Floor mops

I have a VILEDA 1-2 mop. Have now had it for nearly three years. In my flat, ALL the floors (apart from main bedroom) are Karndean (large hallway, Large Living/Dining Room, en-suite, guest bathroom, kitchen. So a mop is as important to me as a vacuum cleaner.

This is so easy to use. Fill the long handle with some warm water and floor cleaner of your own choice. The 'mop end' has an easy to change over cover - as I finish using it I take it off and put in my washing machine, and put the spare on. Always ready to use.

At the handle end I just squeeze to spray the floor area in front of me and then mop. The head moves around going into corners and all sorts of angles.

It stores away easy in my cleaning cupboard and I really cannot find fault with it. It is still in perfect condition after much use (as are both mop covers), but if it was required would replace with the same.

I use an Addis Superdry Plus as it is the only one which squeezes out most of the water and cleans well.

We have Karndean and a neighbour warned us not to get it very wet and recommended a mop with a little spray in the front. We used it for a while but when I spilt something on the floor and cleaned it up with a cloth, the cloth was filthy.

I just got a bucket of water with Stardrops and got down on my hands and knees, squeezing the cloth out as tightly as I could. The water was filthy. Sorry!

I use a spin mop - you can get the floor really dry after washing.

Same as Franbern,briliant if you have back problems.

I actually find cleaning the floor on my hands and knees is really good for the back as it stretches it. Mind you I struggle to get up off my knees, so I appreciate this thread.

I’ve just treated myself to a steam mop and it’s perfect. No need to use any chemicals which is a bonus. Personally I’ve always done the hands and knees job just as granny did but ….

My DH loved using an ordinary mop but ended up with a very wet floor. No so good when it’s laminate. So now problem solved ?

I think my first vileda supermop was one of the best things I’ve ever bought. When they’re old they’re great for unblocking toilets. And I keep a new unused one for getting cobwebs off ceilings.

I think you need to be able to rinse the cloth or mop, several times in order to clean properly.

I find the easiest way is to use a piece of towelling. Fill a basin with soapy water, use the cloth as you would on hands and knees but instead, put it under a brush head. We have a vileda duo brush which works well with it.
I first saw someone doing this when I was in hospital as a child. The cleaner used this method on the ward floor.

aye just be aware that if your 'hard' flooring is vinyl, something like Amtico or Karndean, then they warn against using steam mops as it could loosen those tiles.

same for laminate as steam can degrade the finish on laminate. I got rid of my steam mop two weeks ago, fortunately had not used it often, preferring to use my microfibre cloths on a velcro flat mop head. I can wring them properly

We had loosened karndean tiles at my last house, those right in front of a south facing patio door, that floor position was baking hot

I recently read a tip to use two buckets, one with clean water, one to rinse the used mop out in first. I prefer to have three or four mop covers (they aren't expensive - you can probably get them in £1 shops) in a bucket of clean water, then use a clean one from that each time I wring out, dropping the used one into an empty bucket. It is also a good idea to sweep before wiping. Sometimes that is enough.

I still find that wiping up a spot with some damp kitchen paper shows that the floor isn't thoroughly clean, though, as it comes up pretty grey.

But we're not eating off the floor so as long as it looks OK.....

My DS1 uses a steam mop. That gets dirty very quickly so it must be doing a good job.

Downstairs I use a steam mop on oak, pine and ceramic tile flooring - it’s brilliant. Upstairs it’s either an old fashioned mop and bucket and the staircase is done by hand so I can get into the corners.

I have a cleaner starting work tomorrow and I’m half dreading her first visit as my house hasn’t been properly cleaned for months.

I’ve used a Vileda flat magic mop for years but have just bought a steam cleaner as we have slate, ceramic and vinyl now to clean. I love it. It takes a fraction of the time to clean and leaves it dry.

On my tiled floor and my sheet vinyl floor I don't use a mop as I have tried them and dislike them. I have a broom with short stiff bristles from Wham, and a soft bristled broom, and old bath towel torn in two.

I throw about 2 pints of hot water on the floor and then about half a mugful of disinfectant(not bleach). I skoosh this around with the soft broom . This can be done by walking up and down pushing the broom through the water. Then I mop it up dry enough with the bath towel which sticks easily to the short bristled broom.

I use both halves of the old towel then they go into the washing machine.

That Wham broom is one the best things I ever bought. I can no longer get on my knees to wash floors.

Having tried various kinds of mops over the years, I've find the old fashioned traditional cotton mops the best. With one of those mop buckets with thing on top for squeezing it. After use I soak in Oxyclean or similar. The mop heads are cheap and last for ages - very absorbent. I push around an old towel on end of brush to dry off any excess water after. I have a steam mop, only use occasionally. I find it impossible to get the microfibre covers clean after use - my floors get very dirty!

PS my floor tiles are porcelain not Karndean. Thanks for the warning not to soak Karndean!