The floors are the basis of making our homes look tidy. By regularly cleaning your floors your house will feel clean and fresh. How often you clean your floors will vary between each household. If you have a crawling baby, you will need to clean regularly to pick up all dirt, grime and germs before their little hands do. Kids running from inside and outside will also bring in a lot of dirt therefore regular cleaning is necessary. However, if you live alone and work all day once a week clean is sufficient.
The importance of a regularly cleaning the floor
- Hygienic
- Sweeping or vacuuming the hard floors will keeps the carpets cleaner longer
- Makes the flooring last longer
- Picking up dirt will prevent scratches on other floor surfaces
- Will prevent dirt rubbing into carpet causing a stain
How to keep floors cleaner longer
- Place floor mats at each entry door, eg. front, back, laundry and garage
- If kids come inside from pool or muddy area place a towel down for them to dry and wipe their feet on
- I find the kids bring in a lot of dirt on their school socks, like bark from the playground. Get them to remove their socks before coming inside
- Daily quick sweep in high traffic areas
- Wipe up spills as soon as they are made
- Don’t wear shoes inside
- Ask visitors to remove their shoes. This is a real pet hate of mine, when people come into my house see shoes at the front door, I’m barefooted but still insist on wearing their dirty shoes on my clean floor which in the end is creating more work for me. Ask them nicely and they should respect your wishes.
How often to clean floors
- DAILY – quick sweep/vacuum in high traffic areas
- EVERY 1-2 DAYS – Quick mop in kids bathroom/toilet.
- EVERY 1-2 DAYS – If you have a baby crawling – quick sweep/vacuum and mop
- WEEKLY – Vacuum and mop.
- STRUGGLING TO FIND TIME – If you don’t have time ensure you vacuum and mop the high traffic areas weekly, every 2nd week do a full house mop.
What are high traffic areas?
- Kitchen
- Front Door
- Living Room
- Under Dining Table
Equipment to use
- (for quick clean) Dust buster on stick, broom or dust mop
- Vacuum Cleaner or broom to pick up dirt and dust
- Mop and Bucket
I get asked regularly what is my favourite mop. It’s Vileda, I have been using it for over 10 years and rave to anybody that listens about it. Ultimately I just love the effortless glide over the floors compared to the old ones I used to use. I reviewed their new Vileda UltraMax Easy Twist Mop on the blog recently, you can read about it here.
Natural Floor Cleaner
I have 2 effective DIY recipes for cleaning floors, depending on your flooring, find my recipes here.
Get your children to help you – on the morning you vacuum ask them to place anything on the floor of their bedrooms up on their beds to make it easier for you to vacuum.
89 comments
I use my dust-buster vacuum each morning when everyone has left the house. I would not be without it as it’s great for getting those ‘dust bunnies’ crumbs and insects that we seem to get at our place. I zip through each room, including bathrooms and it takes about 10 minutes. I don’t have pets inside and there are no small children.
I must admit, as I work in our business, I have a lady who cleans my house – 2 hours a week – (actually I HAD a lady, because she just resigned) so floors get mopped weekly, full vacuum of each room, bit of dusting and she goes over our 2 bathrooms so they sparkle but I do the maintenance cleaning in between.
I have a dust buster too, brought it late last year, I just love it and it even has a turbo which is great for picking up the cat hair on the rug! I am going to reveiw it on friday just cause it love it that much. They are great as you say for zipping through the rooms
Hi Kat, how can I find your review on dust busters? I am in the market for a new one would love to hear what you recommend! Thanks. Really love your site, tips and honesty sharing your world with us.
Hi Kat,
Which mop do you recommend? I have a steam mop but am unhappy with it, it is heavy and doesn’t steam very well. I have to hold it over dirty marks for a good minute to get it off. Takes too long! I would like to buy a new mop and would love your advice. I am a huge fan of the vinegar and bi-carb. I also use lavender and eucalyptus oil to improve the cleanliness and the smell. Thanks, Emma.
