Don’t you just love the look of your clean and shiny floors? Doesn’t it give you a sense of comfort when you see your floor without any spillage, dirt, or grime? It does give us an uplifting spirit just walking on our clean floor. It just gives a genuine satisfaction to know that we are keeping it well maintained and sanitary.
A clean floor just shows that the owner of the house, in particular how she presents their home and it says much about their hygiene and cleanliness.
How To Clean a Mop Head: Step By Step
Table Contents
How to clean a mop head? There are plenty of ways to clean your floors (cement floors. tiles, sealed hardwood, marble, etc.). Some ways of cleaning are sweeping floors, vacuuming, and the traditional way which is mopping.
What are Mops?
Mops are made using cloth fiber, a highly absorbent sponge, and any other synthetic material that can be used to clean floors.
In the old days, people had to kneel for them to clean the floors using a piece of cloth or any coarse piece of item to scrub floors with. There are many hardships that people, mostly women face from far off days just to clean their homes. Most of them got their knees scraped and injured.
There are supposed inventors of mop that we should give thanks to, a man named Thomas W. Steward, an African-American inventor. It was in 1893 when his invention was patented. But there was also another person who supposedly also invented a mop, his name is Manuell Jalon Corominas, a Spanish.
It must be that both of them did invent mops but different types of mops.
Nowadays there are different designs of mop brought about by changes in our technology.
There are 2 to 4 million people who are using mops in their homes.
But since consumers are looking for mops that they can use with ease and mops that are priced fairly as well. Hence, the appearance of different types of mops.
What is The Use of a Mop?
Can clean dirt, grime, spillage on the floor. Mops are one of the main cleaning tools in our home as it is very convenient and can do its job well. With just a few scrubbing and wiping on the floor with the help of some water, cleaning solution, or even disinfecting solution, we are assured of a clean and sanitary floor, assuming we are doing it correctly.
It can also be used on walls, to wipe off dirt and dust that clings on the walls, and also discoloration on the ceiling due to dirt. This can be done with mops that are equipped with long handles.
What are the different types of mop heads and how to clean a mop head?
Flat mops
Flat mop heads can be washed in a washing machine with some laundry soap. You may also just soak the mop head in a bucket full of water with a few drops of bleach. Keep it dry after natural air or keep it outside under the sun for a few hours. Flat mops are used for cleaning small areas only.
Sponge Mops
You can clean the sponge mop head by soaking the sponge in water and wringing it dry after. Laundry soap is also used in the water where you will soak the sponge mop head. This mop has a similar design as the flat mop and this mop design can be used in larger areas and is considered to be more absorbent.
String Mops
Are the most common mops as it is traditionally used in the past years. This mop is made of cloth cut into strings and made into a mop. There is also a bucket with a wringer to wring out water from the mop
Rinse the mop head after a few minutes then ring it using the wringer. Keep it dry before storage.
Strip Mop
This type of mop head can be cleaned by putting it inside the washer. You may decide to just use water or may also use detergent to make it odor-free, make it cleaner, and keep it smelling clean. You may dry it after as well in the washer but since it will just add up to the electricity bill, you may just dry it naturally. Store once dry. This mop is only ideal to clean medium-sized areas.
Spin Mop
Spin mops are a bit like the string mop but have a shorter strip attached to a circular mop head. There is also a bucket that spins during rinsing and soaking with a floor cleaning solution.
The mop head is detachable and is easy to clean.
You can soak it in the bucket with laundry soap and bleach solution and keep it there for a few minutes.
Remove the soap solution after. Replace with clean water, rinse the mop head again for a few minutes and then attach the handle so you can then wring it in its wringer to dry.
You may just let it stand on the wall to let it dry for a few hours or you may take it out to dry naturally under the sun. Spin mops are best to use in small and medium areas like houses, schools, or any small spaces.
Microfiber Mop
With this mop, they make the mop head of microfiber materials and works just like a sponge mop. It has a wonderful ability to absorb at a faster rate.
You can clean it via a washer or under warm running water. These steps can remove dirt that clings to the mop, a bit of baking soda can also help with cleaning microfiber mop heads. Dry it on a low dryer setting or air drying is another option.
