I have a question to ask you and I want you to be honest about it. When is the last time that you cleaned your mop head (or heads) and how often do you clean them? Believe it or not, I’ve met numerous people over my lifetime who never clean them and just toss them out when they stink or start to fall apart.
As a neat & clean freak, I clean my mop heads all of the time and trust me, I own numerous types of mops! There are particular ones that I like to use for quick jobs and other’s that I like to use specifically on my ceramic tile flooring and other’s on my hardwoods. I believe that I own at least 5 different ones at this particular time and that doesn’t include my steam cleaners!
Tips on How to Clean Your Mop Heads
1. Cotton Loop Mop – Rinse out the head with clean hot water. Fill up your bucket with hot water and a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Place it into the solution and let it soak for 20 minutes. Remove and rinse it out again under hot running water. Hand to dry.
Alternative Method: If the mop head is removable, remove it. Fill up your washer on the small to medium load setting with hot or warm water. Pour 1/2 cup white vinegar or 1/4 cup of bleach into the water. Let it fill up, toss in the mop head and let it machine wash on the gentle cycle. Once done, remove it and hang to dry.
2. Microfiber Mop Pads – The majority of these are removable and can be tossed into your washing machine using the method above. However, you never want to use liquid fabric softener or dryer sheets when cleaning them. Second, don’t toss them into the dryer, hang them to air dry.
3. Sponge Mops – I don’t use any sponge mops any more as they’re too hard to clean. If you still have one, you’ll want to rinse the head under hot running water until it rinses clean. Fill up a bucket with hot water and a 1/4 cup of white vinegar or 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Soak the sponge head in the solution for 30 minutes, remove and rinse under hot water until clean. Let air dry. Do NOT use bleach on sponges as it breaks down the materials quickly.
Alternative Method: Pour 1/4 of eco-friendly all-purpose cleaner into a spray bottle and then fill it up with tap water. After using any of the types of mops listed above, rinse them under hot water until all dirt & debris has rinsed clean. Spray the head with the eco-friendly cleaner and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse head under hot or warm water until it rinses clean. Hang to air dry. (note: I like using eco-friendly cleaners like Simple Green, but many are out in the retail marketplace. Just make sure it’s an all-purpose liquid cleaner).
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So, let’s hear your answers! How many of you clean your mop heads on a regular basis? For those of you who do…what’s your preferred method to clean them?
I don’t use this type of mop but my sister in law does so passing this on to her. Its always nice to learn new things even if you don’t need them today
I realize that i need to clean my mop heads more thoroughly. Thanks you for all this information.
Thank you for the advice. I have a sponge mop. I buy vinegar by the gallon.
I have never owned mop heads but have used many mops in my first career in nutrition. Those mops in institutional food service are heavy too. I don’t want to think about all the chemical disinfectants they used on them back in the day, lol. I have such a tiny area in my kitchen and bath, that I use one of those Swiffer mop pad cleaners, after vacuuming. I love using vinegar and bleach around the house. Mom used a ton of bleach in cleaning so guess I got used to the smell. It doesn’t bother me but I know some don’t like it.
I am trying to think of how many mops I own at the moment. I think I have like one of each type and I clean them every single time I use them. We have pets in the house so we go through a lot of mops. Thank you for the great cleaning tips.