How to Clean a Mop

It doesn’t matter how often that you clean your floors, if you are not using a clean mop, all you’re doing is spreading the same dirt around. Most people don’t look forward to mopping their floors, but we all know that for large areas, there is still no substitute for the old mop and bucket! Don’t worry; we have a couple of great tricks to help you clean faster and better with that old mop.

Without a clean mop, you’re just spreading dirt around!

First of all, mops have gotten a lot better over the last decade. I recommend getting a mop with a self-wringing head, like the Lipman Twist mop. Besides keeping your hands cleaner, these mops have a removable heads that are machine washable. This makes keeping the mop head clean a snap and lets you replace it with a new one as needed. When you are done cleaning your floors with them, just throw them in the washing machine. Use the delicate setting with the water as hot as possible. Use minimal detergent and no fabric softener. Do not use any bleach as bleach can destroy the cleaning fibers, shortening the mop head's life! Some mop heads can also be thrown directly in your dryer. Just check the label and follow the directions. Do not use any dryer sheets, as they may reduce the cleaning power of the mop.

While you are mopping, make sure that you keep cleaning the dirt from the mop. If you can, rinse the mop often in a sink or washbasin before dipping in your detergent solution. This will make your cleaning solution stay clean throughout the mopping. If you do not have the ability to rinse the mop, get a second bucket filled with warm, clean water and use it as a pre-rinse before putting the mop back in your cleaning solution. This sounds like more work, but the increased cleaning power of a clean mop will reduce the overall time required to get great results! This also will allow you to use the same bucket of cleaning solution for a larger area, reducing the amount of cleaning products that you use.

If you do not have a machine washable mop, rinse and wring out the mop until the rinse water comes out clean. Use the hottest water that you can to kill off any bacteria. Store your mop with the mop head up and away from the wall. This will help it dry better and will reduce the chances of mold. You can always sanitize the mop head with a rinse of water and hydrogen peroxide after each use. Just make sure that you rinse it out completely when you are done.

Related Posts:

• Keep Your Floors Cleaner With These Mopping Tips 
• Homemade Floor Cleaner
• Use Area Rugs to Cut Down on Mopping
• Microfiber Mop, Cleaning Tool for the 21st Centry

20 Wonderful Uses For Dryer Sheets

1. Dusting: used dryer sheets can knock the dust off nearly any surface, including furniture, blinds, car interiors, baseboards/molding. Also works for on saw dust and drywall compound.
2. Keep bugs away: Tuck some in your picnic basket or under lawn furniture to repel bees from your juicy flesh and encourage them back to the flowers, where they belong. You can also rub a sheet directly on your bare skin to discourage would- be buggers from leaving their mark.
3. Keep your clothes fresh: tuck a few fabric-sheets in your drawers to keep that ‘just-washed’ smell happening for weeks. Throw one in your dirty clothes hamper to prevent any rampant, residual odors from escaping into your bedroom.
4. Scrub your showers: Lightly wet a used dryer sheet, and scrub to remove soap build-up and mineral deposits.
5. Freshen your home: Place (or tape) a dryer sheet on your HVAC vents to scent the air circulating through your home. You can even place one alongside your filter in your central heating unit to distribute the scent. Also works on ceiling fans, and on the back of box/portable fans.
6. Reduce static cling: Pat your self with a sheet to combat static on your clothes, stockings, and even long hair!
7. De-stink your pets: Scrub incoming dogs or cats (especially wet ones) with a dryer sheet before the come back into your home. You can also place one in your litter box to cut down on odors.
8. Clean your laundry room: When you finish drying a load, hold on to the dryer sheet, and wipe down the inside of your dryer’s drum, your lint trap, the outside of your washing machine and dryer, and scrub away any excess or spilt laundry detergent.
9. Scrub the bugs from your car: Summer drives often equal insect gut polka dots all over your auto’s body and windshield. Simply wet your car down, and use a dryer sheet to scrub away carnage with ease.
10. Wipe up hair: The cling of a dryer sheet is perfect to wipe up pet hair from your furniture, or even your own hair from your bathroom.
11. In your shoes: Toss a dryer sheet in the toes of your shoes to minimize odors and prolong the just-purchased smell.
12. While traveling: Place a few dryer sheets in between items in your suitcase to keep both your clothes fresh and to prevent your items from picking up any mustiness from old luggage.
13. In your crafts: Use dryer sheets to add texture to cards, scrapbooks, etc. Also use for reinforcement in appliqué and quilting work.
14. For diapers: Keep your used dryer sheets in your diaper bag, and roll one up in the diaper to prevent odors before you have to chance to throw it away.
15. In the kitchen: Soak cookware with burnt or baked-on food in warm water, with a dryer sheet or two. Makes clean-up easier than you’d expect. Also works on cook tops and dingy cabinet doors.
16. Clean paint brushes: Soak your used paintbrushes in warm water with a dryer sheet, and that pesky latex paint will come off in under a minute.
17. In books: placing a dryer sheet in new books or photo albums will keep them smelling fresh, and can combat the musty paper smell of used or old books. Also works as a killer bookmark.
18. In toilet paper: Roll up a dryer sheet in your toilet paper roll. Each time you spin, it releases a little freshness into your bathroom.
19. As you sleep: keep a fabric-softener sheet in your pillow case and under your mattress or mattress pad for sweet dreams of summer all year ‘round.
20. While sewing: use a dryer sheet to store your needles while threaded to keep them from tangling, for paper piecing whilst you quilt, and for backing for embroidery.
21. Repel rodents: Use dryer sheets to keep out mice, skunks, squirrels, rats, etc from your basement, garages, boats, campers, and clubhouses.
22. In your car: stash dryer sheets under your car seats and floor mats, and in your glove box and trunk for fresh scents as you travel.
23. At work: Hide dryer sheets in drawers, behind computers, and in cabinetry to keep your workspace fresh, and combat your co-workers awful perfume or stale cigarette scent.
24. In you vacuum cleaner: Place a dryer sheet in your vacuum bag or dust containment unit. As the hot air moves as you vacuum, you’ll bulk up your cleaning efforts. (Make sure this is in NO WAY a fire hazard)
25. In storage: tuck dryer sheets in your rarely used items such as luggage, camping gear, sports equipment, or specialty craft or kitchen items to prevent the inevitable smells of basements, attics, and garages.

