Friday, March 1, 2013

Homemaking Tools - Floors

Since this is a homemaking blog, I thought it would make sense to actually post about homemaking every now and then!   I would like to occasionally show some things I use for homemaking.

So in order to do that, today I will show you the tools I use to maintain the wood floors in our home.

We live in a 1940s farmhouse with hardwood floors throughout.  Not one bit of carpet.  Our previous home was built in the early 80s, so had lots of carpet. When we moved here I had no idea how to take care of wood floors. I also never realized how much dust was accumulating on all that carpet until I saw first hand the dust bunnies that were dancing around on the wooden floors!

Here you have it. A broom, a dust mop, a flat mop with removable, washable cover and a small vacuum. The small shop vac is only used for sucking out the dryer vent and vacuuming off the A/C/Heater return thingie and things like that.


The little yellow vac is my main squeeze for floor cleaning.   I have had this one for years and used it for the few non-carpet floors in our previous home.  If I clean out the filter before vacuuming and then check it afterwards, I am always amazed at all the dust, etc. that it picks up. I don't understand where it all comes from, but the proof is in the pudding.

After a quick vacuum I will go around everything quickly with the dust mop. It allows me to get the edges and under things without having to move all the furniture. Of course if I was doing a more thorough cleaning I would move furniture, etc. 

After dust mopping, I can shake it outside and see even more dust bunnies that have been removed.  This one isn't too big and swivels every which way.  You can get the floor boards, under beds and all kinds of nooks and crannies with it.   I only recently started using a dust mop and I don't know how I ever got along without it.

The flat head mop is used in conjunction with a spray bottle of cleaning solution made specifically for wood floors. You just spray a little on the floor and mop. When finished, the removable cover is laundered in the washing machine.

Keeping the floors free of dust bunnies is a nonstop job.  I'm afraid I don't stay on top of it as I should.  I wear socks in the house in the winter time and if you saw the bottoms of my feet you would not be impressed with my homemaking skills!

But, quilting often seems more important to me.....

7 comments:

Terri said...

LOL!!!! I hate when I look down at my feet and see the bottom of my socks. I like to think I'm doing a better job than I probably am. We have hardwood floors downstairs and I usually vacuum, and then mop (not often enough) with Murphy's Oil Soap.

Little Penpen said...

I have laminate floors in the kitchen and have started using my vacuum and dry dust mop more so than sweeping. I would like to find a reusable dust mop/pads like you have. We are going to replace our livingroom carpet soon and we are back and forth from trying to decide :wood or carpet? I know there is a lot of upkeep on wood as far as dust bunnies... carpet hides so much...lol. My lazy brain is leaning towards more carpet.

Auntie M said...

LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!!

I ALSO WOULD LOVE TO FIND A LITTLE YELLOW VAC LIKE THE ONE YOU HAVE.

Mom2fur said...

If there was some way to keep the bottoms of our socks clean all the time, I'd like to know about it, LOL! I, too, would rather craft than clean. I figure if the queen-of-anywhere isn't coming over, 'presentable' is good enough for most days. I bet your house looks great, and people are looking at your quilting more than your dust bunnies!(And if they don't like it, hand 'em a dust mop!)

Meggie said...

I'm glad you wrote this post..The house I have just moved into is 130 years old with all wood floors. I never realized there could be so many dust bunnies! I, too, am wondering where does it all come from. And, yikes, just think how dirty carpet is. I have a swifter mop, but think I will add the old-fashion dust mop to my shopping list. Thanks again for letting me know I'm not the only one with "dust bunnies".

tales from a handmade home said...

Love this post Debbie........keeping those dust bunnies at bay is a full time job........I'll freely admit that I'd rather be crafting too. x

Alexandra said...

I was just talking to my vet about this today...she thought hard surface floors were easier than carpet. In a way they are but they show all the dirt! Still I'd rather have the hard surface because it is a breeze to keep clean with kiddos and pets. It just requires daily sweeping and mopping. No more shampooing the rug - glad for this! :)

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