# What's the best way to mop the floor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225 "2014-08-22T18:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![here\_and\_there](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@here\_and\_there](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/here_and_there)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/21 "2014-08-23T13:52:10Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Thanks for the replies, all. bump, that is what I do, but the soap doesn’t come up that easily. Keep the mop fairly dry (squeezed) during the second pass. You want it to absorve as much stuff as possible. Use a bucket, of course :mad: . And you can try bleach. Open the windows, and what remains will, probably evaporate in less than half an hour. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/22 "2014-08-23T13:53:29Z")
I mopped for a living for years, with attention to the causes and effects. 1. Don’t use more detergent than you need. Most of 'em are effective at **2 oz. per gal** ; measure it, no glugging! Any more than that leaves a film. I use Lysol disinfecting detergent, not because of a preference, but because that’s the brand Lowe’s sells. 2. If you’re a stickler for leaving nothing on the floor, you can do a second mopping with plain water. My favorite, and stingiest, way is to mix a single gallon of hot water w/ 2 oz. detergent in a pump-up garden sprayer. Mist the floor. By the time you go back with a plain-water mop to pick it up, the chemical has had a few minutes to work. 1. Before you do your main mopping, “frame” the room with a single pass around the edges. 2. I’m not fond of bleach. If you like it, help yourself. Don’t forget to protect your skin and eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Passing\_Through](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Just\_Passing\_Through](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Passing_Through)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/23 "2014-08-23T15:08:08Z")
“What’s the best way to mop the floor?” watching your girlfriend do it naked. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/24 "2014-08-23T21:55:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > With about forty bucks. > > Take your forty bucks, and offer it to someone who will mop the floor for you. Unless your negotiation skills are hopeless, you should be able to get a few other miscellaneous items of housework done, as well, over the course of a couple of hours. Perhaps in Southern California. I understand you have quite a supply of cheap labour available to you. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/25 "2014-08-25T01:17:55Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Thanks for the replies, all. bump, that is what I do, but the soap doesn’t come up that easily. How much are you using? I have yet to find a floor mopping soap that doesn’t use 1/4 cup per gallon, or a 1:32 ratio of soap to water. At that concentration, it usually does come up pretty clean for me. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/26 "2014-08-25T21:46:58Z")
Thanks again, all, for the replies. I think my biggest problem is that I can’t wring my mop out as well as it needs. So the bucket thingy might work for me. Will also check out the O’Cedar mop. Will still need a wringer bucket for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/27 "2014-09-04T16:04:08Z")
So, question for Bay Area moppers. I wanna buy an O-Cedar or similar microfiber mop with a wringer/bucket. Checked Target and Bed Bath, they don’t carry it. Don’t want to buy it off Amazon if I can help it. Any other suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/28 "2014-09-04T16:14:32Z")
If I really want the floor clean, I fill the mop bucket with hot water and add a capful of pine-sol. Then I get out my floor scrub brush and go to town. Once I’ve scrubbed the floor, I go over it with a clean mop to pick up any water (if the water is clean hot\* it should evaporate pretty quickly and you shouldn’t be puddling water on your floor anyway.) that’s left. I do this like twice a year. The rest of the time it’s a once over with a mop and pine-sol water and most frequently a foot swish with a paper towel. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/29 "2014-09-04T16:17:56Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > So, question for Bay Area moppers. I wanna buy an O-Cedar or similar microfiber mop with a wringer/bucket. Checked Target and Bed Bath, they don’t carry it. Don’t want to buy it off Amazon if I can help it. Any other suggestions? Some company websites have a “where to buy” app on them. Check the website for O-Cedar. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225/30 "2014-09-04T16:56:07Z")
Use a wet/dry shop vac with the squeegee head. Saturate the floor with soapy water, scrub with mop, slurp it up with the vac. Saturate floor with rinse water, slurp it up. Clean floor, little drying time!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mop-the-floor/696225.md?page=1)