Kitchen floor

[Marlene]

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.

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I'll see if I can take a picture of it today and post it.

[Marlene]

This is it. YOu lift up the the lever with your toe to turn in on and sweep towards, then just push it back down. No bending required. I think, but I am not positive that this is tied into my central vac system.

[sparrowgrass]

I once saw a low tech version of that, in an old house, It was just a little springloaded door in the baseboard, with a pan connected under the floor to catch the dirt. You just went down in the basement and emptied the pan once in a while.

It may have been homemade--I don't remember.

I have wood grained vinyl in my kitchen--doesn't show the dirt.

[CaliPoutine]

Laminate that looks like hardwood, maybe.

Laminate can't get wet at all. We have it thru our house because I was told its better than hardwood if you have dogs. I'm obsessive about wiping up any water that comes in contact with it.

We went thru the gamut of flooring choices when we remodeled our kitchen( last month). We had this horrible old linoleum flooring that always looked dirty. I was nervous about getting hardwood or laminate because what if the dishwasher/fridge leaked? Ceramic isnt good for me because I tend to drop things a lot.

We went with a stainmaster high quality vinyl flooring that looks like ceramic. I'm now obsessive about keeping it clean. I sweep it every night and wipe up any spills asap. We're really happy with it. You can see a picture HERE..

Edited November 26, 2007 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Raoul Duke]

I have one of the built in vacuum systems with the baseboard vents in the kitchen and office area. Great for hard surface floors where you can sweep everything up and open the vent, with your foot, and viola, gone. If you go with fired tile for the kitchen floor, make sure it is sealed correctly and redone often, to insure it stays stain resistant, as well as the newer grouts that are not a porous as the older types. 2 more cents!

[andiesenji]

I have this hard floor cleaner which cleans any type of hard floor except the rough type of paving squares. It works beautifully on hardwood, glass, ceramic and other tile, marble, honed slate and terazzo and also on poured seamless flooring and teak decks.

I am surprised at the mention of not being able to get laminate flooring wet. My neighbors have it in their laundry room and the covered patio, which doubles as a mud room, because it would be easy to mop up the stuff they carry in from working in the garden and the stuff the pets carry in.

Edited November 26, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[Beebs]

The Swiffer is a godsend. I use the dry one to pick up crumbs, and the wet one for everything else. Sure beats lugging a mop & bucket!

[Marlene]

I am surprised at the mention of not being able to get laminate flooring wet.  My neighbors have it in their laundry room and the covered patio, which doubles as a mud room, because it would be easy to mop up the stuff they carry in from working in the garden and the stuff the pets carry in.

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I was too, because laminate has been specifically suggested for our cottage kitchen by our flooring guy, because it's easy to mop up and care for, and it could get wet.

The Swiffer is a godsend.  I use the dry one to pick up crumbs, and the wet one for everything else.  Sure beats lugging a mop & bucket!

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I love swiffers.

[ninetofive]

I loathe having a dirty kitchen floor. We have nasty old linoleum flooring that, unfortunately, we can't afford to replace with the tile I'd like, so I have a system to keep it looking as good as it can:

1. I vacuum the floor at least once, preferably twice, a day with an upright Shark vacuum that I keep tucked in a corner (cost, $25 with a 20 percent off coupon at Linens 'n Things.)

2. Spills are wiped up as they happen. If I don't get to them quickly, they usually come up easily with a Magic Sponge or microfiber cloth.

3. I keep two (cheap) nonskid throw rugs where I do most of my work; they get washed 2x week.

4. Every night after dinner, I give the kitchen floor a wet mop with the Swiffer. I buy the jumbo packs of refills at Costco.

5. Every two months or so, I take everything out of the kitchen and wash the floor and scrub corners with a solution of hot water, dish soap and vinegar -- just a couple drops of the two last ingredients. This is hands and knees work -- but the floor looks great afterwards.

6. Then twice a year, I have my husband pull out the fridge and stove, and I clean out behind there.

It's a little fastidious, but as I said, I hate cooking with dirt underfoot. And we have a very small kitchen, so it's not a huge amount of work.

[SuzySushi]

I am surprised at the mention of not being able to get laminate flooring wet.  My neighbors have it in their laundry room and the covered patio, which doubles as a mud room, because it would be easy to mop up the stuff they carry in from working in the garden and the stuff the pets carry in.

