It appears like owning a house is fun until you realize that it demands continual cleaning. You have to clean the kitchen, the bathroom, the garden — the list goes on and on.
But do you know what makes things even worse? Cleaning floors that never seem to be clean enough. It doesn’t matter if you clean it once or a hundred times a day; it always looks dirty.
In such a scenario painted above, you may be wondering, ‘why are my floors always dirty even after cleaning?’
Sometimes your floors are always dirty because you leave your windows open after cleaning. Dust and dirt particles can easily settle on your floor, making your recently cleaned floor dirty again.
Read on as we explore more cogent reasons why your floors are always dirty even after cleaning.
Why Are My Floors Always Dirty?
Below are some reasons why your floors remain dirty after perpetual cleaning.
1. Open Windows
As mentioned earlier, the harmless act of leaving your windows open can always constitute to why your floors are always dirty.
The majority of dust and dirt particles in the air come from outside. If you keep your windows open, even if they have screens, the particles are small enough to get through the thin mesh and settle inside your home.
2. Pets
If you have a pet, you should expect a significantly larger buildup of dust and hair than if you don’t have one. Even if your pet is a “non-shedding” breed, they will still leave a lot of dirt behind.
Even your skin produces a trace quantity of dirt or particles. Dead skin will fall off and contribute to the nasty mess as your body’s cells degrade.
Ralated: Best way to pick up pet hair on hardwood floors
3. Clogged Air Filter
If you have an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system in your home, such as a furnace with a blower, you may expect a continuous building of dust over time.
A well-tuned HVAC system will give a balanced quantity of heat or cold to all areas of the house.
This extremely useful tool has the additional benefit of evenly dispersing dust throughout your home. Change your air filter at the appropriate intervals to help reduce the amount of dust that circulates in your home.
Now, when the filter becomes clogged with dirt and dust, its ability to filter begins to deteriorate. All of the pressured air behind it has to go somewhere, and it will eventually drive the dirt straight past the filter and back into your house.
Thus, it is recommended that you get your vents and ductwork cleaned regularly. If you fail to do this, the humidity will accumulate in the ductwork over time, producing a damp location for dirt.
Also, if the vents are not cleaned regularly, it will blow dust into your house, making cleaning your floors tough.
4. Cleaning Products
Cleaning products might sometimes be the reason why your floors are always dirty. This sentence sounds ironic, right?
You’d think that a cleaning product meant to clean floors would prevent, or at least aid in, the prevention of dirty floors. While many are capable of doing so, some contain additives and other chemicals that leave a residue on your floor.
When you use these items often, you will begin to accumulate a fairly thick layer of residue on the floor. After a while, it will begin to diminish the appearance of the floor.
No matter how hard you try, it will appear that the floors will never regain their original brilliance and brightness.
Keep an eye out for cleaning products that contain oils or wax. While it may appear to be a good idea, the oils or wax that are used actually contribute to the problem.
Added oils and wax are two of the main ingredients that contribute to the formation of a residue over time. The floors will begin to appear nearly milky, and the only way to remove this is to use a product that cuts waxes or oils.
Related: Will rubbing alcohol damage laminate floors?
5. High Traffic Areas
The most often high traffic areas of your home are always a haven for dirt and grime to accumulate.
High traffic areas in your home are the entryways, hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms.
These areas can and should be prioritized for extra maintenance to help maintain your floors clean throughout the house.
How to Keep your Floors Clean
While the factors outlined above might contribute to the reasons why your floors are always dirty, you also have a part to play.
Below are tips that you should adopt to keep your floors clean
1. Establish a Cleaning Schedule
Setting up a regular cleaning schedule will be your best defense against unclean floors. A daily sweeping of the floors is the greatest regimen you can keep. Then, once a week, give them a thorough cleaning with a mop and a solution of water and vinegar.
2. Use a Solution of Water and Vinegar to Mop
If you’re unsure of the right cleaning product to use on your floor, we recommend that you go with a simple solution of water and vinegar.
Start by mixing 1 cup of vinegar and at least 2 gallons of water. When using the mop, dampen it only a little.
You don’t want to oversaturate the mop because this can cause water to leak into gaps and cracks of your floors, leading to even more serious issues in the future.
3. Use Rugs and Mats in High Traffic Areas
In high-traffic areas, it is a good idea to lay down a rug or mats to help remove dirt and debris from shoes and feet. The dirt is more likely to stay in one spot on the rug. It also reduces the likelihood of floors being scratched by stray pebbles or other finish-scratching items.
4. Invest in a Good Vacuum Cleaner
When it comes to the best vacuum for hardwood floors, there isn’t a single brand that you should rush out and buy. You should, however, keep the beater bar in mind.
The beater bar is the portion of the vacuum that is bristle-covered and spins around. While this is useful for removing dust from the nap of carpeting, it can scrape the polyurethane coating on your hardwood floor or, worse, damage the wood itself.
Fortunately, there are vacuum models available that do not include beater bars. Some vacuums additionally allow you to disengage the bar so that it does not spin while cleaning hardwood floors.
If your vacuum does not have one of these capabilities, you can use an attachment designed specifically for vacuuming hardwood floors.
5. Leave Shoes at the Door
Place a shoe rack near the door or remove shoes in the mudroom. The dirt on the bottoms of your shoes will remain in the entryway if you leave them there.
Conclusion
Finally, we hope this post on ‘why are my floors always dirty?’ has given you a clue as to the reason why your floors remain dirty even after constant cleaning.
Also, keep in mind that establishing a cleaning routine is the best way to maintain your floors and keep them constantly cleaned.
