Let’s say that you aren’t a fan of mopping or you don’t have access to one right now and you need to clean some dirty floors. What do you do? Well, you’ve come to the right place because I have extensive experience with cleaning floors. In this article, I’m going to share my ideas on how to clean floors without a mop.
Firstly, we need to discuss the options that are at your disposal. For instance, sweeping with a broom, using a vacuum cleaner, washing away stubborn dirt with a steam cleaner, or brushing floors by hand are all viable solutions for cleaning the floor without a mop.
It all depends on what you are working with and what is at your disposal.
Let’s talk about these options in more detail, and then I’ll share my step-by-step guide on how to clean floors with a brush.
5 Effective Ways To Clean Floors
1. Sweep with a broom
The first thing you can do to clean floors without a mop is to sweep them. It’s not going to make your floors shiny or absolutely dirt-free, but all that surface-level dirt and dust will easily be removed with a broom and spade.
I’ve made it a habit to sweep my floor every single day to prevent the buildup of unnecessary dust, dirt, and grime.
This has minimized the need for me to wipe floors as often as I would if I didn’t sweep on a daily basis.
Set aside 5 minutes in the morning and work your way from one corner of the house to the other.
It’s advisable to use a plastic scoop spade when you’ve swept each room to avoid spreading dirt into rooms that are less dirty.
2. Use a vacuum cleaner
There was a time when a vacuum cleaner was only good for sucking up dust and light dirt from floors in a home.
That has changed.
These days, vacuum cleaners are capable of breaking down stubborn dirt and grime from floors that are made from wood, tiles, or carpet.
With the addition of water systems, vacuums even possess the ability to disinfect, wet, and suck up dirt that is deeply embedded in floors.
It’s a great way to clean floors without a mop if you can afford to invest money in a strong vacuum cleaner that has all the necessary features and equipment to clean all types of floors and every type of dirt or spillage.
3. Use a steam cleaner
We’re getting into territory that is considered a more serious and advanced cleaning solution for floors, but if you really want to disinfect and remove stubborn stains and dirt from floors without a mop, consider steam cleaning.
A high-powered steam cleaner is one of the most effective and generally safe solutions for floors that can remove the majority of stains and dirt.
The only drawback to a steam cleaner is that they are expensive and time-consuming to use.
But, if you’re willing to invest the money and don’t mind wiping down or air drying the floors afterwards, a steam cleaner is an effective way to clean floors without a mop.
4. Use a robot cleaner
These are new on the market, but they are catching on like wildfire because of how advanced they are.
These days, you can get a hold of a robot vacuum cleaner that actually uses liquid to break down, brush, and suck up dirt from floors.
It may not be effective enough to deep clean your floors, but it’s an effortless solution to keeping your floors clean.
You need to check out euby by Anker. It’s a new robot cleaner with laser navigation, AI, high powered suction, carpet detector, and much more. It’s one of those robot vacuums that cleans up most things from dust to sand to pet fur. It’s a worthwhile investment that is highly recommended with 63k+ reviews on Amazon.
5. Scrub the floors with a brush
If you want to go old-school, then I suggest you get a strong brush with hard bristles and a bucket of soapy, warm water.
You’ll have to get on your knees, unless you have a brush with a long handle, to clean the floors but it’s effective.
The amount of time and energy involved in cleaning floors this way is enormous but the end result is stunning.
Your floors will be completely clean, disinfected, and shiny after they have been scrubbed and washed by your two hands.
How To Wash And Scrub Floors By Hand
Step 1: Gather your tools
Like with anything that requires work, you must have a plan in place.
Every plan begins with the acquisition and arrangement of tools and equipment needed to get the job done.
In this case, you will need a broom, a scrubbing brush, a sponge or cloth, two buckets, detergent or cleaning agents or mixtures, and warm water.
Get everything read in advance so that you can work efficiently.
Step 2: Prepare your cleaning solution in a bucket
Now, what you want to do is prepare your cleaning water with the intention of disinfecting and cleaning the floors.
Warm water would normally suffice, but your floors may still have an odor or stains afterwards. This is why it’s important to combine warm water with some form of cleaning agent or mixture.
Opt for something that is made for floors so that it can break down stubborn marks and dirt, disinfect the floors from germs and bacteria, remove odors and replace them with a good scent, and leave your floors shiny once they have dried.
Step 3: Sweep the floor
To avoid dirtying the water unnecessarily and having to scrub the floor more extensively, remove surface level dirt and dust from the floors.
Things like hair, dust, crumbs, and sand can easily be removed with a broom. Sweep the floor from one end to the other and remove the waste with a scooper.
If you don’t have a scooper, just sweep the dirt outside.
Step 4: Start scrubbing the floor with the warm soapy water
Now, begin in one corner of the room and start scrubbing the floors.
What you want to do is immerse the scrubbing brush bristles in the cleaning mixture and directly apply it to the floor.
You don’t have to apply too much pressure when scrubbing. You can scrub in lines or in a circular motion.
For tiles that are smooth or wood that is soft, you may want to select a brush that has soft bristles to avoid scratching and scuffing the floors.
Step 5: Allow the mixture to sit for a minute
Don’t remove or wipe off the mixture immediately.
Stubborn dirt and grime will need some time before it’s completely broken down to be wiped away.
Warm water helps to clean and break down most stains and stubborn marks/dirt.
So, the combination of a cleaning agent with warm water brushed onto the floor is highly effective. Some people prefer to wait for a few minutes but at the very least, a minute should work.
Step 6: Wipe the floors clean with a cloth soaked in warm water
You don’t want to just wipe up the mixture from the floor with a dry cloth. Residue will remain, which will reflect on the floors.
To properly clean floors without a mop, you have to remove anything that may be on them, including any cleaning mixture.
That’s when your second bucket comes in handy.
Immerse the cloth in the bucket of warm water and wipe the floors. Dip and wring out the cloth every meter or so to avoid spreading dirty water onto the floor.
Step 7: Replace the water in your buckets if it turns murky or brown
What you’ll find is that the bucket of warm water will begin to change color and appear murky if your floors are very dirty.
Don’t use that water to continue wiping the floors.
It’s best to replace it with fresh, warm water before wiping the rest of your floors. This will ensure that your floors are completely clean and germ-free.
Step 8: Let it dry
When all residue of dirt and/or cleaning mixture has been removed from the floor, allow the wet floor to dry.
You can switch on your air conditioner or, preferably, a fan and direct the flow of air onto the floor.
This should speed up the time it takes for the floor to dry.
Alternatively, just let it dry and open your curtains to allow sunlight onto the floor.
It should take anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes for most floors to dry normally.
That’s it.
Your floors should be clean and shiny now.
Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of this article on how to wipe floors without a mop.
If you’re doing it by hand, follow the step-by-step instructions above to properly clean and disinfect your floors.
It may require a lot of effort, but the end result should be stunning.
With that being said, if you found this article to be useful and practical, check out some of these articles on cleaning your floors below:
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