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May 14, 2010

Vinegar vs. Mr. Clean

Anyone who knows me well understands that I really enjoy a clean floor. The work to get it clean is lost in the euphoria of shining wood and vacuum lines. The state of my floor is a good indication of my state of mind. And with house showings five or six times a week, I mop and vacuum almost daily. For all the tumult in my brain lately, I'm very glad for clean floors.

A few weeks ago, I was in a panic for a last-minute showing. I called my friend, Melanie, who came immediately to help me prepare. She swept and mopped while I cleared clutter and prepared kids to leave the house. As we were leaving, she said, "Your broom gets an F."

"What?" I said, surprised. I didn't think there was anything wrong with my broom.

"It's terrible!" she cried. Melanie then offered a highly entertaining animation of my broom with her fingers, which curled like claws ineptly grabbing at elusive floor crumbs. I laughed and laughed.

"Really. I'm telling you," Melanie said, "Your broom gets an F. I'm getting you a new one TODAY. And don't get me started on your mop." I kept laughing.

That night, Melanie showed up on my doorstep with a new broom. I have to say, I like it a lot better. The bristles are nice and stiff, and they span an area twice as wide as my old broom. Sweeping is accomplished much more quickly. I'd give the new broom an A+! Kudos to Melanie, dear friend and broom expert.


There still remains an issue with my mop, and with mopping in general. For the size of floor I have, my mop is really small. It's pretty good at scrubbing out crusty stuff on the floor, but it's not terrific. I have tried a Swiffer and a dry mop and a sponge mop, but I keep coming back to my tried-and-true (but small) friend.


I have long been dissatisfied with my wood floor cleaner, too. I have asked for recommendations and tried a dozen different brands and styles over the last two years, but nothing is super fantastic for the lady who needs to mop up yucky messes four or five times a week. So, I figured that if I'm going to be less than thrilled, I might as well not spend a lot on floor cleaner. I have been using vinegar and water for a month or two. It gets the job done, and an industrial-sized bottle is three bucks.

But, of course, there is the smell of vinegar. I don't love it. Garry hates it. He thinks it's a big, ugly turn-off to potential buyers. I always mop just before leaving the house, and no candle or air freshener eradicates vinegar in five minutes. So, at Garry's insistence, I picked up some wood-safe PineSol. A small bottle was three bucks, but maybe the lemony-fresh scent will seduce the right buyers at our next showing.

Even more than a clean floor, that would bring peace to my soul.

7 comments:

Lyon Pride said...

This might be a repeat if so sorry. I heard about a Schmop at our last relief society meeting. It definetely sounded great to me and as soon as I can remember to get one I will. It's about 18 inches by 10 inches. With elastic a terry cloth fits around the base. It supposedly gets corners, scrubs, and cleans grout pretty good. You take the cloth off to rinse and wring out and then put it back on. When you are finished you toss it into the washer--no more stinky mops!! I think she said you can get it at Home Depot. This info came from someone in my ward who used to do commercial and home cleaning so she is pretty particular about her cleaning supplies.

Shannon said...

I use the same mop you have, Heidi, but my wood floor is much smaller than yours. I like it because it scrubs well. They have the ones that Lyon Pride just mentioned at Costco too. They have a microfiber cover and are good for everyday dusting/sweeping. When you're done, just throw the cover in the wash. But I don't think they'd scrub well; hence, why I don't have one.

Melanie said...

I can still see you on one of the riding janitorial machines. I think your square footage of wood floor would qualify! :) Glad you like the broom...now we need to figure out a better mop!

Katy said...

Have you tried Fabuloso floor cleaner? Maybe it is just a Texas thing. I use the Lavender scented one and I love it. It smells way nicer than lemony pinesol. I'm not sure if it works on wood floors or not. Be carful though, the bright packaging and purple color makes it look like Gatorade.

ali kuhrau said...

Hi! I am Ali, Betsy Russell's sister. My favorite cleaner for wood floors is vinegar with a few drops of your favorite essential oils in it :) THat way you have that wonderful cheap, safe clean and still get that wonderful "buy my house" smell :) My favorite oil to use is Sweet Orange.

Colleen said...

Ah, Melanie is a crack up! I am glad you have found a better broom. Vinegar always reminds me of helping a friend of mine clean out her apartment at BYU when we were all moving at the end of a school year. She used vinegar to clean EVERYTHING and the entire place smelled like it. It is a great cleaner, but you are right, it stinks! Let me know if you try the essential oils, that might help a lot!

Unknown said...

http://www.cleanreport.com/p889/Wood-Wash/product_info.html I've used this on my uncle's floors when I stayed there. It worked fine. It's the only thing they use. I don't use mops. I do have a smaller version of this: http://www.cleanreport.com/p1129/Large-Rectangle-Mop-with-Microfiber-Pads/product_info.html
I <3 microfiber. It makes clean up easy. If you want to come over and check mine out please do. :) ha ha. Hooray for Melanie. You need a good broom!

pass it on!

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