0:03 Cleaning your floors can be a big job.
0:05 So, let me show you a few tips to make
0:07 it faster, easier, and keep your floors
0:10 cleaner longer. And really, the best
0:11 part about these tips is they can be
0:14 used on any type of floor you might have
0:15 in your home. So, the first tip, and
0:18 really the first place you should always
0:19 start when it comes to cleaning your
0:22 floors, is to either sweep or vacuum
0:24 first. Now, I know this might seem kind
0:26 of obvious to some, but I just always
0:29 feel like it's vital to mention this tip
0:32 and vital to do because it really sets
0:34 up your clean for success. Now, let's
0:36 say you don't do this tip and you just
0:38 spray your cleaner down or you get your
0:40 wet mop and start going at it. What's
0:42 going to happen is any sort of hair
0:44 that's on the floor or even dirt and
0:45 things, the dirt's going to kind of turn
0:47 into mud once you hit it with water and
0:49 it's going to make a bigger mess and
0:51 that hair is going to stick to the
0:53 surface like glue and be extremely hard
0:55 to clean up and it's just going to make
0:57 your clean take so much longer. You're
0:58 going to have to clean a little bit
1:00 harder to really get all of that off of
1:02 your floors. This is especially
1:04 important if you have like a wood grain
1:06 floor or even a luxury vinyl plank that
1:08 has a texture to it because dirt and
1:11 grime love to hide in all those
1:13 crevices. Now, two quick things to keep
1:15 in mind while using your vacuum on your
1:16 floor. Number one, you want to make sure
1:18 that your roller brush is soft and not
1:20 super stiff because we don't want that
1:22 to scratch, especially if you have a
1:24 softer wood floor. And then the other
1:25 thing is is when you're vacuuming,
1:26 you're just not going to be able to get
1:28 into all the nooks and crannies and
1:30 spaces. So, what I like to do is just
1:32 grab my little brush attachment here.
1:33 Use this with the vacuum. That way, I
1:35 can kind of detail a few areas as
1:37 needed. And even if I see something on
1:38 the baseboard, I'm going to vacuum it
1:39 up. That way, I don't have to clean it
1:41 later. So, by taking a few minutes and
1:43 doing this step first, you'll be able to
1:45 clean faster. And most importantly, your
1:48 floors will get cleaner. Now, at the
1:50 beginning of the video, I did mention
1:52 about cleaning all types of floors. And
1:54 the one type of floor that I'm not
1:56 really touching on this video is carpet.
1:57 And that's because the process for
1:59 cleaning carpet is a little more
2:01 involved and it just takes a few extra
2:03 tools. But don't worry, I have a full
2:05 step-by-step video I'll link down in the
2:06 description. Definitely check that out
2:08 if you want to get your carpets nice and
2:11 clean. The next tip is to always use a
2:14 neutral pH floor cleaner like these ones
2:16 here. I really like these. Like the one
2:17 here from Eco Lab does a good job. I
2:19 really like how this one smells, too.
2:21 Zep makes one that does a great job as
2:25 well. And even Fablo is neutral pH. Now,
2:26 you might be wondering at home, what in
2:28 the world does that even mean? And
2:29 essentially, it means that these
2:31 cleaners are smack dab in the middle of
2:34 the pH scale. What can happen if you use
2:37 super acidic or even alkaline cleaners
2:40 on your floors is it can cause damage
2:42 over time. It can strip the finish. It
2:44 can even damage the wood if you use it
2:45 on wood. Like for instance, you know, I
2:46 love cleaning with vinegar if you've
2:49 watched my videos before, but vinegar is
2:51 very acidic and if you use that on wood
2:53 floors, it's going to damage them over
2:55 time. And we don't want that. Now, the
2:57 other nice thing about these cleaners,
2:59 because they're neutral pH, is they're
3:00 not going to leave a sticky residue
3:03 behind. I see it all too often. People
3:05 use the wrong cleaners on their floor
3:07 and it gets sticky. And then once that
3:08 stickiness starts to build up on the
3:11 floor, it attracts more dirt. So, your
3:13 floors just never get clean and they
3:14 won't stay clean because there's just
3:16 that sticky residue constantly grabbing
3:18 dirt off your feet every time you walk
3:20 over the floor. Now, that being said, it
3:22 doesn't mean you can just use as much of
3:24 this cleaner as you want and you'll
3:26 never have an issue. I like to say this
3:30 quite often, but it's true. The label is
3:32 the law. So, make sure to always mix
3:33 these with the proper dilution ratio
3:36 that's on the bottle. Personally, I like
3:37 to just mix them in a spray bottle. I
3:39 think it's a little easier to apply the
3:41 cleaner. Another nice thing, though,
3:43 about these cleaners is that they dry
3:45 streak free. And there's nothing better
3:46 than looking across your nice clean
3:48 floor with no streaks. But what if you
3:51 have tile and grout in your home? Now,
3:53 the neutral pH floor cleaner does a
3:54 great job for just everyday cleaning.
