The right mop is what will decide if your floors are going to be left sparkling or not. Choosing the right one is important if you want to get your floors clean, and make them stay that way for as long as possible. Using the wrong mop only cleans the surface grime, making dirt accumulate much faster, but the right mop will get all the way down to the floor and scrub away any trace of grease or dirt.

Everyone should have at least 2 mops:

1. Wet mop – to clean up spills and wash hard-surface floors.

2. Dry mop – to collect dry dust, dirt, and pet hair.

When you choose a mop for wet cleaning, remember its purpose. Not only should it dissolve dirt, but it must remove it from the floor. For this reason, avoid string mops. They’re too heavy to lift when wet and impossible to rinse clean. Instead, get yourself a large-headed wet mop with a swivel base and removable terry covers. This mop will do dual duty; a dry cover quickly picks up spilled liquids, while a cover immersed in cleaning solution dissolves and lifts dirt easily. When the cover gets dirty, simply wash it and replace it.

Sponge mops are also efficient in cleaning spills and floors. Larger cleaning heads get the job done faster, and make sure you get one made of metal – a plastic one can’t stand up to the tough job and can break.

Dry mops come in many forms. Small disposable mops slide easily into tight corners, but they’re flimsy and replacement pads are too expensive. Microfibre mops are a great choice because they’re inexpensive, and can be washed, dried, and reused. Use them to pick up dry soil and crumbs in the kitchen. As with the wet mop, make sure you get one made of metal, and with a swivel base.

Photos: Housekeeping.about, Cleaning Services College Station, North Tryon.

Having pets in your household is great fun, but every pet owner knows the stress of having to deal with pet hair. If you find that your home is getting overrun by hair, follow our 5 tips to getting it hair-free!

1. Cover it Up

Use slip covers on your couches and chairs. These will catch the hair, which means less hair on your floors. Before throwing them in the wash, put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes with a fabric softener sheet. This will help loosen some of the hair. Using fabric softener in the wash will help loosen even more hairs, too.

2. Slick Surfaces

If you absolutely hate any hair on your furniture or carpets, it might be time to invest in furnishings that are hair resistant. This includes hardwood or tile flooring, leather or pleather, canvas, and heavy duty cotton fabric.

3. Removing the Hair

If your furniture is covered in hair, there are a few ways to get rid of it. Lint rollers are great, as they effectively pick up hair from any surface. But, they do create a lot of waste and can get expensive. Try using a rubber glove spritzed with water. Put the glove on and wipe down your couches and chairs. The hair will stick to the glove and you can just rinse the glove when you’re finished. Dryer sheets are also good at picking up hair from your furniture. Simply wipe down surfaces with the dryer sheet.

4. Vacuum

Change the bag in your vacuum cleaner often to keep dust at bay and your vacuum running nicely. A full bag in a vacuum cleaner makes vacuuming less effective, and throws more dust out into your air, too. Make sure to keep the brush attachments clean, as hair can get caught in these as well. To keep your carpets hair-free, experts recommend going over them 3 times in alternating directions to loosen up as much hair as possible. If you have the budget consider purchasing a Deebot Pet Vacuum Cleaner, so that your vacuum cleaner can do the cleaning for you!

5. Brushing

Brushing your pets is a way to greatly reduce hair from accumulating in your home. Use the Furminator brush to remove dead hair from your pet that will end up falling out. Giving your pet a bath will also help in removing a lot of loose hair.

Photos: Vegas Chatter, Wikimedia.