How do you clean your floors?

[kz_blogorambling]

This will seem like a stupid question. Well, it is a stupid question.

My floors look like crap. I used to take minimal care of them and that worked fine. Basically just a damp mop inbetween housekeeping visits. Then I made the mistake of buying a Swiffer wetjet and something about the chemicals in that thing just messed it all up. Now I'm having a hard time getting them to look good again--the wetjet residue is persistent, and the salt from outside doesn't help.

Anyone have some floor-cleaning product they're happy with? FWIW, I have linoleum and a pergo-style product to care for.

Comments

[100ofme.livejournal.com]

ammonia.....

use a small amount of ammonia and warm water. It will clean all the old residue off your floors without ruining the floors in the process.


Vinegar and water is also a good cleaner. I would use the ammonia first to get rid of the old residue and then after that mop with vinegar and water.

[geobabe1.livejournal.com]

Ammonia and vinegar seem to be the miracle substances, especially for dealing with problems caused by other cleaning products.

I've been using Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds on my floor lately and it works really well.

[gundy.livejournal.com]

I use the Clorox ReadyMop stuff on the Pergo-esque section of the room we call "Maude", and it does the job okay.

[scout1222.livejournal.com]

Wait, do you call the room Maude, or the floor Maude? What's the story behind that?

[gundy.livejournal.com]

The room is Maude. It all started because we didn't know what to call the rooms off of the kitchen, since there's not really a room name for "the room off the kitchen but not part of the kitchen." So I jokingly said we should call them Harold and Maude (a la George Harrison's "Arthur" hairstyle.) You know how there's the sort of divider on the floor between the area with the computer and the area near the Patio Door to Nowhere? The side with the computer is Harold, and the other side is Maude.

[scout1222.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. I love random stories like this, especially when they involve weird nicknames that don't make sense to outsiders.

[crankyasanoldma.livejournal.com]

It's funny, Mark calls this our "nebulous transitional area." Maude sure rolls off the tongue easier.

[delphica.livejournal.com]

On the pergo-esque, I spend the oodles of dollars on that pergo-esque floor cleaner that you squirt on and then mop up, the one where on the bottle it pretty much tells you that if you DON'T use this product, or use ANY OTHER PRODUCT, your pergo-esque floor will get dry rot right before your eyes. I usually resent that kind of scare advertising, but I have to say it works really well.

On the lino, 409 all the way.

[theinfamousmom.livejournal.com]

Straight baking soda on a damp cloth will usually get up previous-cleaner residue with a bit of scrubbing. And it's easy to rinse off afterwards. Might not be practical on a large expanse of Swiffer-contaminated floor, though.

For linoleum I like Spic&Span. Dunno about the pergo-stuff, though. We have real wood floors and I use an orange-oil-based cleaner on those that does a dandy job, but makes your socks squeak when you walk over it for about a day afterwards.

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

ohmygoodgood, is that a Mike Rowe icon? Can I steal it? Do you have one with his shirt off?

[theinfamousmom.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's a Mike Rowe icon. You're welcome to use it. I don't have one with his shirt off, but you can get a picture for your desktop here.