View Full Version : Floor washing (frequency).
Looking for a general consensus as to what others do in their homes, not to be snoopy.
The bathroom and kitchen floors in my home are washed daily, sometimes twice daily, all other floors get scrubbed twice weekly- give or take the time of year.
I've been criticized and judged by others as to how often I wash floors in my home, but I feel better when things are clean and fresh, and never once after scrubbing a floor do I ever say to myself, "the floors DIDN'T need it this time".
Miss Cellane
1-6-11, 11:22am
I wash them once a week. Or at least, that's what I'm supposed to do. Sometimes it stretches to once every two weeks. I do sweep the floors daily.
But, and it's a big but, I live alone. There aren't little kids running in and out tracking in dirt. If I spill something, I wipe it right up. If the cat barfs, it's cleaned immediately.
When I was a kid, living with five brothers and a dad who loved to garden, the kitchen floor was mopped daily, right after it was swept, right after dinner was over and the dishes washed.
I'll admit I would probably never wash a floor twice in one day, unless something dreadful happened, but Mrs. M, if you have the time and the energy to do so, I've nothing but admiration for you, what with the little kids you have to take care of.
Miss Cellane. (Love you new name- a lot)! Smiling so happily and contently right now knowing you are here! Thanks for the input.
Winter time is definitely a much easier time for me to stay on top of housework as compared to spring and summer. The tracking in and out that happens from day to day throughout spring/summer makes for a challenging cleaning schedule.
I truly admire you Mrs-M. I sweep or vacuum the floors in the kitchen and living room almost everyday. The bathroom floors, about every two weeks. I don't clean them with soap and water very often, maybe every several weeks.
Awww, thanks NancyAnne! My compulsive need to wash floors is the result of having a weak stomach for things like hair and skin dust and stuff! :)
jennipurrr
1-6-11, 12:44pm
I have been doing the house cleaning myself for a couple months and here is my routine...
I sweep the floors in the living room and kitchen every couple days or so and I try to vacuum/mop the house every week (sat morning).
The bathrooms get cleaned every two weeks. Sometimes I clean the sink / toilet more often but its just me and DH so we don't make much of a mess with the floor.
I couldn't imagine cleaning the floors everyday, but I do know someone IRL who did every day when her kids were little. So, maybe its completely different level of dirt? Or maybe DH and I are just comfortable in a little dust.
When they start to look dirty.
When they start to look dirty. Sometimes bad eyesight is a blessing. :~)
I have to admit, part of the reason I don't wash the floors all that often is that while I don't like a dirty floor, they just don't look all that great when they're clean, either. The bathroom floor especially just doesn't please me, it still looks dirty after it's done.
I don't wash the floors daily, though they could probably use a daily washing. I do it about once a week - sometimes more often, sometimes less often, depending on the dirtiness and also on my schedule. I do sweep at least once a day and spot clean the floor and cupboards as needed. I have a few pets, two kids, and a small home - dust bunnies seem to multiply faster than I can keep up with them. It's okay. I love the critters and kids and accept that sometimes things are a bit messy.
I'm guessing that people who don't wash their floors very often aren't going to comment on this thread, so your responses will be skewed in favor of the frequent floor washers. So I'm going to admit that I don't wash the floors very often. I sweep the kitchen floor once or twice a day, and wipe up spots and spills, but don't wash it very often. The main reason I don't wash it often is because it seems like when I do wash it, that's the day somebody is going to spill a glass of juice, or step on a grape, or drop their bagel upside down, so what's the point?
Bathroom - maybe once a month. No one pees on the floors or walls here...
Kitchen - swept, as needed. Probably about 2-3 times a week. Washed every week or two (leaning toward the two) or whenever someone is coming over...
I don't much enjoy housework. When I was a kid, mom would give me choices of chores, and I usually chose outside to inside jobs. Still do prefer playing in the outside dirt. :~)
So here floors are swept and/or washed 'when needed'.
And of course my 'when needed' is likely going to be far different than others'. ;)
I'll admit I'm a relative slob.
