It seems like there’s always a never-ending list of chores. And just when you think you’re done with the list, here comes a brand new chore you forget about. Mopping is one of the most time-consuming chores and it has to be done or else your floors will become sticky and there will be a smell around your house. So, how often should you mop your floors?
You should mop your floors at least once a week. But if you have pets or kids, then that can go up to two to three times a week.
There are some practices that you can implement in your home to reduce how often you must mop your floors. You can also spot mop, wipe certain areas down with paper towels, and implement a no-shoe rule to keep the floors clean.
How Often Should You Mop Your Floors?
If you’re reading this, you are probably sitting in your living room with a notepad and pen in your hand, trying to make a list of chores to do for the coming week. As you are walking around your home writing all chores big and small, you realize you can’t remember the last time you mopped.
Mopping is very time consuming and many people push mopping to the side because of all the prep work they have to do beforehand.
Here are the factors to consider when scheduling days to mop:
- The number of people in the house
- If there are any pets in the house
- If the pets are cleaned when they enter the home
- Do people walk around with shoes on in the home?
- Are there small children in the home?
- Do you often have visitors and guests and do they wear their shoes in the house?
- Which rooms become dirty faster than other rooms
As you can see, there are several factors to consider when deciding how often you should mop your home. Plus, you always have the option of spot mopping certain rooms and areas instead of mopping the entire house.
As you probably guessed, a single person living alone who does not wear their shoes in the house does not have to mop as much as a family of five with two dogs who frequently have visitors and everyone wears their shoes in the house.
The person living alone won’t have to mop the home until two weeks have passed, while the family of five may have to mop multiple times a week and spot mop and vacuum.
On average, mop your home at least once a week and sweep at least twice a week.
High Traffic vs. Low Traffic Areas
Certain rooms, like the pantry, the bathroom, and guest rooms, do not have to be mopped as often as other rooms. We will call these rooms high traffic rooms and low traffic rooms.
High traffic rooms are rooms like the living room, regularly use bedrooms and bathrooms, always, and the kitchen.
We must mop high traffic rooms at least twice a week while low traffic rooms do not have to be mopped until 10 days have passed.
If you have pets in the home, they can bring in dirt, dander, pollen, leaves, mud, and other natural bits in their fur and on their paws. You can prevent them from bringing in outside natural bits by keeping them as in their animals, or brushing their fur and wiping their paws when they return to the house.
What Cleaners Can You Use to Mop Your Floors?
Unless otherwise stated on the bottle, most mopping liquids or floor detergents can be used on a variety of floors.
But what are you supposed to do if you have to mop the floor in the next 10 minutes and you don’t have any mopping detergent? There are a few household products that you can use as a substitute.
Dish Soap
The best and most reliable substitute product is dish soap. Fill a bucket with lukewarm water and mix about 1/4 cup of dish soap. Be sure to mix the dish soap with the water by pouring in the dish soap and then using the mop to swish the water around. Do this until the water becomes soapy and suds float to the top.
Vinegar and Water
If you’re out of dish soap as well as mopping detergent, then your next best choice is pure white vinegar. Mix about 1/4 of a cup into a full bucket of mop water.
When using vinegar as a cleaning agent, open all the doors and windows in the house so the vinegar’s milk can dissipate quickly.
Warning! Do not use vinegar on hardwood floors or ceramic tiles. If you have these types of floors, use dish soap instead.
How to Clean Hardwood Floors
Every homeowner in the world salivates at the site of beautiful hardwood floors. But if you want the beauty of hardwood floors, you must learn to take care of them.
There are two critical rules for maintaining hardwood floors:
Use mopping detergent designated for hardwood floors. Mopping agents for hardwood floors will have a special oil mixed into the soap. When the water dissipates, the hardwood floor will shine and sparkle because of the oil.
Create a yearly budget so that you can save money to have your hardwood floors refinished every 5 years. Refinishing hardwood floors will extend the life of the wood and correct any small imperfections and scratches.
Conclusion to How Often You Should Mop
You should aim to mop your floors at least once a week and you sweep your floors at least twice a week. Homes with more people in the house will have to mop multiple times a week while the person living alone won’t have to mount for two weeks.
If you run out of mopping cleaner, use dish soap. You can also use vinegar and water to mop, but not on hard water for ceramic floors.
