How should I clean my mop?

The mops we use at home always need to be disinfected and clean so that our homes are free of germs and bacteria.

Looking after our cleaning utensils is important to make sure they are used as effectively as possible. Mops are one of a household’s indispensable cleaning items for mopping the floor, but how effective they are depends on how they are looked after.

We might think that mops are always clean because they are always on contact with water and detergent, such as floor cleaner, bleach, ammonia, etc. However, since they are always moist, twisted (when squeezing them out) and retain dirt, this is an ideal environment for bacteria to grow, and the bad smells that go with it.

When mopping the floor, the cord or cloth the mop is made from picks up dirt from the floor. That is why we should always clean the mop after using it, since otherwise, all the dirt remains trapped in the fibres of the mop and stains and bad smells can appear, which we will subsequently spread around the house.

How to clean and disinfect a mop

To clean your mop properly you will need a bucket of water with soap or bleach mixed with detergent, latex gloves, white vinegar and three lemons.

Pour plenty of cold or lukewarm water in the bucket and pour in the soap (neutral) or bleach with detergent.
Submerge the mop, whether micro-fibre or cord, put your gloves on and rub the mop vigorously to get rid of any dirt or hairs. Rinse the mop well when you finish.
Pour the water away and refill the bucket with cold or lukewarm water. Add two cups of white vinegar and the juice of the three lemons. Place the mop in the water and leave it to soak for 2 to 3 hours. This mixture will get rid of the smell, since the lemon juice and water act as a disinfectant and will also remove dirt stains.
Then squeeze the mop out and allow it to dry, preferably in the sun, as the sun’s rays help to get rid of any excess moisture from the fabric.
When it has dried, shake it to get rid of any loose bits of dirt, dust or hair that may remain on it.
You can clean your mop like this 2 to 3 times a week, although we recommend doing it after every time you use the mop.

When should we change the mop? We recommend changing it once every month, although this depends on how much you use it. If we clean our mops frequently though, this will increase the life of the mop, but above all, it will ensure good hygiene in our homes.

Another tip is to use different mops for different rooms. You should ideally have at least two mops to clean properly; one for the kitchen and bathrooms, and the other for bedrooms, living rooms and corridors. This is because there are different kinds of dirt in the different rooms. There tends to be more oil or grease on the kitchen floor, and if you mop the corridor or bedroom with the same mop (before cleaning it), the grease from the kitchen will end up being spread on the floor in the other rooms. You should ideally have another mop for outside areas such as terraces and balconies.

How to get rid of grease from the mop

The room in the house where mops gather most oil, fat or grease is the kitchen. Therefore, the same as we use degreasing products for the tiles and countertops, we should also use them to remove fat and grease from the mop. How?

By using ammonia: since this is one of the best degreasing products you can have at home.

Baking soda: dissolve a spoonful of baking soda in five litres of warm water and allow the mop to soak in it for about an hour. Rinse it afterwards and squeeze out the water before drying it in the sun.