3 Money-Saving Swiffer Hacks That Are Downright Brilliant

I gave up on Swiffers long ago, even with refillable solution hack and reusable floor pad hacks. Floors just never looked clean to me compared to me doing it on hands and knees and scrubbing out the dirt that collects between the boards or in grout.

A few years ago I discovered three things: Sal Suds, OCedar easy wring bucket type 1 (open bucket with spinner), and OCedar easy wring bucket type 2 (bucket with tank insert and spinner). It’s nothing more than a two-bucket system but it works fast and cleans really well for me.

I put warmish-hot water in the open bucket and inside the tank insert. I add 2-3 drops Sal Suds to the tank. (Yes just drops. Sal Suds seems pricey but a 16oz bottle will last years.)

I maintain my floors between moppings with only dry methods other than spot treatments (broom sweeping, vacuuming, and dry mopping with a rectangular mop like Swiffer, Bona, etc.). Water + liquid = mud so I also do dry maintenance right before damp mopping.

To start mopping. I wet the mop in the Sal Suds solution and spin it damp, then mop a small section, whatever I can reach comfortably. I’ll repeat if still visibly dirty and/or spot clean.

Next, I rinse the mop head thoroughly in the open bucket and spin it damp. I rinse the same floor section and repeat if needed. I rinse the mop well once more and spin it, then it’s back to the solution bucket to begin another section. I also dump and refill the rinse water bucket often to avoid transfer of dirt back to the clean floor. (I use the same mop for both washing and rinsing, but if floor is really dirty I use both mops and leave them in their own buckets.)

This sounds like a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it the job goes really fast. I can wash large great room floor in 15-20 minutes, or less, depending on amount of dirt and spot cleaning. A damp paper towel anywhere on that floor comes up clean, no black or any dirt at all. There are no dark lines between boards as there is no buildup.

Maintain between moppings only with dry methods mentioned (broom, vacuum, dry mop) so as not to create mud. We’re empty nesters so our floor isn’t as dirty now. And we are good about no shoes and entry/exit mats as well, which helps tremendously. So I only tend to mop every couple of months, the rest of the time the dry maintenance with spot cleaning keeps it looking shiny and new. A damp paper towel after dry maintenance will pick up on a trace of dry dust or none at all.

I have some friends whose floors look shiny from no-rinse mopping but have dirt trapped in buildup and black lines between the boards. We spent hours thoroughly removing the buildup and black lines, until we were down to just the original finished floor. Then they started this method. That was three years ago and their floors still look the same, clean and no black lines or trapped dirt. Give this approach a try, whether you use a DIY cleaner or Sal Suds as I do.

I gave up on Swiffers long ago, even with refillable solution hack and reusable floor pad hacks. Floors just never looked clean to me compared to me doing it on hands and knees and scrubbing out the dirt that collects between the boards or in grout.

A few years ago I discovered three things: Sal Suds, OCedar easy wring bucket type 1 (open bucket with spinner), and OCedar easy wring bucket type 2 (bucket with tank insert and spinner). It’s nothing more than a two-bucket system but it works fast and cleans really well for me.

I put warmish-hot water in the open bucket and inside the tank insert. I add 2-3 drops Sal Suds to the tank. (Yes just drops. Sal Suds seems pricey but a 16oz bottle will last years.)

I maintain my floors between moppings with only dry methods other than spot treatments (broom sweeping, vacuuming, and dry mopping with a rectangular mop like Swiffer, Bona, etc.). Water + liquid = mud so I also do dry maintenance right before damp mopping.

To start mopping. I wet the mop in the Sal Suds solution and spin it damp, then mop a small section, whatever I can reach comfortably. I’ll repeat if still visibly dirty and/or spot clean.

Next, I rinse the mop head thoroughly in the open bucket and spin it damp. I rinse the same floor section and repeat if needed. I rinse the mop well once more and spin it, then it’s back to the solution bucket to begin another section. I also dump and refill the rinse water bucket often to avoid transfer of dirt back to the clean floor. (I use the same mop for both washing and rinsing, but if floor is really dirty I use both mops and leave them in their own buckets.)

This sounds like a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it the job goes really fast. I can wash large great room floor in 15-20 minutes, or less, depending on amount of dirt and spot cleaning. A damp paper towel anywhere on that floor comes up clean, no black or any dirt at all. There are no dark lines between boards as there is no buildup.

Maintain between moppings only with dry methods mentioned (broom, vacuum, dry mop) so as not to create mud. We’re empty nesters so our floor isn’t as dirty now. And we are good about no shoes and entry/exit mats as well, which helps tremendously. So I only tend to mop every couple of months, the rest of the time the dry maintenance with spot cleaning keeps it looking shiny and new. A damp paper towel after dry maintenance will pick up on a trace of dry dust or none at all.

I have some friends whose floors look shiny from no-rinse mopping but have dirt trapped in buildup and black lines between the boards. We spent hours thoroughly removing the buildup and black lines, until we were down to just the original finished floor. Then they started this method. That was three years ago and their floors still look the same, clean and no black lines or trapped dirt. Give this approach a try, whether you use a DIY cleaner or Sal Suds as I do.