Considering all floor cleaners are considered pretty shonky, l’m wondering what everyone uses to mop their floors with? Bleach seems good but requires rinsing, l’m wanting to just mop once and air dry 
Tiles & vinyl…
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I use a steam mop most of the time.
I have a one or two generations old version of this one.
It does a good job and leaves only a faint bit of wet on my tile.
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A dash of metho in a bucket of water. This was suggested to us by a expert in timber and hard flooring. Use well wrung out mop/cleaning cloth.
Water will remove almost everything from hard floor surfaces, with exception of oils and greases such as those found on kitchen flooring. The expert suggested a well wrung out cleaning cloth which has been dunked into dishwashing water (same strength as used for washing dishes). Use to wipe clean.
BTW, the metho assists with breaking down water’s meniscus and drying…to prevent streaks/water droplet marks being left behind.
While steam mops are okay for some surfaces, they aren’t recommended for timber flooring, vinyl tiles, panel/laminated flooring or any other flooring with joints or porous floor materials. The steam can penetrate joints causing problems (glues giving way, subsurface mould or swelling).
Edit: retailed floor cleaning products can have waxes, resins and silicone compounds which accumulate on the floor over time. We have experienced this as the previous owners used such products thinking they were doing the right thing, but dark gunge built up on edges/corners of the floor. Elbow grease and metho most of it has been removed.
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Steam mop.
One caution - the quality of tile grouts and trades skills vary. We’ve had one modern home slab on ground with mostly tiled floors. The grout was falling out within a few years. The steam mop seemed to accelerate the failure. If your tile grout is showing signs of looseness, powdering or chunks come out proceed with caution. Irrespective of how you clean it will only get worse. Not a $2 repair.
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Choice recommend bosistos multi purpose spray on most surfaces i find it effective. Or vinegar. Diluted.
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I use hot water with vinegar and vanilla
My floor cleaning regime (tiles) is a bissell crosswave - that thing leaves floors pretty darn clean with water only, or with a splash of vinegar or metho. I use this weekly.
Then once a month i do a deep clean with the crosswave and a splash of ammonia. I know ammonia is toxic, but it absolutely gets everything off tiles. Best floor cleaner I’ve ever used in that regard. I figure the small amount i use, and only monthly, and with good ventilation that it is harmless. I’ve read that it leaves no residue.
BTW: I’ve found the bissell floor cleaner solutions awful. I haven’t found them any better than water, plus they leave a sticky residue that’s not pleasant to walk on and shoes leave treadmarks.
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I bought the very inexpensive KMart steam mop and have found it to be effective.
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Thanks for all the replies - food for thought
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I wouldn’t agree that all floor cleaners are shonky. I’ve never had a problem. I have timber floors. Presently I use Long Life Mop-n-Glo (Bunnings) or Fresh Mop (commercial cleaning supply store). Technique is important. I use a commercial mop and bucket the way I was shown to use them way back when I did office cleaning. Granted, this is fairly heavy going—my wife says she couldn’t manage it.
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I bought Koh on recommendation. It’s great.
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I use a mop with a microfibre cleaning pad, so, water only. Sweeps and mops all at the same time and dries within a few minutes.
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Demonstrably shonky @Redeye,
I have a karcher steam mop, which is fantastic, but it damaged the grout in my bathroom, so proceed with caution. Steam kills germs and mould. Might damage vinyl.
Plain hot water works well for most things with a half decent squeeze mop. Add vinegar if you prefer, or use a scrubbing brush. preferably styled like a broom so you don’t have to get down to floor level.
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For many years I have mopped my tiled floors with a mop and bucket - hot water with 1/4 cup of vinegar. Make sure you have swept or vacuumed the floor before you mop - and squeeze the mop well before you mop.
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in a bucketful of hot water add 1/3 cup white vinegar; 3 teaspoons of Eucalyptus Oil or Tea Tree Oil then mop the floor.
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I use hot tap water with a splash of metho. I’ve been using this for years. Most cleaning products will build up and leave the surface sticky or will dry streaky.
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Thank you for your reply. Are you able to say exactly which microfibre mop you use? Thanks again.
The mop is Oates brand, bought maybe 10 years ago either in Kmart or Coles, I can’t remember. I haven’t seen that particular one for sale recently but there are others that are similar in Coles.
Thank you so much for the information.
hi, would like to think this technology has improved, prices can be very competitive, eg washG1 now $295 st gg.
however, and i have written directly to choice previously with no response (afaik) , their tests and others for similar products, are not ‘real world’ enough imo on which to base a purchase.
we have an old house & 5 adults. with sanded & sealed floorboards, nowhere are reviews available (inc of divet? created by grout), in (hard) floor cleaner review(s).
furthermore reviews are a mostly unusual splattering of sauce coffee grinds etc ie based on spills, not week in week out cleaning of a home, dust dust dust dirt hair crumbs fragments, which we also (hand) mop after tethered vacuum
oh how we dream to ease this loathed fortnightly chore
as an aside is there a review or info comparing vacuum cleaners - both tethered and untethered, both with & without driven or undriven brush/s & or rollers in the cleaning head?
(a tethered vacuum cleaner would have a dust/debris collector of several litres wheres battery vacuums are rarely over 1 - are they designed just for ‘spot’ cleaning?)