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Laminate flooring is okay to damp-mop as long as you don't leave a lot of water standing on the floor for a long time. The main thing is to prevent water from seeping through the cracks to the underlayers.

Trust me on this one (says she whose family had to move out of their new home for a week last year when the brand-new laminate flooring got flooded by a broken washing machine)!!!

[nibor]

I see some people love their Swiffer. Is there a consensus on their worth?

I bought a house with a black polished granite kitchen floor. What a beauty. What a nightmare. If I drop a toast crumb it shows. If I pick up the crumb, my greasy fingerprints show. Frying is the worst - I get a fine film that preserves every subsequent disturbance, even cat footprints.

When I wash the floor I have to hand dry it because water leaves white marks. So I have been letting it get really filthy.

This post inspired me to look into ways to keep it cleaner. I found a post online recommending a spray called Revitaliser from Stone Tech Professional Co. They use it with a swiffer. Has anybody tried this? I have never used a swiffer. Will it really pick up crumbs and cat hair, or does it just move them around?

[Pam R]

Yeah . . I helped my parents shop for new flooring and we were told by a few people/places that laminate is no good in any area that could potentially have water sitting on it or under it. Meaning no good for the kitchen, bathroom or laundry room.

In the end she (mom) chose a solarian flooring (vinyl I think). It looks like wood and costs more than laminate. 3 years later she's still happy with her choice. And no, for the first 6 months she had to ask every person who came to the house and nobody guessed that it wasn't really wood.

[Beebs]

I see some people love their Swiffer. Is there a consensus on their worth? 

I bought a house with a black polished granite kitchen floor. What a beauty. What a nightmare.  If I drop a toast crumb it shows. If I pick up the crumb, my greasy fingerprints show. Frying is the worst - I get a fine film that preserves every subsequent disturbance, even cat footprints. 

When I wash the floor I have to hand dry it because water leaves white marks.  So I have been letting it get really filthy.

This post inspired me to look into ways to keep it cleaner.  I found a post online recommending a spray called Revitaliser from Stone Tech Professional Co. They use it with a swiffer. Has anybody tried this? I have never used a swiffer. Will it really pick up crumbs and cat hair, or does it just move them around?

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I don't know about Revitaliser, but the Swiffer is great for picking up smaller harder-to-see crumbs & dust (you can see all the crud on the cloth). And it's awesome for hair (I use it in the bathroom regularly too). Big huge crumbs don't really get picked up. The Swiffer Wet is less effective for picking up crumbs though.

[CaliPoutine]

I am surprised at the mention of not being able to get laminate flooring wet.  My neighbors have it in their laundry room and the covered patio, which doubles as a mud room, because it would be easy to mop up the stuff they carry in from working in the garden and the stuff the pets carry in.

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Laminate flooring is okay to damp-mop as long as you don't leave a lot of water standing on the floor for a long time. The main thing is to prevent water from seeping through the cracks to the underlayers.

Trust me on this one (says she whose family had to move out of their new home for a week last year when the brand-new laminate flooring got flooded by a broken washing machine)!!!

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I suppose I should have been clearer. You can damp mop it and we do with Murphy's oil soap squirt and mop, but you can't leave water sitting on it.

[andiesenji]

I am surprised at the mention of not being able to get laminate flooring wet.  My neighbors have it in their laundry room and the covered patio, which doubles as a mud room, because it would be easy to mop up the stuff they carry in from working in the garden and the stuff the pets carry in.

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Laminate flooring is okay to damp-mop as long as you don't leave a lot of water standing on the floor for a long time. The main thing is to prevent water from seeping through the cracks to the underlayers.

Trust me on this one (says she whose family had to move out of their new home for a week last year when the brand-new laminate flooring got flooded by a broken washing machine)!!!

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My neighbors laminate floor was sealed with something to permanently waterproof it, which is required when it is installed over a slab floor, at least it is here in this area. They hose it off, or at least the covered patio floor is hosed off. It doesn't lay directly on the slab, it is on spacers that are made out of a rubbery material with holes in it, that look sort of like the mats used in prof. kitchens. They had it professionally installed by the same flooring place that did my new flooring and refinished the flooring in the original part of my house.