Static Mop
Static mops are frequently used to clean dirt and dust in a small or medium home setting. You may clean this mop head by brushing the tip of the microfiber that is attached at the end of the mop, you may or may not wet the mop head as this is like a dust sweeper or a broom and may not need to soak it for a long period.
Disposable Mop
The disposable mop can easily be attached to the above mops. They can also provide cleaning to any room or space. The only difference is they are disposable. There is no need to keep it clean and maintain it cause it will be discarded after use.
How do we make sure that our mop heads are clean? Here below are the general rules and step-by-step guide on cleaning your mop heads.
Clean your mop right away after use. After cleaning your floors, your mop is surely teeming with bacteria and other unpleasant dirt. Some mop users will just keep their mops in the storage without cleaning the mop heads.
Other people will just let it dry without cleaning it first before its storage. Without cleaning your mop head every after use will not remove the dirt and bacteria that may cling to it, it will also not help with its longevity. Cleaning it after every use can ensure you clean mop heads every time.
Prepare boiling water for cleaning. Hot water or boiled water helps mop heads remove any clinging grime, dirt, or even oil. Bacterial also doesn’t stand a chance on boiled water.
According to WHO, temperatures of 140� F to 150� F can kill most viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Just let the mop head soak in boiled water for a few minutes. After you soak your mop head in boiled water, you can rinse it with running water. Let it stay there again for 2-3 minutes.
Add a few drops of vinegar to a big container or the bucket. In the bucket, put just enough water so you can soak the mop head in it. Add 1-2 capfuls of vinegar to the water. Vinegar is also an excellent cleaning solution, it will also neutralize the smell that may have clung to the mop head.
Add some scoops of baking soda. In the bucket, you may add 1-2 scoops of baking soda. Baking soda acts as a cleaning agent as it can cause grease and dirt to dissolve. It has a mild alkali composition. It is also an excellent product for deodorizing as it brings about a neutral and odorless state. You may do the soaking for a few minutes.
Replace the water in the bucket with clean water. After the above, where you used baking soda and vinegar. Soak the mop for a few minutes in clean water. This will then remove the smell of vinegar and baking soda residue from the mop head. Keep doing so till the water in the bucket is clear.
Wring the mop head. If they make it of cloth, be sure to remove the excess water by wringing it very well. If they make it up of other materials, you also need to make sure that excess water is removed.
Allow your mop head to get dry. Do not store while the mop is still wet as bacteria and molds will just thrive on it. You can dry it under the sun as sunshine will kill bacteria and mold naturally. If there is no sunshine, just let the mop stand upright on any areas that have natural air and let the mop dry for a few hours.
Store the mop on a clean surface, in the storage or any dry place, and avoid it from getting wet while in storage. It should not also brush the floor as it will just pick up dirt before your next use.
Considerations
If your mop can be cleaned in the washer, you can detach the head of the mop and put it in the laundry. You can wash it in hot water setting with some fabric soap.
You may also add just a bit of bleach just to disinfect your mop head. Provided that there is no other clothing in the washer, it is safe to be cleaned in the washer.
You can also exchange the vinegar and baking soda for soap and a bit of bleach or any cleaning solution according to your preference. Just don’t overuse bleach on your mop head.
Mops can only be used for a certain period and should be replaced after. A mop can only be usable after some time as it will look old and dirty with daily use.
The ideal time to replace your mop heads is after 2-3 months of use. Some mops need to be replaced even if it’s just used for a brief period as it will also depend on where your mop is being used. Is it just to clean home floors or is it cleaning floors that are considered a high activity area? We may replace mops that are usually used for that purpose more frequently to maintain their cleaning capacity.
Conclusion
Mops are the primary tools in every home. It is of absolute importance that we also clean it after use. If it is just kept inside the storage without cleaning it, we are just cleaning our homes with mops that are dirty and gross. Even with water to rinse it in, the bacteria from the previous cleaning will still cling to it.
But we have many options still, with different mops in the market today, we can choose which mops to use in a particular room in our house. If it is the bedroom mop, then it should just be used in the bedroom. If it is for the kitchen, then it is just natural to buy one for the kitchen.
It is not hygienic as well to use mops that are meant for the garage floor and use it to mop the floor of your bedroom. It is ideal to have different mops for different areas in your house.
If not, then you are just negating the effect of cleaning by not doing so.
