to do over I'd buy and upright such as the ones that Shark sells. There are several brands and I don't know which one would be best. I'd look up steam mops on Consumer Reports.
I recommend Melaleuca products for everyone but especially those w/ children in their home. All thier products are safe and non-toxic. They are also concentrated which allows for less waste (better for our environment),
I do have a steam mop and although I love it in theory, I find the edges and corners aren't so easy to get properly.
I really like our shark steam mop, I use it on the laminate wood too, awesome!
PS after reading response, yet the towel gets dirty, but usually you can get a whole room (or if you're my husband the whole house) on one pad, but they usually come with extras and you can buy more if you feel like. But they are machine washable, so I mop and throw it in the next load and am good to go. I also have 3 so if I want to do multiple floors I can change it between. I've never notice a problem when my husband uses the same one, but I just feel better
ugh.......i feel your pain, i have the ugliest linoleom floors, i just have to scrub it with ajax while the baby naps in another room, then mop over that to get up the chemicals. Im going to take all these ladies suggestions myself, but in the meantime learn how to cut tile and remove that problem FOREVER, good luck
I clean my linoleum with a lemon scented amonia and hot water. But I am a sucker for how nice the floors look with a nice coat of wax on them. I will wax them every couple of months and that shine makes them look 100x better. I will however do this and then air out the place just because I also really don't like all the chemicals (but I still wont bring myself to find out what exactly is in it). It takes about 20 minutes to dry so when I apply/dry we will leave the house. It leaves a nice seal on the floors too so I don't know what would do more harm the chemicals from the linoleum or the wax which isn't that harmful, right?
Linoleum can just look cheap so easily and I think part of that is because it slowly loses it's top coats. But the wax can bring even the oldest floors closer to new. If I give up my waxing I will definately be upgrading my floors.
