Kitchen floor

[KitchenQueen]

I have an old tile-whatever kitchen floor. No super dooper flooring or anything new or special.

My kitchen floor has more traffic than O'Hare airport. If I'm not sleeping or at work, I'm in the kitchen.

I must clean it constantly. That low toss of the flour onto the bread board? Yeah, right. 20% board, 80% floor. Flipping an egg back INTO the pan? Fuggedaboutit.

I vac, then mop once and finish with Mop 'N Glow. I'm doing this at least 3 times a week, and starting to resent it. Bigtime.

I just want clean, and sanitary. Shiny is nice too. Okay, shiny is very important.

But it does take a lot of time.

There's constantly a little drip or spot of something .

Or I turn and there's a blob of spaghetti sauce. When and how did THAT end up on the floor?

Any hints for minimal upkeep, better products, or spot cleaning?

I'd rather cook than clean.

[SundaySous]

After extensive research (thirty plus years as slob) I've found attacking the offending spill immediately to be the best method. In habit of having one dish rag for dishes and one for floor, wall, ceiling, appliances...

For me if I don't hit them quickly they end up in the carpet in the rest of the house.

I keep a bleach bottle handy as well. Also found Chorlox Cleanup (cleaner with bleach) to be very effective combating grease.

edited for post Thanks Giving effect

Edited November 23, 2007 by SundaySous (log)

[dockhl]

There's constantly a little drip or spot of something .

Or I turn and there's a blob of spaghetti sauce. When and how did THAT end up on the floor?

The answer in my house is, "Get a dog !"

[SuzySushi]

I can't vouch for it, but my sister's secret for cleaning stubborn stains is. . .

toothpaste!!!

[rooftop1000]

My floor is less than a week old but we went the extra mile in glue use during installation (the old tiles were peeling up) and I have yet to get the last of the glue smears up. Getting some Goo Gone tomorrow.

but yeah...get a dog - sometimes you look down and try to remember the last time you mopped

My kitchen door is the front door, so of course we got pale grey tiles

tracey

[dockhl]

Spot cleaning? Magic Eraser !

[paulraphael]

Just stop looking down.

[Peter the eater]

Are you considering a new flooring material? If so how much area, and what's the budget?

Just re-read your post, sorry I get excited when I think there's a reno afoot!

My thing is to keep a big old beach towel behind the basement door. I have no dog, but I do have twins who are 2 1/2 yrs old so theres a lot of spilling. The towel can out-suck-up paper towels and sponges any day!

[kiliki]

Is this about wanting it to just look clean or to actually be really clean?

If it's the former, there are lots of types of flooring that don't show dirt or stains (at least they're good at hiding them until it gets really bad). Marmoleum, slate and slate-like tile...check out your nearest tile/floor store, there's quite a few options.

[hummingbirdkiss]

my dog is not allowed in the kitchen she is way too big and it is way too easy for me to trip over her and kill myself ..I do that allready in other rooms so we have a no kitchen rule for my beast..or I am sure my floor would be clean and my dog would be fat from all the stuff I tend to drop

this tip may sound strange but I love a clean floor too and I like it clean at the time the meal is served..however cooking is way more important to me than cleaning ..while I too love a shiny floor I will toss a damp ratty towel (I cook barefoot ..another reason I like my floor spotless is my feet...so this works fine for me) and then just walk aroound on iit if something spills ..and it does not interrupt the momentum of my cooking ...

..when it gets gross just toss it in the laundry ..if too many big things get caught up in it shake it outside for the birds and wash your hands and get a fresh one ...

my friends used to tease me and now several of them picked up on it ...I noticed when they start the kitchen prep also toss an old damp towel down ..it is the floor towel instead of a bar towel and your feet do all the work!

Edited November 24, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[SundaySous]

Dogs? Ah found memories of the first one. Mom couldn't cook too well and much of her cooking ended up intentionally in the dog. He was over weight at about age two. Died of diabetes. Apparently constantly feeding a dog people food is not good for them.

You might think I'm being too nonchalant about the whole thing but the way I look at it he took one for the family. It was either him or us. Man I really miss that dog.

[Terrasanct]

I have a nice hardwood floor in the kitchen--not my idea, but I like it. It's impossible to keep it from getting a bit banged up with a klutz in the kitchen, though. I'd always heard that hardwood is hard to take care of, but I just give it quick, frequent mopping with a microfiber mop, which works fine.