I’ve always been a bit slack when it comes to cleaning the floors as I suffer from hayfever and my vacuum cleaner always makes me sneeze! But then I bought a $49 steam cleaner from Godfrey’s and I steam mop my hard surfaces twice a week because it takes about 10 minutes for the entire house, I just vacuum the carpets once a week now. Steam mops are good for the environment because they use no chemicals and they don’t take long to heat up and you don’t use them long for they don’t take a lot of power.
I love Godfrey’s my brother owns one! that’s a bargin $49 for a steam mop, great!!
I have a stick vacuum I bought recently and do the kitchen and family room 2-3 times a day. It’s wehre we eat and with an 18 motnh old and a 2.5yo I get lots of crumbs.
Then my 15yo son vacuums the entire house each day as part of his chores.
Unfortunately we have carpet in all rooms and halls bar the kitchen, bath, toilet and laundry. Those rooms get mopped twice a week unless needed more often.
I only use hopt water and homebrand disinfectant to clean my floors.
We did have a steam mop but didn’t think it was necessary to keep it in this house where we have few lino areas (previous house had tiles everywhere bar the bedrooms and main lounge).
I love the dust busters on a stick too! I’m going to reveiw mine at the end of the week just to let everybody know how great they are. I don’t know how the kids do it and get so many crumbs on the floor, their crumbs are like magnets to clean floors!! My miss 6 enjoys vacumming under the table, hope she keeps up that enthusiasm in years to come!
Tried this with oldest two as they enjoyed cleaning house even brought child size broom and mop. Was told these were for girls only my boys do not like cleaning now they are older. Oldest aged 2 would take his little chair to wash up, so we ate off plastic plates for awhile. No it did not work when older, keep encouraging your daughter might be the girl gene that does it.
Hi Katrina
I love checking your blog daily. I sweep/vaccum my floors daily mop out the whole house weekly. Bedrooms & Formal Lounge & Dining Rooms are vaccumed weekly. Wanting to save money on cleaning products, I invested in a Brissel Steam Mop. You only use water, filter has to get replaced approx 6 to 9 mths. I wished I had brought one years ago. No more lugging buckets of water etc. Mopping out our home now only takes me 30mins, where before with a bucket & mop approx 2hrs. Huge saving.
Regards
That’s a great saving Mama. I did try a steam mop when my kids were babies but found it very heavy and didn’t pick up the food stuck to the floor very well.
All I know is that I don’t clean my floors often enough!!! God help me when I have kids!
LOL, at the moment all is forgiven then Rah, they probably don’t need cleaning as frequently then. A quick once over once a week/fortnight should be enough. Its the kids that usually leave all the crumbs under the table and in the kitchen.
Weeeeellllll, I have a four yr old that threw up this afternoon and hubby offered to mop tonight for me. I suggested the vinegar and water to which he is quite happy to give a whirl.
We just bought a big bottle of domestos which I normally use as our whole house has timber flooring. With a 4 yr old, a 3yr old and a 6 month old I only get time once a week – if that – to mop our floors and only on a Sunday night….not sure why a Sunday night though! 🙂
How did the vinegar and water go, do the trick?? At least this will save you pennies in the future!!
I vacuum the high traffic areas almost every day. I usually miss one day on the weekend (it’s harder to clean around the kids and hubby in a small loungeroom), but it’s rare that I miss a day during the week. My pet hates are dirty floors (and with black tiles in the loungeroom and hallway, every little bit of dust shows up!) and people wearing shoes in my house. I have a shoe rack outside the front door for workboots, thongs and visitors shoes, and another right inside the door for family shoes. Also can’t stand piles of shoes sitting on the floor at the front door! LOL
I clean up spills immediately and mop weekly at the moment, but will soon start mopping more often as bubs becomes more mobile.
You are onto it Kylie, love your work!!
