Does keeping your floors clean feel like a never-ending job? Somedays I am tempted to plant seeds in my tile because I swear it grows stuff better than my garden! With four kids and living on property, there is constantly dirt, food, crayons, etc. all over my floors, no matter how often I clean them! I am also the type of person that does not like a broom or a mop! Brooms do a decent job but never quite seem to get every last bit of dirt up and into the trash can. Mops do not seem sanitary to me! I feel like they never truly get the floor clean! My old method of cleaning my floors was to sweep all the dirt into a pile, pick up all the dirt with a wet washcloth and throw it away, come back around with the vacuum hose to make sure I got all the corners and crevices, fill one side of my sink with mop water and then scrub my floors with a washcloth on my hands and knees, rinsing my cloth thoroughly in hot water each time before I dipped it in the mopping solution again. Quite a process! However, it was the only way the floors felt truly clean to me! After all this work, you can imagine how frustrating it was when the kids came running back through the house tracking dirt! I knew I had to find a better solution! One that took less energy on my part and was a more efficient use of my time, however, it had to make the floors just as clean! So I started researching and doing trial and error. The following is the system I am currently using, and I am incredibly happy with the way my floors look all day long!
Instead of a broom followed by a vacuum, I switched to the Dyson v7 Animal + Cordfree Stick. This thing is AMAZING!!! I purchased mine at Costco. While you may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere, anytime I can buy something from Costco, I do. Their return policy gives me peace of mind that if anything were to happen to my purchase, it is a hassle-free process to return it, no matter how long it has been! Also, they do go on sale occasionally, so keep your eye out if you want to buy from Costco but don’t want to pay full price. This device holds a charge for 30 minutes which is plenty of time to do at least my downstairs. However, I find myself leaving it plugged in all day and only using it here and there as I see messes versus one long vacuuming session. It comes with several attachments to do stairs, chairs, and corners. It is perfect to walk around behind my girls as they cook or craft and clean up as we go! No cord means you can easily get around furniture, under tables, and up the stairs. I do not think I could recommend this highly enough!
I replaced my washcloth and elbow grease with the Shark Sonic Duo Carpet and Hard Floor Cleaner (ZZ550). I don’t know if I can sing this machine’s praises enough. I was first introduced to it by my wonderful neighbor who graciously let me borrow hers until I decided to buy my own. I was able to find mine on Facebook Swip Swap for $50! It was practically brand new and came with all the pads and cleaning solutions. The lady had kept one upstairs, and one downstairs and she was downsizing so sold the one from upstairs! I see them on Swip Swap quite often, so if you don’t want to pay full price, keep an eye out for a used one! While I do use the hardwood cleaner it comes with on my engineered wood floor, I use Mrs. Meyers on my tile and luxury vinyl plank floors. You simply switch out the pads and cleaning solution bottle to move from wood to tile. It also comes with a carpet cleaner and carpet pads if you wish to clean your carpet with it as well. This machine cleans my floors like I did not know they could be. They are left sparkling because it scrubs them 1,000x per minute! It is very lightweight and easy to use once it is turned on due to what they call ‘Airglide Maneuverability’ it pretty much does all the work for you, you just have to guide it. I do carry a razor blade in my hand as I use the machine so if there is something really stuck on the floor, I can gently and quickly scrape it off. When I wash the pads, I add a splash of bleach to the washer to make sure they are sanitized thoroughly. I have to run the machine once a day in my kitchen and dining rooms, but the living room and hallways only need it every third day or so.
A cordless vacuum and a motorized scrubber, much better than me on my hands and knees manually picking up and scrubbing every piece of dirt my kids bring in our house. I spend a lot less time deep cleaning my floors and only have to spot clean here and there throughout the day. I also do not feel like I’m wasting my time making the floors spotless, only to have the kids run in right that moment with dirt on their feet and all my efforts were in vain. Simply grab the Dyson, suck it up and move on with my day!
