Sorry for the dumb question. I'm just wondering what other people use.
We normally use DAWN liquid soap, water and a mop. But I think I need to disinfect the floor. Problem is PINESOL has a strong smell (husband doesn't like it).
What do you use? Pinesol? Something else?
Tile floor: 1st floor entry, hall, bathroom, kitchen
Why do I want to disinfect now? (I don't usually worry about it.) There was a toilet overflow (in the bathroom) with feces water spilled on the floor. I appreciate the replies.
Either vinegar and water or Sals Suds. Actually, I use Sals Suds to clean just about anything, laundry, dishes, tile floors, wood floors, countertops, pretty much everything.
I use vinegar and water.
Unless you are running an operating theatre there is no need to disinfect your floors. Dish soap and hot water are plenty for home cleaning.
There have been a lot of studies that show that the "cleanest" homes make people the sickest (increase likelihood of developing allergies and lower immunity).
If you think you need to sanitize because your floors look grimey, it may be due to soap residue building up if you use too much soap. Try alternating soap and vinegar in your mop water. I find I need the soap to cut through greasy stuff ( mainly in the kitchen), but for your everyday quick one over vinegar works great.
Good luck.
Use vinegar and water. Smell goes away quickly and it acts as a sanitizer.
I have to agree with the vinegar/water approach. I know if smells strongly at first. You can add a few drops of orange oil or another oil to the mixture. Once it dries, the smell will go away, and you do get used to it. The nice thing is that it is really inexpensive. A jug of white vinegar is around $2.50 and you can use it for so many different purposes. I use it for most of my cleaning.
I agree PineSol smells really strong and that smell does not go away even after it dries. I find my floors are really slippery for days if I ever use it.
A steam mop is a nice tool, as well. I have a Shark brand one and it was around $60.00. It has a very long cord.
I also would not worry too much about having everything perfectly disinfected. As soon as you walk on the floor, the germs will be right back right? I keep a reasonably clean house, but we don't disinfect the floors much- I use the steam mop maybe once a week. We rarely get sick. Just wash your hands often.
I use a steam mop and pour a little vinegar mixed with water on the floor. At the same time I cut the top off an apple, take the core half out and pour a little cinnamon and OJ in the apple and cook in my toaster oven for about an hour. The apple will cover up the bad vinegar smell.
I use a steam mop on my tile floors. I made sure to get one that heats enough to sanitize (surprisingly, not all get hot enough)...
i'm with the others, plain white vinegar is SUCH a great household cleanser. and delightfully cheap!
it does, of course, smell, and probably worse than pinesol (which is yucky, isn't it?)
but it doesn't last long, and gives you a great excuse to burn your favorite scented candle.
:) khairete
S.
I use Gain scented cleaner for the most part. I love the smell, it is a strong scent though.
If you don't want scents then you need to invest in a steam mop. They work very well and I find they do an excellent job. Now if you're mopping up a big spill or something you'll need a regular mop or a roll of paper towels. The floor shouldn't be a big soppy mess or the steam mop won't work.
I have used mine to get up dried goo under the dryer when we bought a new one. When we moved the old one out there was a large dried mess where I had mopped over the years and pushed a long row of wet dirt underneath it.
The delivery guy called when they pulled into my driveway. I plugged the mop in and by the time they got the new dryer in the laundry room the floor was completely clean with no residue at all on the flooring.
I love my Shark Steam Mop. I do like the older style better because the steam all goes down instead of both up and down. I don't favor the new mop that has a pouch that the steam head goes into.
I sometimes have to put pressure on the new style with my shoe to get hard to dissolve stains up. But it still cleans well. Just takes a bit more work than the old one.
I don't like Pinesol either, hubby loves it. But I use Lysol liquid diluted in water and once a week I use vinegar and water. My kids are very messy so we mop every day. Plus we have Swiffer wet for the kids to use. My 2 year old loves to mop.
I use my steam mop with just water. You can use vinegar with water but it will smell bad.
Hoover FloorMate!! I love mine - I use it on the hardwood and tiles. Dirty water gets sucked back up and dumped on the toilet!
I clean/mop my floors, according to the type of flooring I have.
Then use the appropriate cleaners, for it.
And if the floors are wood or stone, and has a finish on it or is unfinished, then I use the appropriate cleaners for THAT type of flooring.
ie: wood flooring, linoleum, vinyl, ceramic tile, stone tiles, etc.
I would not use Dawn to mop a floor, because if you use too much you will get soap residue on it and it cannot be completely rinsed off, etc.
I don't worry about disinfecting floors. I walk on them, I don't eat off them. I mop my laminate and tile floors and just spray them with vinegar first.
