This month we get into the nitty gritty of mopping and which method is best for your home.

What is the safest and cleanest way to clean our homes? We are often inundated with conflicting information via clever marketing tactics in retail outlets so we’d like to provide you with some clarity and provide you with some tips on the best environmentally friendly cleaning solution for your home.

While mopping is a chore many people don’t like, it’s necessary to mop our floors to keep things hygienic for our personal environment. This is probably even more important to you if you have young children who are in the crawling or floor play phase. The benefits of using a microfiber flat mop far outweigh traditional mopping options.

The benefits of using microfiber flat mopping systems include:

• Microfiber is a more hygienic and effective cleaning material because of its ability to attract, trap and hold dirt. Studies have determined that microfiber is the best fabric to capture bacteria. This is because the fibres are so small which allows them to create static, attracting dust and dirt and containing it.
• Microfiber flat mops eliminate the need for chemicals in our home environment making them an ideal choice if you want to keep yourself, your family and your pets safer. The microfibers work effectively simply with water and can then be washed in your washing machine to eliminate any bacteria.
• Microfiber is extremely absorbent so these types of mops hold enough water to get an area clean without the dripping mess of traditional wet mops. This also lessens the risk of falling on wet surfaces because the floors dry much quicker.
• Microfiber flat mops are also ergonomically friendly as the mop handles are light weight, the head swivels and the handles height is adjustable. There is less lifting, moving and rinsing involved so it’s kinder to your body and lessens the risk of physical injury.

Microfiber fabric is a manufactured man-made product using two fibres – polyester and polyamide. The microfibers are incredibly thin and are wedge shaped allowing them to grab, trap and hold dust soil. Microfiber is tough and durable yet gentle on surfaces because they are non-abrasive. They are also lint free so this eliminates streaky results and can be easily laundered and reused hundreds of times.

 So if you’re looking for an easy, effective and eco-friendly way to keep your floors healthy and clean be sure to choose a microfiber mopping system. They are ideal for use on tiled surfaces as well as polished timber floors. The simple fact that you don’t need to use any toxic chemicals in your home by far outweighs any other mopping options.

Microfiber: More Than Just a Cleaning Cloth

Microfiber is no longer a "buzz word" that is taking the cleaning world by storm.  Most cleaning companies should be using them on a daily basis as a basic cleaning tool.

How to choose the right microfiber cloth for your all cleaning needs.  There are different grades of Microfiber for different types of tasks and most manufactures will carry at least 3 different types of  Microfiber cloths.  The most common types are:

1. Heavy Duty Microfiber Cloth - which is mainly used for heavy duty cleaning to remove deep soil and oils.
2. Medium Grade Microfiber Cloth - used for dusting and medium duty tasks such as wiping bench tops and sinks.
3. Microfiber cloths that have a suede like texture are used for glass, mirrors and for polished surfaces.  These cloths are usually much thinner than heavy or medium grade cloths, are more tightly woven and may come in blue colour.

When purchasing for your Microfiber cloths, visit your local cleaning suppliers, as they more likely to supply high quality Microfiber cloths.  You can usually tell a good quality Microfiber cloth by doing couple of tests.  First, run the cloth across your hand.  Does it seem to catch?  This is caused by the dense fibers and indicates quality Microfiber.  Next, put a small amount of hand lotion on mirror and then wipe your mirror cloth to see how many passes it takes to remove the lotion.  A good quality Microfiber cloth will remove the lotion in only one or two passes.

Microfiber cloths come in variety of colours and the reason for that to prevent cross contamination.  You certainly would not want to use to clean a toilet and then use the same cloth to clean your kitchen bench tops.

How to Care for Microfiber Cloths

when washing microfiber cloths, it is best to wash and dry them separately from other laundry items such as cotton cloths, towels or clothing.  If you don't wash them separately, they will pull the lint off these items and become so loaded it may make them useless.  Avoid using bleach and fabric softener.  Bleach will damage the fibers and fabric softener will reduce the static charge, which is an important part of what makes Microfiber cloth works so well.

when cleaning Microfiber, use about half the amount of laundry detergent you would normally use for a load of laundry.  Microfibers release soil very easily when washed, so more is not better in this case.  It is recommended that your water temperature not to exceed 95 Celsius.  Microfibers can air dry (Microfiber cloths dry very quickly) or you can use a machine to dry them as long as you use a low heat setting and do not add a fabric softener sheet.