Floorcleaning 101 in Nevada

by Diane Taylor

Sunday, October 11, 2009

I don’t collect things you display on shelves to impress visitors. Instead, I collect lots of items to clean floors and rugs in a house with three dogs.

Six years ago, we moved to Las Vegas and a biggish house that was half carpet and half tile. I decided to do my own housecleaning, having left my former every-other-week housekeeper in Chicago. I’m not obsessive about cleaning, so housekeeping can’t be that time consuming, can it?

These are the implements and one of the causes.
Photo by Diane Taylor

Unfortunately, first one dog then another got older. Never having had older dogs, I didn’t realize that floor cleaning would no longer be “occasional” or accomplished by a quick sponge mopping, a fast vacuum or a paper towel or two.

I needed implements. I had brought an Oreck vacuum with us. Relying on my shopping channels to show me the way, my first purchase was a flat mop with a microfiber mophead. With dogs in dusty Nevada, I learned: first you vacuum, then you mop.

Our older dog, Pepper, is the primary villain causing this collection relating to dog ownership.
Photo by Diane Taylor

The new mop was light and fast, but did require frequent trips to the sink for rinsing. (No buckets for me.) So on TV I saw a Hoover Floormate cleaner and bought one. It required electricity and tank-filling and emptying, and the plastic parts don’t last forever (I’m on my second one), but the floor cleaner means one can clean the floor – with rotating brushes — for at least 20 minutes without stopping. A periodic upending of the large Hoover is required for dog-hair removal, of course.

Hard as I worked (in between writing assignments and casino outings) my husband has not been impressed with my cleaning skills. (His mother swept the floor after every meal. even when she was older and couldn’t really “see” the floor.) At least once every two months he gets out the noisy and complicated central vacuum (with the 50-foot extension) that HE purchased. He then declares that something God-like has just happened at our house; a “real” vacuuming” has taken place.

The Oreck works well enough (for me) on carpets, rugs, tile floors and patios, but it doesn’t “wash” carpets and rugs. The solution? A Hoover Agility carpet cleaner that puts down hot water and carpet cleaner and then sucks it up. The stuff it sucks up is vile, however, so you must not forget to immediately empty the dirty water tank.

I’ve also bought a bunch of different Resolve-type cleaners for spot cleaning. They are effective, but unfortunately, I’m not always “there” when the older dog’s bladder kicks in early. Spots are missed.

As hard as I tried, the dogs were winning the battle, and some of our carpets eventually became a bit aromatic. I bought a bunch of room sprays, and any time company was coming, I loaded the air with the smell of cinnamon buns. My husband waved his hands in the air and coughed every time I sprayed, and the visitors must have wondered why they were never served the buns, but I loved my sprays.

And then, well, the carpet got so iffy, we spent several thousand dollars to have the carpets removed and tile installed in the former carpeted areas.

Now we have lots of tile. The IRobot Roomba and Scooba cleaners on TV “could” be a good idea, yes? (I’m a sucker for TV sales.) I bought two – Roomba to vacuum and Scooba to wash the floors. And they worked! Leave the house and lots of spots were cleaned and dog hair was collected miraculously. Initially, I was so excited that I personally bought stock in IRobot. But with experience I found that these little gems are delicate. Also, the batteries don’t live forever and they cost a whopping $80 plus for a replacement! I’ve cleaned the Roomba and Scooba 500 times for every time we’ve had to open up the Oreck or the Hoover floor cleaner for cleaning. The little robots are still used occasionally, but we said “bye-bye” to the IRobot stock.

A rug in need of washing..with audience.
Photo by Diane Taylor

We have a few rugs on our tile floors and they, too, were occasionally subject to dog souvenirs. I was about to send one of the rugs to rug heaven but decided, what the heck, I would try hoisting the rug on our outdoor furniture frames and drenching it with water and a little detergent. The rug didn’t shrink or lose color and did smell better. Now, I’m a rug-washer, too. (Yes, we also have some of those inexpensive kitchen-style rugs that can go in the washing machine. Thankyou, God and Walmart, for those.)

BUT good news. I recently ordered and received a Shark Steam Pocket Mop for the floors. So far, I like it! It’s lightweight, has a long cord; the pads fit securely; you can flip the pads to use both sides and steam does seem sanitary and dries quickly.

The Shark will have to do…until the next big thing comes along.

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