How on earth do you keep light kitchen floors clean?

[Gladero]

About 5 months ago we went for not cheap limestone effect tiles. Have always loved the look and went for it.

Regret that now.

Maybe it was dumb on my part but I thought with a cordless Karcher I would easily be able to keep on top of it. Wrong.

We bought the floors with three golden retrievers that get walked in muddy woods. But like I said I’m a SAHM and thought I would just be able to whip the Karcher out with no problem.

Even with Karchering daily often twice the floors look shit. Especially the perimeter. I have to scrub manually fortnightly for the floors to not look absolutely mucky.

They never look spotless. First world problems but with someone who is a. Eat freak it’s getting to me.

Any tips?

I'm in the same boat.
Accept that you now have brown splogy floors. You can't win this one. Focus on something you love at eye level. I treated myself to a lovely butler sink and Quooker tap. My "was white now grey brown black" grouting is what it is. Life's too short.

I mop my everyday but I’d never have a dog and we have a strict no shoe policy so it’s not really that bad.

I have white tiles in the sun room, dogs track in a ton of mud daily in the current weather so I've become an avid fan of just not looking at them😂

I have very dark tiles and it’s equally a nightmare to keep clean with dogs. When the muddy paw marks dry, they leave little pale brown marks all over the floor. I’m also a SAHM and feel I’m constantly washing the floor, but there’s little point when the weather is like this. In the summer, when the dog stays dry the problem isn’t anywhere near as bad.

I mop with bleach regularly, no dogs and no shoes beyond the front door.

My friend has a dog, but it’s the cleanest animal I’ve ever known, as she cleans his feet before he comes into her house and is bathe regularly- it’s a running joke how clean that dog is kept. Her floors are clean too.

I have a cheap spray mop which i use to keep on top of the cleaning in between steam mopping. A quick whizz round with the cordless hoover and a swish of the spray mop over the worst bits keeps things looking clean.

I have the exact same equipment and routine. But still look shit.

What do you have in the spray mop? I just use flash floor stuff. Don’t rate it. Would have bleach but paranoid one the kids would use it on the wooden floor when not thinking

@Gladero Just a generic all purpose cleaner from Morrison. In the interests of full disclosure my floors aren't pure while, they are mottled which i think hides a multitude of sins.

Don't. After a while you can then call it Patina.

I deliberately chose floor tiles which looked like they already had a light smattering of our colour of mud dried onto them. Anything for a quiet life.

(taken from page 94 of 'How to Be a Domestic Slut & Give Up Caring' 😂)

I have white marble floors throughout my flat spotless at all times.
What I find that helps is no kids no men no pets no shoes.
I know its not helpful.

I had black and white amtico tiles in my kitchen in 1990. I was v pleased when we sold the house in 1992!

we have slate effect tiles and tbh the best solution is not to wear glasses in that room.

Go crazy with the bleach (and accept that your kitchen smells like swimming pool changing rooms….)!

You can’t. Pale kitchen floors are a really bad idea for this reason and will never look good unless you wash them twice a day. Life’s too short.

Get rid of the dogs??
You can hardly maintain neat freak with 3 dogs can you

Not helpful at all but you can't. I've had light floor which shows up all the dirt and dark floors that show up all the dust and crumbs. In my opinion the only floor you can keep looking reasonable is wood or wood affect floors.

Hmm. I was going to say no shoes on in the house, ever, but trying telling that to your dogs.

Can you put a huge mud-catching dog mat by the kitchen door?

But, in your position, I think I'd decide not to be a neat freak. Neat freak + two dogs + nearby muddy woods just isn't a recipe for happiness and the easiest bit to change is attitude.

As long as the floor's cleaned regularly, so you know it's not unhygienic, just look at it less!

I have very light marmoleum. And 2 kids 3 cats. Humans take shoes off before entering the kitchen but the cat flap is right into this room.

I have a robot mop and hoover that is very effective. And steam mop maybe only once a month.

it’s rarely spotless under close inspection but is fine. Will try to post a photo. I haven’t steam mopped since my birthday in mid Jan.

my sister has bags that she puts her dogs in when they get home that dries them… maybe try that?

We have white tile floors and it is a nightmare. Only thing you can do is sweep/hoover/mop as much as you can be arsed. Or close the door. I do that a lot.

Luckily my dog is small enough to plonk in the utility sink to wash her paws, plus she doesn't molt.
I'm looking at getting one of those automatic vacuum and mops in one. Its not released yet, but a friend has the current version and raves about it. https://www.eufy.com/uk/appliance-x10-omni

I'd honestly go back to wet mopping, do the dogs stay in the kitchen or is there a utility area. If not, is there room to have a doggie area shut off till they dry off. I have one small curly 'poppet' who watches me like a hawk 'till I'm looking at a squirrel/daffodil then goes in for the roll of shame. I feel you OP.

Robot hoover and mop daily, proper mop once a week

Not true! I have light tiles, but they're not smooth and are slightly mottled. I vacuum up daily and mop weekly when I remember. Sometimes I only realise they're dirty if I walk on them in bare feet!!!

Dog owner with clean pale floors here- I have towels by the door to wipe paws every time they come in.