Mopping Up With Martha Stewart Living Radio

Today I had a great time talking with Martha Stewart Living Radio about the right way to mop your floors. Here are some tips we talked about:

• Prior to mopping vacuum your floors and get up all the big dirt and hair. I prefer a canister vacuum to do this job. Make sure you have a nice floor brush as well.
• Use a technique I call "bucketless mopping". You replace the bucket with a spray bottle of your favorite cleaner diluted as if it were in your bucket. We've all been taught to use a bucket but this will make mopping quick and easy.
• Instead of a sponge mop that holds the dirt, use a microfiber mop with different covers for different jobs, These are the same type of mops hospitals are using to prevent cross contamination.

 How to use a microfiber mop correctly:

• Wet the clean cover in the sink and wring it out really well.
• Place it back on the mop.
• Spray your diluted cleaner directly on the floor.
• Wipe the wet mop head over the entire floor.
• If you like you can use a second wet mop head to rinse it. If we were in Germany - we would go over it a third time to dry it!
• Place the dirty mop covers in the washer so they will be nice and clean for the next time.

You can use the same system for cleaning your hardwood floors only don't wet the mop head - use it dry and lightly spray the cleaner so that it will leave the floors sparkling clean.

Here is a homemade recipe for a hardwood floor cleaner from The Joy of Green Cleaning:

• 1 teaspoon dish soap
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 16 ounce hot water
• Place these ingredients in a spray bottle and lightly spray the floors. Wipe with a dry microfiber mop. This mixture will leave the floor clean without a waxy build-up.