3:57 It's quick, fast, and easy. However,
3:59 grout can be a little bit of a
4:00 challenge, and sometimes you just need
4:02 something a little extra to get it
4:04 clean. There's a few things I like to
4:06 recommend. Zep makes a grout cleaner
4:08 that does a really good job. I will say
4:10 though, it's super strong, and you
4:12 cannot use it on things like natural
4:14 stone. So, just again, read the label,
4:15 make sure to follow the directions, and
4:18 wear proper PPE. The other thing you can
4:20 use is an allnatural option, mixing
4:22 equal parts hydrogen peroxide and equal
4:24 parts baking soda, just 50/50. You want
4:26 kind of like a toothpaste consistency
4:28 paste with that. You can scrub that into
4:30 the grout lines. That does a really good
4:32 job. I will say though, the baking soda
4:33 just always makes a little bit of a
4:35 mess, so you got to make sure to account
4:37 for cleaning that up as well. And if you
4:40 want a no cleaner, no chemical option, a
4:42 steam cleaner does an awesome job to
4:44 blast out all of the grime in your grout
4:46 lines, leaving them nice and clean. Now,
4:48 surprisingly enough, I don't have a full
4:50 step-by-step tile and grout cleaning
4:52 video yet, but if you guys would like to
4:53 see one, let me know down in the
4:55 comments. The next tip is to clean your
4:58 floors in sections. Now, personally, I
4:59 really like to use a flat mop system
5:02 here. I make sure the flat mop is damp.
5:04 And then, as you saw, I mixed up the
5:05 cleaner here in the spray bottle. We're
5:07 just going to spray down an area that's
5:10 anywhere from like 5x5 or like 8 by 8.
5:12 We don't want to go too big because
5:13 again, we're cleaning in sections here
5:15 because we don't want the cleaner to dry
5:17 on the floor. Then come through with
5:20 this flat mop and go with the grain of
5:22 the floor. Now, if you have wood or even
5:24 a textured like luxury vinyl plank, it's
5:26 important to go with the grain or the
5:28 texture of the floor. That way, you're
5:30 just not going to have streaks. If you
5:31 go against that, you might have some
5:34 streaking caused by your flat mop or
5:35 even just a traditional mop. Now,
5:37 speaking of like a bucket mop system,
5:39 you can also use those if you prefer
5:41 them. My only word of caution is just
5:43 make sure that the mop heads are rung
5:46 out really well. You don't want to use a
5:47 ton of moisture, especially on something
5:50 like wood floor because that could cause
5:52 damage. Now, another thing I like to
5:54 recommend when you start cleaning your
5:56 floors is always start at the furthest
5:58 point from your exit and work your way
6:00 to the door. That way, you don't have to
6:04 walk over your freshly clean floors.
6:06 The next tip is to regularly change or
6:08 rinse out your mop heads throughout your
6:11 clean. Now, the reason this is so
6:12 important is your mop heads are going to
6:14 pick up all the dirt from the floor and
6:17 over time they're going to fill up and
6:18 unfortunately if you don't rinse them
6:20 out, you're just going to be spreading
6:23 dirty water mop head juice all over your
6:25 floor kind of evenly and your floors are
6:28 not going to get clean because, well,
6:29 these are full and they can't pick
6:31 anything up. Now, what I like to do
6:33 personally with the flat mop system is
6:35 keep a few flat mops on hand. That way,
6:36 I can just grab a clean one and keep
6:39 going. But if you only have one at home,
6:40 that's okay, too. Just rinse it out in
6:42 the sink. Make sure to get all the dirt
6:44 out of it so you can continue cleaning.
