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If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that human beings could stand to clean more regularly, both the spaces they occupy and themselves. From kitchen counters, handles, faucets and especially your bathroom sink, microscopic bacteria is lurking. One area we cannot forget about are our floors. Though they aren’t as dirty as you’d think (they’re far cleaner than your toilet bowl and bathroom drains), they can still hold a lot of dirt and germs especially if you live in a home or apartment with carpets.
Related: The Best Ways to Disinfect Your Devices
When it comes to how often you should clean, once every couple weeks is good for most floors; think of your bedroom or living room/common area. Your kitchen and bathroom should receive more consistent attention; every one to two weeks given that bacteria is prone to spreading a lot more in those areas. If you have roommates, family or pets that you share these spaces with, make sure to adjust your cleaning frequency depending on your situation. If anyone you live with or who has visited you recently is or has been sick, the CDC recommends cleaning within 24 hours of having them inside.
How to Disinfect Your Floors
Your approach will ultimately depend on what kind of floors you have throughout your home, whether that be carpets or a firmer surface such as a hardwood or tiled floor. If you fall into the latter category, your best bet would be investing in a steam mop which can utilize heat strong enough to kill bacteria; some models can get as high as over 200 degrees.
A standard mop with a strong cleaning solution will also do the trick, though instead of disinfecting you’re really mopping the bacteria away. These days, you’re probably not having as many people traffic through your home as you were before the pandemic so that’s fine. But if you have a larger family or multiple roommates, you may need the extra power that comes with the steam mop.
For disinfecting your floors, you have a few options. There are many solutions available made with the purpose of disinfecting floors and other surfaces in your home. You can also make a solution yourself using bleach and water; according to CDC guidelinesyou should use five tablespoons of bleach per one gallon of water.After you have cleaned and/or disinfected your floor, be sure to allow it time to dry before walking on it to avoid transferring any further germs or dirt.
Carpets can be a bit trickier, however you can still utilize things like a heated carpet cleaning machine for a thorough and deep clean. For more routine cleaning, you can invest in a vacuum that can get deep within the fibers and suck up contaminants, fallen food particles, dust and hair (among other things). It’s generally recommended you vacuum your carpets twice a week. If you’re someone who has mats and smaller carpets throughout your space, most handheld steamers and vacuums are effective at thoroughly cleaning those.
The Best Products to Clean Your Floors
Below are some products you can use to regularly clean and disinfect your floors. All of these top-rated products can be easily purchased online so you can start your cleaning routine right away.
1. Shark S3501 Steam Mop
Amazon’s Choice for a steam mop comes highly-rated, with more than 22,000 five-star reviews, and promises to turn ordinary water into a superheater bacteria killing machine. It’s able to heat up in just 30 seconds, killing up to 99.9 percent of bacteria and dries almost immediately. The two washable microfiber pads lift and lock-in dust, grime, dirt and other contaminants from the floor. And with a quick-release 18-foot long power cord and a soft grip handle, you won’t have to struggle or strain yourself trying to maneuver or store the mop. This is safe to use on hard-floor surfaces.
Buy Shark Steam Mop $79.99
2. BISSELL Bagless Vacuum
Don’t let this vacuum’s slender and featherweight appearance fool you, it’s a very strong and versatile cleaning machine, whether you want to quickly run it over your hardwood floors or thoroughly clean your carpets. It can be disassembled into two other, smaller, forms: a handle vacuum (great for furniture and cars) and a stair vacuum. A crevice tool and floor nozzle are included to help you in hard to reach places.
Buy Bissell Featherlight Vacuum $33.98
3. O-Cedar Easyring Microfiber Spin Mop
This best-seller on Amazon isn’t your average mop. For starters, the bucket has an innovative hands-free wringer built into the design, with a splash guard that keeps you spilling anything on yourself or the floor. The deep cleaning microfiber mop heads expeditiously trap bacteria and dirt, and can easily get into hard to reach places; no contaminants are safe. The mop heads can also be washed and reused for up to three months after consistent use. Four additional mop heads are included, saving you money and lasting you up to 12 months.
Buy O-Cedar Easyring Spin Mop $49.89
4. Diversey-CBD540557 Virex All Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner
When the time comes to disinfect your hard-floors, we recommend going with this hospital grade disinfectant from Virex, which can kill up to 99.99 percent of dangerous germs and microorganisms, without doing any damage to the even the most sensitive surfaces. That’s because this formula does not contain any bleach, phosphates or phosphorous. It even works to eliminate the most pungent of odors.
Buy Virex All-Purpose Disinfectant $32.54
