How to quickly clean the floors in an apartment
Cleaning in an apartment or house is a mandatory procedure. This process can be both everyday (vacuum cleaning, wipe the surfaces from dust), and periodic - wet cleaning.
In the latter case, the dust can not only be effectively and permanently removed, but also bring freshness to the room. How to clean floors correctly, what you need to know and what to use further in the article.
How often should the floor be washed
Regular cleaning will help keep your apartment, house, office clean. It is recommended to carry out it every 2-3 days. As for general wet cleaning, it should be done once a week.
It all depends on some factors:
- dwelling area;
- the number of residents and visitors;
- type of flooring;
- the presence of pets;
- seasonal factor, weather conditions;
- the frequency of opening windows and balconies.
The conditional division of home ownership into zones will help to more efficiently and more easily carry out cleaning. This is about:
- Kitchen area. Here pollution is a constant phenomenon. You need to clean up here in two stages: we get rid of small debris, only then wash the floors. If there are difficult stains (dried stains of dirt or grease), they must be soaked before washing.
- Bathroom. This place is used regularly, although the features of the floors here allow you to cope with cleaning faster (tiles, tiles are not so susceptible to dirt). IMPORTANT! Remember to wipe your bathroom floor with a dry cloth to avoid injury.
- We leave the corridor for a snack. This is where the biggest accumulation of dirt is, since everyone comes here wearing shoes.
- Sleeping rooms are the least polluted. Cleaning here can be even more difficult at times, as the carpets and underneath also need cleaning.
For each zone, there are special cleaning products, auxiliary tools and equipment for cleaning the floors.
Selection of equipment for washing
The ancient methods, in the spirit of “a rag in your hands and in a fight with dirty floors”, are no longer relevant. Now there are many varieties of floor cleaning equipment.
Let's figure out which of them and why you need them:
- Broom with a scoop. It is far from always advisable to use a vacuum cleaner. Especially when it comes to removing wool from tiles, laminates and other smooth surfaces. A cheap and easy way to remove accumulations of dust, hair, debris.
- Vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners. Modern cleaning equipment is sometimes surprising. After all, the same vacuum cleaners with a wet cleaning function quite cope with simple dirt, refresh the air in the room. Steam cleaners are used for professional and semi-professional cleaning. They disinfect the surface and effectively fight dirt with steam.
- Mop. In the usual sense, these are two perpendicularly fixed wooden sticks, on the smaller of which a rag of dubious freshness is hung.But modern models of mops are radically different in functionality and usability. Most new mops have interchangeable attachments for different types of cleaning.
- Scrubber driers. For private use, they are purchased extremely rarely, but in industries, in supermarkets and large offices, such equipment is needed.
It is important to be able to choose the right mop, as it is the main cleaning tool. To minimize stress on your back, the mop should be long enough to reach your underarms.
What means to use
Even experienced housewives may have doubts about what to wash floors with for disinfection. Not to mention the elimination of some stains that do not come across every day (for example, spilled fuel oil, paint, varnish, brilliant green, etc.).
There are special cleaning products and folk methods. Each of them has supporters, as well as opponents. It is fair to familiarize yourself with both methods of cleaning the floor in order.
Special means
Special cleaning products include: household, semi-professional and professional. Listed in ascending order of cost, but also efficiency. Granny's methods do not always allow you to get rid of difficult stains.
In this case, the nearest home store will be happy to offer you a wide selection of special equipment. Let's take a look at some of them:
- Bagi "Oranit" is a universal application. On the one hand, the product will get rid of most of the uncomplicated stains and dirt. On the other hand, for some types of surfaces it is better to use special, targeted products.
- Leifheit Protect - suitable for cleaning parquet and laminate.
- "Tri-Bio" is an ecologically safe biological product with a wide range of applications.
IMPORTANT! There are hundreds and even thousands of similar products on the market. But all of them can be conditionally divided into: narrowly targeted agents and a wide spectrum of action. If the contamination is complex, and the coating is whimsical, it is better to choose a narrow-profile product.
Folk remedies
Sometimes the tools that have been used by more than one generation help no worse than modern ones. Moreover, you will not have to spend money on them, and the effect will fully satisfy expectations. Lemons, mustard, and salt are also used.
Some remedies have become especially popular due to their effectiveness. Your attention is invited to get acquainted with some of them.
Vinegar
It is important to know not only how to properly mop the floors, but also what products to use. Vinegar provides not only nutritional value, but also the ability to be used as an auxiliary cleaning agent.
The only drawback is a specific smell, which can be easily eliminated with a couple of drops of lavender essential oil. For floors, the following recommendation should be applied:
- dilute half a glass of table vinegar in 10 liters of water;
- add a few drops of lavender essential oil;
- some grated soap;
- wash the floor with the resulting solution;
- wash off with clean water without additives.
NOTE! Alternatively, you can use lemon juice if lavender essential oil is not available.
Spruce needles
Pine twigs and needles do not cease to be needed after the New Year holidays. As practice shows, this is a reliable means to freshen the air in the room.
All you need to do:
- put a few twigs in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil;
- cook for 5-7 minutes over low heat;
- pour the contents into a bucket of water;
- wash the floor with the resulting solution.
After washing, the air in the room will be pleasant and fresh, creating the feeling of being in a pine forest.
