Is washing floors with a mop the best method? There are those who prefer another approach

by Mark Bennett

November 25, 2023

Is washing floors with a mop the best method? There are those who prefer another approach
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One of the indispensable cleaning tools in everyone's homes, the mop, might no longer be the reigning champion of floor cleaning. For floors, an alternative method now recommended by popular cleaning experts on social media is making the rounds. 

But what method could achieve better results than our trusty mop? Well, keep reading:

A mop to wash the floor: yes or no?

A mop to wash the floor: yes or no?

Creativo

A mop has many undeniable advantages: the long handle allows us to avoid bending over, and it reaches into every corner without too much effort, for example. Nowadays, there are countless varieties of mops with different head types and sizes for all sorts of cleaning chores. Not to mention the handy buckets they come with to hold clean and/or dirty water.

Further, a mop, if properly maintained, can be reused countless times.

However, some cleaning experts (with large followings on social media), believe that better results, in terms of cleanliness and hygiene, can be achieved by using paper.

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Washing floors with paper

Washing floors with paper

Antonio, Swiffer/Amazon

One of the social media "stars" who popularized this cleaning method is Vanesa Amaro (@vanesa_amaro_; @vanesamaro91): her videos on floor cleaning using simple pieces of paper towels have been viewed millions of times. However, she is not the only one using this method, and it is quickly gaining popularity everywhere.

Instead of using a bucket and mop, a more efficient method appears to be to spray floor cleaner detergent onto a piece of absorbent paper (like kitchen rolls, for example) and then scrubbing the floor with this. In a single action, you can clean more thoroughly, wiping away stains, and picking up hair, fur, and other debris that mops tend to just spread around.

The reasoning behind this method actually makes sense, and it becomes even easier and faster when using pre-moistened floor wipes (of the type typically used with flat mops for parquet or laminate floors).

But there is one issue: the consumption of non-reusable paper has a significant environmental impact (not to mention the costs). However, there is a solution to consider if you really prefer the results obtained using this method: equip yourself with a stack of microfiber floor cloths for this purpose (and which can be washed and reused multiple times). All that remains is the "inconvenience" of having to bend over to reach the floor.

Which method do you prefer?

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