We know you spend a lot of time on floor care in your home. Mopping floors can seem to take up a lot of your time, especially when you have children and pet hair to clean up!
Here we will tell you how often you should be mopping your floors. You’ll save time because you’ll learn exactly when you need to clean, and how to best look after your floors no matter what they’re made of.
We’ll tell you the different types of mops to use – dry and wet. And how often each should be used to make sure dirt and dust don’t build up. Plus we’ll give you some top tips that’ll stop you from having to mop every day.
This is How Often Should You Mop Your Floors
You should mop your floors regularly. But how often will depend on the level of traffic over the floor. Plus the type of floors you have and the type of mop – wet mop or dry mop – will also determine how frequent mopping should be.
Dust Mopping
Dust mopping can be done as frequently as every day. This is so that your tiled and wood floors will retain their attractive appearance. And it’ll prevent a buildup of dirt and debris.
You should dust mop and sweep floors after dusting the room and before you use a wet mop.
This is supported by several flooring bodies.
- The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) suggests that you dust mop daily.
- As does the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA). They also advise that you use a dust mop that has been properly treated. And that you might want to dust mop your floors up to 3 times a day if they’re high traffic areas!
- Advice from the Why Tile blog says that you should sweep floors made of tile every day.
- The World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) recommends that you dust mop laminate floors regularly. And vinyl floors should be mopped in this way frequently.
- Finally, the Natural Stone Institute advises that floors made of natural stone like marble should be dust mopped on a regular basis.
So whatever type of floor you have, the advice is clear. Regular dust mopping is key!
And the more traffic you have over your floors, the more it’s needed. Hallways or surfaces like your kitchen floor might need dust mopping every day. But in areas where there is less traffic, weekly mopping is more suitable.
Wet Mopping
Wet mopping is not needed as frequently. It takes more time to do and is not always necessary. So you should do this type of house cleaning when it’s required.
This could be more often, for example, if you have pets and/or children.
The relevant bodies have guidance on how often you need to wet mop:
- The NWFA suggests that you wet mop wood floors once a month. And you should use a recommended wood flooring cleaner. The WFCA also advises that you carry out damp mopping occasionally – although you need to be careful not to get laminate flooring too wet.
- Finally, the Why Tile blog says that tile floors require weekly mopping with a damp cloth or sponge.
Again, the frequency with which you need to wet mop floors depends also on how much traffic each surface sees. Frequent mopping with warm water once a week is needed for high-traffic areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, or guest rooms. Whereas rooms and places with less use can probably be done monthly.
Comparative Table
Use this table as a guide to how often you should be mopping floors depending on the type of surface
Types of Floor | Dust Mop | Wet Mop |
Wooden Floors | Daily | Monthly |
Tile Floors | Daily | As needed or weekly |
Laminate Floors | Daily | Occasionally i.e if high traffic = every week if low traffic = every month |
Stone Floors | Frequently i.e if high traffic = every day if medium traffic = every other day if low traffic = every week | Occasionally i.e if high traffic = every week if low traffic = every month |
Resilient/Vinyl Floor | Frequently i.e if high traffic = every day if medium traffic = every other day if low traffic = every week | As needed or weekly |
Is It Bad To Mop Your Floors Every Day?
No, it isn’t! As we’ve said above, most flooring associations recommend that you dust mop on a daily basis.
But, here are some tips on how to extend the time between one mopping session and the next:
- Use a soft cloth and cleaning solution recommended by the manufacturer to clean up spills as soon as they’re made.
- Take your shoes off as soon as you enter your home.
- Place walk-off mats that trap dirt at all entrances to your house. This will help to keep sand, grit, and dirt off your floors.
- Dust mops: shake these thoroughly after each use. Then use a brush or vacuum cleaner to remove all large bits of debris and dirt from the mop head.
- Wet mops: change the mop head as you change the type of floor or area you’re cleaning. For example, change after mopping up grease, food debris. and grime from the kitchen floor – otherwise the mop head won’t pick up “normal” dirt from less-used areas.
- Make sure that you store mop heads in a clean and dry place. They need to be stood with the head at the top so that they’re not touching a floor or wall. And you can wash soiled mop heads. Help them to remain intact by putting them in a net bag.