Yep we did the mopping last night. I swept the entire house apart from the rugs of course! At 9pm at night it was far to late to start up the vaccy! Hubby mopped with the vinegar and hot water. Must say I am impressed with the lack of film left behind. I hardly noticed the smell of vinegar.
We also emptied the bucket over the (outside) front door entrance too as we have a lovely (neighbours) cat who insists on spraying our front door. Hoping the vinegar will deter the horrible creature!
Please let me know if the vinegar helps as I think we have something similar happening at our front door, or they are doing their business in the garden. Really not impressed as our cat is a clean and stay’s indoor not allowed outside.
Sprinkle some bi-carb where they’re spraying, then go over it with the vinegar.
Same thing to clean the kitty litter!
My stick vaccy is just a cheapy $55 at BigW
As long as it does the job!!
Hi I just discovered your blog recently so I am sorry about the back dated response but I just wanted to share that I use a couple of drops of lavendar oil in my water and vinegar mix to reduce the vinegar smell and it works a treat!
Thanks for all your great tips, I am on a declutter mission at the moment and your blog has been so helpful.
I was wondering how often I should be mopping, so now that you have put it in clear black & white I will mop once a week from now on. Thanks so much.
Once a week is enough I believe
I have never mopped/cleaned my floors as much as is suggested here. I am in the paid workforce part time, and so we have a cleaner once a fortnight, who gives it a good clean at that time. If it needs it, we run the vac over in the alternate times and use the dustbuster on any crumbs/dustbunnies that we wish to remove. I have to kids, 8 and 6. They have always been very healthy kids so for anyone NOT doing their floors this often, DON’T STRESS! I prefer to spend time with them than be mopping/cleaning floors.
I mopped TODAY and I can’t stop looking at the floor 😀 Thanks again.
LOL, don’t get cranky when somebody makes it dirty 🙂 Great work Perthcastins1
When it comes to carpet, as long as the shoes are clean they should dirty the carpet less than socks or bare feet. The oils from feet actually soil the carpet and the oil is harder to get out of the carpet than mud.
I have recently found your page and i have to say i am sitting here addicted wanting to know more lol … Thanks for all the hours you put in for a great site
Wash the kids bathroom floor EVERY DAY? My god. That’s a little over the top, isn’t it?
I reference this to the kids toilet, and it’s no OTT when you have a young boy.
Mopping once a day for a kids bathroom is what I have been doing for years. I have three boys or young men now, and they still miss! It takes 3 minutes. I have a spray bottle of 1 part domestos and 3 parts water, spray the floor around the toilet bowl and mop. Easy
We have an old house with polished wooden floors. Do you think the vinegar would do the trick on them too? I have heard that it is brilliant on tiles, but not sure on the wood…..
To be honest Maree, I’m not certain about floor boards as our house is all tile. However, I just did some quick research and one article did say not to use strong vinegar.
I have cleaned houses for years and all the houses that had wooden floors I used methylated spirits in a bucket of hot tap water.
I find the polished floor boards tricky to clean without causing damage. I’ve found the steam mop was no good. Vinegar I have used with success BUT don’t use a full cup, just really hot water and a splash of vinegar should do the trick.
Use meths and hot water on wooden floor boards. (Not composite ones though).
I’m reading this post while my robot vacuum patrols our main living area. It’s a bit of an investment to begin with, and it will never take the place of a real vacuum/mop but they are fantastic to run every day especially if you have a crawling baby. The best part is you are forced to pick up all the toys before you can use it. 🙂
We have a shiny timber laminate floor that shows up ANY mark and is such a shame because it looks amazing when clean but doesn’t take long to scuff up again. Do you have any tips on resisting marks?
Hi Kat – I have been using the Sparkle floor wipes for little spills like vegemite toast upside on the lino (12 month old son) but i’d like to be able to put them on mop/sweeper or something so that i don’t have to bend down all the time and so i can use them to freshen up a larger area like the bathroom and toilet. Do you have any idea where i could find one? Thanks so much. Love this post about clean floors, although i struggle to keep clean floors with a baby, messy husband and we live in the bush with dirt roads all around our house.
