Are you mopping with dirty water?
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
United States
August 6, 2007 7:20pm CST
Most times when I mop the kitchen floor, I have to change the mop water at least two or three times. Otherwise I feel that I am just mopping with dirty water. There's always bits of things floating around in my water, and i certainly don't want to put that back onto the floor! And, the result is usually less than satisfactory if I use the same dirty water for the entire floor.
And, I figured this must be the only way that people cleaned their floors. But, a friend of mine swears that she only uses one bucket of water for her entire kitchen floor. Personally, I don't see how she does so much cleaning with one tiny bucket. Wouldn't she be worried about spreading dirty water around everywhere? That couldn't possibly be sanitary. But, I guess it works for her.
How about you? Do you use a second or third bucket of water when you are mopping your kitchen floors? Or, do you use just one bucket of water when mopping your floors?
2 people like this
8 responses
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
7 Aug 07
Yes I agree with you, I hate to see all the floaty things and anyway I like my floors to smell nice so I do change the water but I must be honest recently during the water shortage here in Australia it has frightened me a bit and I have tried using just the one bucket.
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
7 Aug 07
We have the water shortage issue in our area part of the year. And, during those times, it is very difficult to keep a clean house. And to make things more interesting, I've been trying to be more environmentally friendly, so now the detergents and cleaners have to be good for the planet too. Or, at least that is what I am striving for. It's an evolution, I suppose!
1 person likes this
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
7 Aug 07
I feel the same way about mopping with dirty water. For that reason I mop right out of my kitchen sink. I only fill it about a quarter of the way up, mop a section of the floor, use that same water to rinse out the mop and then I refill. It takes me a little longer but I have been doing it for so long that now I have a system and it goes pretty quickly. When I am done I fill the sink with hot water and mop over the whole floor with it.
I know it disgusts some people that I would mop out of my kitchen sink but I just give the sink a really thorough cleaning afterwards. Actually I am kind of a fanactic about my sink so it gets pretty thoroughly cleaned everyday.
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
8 Aug 07
That is so good to know it is not true. I am a pet owner too but since I don't use the product I never really researched it.
How do these things get started??
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
7 Aug 07
That is a great question- I do mop about half of my floor and then change the water- I make sure I sweep the floor first- then I run the floor vacuum over it too to pick up the lint and dust that the broom didn’t get- There usually isn’t anything floating in my water—but it gets really dirty- I swear I could mop the floor every day! So yes I do change the water- because really you are mopping with dirty water- It’s gross! I sometimes (time permitting) go over the floor with a bucket of rinse water- Just hot water-
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
8 Aug 07
I would never use the same bucket for the whole floor, but then I do not use a bucket and when I do, as soon as the water looks dirty, I change it. What I mostly do is rinse the mop under the tap (we have a sponge mop --my husband's idea. I wanted one of those mops 'as seen on TV' but he would not let me buy it. If I see a stain or mark, I want to get it out right away.
That is the disadvantage of having a white linoleum floor in the kitchen, everything shows up, but it sure looks nice.
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
8 Aug 07
I do like several other people have already mentioned and just mop from the kitchen sink, or the bathroom sink, depending on where I'm mopping. If I'm mopping the pantry, I will use a small bucket of water, and just do it all with one, but my pantry isn't that big, so the water doesn't get all that dirty.
I don't trust my children or my dogs enough to use a bucket when I mop if they are around. One of my dogs drinks out of the toilet, I know she wouldn't mind drinking nasty mop water! The smaller dog would just try to look in, and knock it over if she could. And my son would throw a bunch of toys in it! It's just easier to use the sink.
@bagumbayan (2705)
• Philippines
9 Aug 07
Maybe your kitchen is dirtier that theirs. I too can clean our kitchen without the mop only with rugs as I am living in a condo and the space is too small. I can suggest, you got one bucket of water with cleansing soap or detergent, put the mop in their, mop the floor and after, then dip it into the water and then continue mopping, and finally dip it into the bucket with detergent and presto, all is clean.
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
7 Aug 07
I often only use one bucket of soapy water to mop the kitchen floor but if the water turns coffee like colour then I have to use another pail of water. It all depends on how dirty the floor is. Sometimes I have to mop it twice a day.
@hermitcrabheaven (645)
• United States
7 Aug 07
I use my kitchen sink to rinse out the mop, then I use a squirt bottle with cleaning solution - usually bleach - to mop the floor. This way I don't have to worry about dirty water in the bucket.
Also my daughter has a habit of getting into any water. She's very quick. My dogs will also drink it if it's not right next to me. So, if something happens and I have to leave the room, I can have kids and dogs in the bucket, lol. Not very good. So, I just use the sink to avoid all that. :o)
