To ask the simplest way to wash your kitchen floor?

[vividdreamingagain]

I'm really struggling with the kitchen floor.
If I hoover it, it doesn't pick up areas around the edges, sweeping it leaves stubborn bits, if I mop it with bleach it's wet and sticky, if I use floor wipes it takes ages, there must be a simple way.

Please be kind this is my first time living away from parents and I have mastered the rest of the housework, I just want to know the easiest way to clean the kitchen floor.
My mum would scrub every inch and then dry it and polish it etc but I don't have that sort of time, I just need to do in 10 minutes to fit into my cleaning routine.

Washing up liquid cleans most things. Couple of squirts of washing up liquid in hot water (with Fairy liquid you only need a couple of squirts, unless you have a larger than average kitchen area or the floor's very grimy). Add a dash of disinfectant to the water if you want. Works a treat.

isn't it because the steam is only their to santise?

What is the floor made of, OP? If it's linoleum you could just use 50/50 white vinegar and water, same as on countertops. (No good for stone or hardwood, though.)

I was replying to a pp who said they had read that steam mops are for finishing touches after mopping !

Not washing up liquid, you’ll never get that out!

Hooved, mop and hoover again when totally dry is my preferred method as often some of the mopped dust will dry in a small clump.

I often do edges by hand e.g. the bits that butt up against kitchen units and other high traffic areas.

And make sure you are doing the whole of downstairs at the same time or you will find you're tracking in mess from other areas.

If the floor is rough you might want to look at a hard wearing mop like the old fashioned ones that look like a wig on a stick or see if a nylon brush style exist as they may hold up better. My old house had rough textured bathroom tiles and they were horrendous to clean.

Sweep first to get all the big bits and save the hoover bag and electric.

Then hoover to get stuff stuck at edges.

Then mop.

I know, it's hard to understand that advice!

I see the dirt on the mop pad as evidence that the floor is being cleaned...and I have been known to use two clean pads for a very dirty floor;-)

You can get mops that wring the water out or just squeeze the mop into the bucket after dipping it in the water to stop the floor being so wet afterwards. You need to use less floor cleaner in the water if it’s feeling sticky.

I hoover it about three times a week but only wash it once a week (it’s a really big area, and life’s too short. No one eats off the floor except sometimes the dog and he is not fussy about germs). I use a spray mop- I put hot water and a few squirts of multipurpose cleaner in the liquid chamber. It looks clean enough.

I have a spray mop and I Hoover with a hard floor attachment.
I did have a steam mop but never bothered replacing it when it broke. The spray one seems much easier.

Oh I see sorry totally misunderstood you. 😀

Hoover the floor using the big head, then take it off and attach the crevice tool to go all round the edges into the corner.

Then use a mop and bucket with Flash all purpose / floor cleaning liquid or a cheaper supermarket own brand, following the instructions on the bottle for dosage. Don't leave the mop too wet. If the water is warm then it'll dry quicker.

I vacuum ( stick, robot or normal) and then steam mop.

I use a Swiffer and then a steam mop. I also find a lot of the cleaning products leave the floor sticky and they take forever to dry.

My routine
Sweep/hoover or both
boil full kettle
mop with wileda mop and a bit of Flash multipurpose or washing powder
old T-Towel on floor and dry with feet. But boiling water means it dries really quickly

Get it out of what? Washing up liquid dissolved in hot water, dash of disinfectant if required, works a treat on linoleum. No getting out of required.

Washing up liquid makes the floor sticky IME.

I find the best thing is either a dedicated floor cleaner which you can buy, diluted to the instructions on the bottle, or I just use a multipurpose surface cleaner spray and spray this in front of my steam mop which I use with water only. These combinations seem to work and not cause stickiness. Use as hot water as you can - from the kettle is fine.

I would sweep or hoover first, because it's annoying to be scraping little bits around.

I think another potential cause of stickiness might be if your floor was very dirty to start out with and you've sort of diluted the grease and spread it all around. It could be worth cleaning twice, to see if this helps.

I have polyflor which is luxury vinyl.
I hoover then use a spray mop with well diluted flash or whatever is on offer
You don't need bleach and it could damage the floor
Washing up liquid does work but leaves floor sticky and slippery so I wouldn't.
It's great you've now got a routine for keeping your new place clean
I wasn't shown by parents and found it confusing at first.

I love my e cloth mop. I use a small splash of something like Flash floor cleaner but it is designed to work with just plain water.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cloth-Microfibre-Cleaning-Hardwood-Laminate/dp/B003WKSTJY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=VUMRI37NZCFF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TTMf58PwZJ6uw8tfyVxDx2DKw5AjMNBSSu4oQU0IAIZ7oS0mwBUDDNIveXiVsP0THzURg98ayzovzhbpsFhHYQv-RG7eLAvQi-epOu3UbVgPTWpg9cWOYFJKX6C_5gNCd6eFTzzlKc-GXbv-GjQagER1RcnaHzXTvjLVdste-hmlniuNk5Z25xAgP5tnBIO-pNITsDgGj4kKCmyPGgyXzZz3Jzj3Ce5ekogH-_kP7q0fR15KG448O1evqyMSve0MB0WvgXNakgO_ASkNbcS7kLOPv2iYh8oM7x3DGRic50E.gHOt_aeWm6X4k-Wg33G-fanZ9l5nIxn1I0nEjpwg6Zk&dib_tag=se&keywords=e+cloth+mop&qid=1715093890&sprefix=E+clo%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-5

We have hard (ceramic?) tiles on our kitchen floor and in the utility, hoover and then steam mop. The hoover does get right into the edges.
No chemicals, the steam is obviously very hot!

I've been round the houses with various floor cleaning devices but in the end, I'm back to a old fashion mop and bucket, it's just a better job of it and forgiving enough to grab a bit of floor crud that evaded the hoover.

Spray mop every time!

Detergents with ammonia cut down on streaks and drying time. Flash has it.

Last thing at night I just use a microfiber cloth wrung out in hot water on the Swiffer (poked into the holes) to wash the swept floor.

Zoraflora in a bottle mixed with cold water is used for lots of thihgs here.
After tea I sweep the kitchen floor then get down and spray floor with Zoraflora mix then wipe over with cloth. Old tea towel is used to dry floor as I go. Cloth is then rinsed in boiling hot water and put under sink for the next day
Whole process takes about 7 minutes and the floor is shiny but not slippery and smells lovely.