[kbjesq]

I have this hard floor cleaner which cleans any type of hard floor except the rough type of paving squares.  It works beautifully on hardwood, glass, ceramic and other tile, marble, honed slate and terazzo and also on poured seamless flooring and teak decks.

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I agree with Andie's recommendation for the Floormate. I mix a few tablespoons of vinegar (or bleach, depending on how dirty the floor is) with hot water in the Floormate's "clean water" container. The Floormate sprays the solution onto the floor, scrubs it around, and then vacuums the dirty water into a separate container. You'd be surprised how much dirt will come off, even when the floor looks clean.

I also like the fact that the Floormate can be used as a regular vacuum on bare floors, for those times when a complete scrubbing isn't necessary.

I tried the swiffer products (wet and dry), but I really didn't care for them because it seemed as though the products (especially the wet) left some kind of residue behind, which actually seemed to attract more dirt. In other words, it seemed like the floors got dirtier faster when I used the swiffer products.

[andiesenji]

Another nice thing about the Floormate is that the handle folds down and the caddy that holds the supplies and extra parts will piggyback on the front of the machine and it will slide nicely into a very compact space. If there is a major spill on the floor, it is quite simple to pull it out and clean up the mess in one process, rather than spending time wiping it up then having to clean the floor anyway. A dropped half-gallon of milk, forming a lake on the floor, took fifteen minutes to clean up and that including getting the Floormate out, fillin the solution container and dumping the dirty water. Only one paper towel required to wipe up a couple of dribbles.

[scubadoo97]

The Swiffer is a godsend.  I use the dry one to pick up crumbs, and the wet one for everything else.  Sure beats lugging a mop & bucket!

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We use a swiffer to do quick clean ups of spots, streaks or what ever is on the floor. When we go back and clean with a magic eraser mop right after cleaning with the swiffer you would be amazed at the amount of dirt still on the floor. The magic eraser and water come up black, right after using the swiffer. But the swiffer is good at getting those sticky spots black spots that appear on the tile floor.

[Marlene]

There's a magic eraser mop? I love the little magic eraser pads. They clean anything!

[scubadoo97]

Yes Marlene and it works great. Two varieties, one for a roller style and one large rectangle pad for the basic squeeze mop. The only problem is the water gets dirty after only a few rinses and you end up pushing dirty water around unless you change it out often.

[KitchenQueen]

Boy, I really opened a can of worms with this topic didn't I?

So much good info. At least I see I'm not alone in wanting a really clean floor.

I once had my dream floor in mind. Terazzo. Floor sloped slightly to the center where there was a small drain. One only had to turn a knob to turn on the full baseboard hot water water system which washed everything down the drain.

Since I've never seen that I have to go with other options. I love the Magic Eraser mop.I didn't know it existed. Must get.

The Floormate sounds wonderful. Must get.

Swiffer? Pain. I was going throught those Swiffer pads like a sex maniac at the Bunny Ranch.

I realized that monthly, I was dropping an obscene amount of money on these things.

I finally bought myself 3 dozen cheap terry facecloths and switched to the Clorox mop. You can refill the spray bottle with whatever you like.

One or even two facecloths secured on top with heavy office supply clips on each side works just as well if not better.

The terry scrubs better than the slicker Swiffer pads. One little bucket in the laundry room.. When it gets half full, I toss it in the washer with a lot of bleach .

Works for me. I sew, and if I ever get nuts, I could do all these cloths with velcro on either side in a few hours. They actually do clean better than the Swiffer cloths.

I'd rather spend the money I save on expensive cheese.

But there's one other option I'm considering.

I'm packing up and moving in with the lady with the baseboard vacuum system.

In polite company, must one be invited first?

[Marlene]

Come on over. I must get myself one of those magic mops eraser mops as well.

[rooftop1000]

Can I borrow you?

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

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I'll cook all day if you want

This all really goes over my head...or under my feet. I spent a good part of 20 yrs working days in a kitchen...someone else cleaned at night my biggest thing to remember at home is not to wipe the counter crap onto the floor

because

1 the dishwasher from work doesnt clean up after me at home

2 neither do I

3 sometimes the dog does help out

My name is Tracey and I am a slob

Edited November 28, 2007 by rooftop1000 (log)