When cleaning floors, it can be tempting to use hot water since that has been known to clean things more effectively. But, you may have seen a lot of people who only use cold water to clean. So, should you mop with hot or cold water? Here’s what I’ve found to be the case.
You should mop with cold water instead of hot water because it is safer for your tiles and flooring. Hot water has the potential to damage floors and can be inconvenient to work with, especially if you run the risk of burning yourself.
I’ve debated this topic with myself many times and after careful experimentation and some deep research, I’ve settled on the answer above.
The difference between floors after mopping with hot water and cold water was unnoticeable to me.
This simply meant that cold water cleaned floors just as effectively as hot water.
But, I will admit that certain odors remained on floors that were cleaned with cold water versus those that were cleaned with hot water. Hot water helped remove some of those odors but not all of it which meant that I still needed to use something else to properly clean my floors.
If you really want to kill germs and bacteria from the floor, don’t just mop your floors with water.
It is recommended to use a cleaning product that is designed for floors.
These products create foamy and soapy water that disinfects floors, removes odors, breaks down stubborn stains or dirt, and helps to leave floors with a natural shine thereafter.
Be that as it may, let’s take a closer look into why you shouldn’t mop floors with hot water.
Why You Shouldn’t Mop Floors With Hot Water
Hot water can strip away the coating of certain tiles causing them to appear more dull and faded. Due to the hot temperature, it may break down some of the grout between your tiles causing it to crack or break away.
Furthermore, it can deform certain types of flooring, like vinyl tiles.
If you have wood flooring, you’re at greater risk of damaging it with hot water.
What we know about most wood flooring is that they aren’t water resistant. At most, they are water resistant which means that they can be exposed to water for a short amount of time before damage occurs.
As the hours tick away, the resistant coating on wood gives way and the water begins to penetrate into the wood floor.
This can cause all sorts of structural damage like crowning, cupping, gaps, buckling, and squeaking. And we know that hot water has a greater ability to break down components compared to cold water.
I will agree that hot water is better at disinfecting and cleaning dirty surfaces. That is without a doubt. It’s the very same reason why we have a hot shower.
Some viruses and bacteria die at a certain temperature. In fact, this is why we get a fever during a bout of illness. Our body is heating up to help prevent and stop the virus or bacteria that is making us ill from spreading.
But, the risk of damaging your floors is much higher than the benefit that comes from cleaning your floors with hot water.
Here’s why.
Most of us use products and sprays that are antibacterial and antifungal to clean floors and surfaces.
This simple addition to our cleaning solution mitigates the need for hot water to disinfect and clean our floors.
Nowadays, we can easily find a variety of processed and natural cleaning agents that kill most bacteria, fungi, and viruses on floors.
So, for that reason, it really makes sense to consider the use of cold water to mop floors because it mitigates the risk of damage while properly cleaning floors with the addition of cleaning agents.
Why You Should Mop With Cold Water
I want to share a quick list of reasons why you should mop with cold water. This is based on my own experience and that of countless other people who have tested how water and cold water for cleaning floors.
- Cold water is easily accessible compared to hot water.
- It’s safer for your floors and doesn’t cause damage like hot water.
- Most cleaning agents are made for cold water use.
- You can wipe floors dry almost immediately.
Believe me when I tell you that there’s no need to complicate your cleaning routine by mopping floors with hot water.
It’s just easier to work with cold water. You won’t risk damaging the floors or burning yourself while mopping.
Also, a good enough cleaning agent can disinfect your floors and replace nasty odors with a clean scent.
Most of these cleaning products are dual action which means that you can wipe floors lightly and they should appear shiny thereafter.
Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of this article on should you mop with hot or cold water. I am of the opinion that it’s much more preferable to mop with cold water as it reduces the risk of damaging your floors.
With the addition of a good cleaning agent that disinfects floors, removes odors, and keeps floors shiny, you should have absolutely no issue mopping with cold water.
Save yourself the trouble of mopping with hot water and just stick with cold water.
So if you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more useful tips on cleaning floors, check out some of these fantastic articles below.
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