Mopping is more fun when you finish the job, stand back and the floor looks amazing. Achieving that amazing result quickly and with little effort may not be as difficult as you think. Whether your floor has a super shiny or matt finish, if it’s timber, vinyl or marble, there is a microfibre flat mop that’s perfect for every indoor floor cleaning job.
We all like to stick to what we know but traditional floor mopping systems are now getting left behind. They reach capacity fast and tend to evenly spread the dirt and muck around rather than remove it. Traditional mopping systems use lots of water and chemical too. Streaky floors and chemical residue build ups are often the result and that’s not what we want.
Microfibre floor mops have noticeably better performance, superior durability, and they clean fast with little or no water and chemical. These tiny microfibres gently get in and clean the low points of the floor normal mops skip over. And that means a deeper, better clean.
Sure, as with any product there are good and not so good microfibre floor mops. But when you get your hands on a good one you won’t look back. Everyone wants a better floor mop that will clean and care for their floor. Microfibre flat mops are a great place to start your search.
Microfibre floor mops can be used effectively dry or damp. Cleaning dry or damp is basically the same process except when you clean damp you add water. Here’s some instructions to get you started.
How to damp mop floors using a microfibre flat mop
It’s best to give your floor a quick dry mop before you start damp mopping. We recommend the same process for traditional mopping. The dry mop will remove any surface dust and debris. This allows the damp mop to do a deeper better clean. This is only a recommendation and if time is of the essence you can get straight into your damp mopping.
Here’s the 7 steps:
Do not over wet your floor pad refills. The mop should not be dripping and be wrung out firmly. You can moisten mops by hand in a sink with a cleaning solution or just water. To improve productivity and larger jobs, use a microfibre mop bucket. Usually the correct amount of water is 100ml-125ml per 40cm-45cm mop refill. Allow time for the moisture to wick through. About 1 hour minimum is OK or overnight is ideal. Then the mops are ready for use. No further wringing out should be required.
Then gently place both the frame and handle in the central position. The mop handle should be adjusted so that it is just below chin height. At all times, keep your back straight.
Always use ‘Caution Wet Floor’ safety signs when needed. Carefully and systematically work backwards to make sure all areas have been cleaned. We don’t want any dirty footprints! It’s also an idea to clean detailed edges and corners first before mopping the open larger areas. Similar to how you would if you were painting.
Do not mop back and forth. Instead, mop in a figure-eight motion. Twisting the handle helps to turn the mop. Mopping in a figure-eight motion keeps the same leading edge throughout the process of mopping so that nothing is left behind. The path of the mop should be 1Mt to 1.2Mt wide. You shouldn’t need to stretch or reach if the path of your mopping process is the right width.
Regularly change mops when changing zones or areas so that cross contamination is prevented. If you are cleaning for a facility that has colour coded mop refills be sure to use the right colour in the right area. Even if you don’t use colour coding it can still be a good idea to use blue mops for your general areas and red mops for bathroom areas. It’s a much more hygienic way to organise your floor cleaning.
You may want to do this with gloves on. Any mess can be reduced if you do this step over a bin or sink. Give the frame or handle a quick wipe if needed. And ensure the dirty mop refills are laundered separately.
If you are using a high quality microfibre mop and the correct amount of liquid, it should not take long for the floor to dry.
One of the many benefits of using microfibre products for mopping is that less effort is needed. Microfibre is the sought-for answer to the age-old question: “Isn’t there a better way to mop?”
(www.xo2.com.au)
