apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I do this around the sink and stove, and in the bathroom too.

I agree 100 percent. Of course, my kitchen is barely more than a U-shaped galley: fridge, dishwasher, sink, (turning the corner with pie-slice-shaped bit of counter top), stove, another turn and a stretch of pass-through counter the length of the appliances side. So there really isn't much floor, and you're right about the kick plates. In fact, I nearly gagged when I moved into this supposedly clean apartment. If it's MY mess, I can live with it occasionally, but someone else's? Blech! BTW, I use sudsy ammonia in water, a rough Chore Boy pad and hefty rubber gloves. I do pass a Swiffer pad or something like it over the floor to "dry" it.

I agree too -- nothing gets a floor as clean as elbow grease -- though when I lived in a house that was 100% tile and hardwood throughout I used a Star Mop in most of the house, but anything that needed to be deep cleaned got my personal hands-and-knees attention.

http://www.starfibers.com/mops.php

I grew up scrubbing our family's kitchen and bathroom floors by hand, using old kitchen towels cut into washcloth size. I like these better than sponges because of the texture - I think it's easier to get sticky residue or spots off of the floor.

It's definitely the best way to get it really clean - but my kitchen is way too big and I'm way too lazy to do the whole thing this way!

I used to do that--I even scrubbed between the tiles with a toothbrush--but then with the dog and everything else, I stopped trying to make my floors perfectly clean. I do have a deep clean of the floors on our bi-annual chore list, though, and that includes the baseboards and everything else that gets neglected by just using a mop.

totally agree. here's an additional idea: if you have any friends who are disabled, cleaning their kitchen or wood floor this way, by hand, is a true act of spiritual grace.

I'd like to know how people do this without absolutely destroying your knees. I've done it once, and was in pain for days afterwards. And I'm just not sure I'm ready to wear kneepads for cleaning. It's not a contact sport.

@ Laura elk: It can be done sitting on your bum, or buy knee pads that designed for gardners.

At my age I am content that my floor is "clean enough" with sponge mopping. Cleaning on your hands and knees is a job best done by the relatively young or the relatively limber. While I have no problem with you, or anyone else, doing that, no one could pay me enough to follow your example. I tried it one time. My knees were painful for days, and my chiropracter was very happy to schedule extra visits for my very sore back. There is a reason that there was formerly a condition called "housemaids knee"...

To "clean" my floors, I will vaccuum, sweep, and spot clean the floors; to CLEAN my floors, though, I get down on hands and knees once or twice a month. I keep a bucket with sponge, scrub brush, and floor cleaner under the kitchen sink. Like Elizabeth, I wring out the sponge over the floor to spread a little water. Then I go back and scrub. Finally I clean up with the sponge. While down there, I will catch the footboards, the baseboards, and the bottoms of the fridge, oven and dishwasher.
I would love to be able to just use a mop, or for that matter, just a sponge. But... my condo came with white linoleum that was designed with pock marks. The only way to get those little pock marks clean is to scrub, scrub, scrub. Otherwise, the floor appears gray. And I was blessed enough to have those same floors in each of my two bathrooms.

God no.

I sweep the floor every night or so and will occasionally use a steam mop, but there's no way I'm getting down on my hands and knees.

It's a floor, not an eating surface, and I know that my dog will run through in two minutes and begin the filthy-ing process all over again.

@avianmission, what a lovely, kindhearted, and compassionate idea.

I agree! My apartment kitchens tend to be small (except my current one, which is ... well, generous in comparison), and it seems really stupid to get out a big, wooden-handled mop to scrub a whopping 25 square feet. I use a rag, though (sponges are not green!), so that I can wash it when I do a load of towels, and it works fine.

When we first moved into our house a couple months ago, we did this to all the vinyl floors. They looked amazing! We mop most of the time, but it doesn't ever turn out looking as good as it does when we get down on hands and knees to scrub.

@Shellbell - our floors are the same downstairs - white with pock marks. Impossible to keep clean longer than a day!

Sounds nice but 80% of my house is slate tile. And 20% is the kitchen alone. I think I will stick to the mop.

I absolutely get down on a my hands and knees to scrub the floor. I see every tiny nook and crevice that needs to be cleaned. BUT I only do this four times a year for a deep cleaning in the kitchen and bathrooms. Other times, I use a mop with a scrub brush to tackle the floors. I enforce a take of your shoes before entering but it's easy because I'm Asian and grew up with that habit.

Old sponge, wrung dry, reach over from the waist. Keeps me limber and saves my knees. Bent knees are acceptable. And yes, sweep or vacuum first.

I despise my rental's kitchen floor - mostly because the old, chipped, dull, probably-asbestos tile that NEVER looks clean. I considered this last time I mopped. I think I'll try it this weekend. It's about 6 feet by 4 feet so you're right, it won't take much time. And then I'll know it's truly clean as can be.

Hahaha. I do all the vaccuuming and my roomie does all the mopping, soooo I never mop. Do you think I should tell her to do it this way? :)

Really though, We are in and out all the time and our kitchen is a main thoroughfare for EVERYTHING. The hands and knees thing may stay reserved for before Tgiving when the whole fam is over.