Simple Guide to the Different Mop Types

April 26, 2022 by Mulberry Maids

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There are many types of mops currently on the market, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Using the right tool in your home will not only make cleaning your floors easier, it will allow you to clean them more consistently. As we know, consistent cleaning is key to a clean space! 

Keep reading to learn more about what the best company for office cleaning in Fort Collins has to say about the different mop types. With this guide, you can pick the right mop to make cleaning your particular floors more effective and efficient.

What are the different types of mops to choose from?

As spring is finally here, getting properly equipped to perform a solid spring cleaning is essential. In addition to picking the right mop, making sure that your vacuum is clean and running well will be key to complement mopping up your floors. 

Keep reading on to learn more about the different types of mops available, and what surfaces they work best on.

Flat mops

These mops are great for any hard flooring material, as they don’t require much use of water. An easy way to make sure that you are not using excess water when mopping, is to use a spray bottle with your floor cleaning solution of choice. Simply spray it on the floor, and run your mop over it. This makes it really easy to control how much moisture is being used, relative to how dirty your floor is. 

They are also really great as they are easy to use, and can fit into small areas and along edges and corners. The maneuverability is a great asset to these types of mops, however, the small size may not be ideal in really large homes.  

Steam mops

Steam mops are a great tool, as like a flat mop, they do not create really wet floors. Steam mops heat water up to a really high temperature, then use the steam to coat the mop head. The hot vapor is what cleans the floor, which gives it a bunch of cleaning power, without saturating your floor. 

Not only are they really effective at cleaning floors, they don’t require your floors to dry afterwards. This makes it much easier to not only keep your floors cleaner right after you mop, but you won’t have to guess whether your floors are dry enough to walk on again. 

Some of the drawbacks of steam mops include needing to keep your mop plugged in while mopping, and the frequent need to change out mop heads. This can be done less frequently by doing a thorough sweeping or vacuuming before mopping, and making sure that you mop your floors consistently. 

Dust mops

A dust mop typically is referring to the type of mop head. Flat mops mentioned above, typically will work with a dust mop head. These mop heads are great to collect dust and grime from your floor, before doing a wet mopping. Combining a dust mopping with a vacuuming is a really effective way to get your floor prepped for a wet mopping. 

Sponge mops

These mops are best to clean up spills quickly on hard floors, as they are highly absorbent. They are not the best for general floor cleaning as they are heavy due to their liquid absorption capabilities, and don’t glide too well. 

String mops

These are what come to mind when most people think of different mop types. They are very common, and have been used for years. They are highly absorbent, and you can make your own cleaning mixture in a bucket. Drawbacks include more waste water to deal with, which gets dirtier the further into the cleaning you get. They are also really hard to control how much water is being used on your floors. This can make oversaturating your floors really easy, which can be damaging. Additionally, a really wet floor takes much longer to dry, which increases the chances of kids or pets getting the wet floor dirty again before it has even dried!

A variation of the string mop is the strip mop, which has strips of fabric. These have the same drawbacks as traditional string mops, however, they can be used dry to help with dusting floors. 

Microfiber mops

This is referring to the mop head, and can typically be attached to a flat mop. They are available in different sizes, which is handy if you need a large mop head for bigger office and home spaces. 

Microfiber mop heads are great as they are reusable and highly absorbent. They can be used wet or dry, however, they are not as effective at scrubbing at floor stains. A good practice is to have a couple mop heads on hand that can be changed out during the floor cleaning. You can start out by doing a dry mop to collect dust and debris, and follow it up with a wet mopping. Use a spray bottle with the appropriate floor cleaner for your surface, and spray and mop as you go. 

Office cleaning in Fort Collins that fits your schedule

Here at Mulberry Maids, we do more than just home cleaning. We can tackle all of your office cleaning needs, working with your schedule to find the right balance that you are looking for. 

So take a chore off of your team’s to-do list, and instead of cleaning the office, spend a lunch out at Jax Fish House in Old Town Fort Collins. Give us a call today to discuss your office’s unique cleaning needs. We would love to help you out soon!