No I haven’t heard of anything like that Tanya, but the mop I use from Vileda has a micro fibre bottom, so I just throw it in the wash once a week. I also have the rubbermaid mop, which has a water bottle attached, which is perfect of the little incidental spills, it too has a removable mop head.
Hi there. They do have sticks you can put wipes into I think from woollies. I have used one in the past and loved it. I just liked not having to get a bucket of water everyday. When your finished throw out the wipe and your done.
Hi! I have a dettol brand stick but have been using the Coles brand floor wipes with it (cheaper). I use it for small areas like our bathrooms and bedrooms.
I just stumbled on this blog and if you’re like me, you love any tips to make life easier. I’ve been a housewife(amongst other things) for 25 years. After raising 4 children including twins, I’ve become pretty expert on how to clean with minimal effort. My standby miracle cleaner is ammonia. It is cheap and will clean pretty much anything. I chuck about half a bottle into a bucket of hot water, a tiny squirt of Morning Fresh or similar detergent and you are good to go. I recommend a commercial microfiber mop, available at commercial cleaning stores and the old fashioned wringer bucket. I have tried just about every product on the market over the years and this is by far the best option. You will be horrified at how much dirt comes off. It stinks to high heaven, but evaporates very quickly. No residue and completely dissolves any grease. Fabulous for stainless steel too. I use it on everything in my kitchen. The added bonus, it’s a disinfectant. Once you (and everyone else) gets over the smell, you won’t use anything else. My floors are so clean they squeak when you walk on them. Plus it minimizes how much effort you have to put into actually wiping and mopping. I keep a dilute solution in a spray bottle and use it with a microfiber cloth to wipe mirrors, benches, fridge, even my IPad. No streaks. It really is fantastic. An old cleaning method that is still the best.
Regards
An old cleaning queen
Hi Kim, thank you so much for sharing your tips, that’s exactly what I love tried and true methods!
I have just finished vacuuming and mopping my house. I vacuum once a week and try to mop the kitchen/dining area weekly aswell, I usually mop the whole house fortnightly. Hubby will occasionally vacuum but will never mop after and I always feel like the job is half done when you don’t mop aswell.
Yes vinegar is the best, and leaves the best finish on my black bamboo floorboards!
Oh and the best thing ever while you’re mopping the floors is a pair of micro fibre mop slippers, dries as you go ? (not a good look though!)
I have 3 children under 3 years old. I have an robot that runs automatically every night in the kitchen/living/dining room – an essential investment with little ones. I use a steam mop – no chemicals, hygienic and great for sticky messes with kids. I mop once a week fully and bathrooms twice a week. I had a robot mop as well – it used vinegar and water. It was good but not great but esp good when I was pregnant 🙂
I have white tiles 🙁 and these show up everything. I use a bit of mentholated spirits in my spray mop for a quick mop over as this leaves no streaks and the floor dries really quick. I also love my steam mop which I use once as week for a deep clean. My favourite appliance is my irobot roomba, I set and forgot when I leave the house to come home to vacuumed floors!!!
Love your work Katrina.
I can’t go without my $55 steam mop from Big W. It cleans better than any mop I’ve ever used, and takes only water (not even vinegar! I keep the vinegar to use as fabric softener!). And I don’t have to slop around a bucket of dirty water.
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Hi all, if you try this method, put a capful of tea tree oil in with the vinegar. It’s a natural disinfectant has a pleasant scent keeps bugs like those pesky summer ants away & may just keep cats from spraying.
Small tip: my husband is a plumber (has been for over 45 years now, worked for many of those years for an Australian university) don’t use vinegar as fabric softener with it being an acid it will rot the inside of your washing machine out & you will find yourself spending the savings you made on machines more frequently.
