TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham shares helpful hints for successfully mopping the floor.
- To quick-shine your floors after they have been swept clean, use a mop and a piece of wax paper underneath. The remaining dust will stick to the paper.
- You will soil your floor if you do not clean it thoroughly by sweeping, or vacuuming before mopping. Double check around the legs of the chairs and tables because dust seems to accumulate there.
- Try mopping in a figure-eight pattern to make the chore less tiring and allow for overlapping. You'll use your hips and mid-body, rather than just your wrists and arms.
- Turn the mop head over fairly often because it is the wettest and heaviest on the bottom. Flip it over every two or three strokes to get a drier side.
- Make two passes over the same surface, once to wet and dissolve (spread the solution and let set), and again to remove (wring out the mop until dry and go over the floor again). If you've mixed the solution right, using just enough cleaner and mopped the floor dry on the second pass, then you're done. If you don't do a second pass, there will be lots of detergent residue when the water evaporates, leaving the floor sticky and cloudy.
- Make quick work of stubborn "glue-on" spots and spills or hard-to-reach places with a yardstick and sponge or sock. Slip the sock over the end of a yardstick and secure it with a rubber band. Another option is to staple a small sponge to the end of a yardstick to enable you to reach under the refrigerator and radiator.
- Watch the handle when you raise a mop to put it into the wringer so that you don't wreck the ceiling tile or break light fixtures.
- Use a portable fan on one end of the room to dry your floor quickly.
- To clean yellow waxy buildup off a vinyl floor, try washing the area with cool, clear water only. Scrub with warm water only on the areas that get the most wear and tear.
- For day-to-day cleaning, simply use a sponge mop that has been moistened with plain water. This will remove any dirt quickly without dulling the tile with soaps, and it requires no rinsing.
- For scuff marks or stains on vinyl tile, simply dab a cloth in turpentine, rub the mark away, then rinse. Another option is to rub the mark with a pencil eraser.