Soda
This substance is actively used in cooking, but it may well become an assistant in matters of apartment cleaning. Baking soda can be used to prepare a solution for cleaning floors, as well as as a standalone product. For example, a greasy stain on tiles, tiles, linoleum can be wiped off with baking soda and vinegar.
To do this, you need to pour soda over the place of pollution and pour on top with an equal amount of vinegar. During the reaction, dirt from the surface will flake off. It only remains to be washed off with a rag and water.
How to clean different floors
The coating chosen for the floor needs an individual approach in terms of cleaning. Some materials are sensitive to products containing acids in their composition, while others are afraid of alkaline ones.
The most popular types of coatings deserve special attention and detailed consideration.
Laminate
Laminate floors must be cleaned carefully, without overdoing it with the amount of water. To this parameter, the material is whimsical almost like a tree. For them, special, narrow-profile tools are offered. Otherwise, mop the floor with a mop, performing movements as if drawing an eight.
But what exactly can not be done:
- use abrasive substances;
- banned solvents and generalists;
- varnish and wax.
From folk remedies for this material, you can prepare a special solution: water, vinegar and dishwashing liquid in proportions of 3: 1: 1. It will help get rid of the pollution.
Linoleum
The types of linoleum are different. For example, the surface can be smooth, grooved or rough, with or without patterns. It would seem that the material is quite durable and unpretentious. But there are nuances.
For example, it is undesirable to use solvents and hot water. Before washing linoleum with a corrugated surface, it is best to wet it and let it turn off. It is allowed to use universal and specialized floor cleaning products.
Floorboards
Unpretentious material. You will not need special care for it. Washing is done with a damp flannel cloth and water. If cleaning is daily, then no detergents are needed.
Otherwise, any all-purpose cleaner will do.
Parquet
Parquet is washed every 3-4 months. But you need to remember that this material is afraid of moisture. By adhering to some rules, you can save yourself from unpleasant surprises:
- after varnishing, you can wash the parquet floor no earlier than after 3 weeks (it will take about 3 weeks for the gaps between the planks to tighten and water does not get there);
- wash with warm water, use only specially designed products;
- cloth for washing: felt or felt (thoroughly wring out the cloth before wiping);
- You can dry your floors after washing, but it's best to just wipe dry.
It is recommended, upon completion of cleaning, to apply a special substance to the surface - a polish with a water-repellent effect. It is recommended to use concentrates of detergents, which will allow cleaning without water.
Tile
Depending on the type of tile, the methods of cleaning it are also selected. As a rule, the joints between the tiles are the most contaminated. It is there that, due to the porous surface of the suture material, dirt particles can accumulate and be compressed.
Sometimes you can use an ordinary toothbrush to clean them, if we are talking about a small area. Mold can grow in bathrooms.To combat it, you need to use special tools.
Self-leveling floor
The material is unpretentious to wash. For this, you can use both a steam mop and an ordinary mop. You can wash with or without specialized substances. All-purpose cleaning agents are perfectly acceptable. After cleaning, wipe the floors with a soft, dry cloth.
How to clean tough stains
In the fight against complex spots, special means of narrow (point) action will help, but sometimes you can do with simple, folk remedies. But it is important to remember about the features of the materials. For example, if a tile can be thoroughly rubbed with a brush (especially one with a rough surface), then this number will not work with laminate and parquet.
In the last two cases, you need:
- use only brushes with soft fibers;
- do not use aggressive cleaning agents;
- do not rely too much on the versatility of folk methods (they are designed for simple, unpretentious materials).
IMPORTANT! When buying a new product, test its effectiveness on an inconspicuous area of the floor so as not to spoil the coating.
How to properly clean the floor in a children's room
Hygiene is important, and cleaning is essential. This is especially true of the room where the child spends a considerable amount of time. Cleaning in children's rooms should be carried out taking into account the following recommendations:
- do not use active household chemicals (the child can drop something on the floor, pick it up, and put it in his mouth);
- do not wash floors with bleach, harmful fumes can harm the child;
- use biological products that are environmentally friendly and safe.
The frequency of wet cleaning in children's rooms boils down to the following recommendation: the more often, the better. It can even be done several times a day. After all, the child's respiratory tract, like his body as a whole, is vulnerable. It is important to take this into account when coming home from work, and thinking about the fact that the room has been cleaned not so long ago.
Cleaning the floor after renovation
Repair is a painstaking, sometimes long-awaited event. And presenting the final result, few people think about the consequences of the repair. But construction debris, paint, varnishes and other complex stains are quite difficult to remove.
It is best to take these steps before starting repairs:
- lay an oilcloth on the floor, the denser the better;
- if you notice that paint or something else has got into the open area of the coating, remove it immediately, before the material has eaten;
- do not allow plaster fragments to fall unless the cardboard is additionally shot through.
Otherwise, before cleaning the floors after renovation, the most important thing is to remove all dust and debris with a broom. Only after that start washing.
If paint has dried on the tiles, a little thinner will help resolve the issue. On linoleum, similarly, you can drip kerosene or gasoline from a hardware store onto a rag.
General floor care rules
Cleaning as often as possible will reduce the time you spend on it. Follow the recommendations for the care of each type of coating. This will help preserve the floor and give it a natural and aesthetic appearance.
Use folk remedies from the category "definitely will not harm." Regular cleaning is a guarantee of freshness and cleanliness in any home!
Video: how to quickly clean the floor