Adore your site ??
Great tip, thanks for sharing.:)
Recently I heard about a grout cleaner which I think might be good, haven’t tried it yet but it comes from a reliable source.
7 cups of water, 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of lemon juice & 1/2 cup of bicarb soda, stir & pour it into a spray bottle, spray on & let sit for a couple of minutes then scrub. We’ve had family business to attend to but as soon as i get the time I’d like to try this one…
Yes i have used this as a grout cleaner and it works well!
Hi,
I have laminated timber floors, and really struggle to find something to clean them with, that won’t leave streaks – it does my head in!! I have tried enjo floor fibers, micro fibre mops, wring mops, all to no avail. I’m tempted to try a steam mop, although I know they aren’t recommended for laminate floor boards.
Does anyone have any tips??
I use a vileda 360 mop. 2 kettles of hot water and 1 cup of vinegar. Cleans our laminate timber floors really well and dries very quickly.
Hi Donna, have you had an Enjo consultant out to make sure you are using the correct fibre and technique? I’ve had all sorts of floors over the years and Enjo were by far the best on all surfaces – including laminate but I did have some tricky tiles once. Got my consultant out and got a few pointers on that particular floor and was back to Enjo’ing again 🙂
I vacuum 2-3 times a week and mop once a week on my mat finish tile floors. I use a H20 steam mop and add Lemon Grass Drops. But due to the shape of the mop head, corners are missed, so I either use a hand mop every second time or just wipe corners with a damp cloth. Vinegar on glossy timber floors in my last house tended to leave water streak marks. And the Steam Mop for Timber floors, I believe, wore away the polish. So I used a specific Timber cleaner from the supermarket and a hand mop for that house. But I am about to build a house with glossy porcelain tiles, what will be best for that for no streaks?
Hi Barbie, i would suggest using a steam mop.I really love my steam mop and it is streak free.
I have a big house and a 2 year old so cleaning floors is a huge task. We only moved in a few months ago and i struggled to keep up, so we got the LG robot vacuum which cleans the main rooms every night and I spot vacuum with the dyson stick vacuum. Both are great and makes the whole job so much easier. We also got a steam mop for the bathrooms and laundry. Love them all and makes the job much quicker and easier.
Fantastic Rebecca!.:)
Hi Kat what type of dust buster on a stick do you have? thanks.
Hi Ros, I have attached the link for you: https://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/?s=stick+vac
I’m terrible with the floors. My daughter is 3, and I’ve always hated sweeping/mopping. If it looks really bad, I’ll do it, but I don’t do it every day. I need to get myself a routine!! I’m a casual worker, so I’m not always home, but I do feel bad about the floor 🙁
I used I use a steam mop now I use a spray mop rubbermaid brand you can get at bunnings. It’s great for doing whole house and also just quickly mopping out spills. You can add whatever you like in the bottle.
I used to use a steam mop now I use a spray mop rubbermaid brand you can get at bunnings. It’s great for doing whole house and also just quickly mopping out spills. You can add whatever you like in the bottle.
I love nothing more then having clean floors, with 3 kids and 3 digs, I vacuum everyday, have dyson stick which is great:) but Inmy opinion expecting your guests to take off their shoes when they come visit it’s rude, fair enough if you live in a dirty, muddy area, that’s common sense, but for most of us leaving in suburbs that are already established, where your guest basically walk from their car on a concrete surface , it’s unacceptable. If you worry so much about your clean floors why invite anyone over in the first place?
I am new to your blog it is very helpful 🙂 . A friend told me about it .. I use my decor stick with the two pads that can easily removed or my norwex mop and spray lemon oil and water on it wring it out i have wood and lino floors and it does a nice job and I can throw it in the wash with 3 children and pets .
Do you know if it’s safe to use the vinegar/water on laminate wood floors?
