And Then Clean the Floor

Photo courtesy Flickr

Keep it clean by using washable entry mats large enough to take several steps on. Professionals use nylon backed by vinyl. That will bar 97% of the usual dust and dirt from your dwelling.

Take your shoes off at the entry.

Use a broom only outdoors. It kicks dust all over the place. Vacuum instead, using HEPA filter bags or a high-tech system that collects very small particles. If you have a HEPA air filter, turn it on in the room you’re vacuuming to corral every bit of dust. This process is called “diluting” dust.

When the floor is free of dust and grit, wipe it clean. I like the high-tech cloths originally developed by Japanese clean-room technologists. They’re made of polyester terry cloth and function like ultra-fine steel wool. Try one on brass sometime, and you’ll be able to see that they polish as well as remove soil.

Grocery stores sell disposable versions of this system, but it’s cheaper and more independent to acquire the gear and wash the wipers. If the floor has been inadvertently neglected, spray it with a neutral pH cleaner from a janitorial supply or with your choice of eco-correct cleaning agent. Once a floor is clean, it requires so little product to maintain it, I haven’t bothered to research toxins. Poison control told me years ago that neutral pH cleaner presents little threat.

It is reasonable to wipe a small area on hands and knees, and it’s not bad exercise, either. For more square feet, spray the area lightly with a cleaning solution (a dedicated two-gallon garden sprayer is convenient for large spaces), let it sit for the moments known as “dwell time”, and wipe dry. I use a flashy anodized telescoping handle from an Italian janitorial supply company. It supports high dusting and window washing as well as floor care. One of the big box hardware outfits sells their line, as have the janitorial specialists I’ve visited. There’s a gizmo known as a Scrubby Doo available from these sources. It’s the same size as a sponge mop, but it’s a plastic armature that locks onto the telescoping handle and has little pips to grasp a standard nylon scrubbing pad. I use the white pads for dirty floors, letting the solution dwell a little longer than usual.

The pads come in several grades, rough to fine. I buy the white ones by the box and cut a few into dishwashing pads. They’re cheaper than the ones backed by sponge and more sanitary. I use them in kitchen and bath.

For everyday, or every-week cleaning, I slap a Scrubby Doo/nylon pad assembly over a high-tech cloth and just wipe the floor dry. The cloth will telegraph what was on the floor. If there’s much traffic through an area, a quick wipe every morning or evening will keep the floor looking like it was freshly finished. Invisible daily dust is what abrades floors.



You’ll have to do heavy cleaning once or twice a year with this system. If there’s much liquid on a floor, steer it toward absorbent wipers or a wet/dry vacuum with a squeegee. Do yourself a favor and consult a janitorial professional or the manufacturer’s website to learn how to maintain a surface. Looking after vintage floors can be fairly archaeological. A woodworking specialty shop or the “National Trust Book of Housekeeping” may have the most conservative advice about floor care.