One key to effective damp-mopping (i. e. leaving few particles behind, and not spreading contaminants from one room or area to the next) is to always have a clean mop head and clean solution. Using a traditional string mop and bucket & wringer, one always has a somewhat dirty mop head and, after the first dunk and wring out, one always has contaminated cleaning solution, particularly so in the dusty desert around here - I'm in janitorial service in Phoenix AZ.
Microfiber damp mops, used properly, will avoid this problem.
One begins damp mopping with a stack of freshly laundered microfiber mop heads in a "charging bucket" of clean solution. Pull a pad from the solution, mop with it until it drys out, place it in a bag for laundering, and pull a fresh pad from the solution. Never re-wet a pad by placing it back in the solution. The solution stays clean as all the pads are used; each pad is clean when it hits the floor. The bucket holds 20 to 25 pads, enough to do 10 to 15 thousand square feet of floor. Launder all the used pads at end of the shift.
A microfiber damp mop will remove much more dirt, down to bacteria and allergen size, than will a string mop. Using both a clean mop head and fresh cleaning solution throughout the mopping process helps even more. Finally (I should say "first"), vacuum, do not dust mop, the floor prior to damp mopping, so that the floor is very dirt-free even prior to damp mopping.
In passing, we include periodic burnishing (ultra high speed buffing) and refinishing (commercial floor wax application) as part of our ongoing service; VCT tile is porous, so holds both particles and pathogens; a good coat of non-porous finish makes cleaning and disinfection easier.
Best of all worlds.
A bit about us:
My firm, CBN Building Maintenance, provides commercial cleaning services in Phoenix AZ and the wider metro area. We've been in business since 1974; hold the BBB's A-plus rating; and have long been in the forefront of the industry in environmentally sensitive cleaning for health, safety and security. Our program can generally improve Indoor Air Quality, in the size range of most allergens, by a factor of 50%, as reflected in our ongoing IAQ sampling.
We love having house cleaning denver come in and clean. They've certainly taken very good care of us.
Posted by: house cleaning denver | 03/06/2011 at 11:58 PM
Very interesting post, well written. I also want to admit that it’s very important to vacuum prior to washing the floors. It will help us to get rid of dust and other dirt. It’s a good point of view to use different pads not to accumulate the dirt in your bucket. We at Maria House Cleaning also care about healthy and safe home environment of our clients.
Posted by: Carpet cleaning Seattle | 05/23/2011 at 03:53 AM
Another great way to clean them is with a steam vac. I clean houses and have used many different mops and I found one mop thats awesome. It takes 30 seconds to heat up, we use it on all floors (ceramic, tile, hardwood, linoleum). All you do is stick the pad on, fill it up with water, then 30 seconds later you can vacuum and mop at the same time. The dry particles go to one compartment and the rest sticks to the pad and leaves the floors super clean and sanitized very quickly. They dry super fast as well. The lady we clean for got her Haan steam vac at MopShops.com. It was delivered in about 3 days and had free shipping she said. I'm going to get one ASAP!
Posted by: Jessica | 11/08/2011 at 04:56 AM
This is helpful!
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This is cool!
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Thanks; thought so myself.
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