The kitchen floor is swept every day, and spot cleaned as I noticed the spots, but only washed every 2-3 weeks or when I really notice it looks dirty or there are more spots than I can wipe up with a wet paper towel. Probably gets washed more in the summer, because I'm coming in from the garden with produce and things get dirty. The bathroom, maybe once a month. But there are no children here, just 2 cats and 2 humans. We also take shoes off at the door, so there's not much stuff being brought in.
Swept when needed, washed about once a month. Most of our gunk is crumbs, or leaves and dust from outside, not stickiness. I do sweep up the sawdust immediately after doing projects though, as it makes the floor slippery.
We vac weekly, and when DSS lived here, he mopped the kitchen floor monthly, and we spot-cleaned in between. Now that he's moved out, well, we're slackin! Of course, the floor is considerably cleaner without a teen in the house...
Not enough, given I have a dog.
Mrs-M, how do you do it? A sponge mop? Do you have a bucket in the kitchen? I'd do it more often if I could be real efficient about it.
once a week mopping here, sometimes longer. Same with the rugs, I vaccum about once a week. If we have people in and out of the house, sometimes more frequently. I admire people who can stick to a schedule with the cleaning.
Holy, so many posts since my last visit! Thanks everybody for dropping by. This thread is "chicken soup for my soul". Lots of funny entries...
Catherine. Wish I had a simple way to share with you, but no such luck. Good old-fashioned on my hands and knees with rag in hand along with bucket of water/cleaner. :|(
Once a week here, unless dogs have tracked in dirt, leaves, etc. The floors stay pretty clean since I no longer have kids living here, but when my grandkids come for a visit it is amazing the amount of stuff that winds up on the floor. LOL
I sweep daily but only wash floors about every 3 weeks. However, I keep a pile of rags in the kitchen and wipe up spills as they occur.
So lovely hearing from you Wildflower and Rosemary! (Being involved with this new forum makes me feel alive again). In the good company of all my old SL friends and all. Such a happy feeling... :) Thank you EVERYONE!
I vacuum the living room carpet at least once a day but the wood and tile floors get cleaned when they need it, when I think of it, when someone spills or tracks in something, no schedule, can be often or occasional. Oh, wait, the bathroom floors are cleaned weekly.
All of you daily cleaners can skip ONE day weekly and come do my floors....
Wildflower
1-8-11, 12:53am
So lovely hearing from you Wildflower and Rosemary! (Being involved with this new forum makes me feel alive again). In the good company of all my old SL friends and all. Such a happy feeling... :) Thank you EVERYONE!
Mrs-M, I'm feeling so happy about the new forums too. Life seems normal again. :)
All of you daily cleaners can skip ONE day weekly and come do my floors....
How about sharing them on alternate weeks? I can work in the garden while they are mopping.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=158&d=1294388504
How about sharing them on alternate weeks? I can work in the garden while they are mopping.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=158&d=1294388504
ha ha, I'll barter doing their laundry for them mopping and vacuuming floors ...!
Hey everyone! The bartering program sounds great! :) What a hoot it would be calling each other up to trade least favourite household chores in favour of ones we like or tolerate more. Hmmm..., I'm thinking we missed the boat of this one by a mere two years, back when I still had two kids in diapers!!! :laff:
I sweep the floors about every two weeks. I can't imagine mopping daily. Have you thought about getting a Roomba or a Scooba? They can vacuum(Roomba) or mop(Scooba) the floors for you daily. They are somewhat pricey, but if you are spending 20 minutes a day cleaning floors the return on time is almost nothing.
20 (minutes a day) X 365 = 7300 / 60 = 121 hours a year.
Let's assume it works for 5 years, cost $300 and cost $50 a year to buy new brushes. That's $550.
$550/605 hours over 5 years.