Cleaning the Window of a Wood Fireplace or Stove

I finally got around to having our first fire of the winter. The first thing I do each year is clean all of the ashes out the fire place and make sure the chimney, flue and fire place are all in good working order. I always do this before the first fire, and this year has been fairly hectic so it has taken longer than usual. The thing I noticed this year was that the fire place doors were filthy. The last fire we had last year must have been pretty smoky because the glass doors were almost opaque. In my thirst for cleaning knowledge I tried three different cleaning methods to find out which one worked the best. Here are my results:

• Dryer Sheet - I had this listed in my notebook as working on glass candle jars. I have a really nice glass oil lamp I have used this on before with success, so I tried it on the fireplace doors. Needless to say, the grime was too tough for the dryer sheet and it just ripped apart.



• My Homemade Brick Fireplace Cleaner - This worked pretty well but, the way the doors fold it was pretty hard to get a brush into the tight areas. It also made a pretty big mess because the doors are vertical the water just runs down them onto the hearth.



• The Magic Eraser - This was the best of the three. It got into the hard to reach places and didn't take too much physical effort.

The Magic Eraser won this challenge. Luckily I have started to find these fairly cheaply. The dollar store had a package of two with half sponge half Magic Eraser for $1 and Target had a package of 4 all Erasers for $2. If you haven't tried the Magic Eraser, pick one up at the store. They really are magic.

Reducing Dusting

Certain places seem to attract dust quickly, thing like TV screens, computer monitors and blinds. To slow the rate of dust accumulation, lightly dampen a dryer sheet and gently glide it over these surfaces. This will remove the static charge that’s attracting the dust.

Nasty, Smelly Work Shoes!

We all have a pair of shoes that fit better than any other. Usually these shoes stink worse than any other pair because we wear them too much. A quick way to combat the stink is to cut a dryer sheet in half and place the pieces in your shoes each night. The same dryer sheet will work for a number of days!

Dryer Sheets in your Sock Drawer?

Placing a few unused dryer sheets in any clothing drawer improves odor control and reduces the moisture level in the drawer. Clothes left with dryer sheets smell better longer and will last in the drawer longer without getting that "left in a drawer too long scent." Dryer sheets are cheap and one or two per drawer will do the trick. If you are storing summer or winter clothes for any period of time, dryer sheets are a must! Dryer sheets are also known as a deterrent to many types of bugs, which makes me like them even more.