You’re Not Mopping Your Floors Enough

We get it—life is too busy to be mopping all the time. Cleaning your floors can be especially time-consuming since you need to start by sweeping or vacuuming them to get rid of any lingering dust or debris. Some cleaning experts even recommend mopping a second time—with water only—to rinse away the floor-cleaning solution you’ve just applied. And depending on the size of the floor you’re dealing with, doing all of that can take a while.

Mopping may be a necessary task, but it’s not inherently clear how often we’re supposed to be making it happen. That’s why Mental Floss and Roborock have teamed up to get to the bottom of it. Spoiler alert: You’re probably not mopping your floors enough.

It turns out how often you should mop has more to do with how much foot traffic your floors get rather than having an exact time limit. Most cleaning and home lifestyle experts agree that you should be mopping your busiest areas—namely the kitchen, bathrooms, hallways, and your home’s entryways—once a week. Note, however, that larger messes or signs of general dirtiness should be addressed sooner rather than later to avoid staining, so feel free to touch up your floors as often as time allows. (Tip: This is one area where having a robot vacuum with mopping capabilities can be a huge time-saver!)

Ideally, though, you should really be mopping them on a weekly basis, whether they’re made of wood, laminate, vinyl, marble, linoleum, ceramic tile, or stone. Some cleaning experts even recommend daily dry mopping, or using a microfiber cloth mop to dust floors and rid them of nasty particles. 

That said, other rooms that aren’t used as much, such as guest rooms, formal dining rooms, or other living spaces can be mopped every other week or even once a month if they’re rarely used. Just be sure these rooms are at least vacuumed weekly so dust and dirt don’t start to accumulate. This is yet another reason why a robot vacuum that also mops can be a great investment; look for a programmable model with smart technology that can learn the layout of your house and be scheduled to clean your floors on a daily or weekly cycle. 

It’s important to keep your floor cleaning equipment clean between mopping sessions, too. If you prefer to use technology to take care of your floors, look for a robot vacuum/mop with built-in self-cleaning features to make your job even easier. Otherwise, be sure to soak your used mop in clean, hot water after you’ve finished. Mop heads that are machine-washable should be washed after each use or at least once a month if you’re just doing light touch-ups.

For those who prefer to use a robot vacuum with mopping capabilities, don’t worry about it going AWOL and mopping up your living room carpet. They’re typically equipped with sensors so you can map out exactly where you want it to clean (or tell it exactly where it shouldn’t). Some will even let you schedule your ideal mopping time or can be hooked up to an app or Amazon’s Alexa devices to allow for voice control options.

If you’re going to clean your floors the old-fashioned way with a mop and bucket, eco-friendly, machine-washable mop heads are the preferred environmentally-friendly choice versus one-time-use disposables. Make sure you’re using warm water (not boiling water, though that’s a common floor-cleaning myth) and washing and drying your mop head after each use so it’s ready to go for your next mopping session. To mop efficiently, start at the farthest corner of the room away from the door and work your way back so you can leave without stepping over your freshly-mopped masterpiece.

The Roborock Q Revo is an all-in-one vacuum and mop which uses an alternative mopping system to the brand’s signature VibraRise® system and an all-new maintenance dock. Roborock's first-ever dual spinning mop system effectively cleans floors at 200 RPM speed and the automatic mop lifting feature for up to 7mm allows it to mop floors and vacuum in one go, without trailing stains or messes. After cleaning, the Q Revo returns to a newly designed multifunctional dock, which performs self-emptying, self-refilling, mop washing with drying, and fast charging, so users don't have to worry about cleaning up afterward. With an extreme suction power of 5,500Pa, an all-rubber brush, and Reactive Tech Obstacle Avoidance, Roborock's Q Revo offers an effective and powerful vacuuming performance on the floor that also helps to avoid hair tangles and obstacles on different floor types.

Buy a coupon for only $18.99 and get a $225 discount on the product, from June 1 to June 10, 2023.