These are great tips. I really need tips on cleaning a leather couch anything i have used didnt do the job i wanted. Im actually thinking of calling a leather couch cleaner. Does anyone know a good company for this?
I would love to get to that point where my kids & husband would take off their outside shoes while inside, but it’s just not going to happen – the husband is in and out so often and he just won’t do it.
But even if I did get to that stage, I would never expect a visitor to take off their shoes before entering my house! I absolutely dread going to people’s houses where I’m required to take off my shoes! If I go barefoot for longer than 10 mins my feet go dead cold -even in summer – and they can even turn blue in winter 🙁 Also a number of my shoes that I wear need powder in them so that during summer they don’t start to stink! So if I have to take my shoes off, there’s powder all over my feet! How embarrassing!!!
I once had to take my shoes off and walk on dark carpet.. OMG! White footprints! Ever since then, I get very nervous about going to other peoples houses, I case I need to take my shoes off!
I agree. I HATE it when people make you take your shoes off at their house. My feet often look less than attractive, and also get quite cold…. I think it’s rude to ask people to take shoes off.
Hi there, can you tell me the make and model of the mop and bucket in the picture please, looking for something like this, thanks!
Hi Gemma, I highly recommand this mop and bucket. It is from Woolworths.
Some great tips here!
But I just have to say that for some people to take their shoes off to enter someone’s house is a very daunting thing to do! I actually think that another human beings’ feelings is more important than my floor.
My daughter has terrible fungus problems on her toes (which no doctor or specialist has been able to help) and she is also at a sensitive age. We have been in a scenario where there were shoes at the door, and she totally freaked out. I said just leave your shoes on and so shall I. And if we are asked to remove them, then we will just go back home and grab an icecream on the way. (Thankfully we were not asked to remove our shoes)
I also would never ask an elderly person to take their shoes off, it could have taken them all morning just to get their shoes ON!
Apart from the expecting guests to remove shoes part, such great ideas here
Hi, just a quick question, we have bamboo hard wood floors and we were advised to not use too much water when mopping. I have always just used water and whatever floor cleaners I have, but I know it’s not advisable. Any suggestions on what is good for hard wood floors?
I use a. Splash of vinegar in warm water and a drop of citrus essential oil to make it smell nice.
Get yourself a Scooba and it washes the floors and squeegees them dry with minimum water
630i roomba robot vacumm cleaning
Press a button
Done
Love it!!!
Add a bit of eucalyptus oil with the vinegar for a nice smell.
Hi there what mop do you use? I’ve got a steam mop but it’s just so heavy and I don’t feel like it really cleans my floors
Get yourself a Scooba. Life changing
Try and keep your work/life balance, Kat.
I have a Roomba and Scooba. I have tiled floors right through out living areas and bedroom carpet two long haired dogs and a forever shedding rag doll cat.
I cannot tell you how marvellous these robots are. They are relatively cheap on eBay. Roomba will vacuum while you shower or even sit down and have a cuppa.
Scooba not only washes your floors so clean, he squeegees them dry enough to walk on. As an older person I can’t afford to slip n wet floors. They are dryer than mopping. For the kitchen floor he cleans up crumbs etc. I Scooba every day.
I. Find if the floors are clean I feel motivated to clean other areas and tidy.
Thanks for today’s, and every days motivational post. I am off to clean my kitchen and bedroom dump zones. That will take all day!
Hi Gwenda, I tried something similar to a Roomba a few years ago and it damaged my stainless steel fridge and some of my dark mahogany furniture. I contacted the manufacturer and they told me the robot couldn’t pick up dark colour objects, all my furniture was dark so I returned it. Have you had any issues with this? However, I did not know about a Scooba, I’ve not heard of this sounds very interesting. I can just imagine what a time saver they all are for you! How did you go with your dumping zone?
Thank you so much for posting a schedule to follow for floor cleaning. I always want my floor to be clean, but I never know when I should be cleaning them, and how much. I’ll have to implement this and see if this works for me!
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