My husband, the ex-art curator, likes to do the corners on his hands and knees every once in a while. I tell him to go for it, as long as I don't have to do it.

[Rehovot]

My solution is rugs with undersides that grip the floor. I throw them in the wash every week or so. Ok, so maybe it's not viable for the entire kitchen, but for high-traffic/-spill areas, it's pretty good.

[lperry]

How about a Roomba?

[Anna N]

How about a Roomba?

←

And a Scooba (the one that washes the floors!).

I so want a Roomba even though I have read lots of reviews that suggest they are not a good idea! Maybe I should just get a pet and be done with it.

[sparrowgrass]

I have a roombah. Cute, but pretty useless.

Takes longer to empty all the little dustbins and clean the hair out of the brushes than it would to vacuum the floor with a regular vacuum.

I have dogs. No food on the floor, just dog saliva. And dog hair.

[Terrasanct]

I had a Roomba but it quit working. I got it at a yard sale; not worth the original price. But I loved it! Especially for getting under the bed and other places I couldn't reach. I still had to vacuum every once in a while but it did the daily stuff so I didn't have to. It was also entertaining to watch, but the cat didn't like the competition.

[KitchenQueen]

Had a dog. He died a few years back. Big Doberman, wasn't allowed in the kitchen anyway.

One near miss with a fast puppy and a pot of hot cooking oil in your hand will learn 'ya quick.

Have a Roomba. It died a lot quicker than the dog. Waste of money. (The Roomba, not the dog.)

With the exception of my ex, the Roomba was the the biggest waste of time and money I've ever had.

Actually, the Roomba was a lot like my ex. Lots of fun initially, made funny noises ,and became a pain a lot faster than it should have.

Anyhow, I'll admit I'm totally anal about my kitchen floor. I also am usually barefoot. I need CLEAN. Being clean, not just looking clean.

I was acting silly about spaghetti blobs, and I'm not really a slob in the kitchen, but stuff on the floor drives me nuts. I must have clean.

Wipe it up when it spills goes without saying. I was just wondering if anyone has ideas on a floor wax or anything that can take the heat.

I just have the old vinyl tile. Maybe new flooring is the answer?

But the original anal problem about cleanliness might not change, new flooring or not. Hardwood is out. I want seriously scrubbable.

And don't ask about how spotless my bathrooms are.

[rooftop1000]

Can I borrow you?

[KitchenQueen]

Can I borrow you?

←

Only if you're cooking while I'm cleaning.

[JimH]

I have two Roombas and they work very well, they have their quirks but there's a forum where you can get help if you run into a problem. I gave my Sister a Scooba, she has two dogs and a teenager and a white tile floor, needless to say she loves the Scooba. My kitchen floor still has it's original vinyl from the 70's, it's hard to tell if it's clean. Sometime soon I'm going to "snap" and rip out the so-called "cabinets" and the vinyl flooring. I'll put doen some soothing floor tile and install cherry cabinets. The countertop is still a toss-up.

[pax]

Just stop looking down.

←

This is the best answer of all, for me.

[Marlene]

I'm not sure changing the floor will make a difference. Spills are spills. That being said, I had hardwood once in a kitchen, never again. Looks great, but a pain to keep clean, since you have to make sure to wipe up spills immediately so they don't stain. Laminate that looks like hardwood, maybe.

I have this cool vacuum contraption in my kitchen installed in one of the kickplates under my pantry cabinet. Sweep, then sweep the stuff towards this thing and it just sucks it all up.

I like Paul's advice the best though. Don't look down.

[dockhl]

Marlene~ What IS this? I MUST know........

I have this cool vacuum contraption in my kitchen installed in one of the kickplates under my pantry cabinet. Sweep, then sweep the stuff towards this thing and it just sucks it all up.

[helenjp]

This is so sad, but my kitchen floor would need extensive cleanup before a Roomba were let loose in there. Otherwise it would vanish under something, and never be seen again!

Lots of people put hot saucepans etc on their floors in Japanese kitchens, because there is just nowhere else to put them. My hot saucepans are joined by jars of pickles, a bucket holding tall vegetables like burdock, dividing onions etc, overflow from my recipe bookcase, vacuum-seal boxes of dry goods, rice etc., condiment overflow from under the sink (got taken over by pickles too)...there are small paths here and there, which I like to think give a kind of rural air, as if herds of secretive forest creatures passed that way unnoticed by me, rustling the pickle jars as they pass!