6:46 Now, if you are using the traditional
6:48 bucket and mop system, just make sure
6:49 that you're regularly rinsing out the
6:52 mop head. And then over time throughout
6:53 the clean, your mop water is going to
6:55 get dirty, too. So, if you start to
6:56 notice that kind of getting to be like a
6:58 grayish dirty color, change it out
7:00 immediately and get some new water. That
7:02 way, you're not spreading the dirt
7:04 around. I see this all too often in like
7:07 commercial settings. People keep mopping
7:09 with dirty water and it just defeats the
7:10 whole purpose of even cleaning the
7:12 floor. Now, a comment I get from time to
7:14 time on videos when I talk about rinsing
7:17 flat mops in your sink is, "Ew, Brandon,
7:18 why would you ever do that in your
7:20 kitchen sink?" And I get it. It can be
7:22 considered a little gross to some.
7:24 However, if you don't have a slop sink,
7:26 you really have nowhere else to do it.
7:27 Guess maybe you could use your bathroom
7:28 sink, but those are just so small
7:30 sometimes and you can't always fit this
7:32 in there. But don't worry, I always deep
7:34 clean my sink after cleaning my floors.
7:36 It's just part of my process. Now, while
7:38 cleaning my floor, I always like to keep
7:41 a microfiber towel in my pocket. Reason
7:42 being is sometimes you just might find
7:44 an area or like an edge that you just
7:46 kind of want to detail a little bit, but
7:47 that way you have it while you're
7:49 cleaning and you don't got to run to go
7:51 find it. So, at this point, your floor
7:53 should be looking nice and clean.
7:55 Awesome job, by the way. Give yourself a
7:57 high five. And really, my last tip is
8:01 how to keep your floors cleaner longer.
8:02 The first thing is prevention. So, what
8:04 I like to recommend is put runners or
8:07 rugs at all of your entryways coming
8:09 from the outside. That way, that dirt
8:11 and debris and things doesn't spread
8:13 throughout the house. The second, and
8:15 this is a rule I personally have in my
8:18 house, is no shoes inside. slippers and
8:20 things are okay, but if you wear outdoor
8:22 shoes in your house, your floors are
8:25 just going to get dirty faster. And
8:26 really, the third thing is if you have
8:28 like a more delicate floor, like a wood
8:30 floor, I like to put pads on all of my
8:32 chairs and things. That way, they're not
8:34 going to cause any scratches or damage
8:36 to the floor. In addition to some of
8:37 those preventative things that I
8:39 mentioned, I also like to highly
8:42 recommend having a good floor cleaning
8:44 routine. Now, this does depend kind of
8:46 on your household and how many people
8:48 live in your home. if you have pets, but
8:50 it's a good idea to usually vacuum your
8:52 floors at least once or twice a week.
8:55 Now, if you have pets like I do, you're
8:56 probably doing that a little bit more
8:58 often. And I also like to come through
9:00 and clean the floors like we did today,
9:03 at least once a week. Really, if you
9:05 wait for your floors to start to look
9:07 dirty and then clean them, it's just
9:09 going to take so much more effort and
9:11 work. Whereas, if you just build a good
9:13 routine and do it weekly, as you see we
9:16 did today, it's quick, easy, and fast.
9:18 And there you have it. Now you know my
9:20 best tips to keep your floors nice and
9:22 clean. Thanks so much for watching as
9:24 always, and if you're new here, consider
9:26 subscribing and smash that like button.
9:28 I also need to give a huge shout out to
9:30 the Clean Squad members over on Patreon.
9:32 Thank you so much for your continued
9:33 support. If you want to join us over
9:35 there and get access to things like
9:36 downloadable PDF cleaning guides,
9:38 cleaning checklists, behind the scenes,
9:40 and even your name credited in the
9:42 video, definitely check the link down in
9:44 the description. And as always, I'll see