That means it will cost you $.90 an hour for your time. A pretty good investment.
http://www.amazon.com/iRobot-530-Roomba-Vacuuming-Robot/dp/B000UU7TZE/ref=pd_sbs_k_2
when we had 3 kids at home and i was a full time mom, the most i swept was once every few days, and generally only once a week. now that its just me and my husband, i sweep when it looks like it needs it, and that can be once every 2-3 weeks. we don't have pets either.
i can't imagine sweeping every day. and i only dust about once every 4-6 weeks - again, only when i notice the dust. and i only wash windows about once a year.
and yet when people have stopped by over the years they invariably compliment me on how clean my house is. even when the kids were home.
i think its because i'm a minimalist at heart, and i also like things to be put away. so while i don't clean a lot, i do have everything in its place, and i don't have a lot of stuff.
I only wash the floors once a week (once every 2 weeks when I'm feeling lazy). I clean the bathroom and dust weekly and sweep the floors daily (well most of the time :|(). I'm curious how everyone washes their floors....Swiffer? Mop and bucket? Hands and knees *ouch*....I use a mop and a spray bottle with hot water and vinegar in it - except when the cottonwood stickies decide to fall in the spring - then it's a magic eraser on my hands and knees (and a lot of cursing).
I have a Libman freedom mop- which is kind of like a wet Swiffer, only the pad is cloth and washable. You can use your own cleaning solution, which I like, because I found that Swiffer's solution attracted more dirt. I use water, a tiny bit of dish soap as a surfactant, and some vinegar in which I'd steeped some lavender from the garden. They were doing a big promo on this mop last fall, it was on sale and there was a rebate, so I think it cost me $12 or less. Tjat's good for most of the time, but once or twice a year its down on hands and knees with a bucket to really get the corners and baseboards.
This is great, more entries! Thanks everybody. :) I'm quietly laughing to myself right now over a story related to floors. It's about an old neighbour of ours who was the worst housekeeper. When her kids were babies the kids would spill everything and drop everything (like kids do), and her idea of cleaning up behind them was to sop up and mop up the mess using her socks, then carry on. It really was disgusting.
There was cereal, dried milk, food, dog and cat hair, juice, baking, crumbs, sugar, and everything else under the sun one could imagine on her floors, and whenever she asked me over for a cup of coffee I'd make up every excuse in the book as to why I couldn't make it over that day, and on days where she needed a sitter and I knew she was strapped, I'd put on an extra pair of socks before venturing out of my home so after I was done babysitting her kids I could peel off my outer extra pair of socks before stepping into my clean footwear. She'd always ask me, "why do you wear two pairs of socks Margaret"? "Oh" I'd reply, "helps keep my feet warm and comfy". The real kicker to the story comes in the way of the fact that she never once asked me why I removed my second pair of socks on my way out. :)
Lovin' that story Mrs-M! I had a similar friend when all our kids were under the age of 6. I couldn't stand to have play dates at her house. My children learned to run straight from the door to the bathtub once we'd return from that house.
Once requirement I had when we replaced our kitchen floor was that it needed to be dirt colored. I was so tired of that pure white floor that needed to be mopped twice a day and spot cleaned every hour in between. My current floor is much easier to clean (maybe because I don't see the slightest smudge) and I sweep every other day and mop maybe once a week.
The bathrooms get a daily wipe (handtowel pushed around with my socked foot while I brush my teeth before showering type of wipe) and a weekly quickdry mop.
I use water, a tiny bit of dish soap as a surfactant, and some vinegar in which I'd steeped some lavender from the garden.
Oh I love the idea of the lavender...I bet it smells heavenly.
She'd always ask me, "why do you wear two pairs of socks Margaret"? "Oh" I'd reply, "helps keep my feel warm and comfy". The real kicker to the story comes in the way of the fact that she never once asked me why I removed my second pair of socks on my way out. :)
*S* I love it!!!!
Oh I love the idea of the lavender...I bet it smells heavenly.
You'd think so...but it still smells like vinegar. The cats hate it.
I'm enjoying our story trades Float On! :) This thread is my smile for the day!
Hattie. I love it too! :) The question is, did she know or didn't she know... :laff:
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