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How Often Should You Mop Your Floors? Once Every Week, Here’s Why.

3 years ago back in 2017, Inside Edition posted a YouTube video following the footsteps of Meghan Murphy. By footsteps, I literally mean footsteps. Meghan Murphy is the executive editor of “Good Housekeeping” magazine, and the Inside Edition team followed her wherever she went to check how dirty her pair of shoes were. When they swabbed her shoes, her son’s shoes, and a stranger’s shoes they found unsettling results.

Out of three shoes they tested, her son’s shoes have the most on it. They discovered nine (9) fungi, seven (7) different bacterias including one that may cause a serious infection. According to Meghan, her son has only been wearing the tested shoes for about a week. To watch this Inside Edition episode on YouTube, click here.

 It makes you wonder, how often should you mop your floor?  Reporter Vivian Manning-Schaffel of NBC News suggested mopping once every week or two weeks especially since kitchen floors are way extremely prone to food bacteria, so you have to mop them more often.

A study conducted by the University of Arizona indicated that bacteria on your shoe transfer to floors 90% of the time, through these bacteria transfer it may cause different types of infections. Having all of this information makes you really think about how clean your house really is.

Recommended Products to Clean your Floor.

There are a lot of products out there from mops to cleaning agents you can choose to clean your floor. This article suggests the following top products you can find and purchase on Amazon now.

Swiffer Sweeper Wet Mopping Cloth

The Swiffer brand is known for its products used for cleaning. On Amazon, the #1 Best Selling product in the category of household mops is the Swiffer Sweeper Wet Cloth. It has a scrubbing strip that removes tough spots on your floors and actively dissolves dirt and grime. It has a Lavender and Vanilla Febreze after scene that will guarantee your floors smelling like flowers. It has a 4.7/5.0 waiting on amazon with over 4,658 reviews.

If you are interested in buying this product, click here to proceed to Amazon.

O-Cedar Easy Wring Microfiber Spin Mop

Now, this mop has an exclusive bucket design that has a built-in wringer that allows hands-free wringing. It has a deep cleaning microfiber and when used with the right cleaning solution can really clean your floors. It is the #3 product in the commercial wet mops category. The microfiber absorbs tough dirt and hard to remove grimes. It has a 4.5/5.0 rating on Amazon with 21,858 reviews.

To purchase the O-Cedar Mop, click here to proceed to Amazon.

Swiffer Wetjet Spray Mop Floor Cleaner Solution

The first product mentioned is a mopping cloth, this product from Swiffer is a solution that will dissolve dirt and tough, sticky messes leaving your floors to reveal its natural beauty whilst leaving a strong Febreze scent. It’s the perfect combo with the mopping cloth. This product has a 4.8/5.0 rating with 3,589 reviews on Amazon. It is also the #1 Best Selling product intern the household floor cleaners category.

Click here to purchase this product on Amazon now.

How long can Bacteria stay on your floor?

Now some of you may be wondering, “my floors look clean why do I need to mop it once a week” or even “bacteria will die soon, just as long as my floor looks clean, it doesn’t have to mop it.”

Contrary to popular belief, just because something looks clean doesn’t mean it is clean. Bacteria are microscopic, the human eye cannot see them developing on your floor one must be sure that their floors are clean to avoid possible infections. Bacteria’s don’t have a fixed life spans, so as long as these microorganisms’ descendants survives, the original bacteria does too. They even produce spores that would allow them to be protected on dry surfaces. This is probably a heads up for people are too lazy to even mop their floors once a week or once every two weeks.

How bad can your floor even get?

Floors are breeding grounds for possible diseases and infections, if left unclean for a long period of time. There are about five (5) things that you can find on your floor that is contaminating it.

1. 1. SALMONELLA — this is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. This type of bacteria typically live in animals and human intestines and are shed through feces. Though often humans are infected by it through contaminated water or food, it may wind up on your floor somehow. This might get you to rethink that good old “5-second rule”.
   2. DIRT — dirt is the most common contamination that you can find on your floor, most of it is noticeable especially if you stepped on wet dirt and bring it inside the house. But unnoticeable dirt may bring inside germs that multiply quick. Dirt may even contain Cholera that may cause extreme diarrhea.
   3. MANURE — walking on sidewalks and driveways you are bound to see feces from someone’s dog lying around under the sun. Even if it’s not noticeable there are manure stains that will get on your shoes and possibly bring it inside your house. With this, you’ll need commercial-grade cleaning agents to help you mop the floor.
   4. DUST — floors that are not regularly mopped will accumulate dust. Dust contains allergens that would trigger allergies that are irritating enough in itself. It may cause eye irritation, coughing, sneezing, hay fever, and even asthma attacks if left unclean.
   5. POLLEN — during springtime flowers will produce pollen that is carried out through the air and possibly into your homes. This pollen is relatively harmless, but it may cause irritation in your eyes. coughing, runny nose, and a scratchy throat.

To find out more on other possible floor contaminants, click here to proceed to a study cited by the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Cleaning your Floors.

Let’s face it, newer houses nowadays have hardwood floors than hard to manage carpeted ones. Though houses that are in cold areas have carpeted floors to maintain warmth, but houses in areas that are usually hotter have hardwood floors.

Hardwood Floors

If you have hardwood floors, the National Wood Flooring Association suggests ways on how to keep your floors in top shape and clean.

1. • DAILY — the NWFA suggests that you sweep your or dust mop your floor daily to reduce the accumulation of dust.
   • WEEKLY — on the weekly basis, you vacuum your hardwood floors
   • MONTHLY — use a wood flooring cleaner to clean your hardwood floors. You don’t often have to do this because of the cleanser act as a protective layer on your floor.
   • EVERY 3-5 YEARS — the NWFA suggests that you apply a maintenance coat, basically a new coat finish to bring back the glow of your wooden floor.
   • EVERY FEW DECADES — you sand and refinish your hardwood floors.

Over time wooden floors will look dull and lose its charm from when you first placed your floors in your home. With these suggestions, it will not only maintain the once aesthetic look of your floor but will reduce probable contaminants on it too.

Carpeted Floors

If you happen to have a carpeted rug, The Carpet and Rug Institute suggested methods on how to clean and maintain your carpeted floors. The CRI gave four (4) simple stems for Proper Carpet Care.

1. • VACUUM — you have to vacuum your carpeted floors regularly, the number of dust and dirt that can accumulate on your floors is extremely high.
   • CLEAN SPOTS AND SPILLS QUICKLY — use SOA-certified solutions to effectively clean accidental spots and stains on your carpets.
   • PROFESSIONALLY DEEP CLEAN — vacuuming your carpets regularly will help, but it has to be professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months to really removed embedded dirt and grime. Always look for SOA-Certified cleaners for this job.
   • STOP DIRT AT THE DOOR — simply using mats strategically placed inside and outside of your home, and a proper place of taking off your shoes and storing them will effectively help you maintain your carpeted floor’s life span.

The Carpet and Rug Institute suggests always use products, and hire service provides that are SOA-Certified, or have received the Seal of Approval Certification to guarantee a more authenticated maintenance. 

Final Thoughts

Whether you have a big house or a small house, cleaning floors is a tough day’s work. But doing so will guarantee your family and you a safer home, away from possible germs, bacteria, and infections. These are simply methods and suggestions you can apply to your home to for a clean looking and feeling home.