dirty floors

[springfield]

We dust mop our tile and wood floors every day, each day the dust mop is filthy. We tried keeping the doors closed, we don't wear outside shoes inside. Where does it all come from?? Does anyone else have this problem? Thanks for any advice.

[MikeV]

Check your A/C filter.

[cquick]

that's not the problem. My friends have just had their A/C refubished and still complain of dirty floors every day. I think it's just Florida and the construction around here.

[plimit56]

I have the same problem. I have tile and clean it every other day with Shark Steamer and when done the cloth is black. We have had our air cond checked as well. We live north of 466.

[dotti105]

I think it is just the very fine sand. It stays in suspension in the air and often is so fine the filters don't trap it.

We use our swifter every other day and it would look as if we just had a play date complete with mud pies!!

[plimit56]

But you would think that if all the doors and windows are shut all the time that everything would stay cleaner. So where the heck does it come from?

[mtdjed]

We live near Lake Sumter landing and have tile floors in all but bedrooms. I use a swiffer and if I use it everyday, I always come up with a dark cloth which also means the same is happening all over the house. When I dust with a microfiber cloth I am amazed at how much I pick up. And the venetian blinds are a wonder every couple of weeks. No animals, keep doors closed to keep out pollen . Not dust like up north that ended up with dust bunnies.

Could it be all of us older people turning to dust? Sorry for the morbid thought .

[Happinow]

Is your home new?? When we first built our home, I mopped the floors often because each time I mopped, the mop was dirty! I couldn't understand because it was a new home. Then I figured out that because the tile was new it had a lot construction dirt on it, I guess from all of the work done inside when building. I was pretty upset the thinking that this was the norm. But as time went on, about 6 months later, the tile was not dirty any longer, just normal cleaning was all it needed from then on. Hopefully your tile gets cleaner as time goes by.

[sunnyatlast]

I think it's due to walking in from the garage where the golf cart is right near the door into the house, and here we don't have a mud room like we had and walked thru on rugs in bigger houses before. We take our shoes off at the door, but we have the dust/dirt mentioned, too.

Having your furnace/AC air ductwork professionally cleaned out is an eye opener for sure, in ANY house regardless of how clean it is kept by cleaning people and owners. There are contaminants, building construction dust/dirt, carpet fibers, human hairs, pet hairs, dirt/dust, and all kinds of stuff in there you didn't know about.

Air duct cleaning has to be done by companies specialized and equipped to do that, because there can be blowback etc if mistakes are made, and it has to be done under strict guidelines. Not every HVAC company will do it, because it's expensive to get and use the equipment, and it's heavily regulated by the EPA(I think that's what contractors told me) and health laws.

This web pages explains it, and a good "quick start" video there is the 4th one down the page.

See: Videos | NADCA (http://nadca.com/en/videos#)

Once you've had this done, you'll be amazed at what is in the air ducts of a "stereo-clean" looking home. It's pretty disgusting, and it affects cleanliness of the home. We had a veteran cleaning lady who always suggested that her homeowners get the air ducts cleaned, so that the house was truly clean inside, and then the house stayed cleaner between bi-weekly or weekly cleanings. We did it and she was right.

**Also: I use a wet Swiffer to spruce up our laminate areas, but I use that only after vacuuming. There is no substitute for suction of a vacuum cleaner, which Swiffers and steam mops don't have. They are nice, but really, they rub the dirt around and pick up "some" of it. Vacuum first. Shark makes an awesome cordless stick vac with strong beater bar.

[Bonanza]

Stop dwelling on washing your floor every day; there are more important things to be concerned with.
Vacuum as you feel necessary and that will take care of the dirt.
If your bare feet aren't dirty, then your floor is fine.

[Villager Joyce]

Stop dwelling on washing your floor every day; there are more important things to be concerned with.
Vacuum as you feel necessary and that will take care of the dirt.
If your bare feet aren't dirty, then your floor is fine.

You might just be my new hero :bigbow:

[kbace6]

Does anyone have a Roomba? The regular one or the squeegee one maybe? I wonder how well they work for something like this.

But I agree with others here. Get your ducts cleaned every few years and things will likely be cleaner anyway.

[HimandMe]

I love my Roomba! It sometimes gets stuck though. When I lived in a all-tile house before TV, it was perfect as there we wide open rooms.

[DangeloInspections]

I would perhaps check the following;

1) Replace your A/C filter and upgrade it from a MERV 8 filter to a MERV 11 filter.

2) Check your dryer vent pipe for excess lint build up. Folks should have the Dryer vent ductwork cleaned out every year or two, depending on how much they dry their clothes.

3) If dust/dirt is getting tracked in from the concrete floor in the garage, you may want to consider applying an epoxy coating.

Hope this helps....Frank D.

[Deaner]

I highly recommend a Roomba. It's just amazing how much dog hair and filth ours collects. We have the 650 which is cheaper than some of the newer models but does an excellent job. We also have a Scooba to wash the tile every few days. The Roomba does a great job on carpet or tile. They both save a lot of backbreaking work. Before we got one I thought they were toys or gadgets -- most definitely not!

[OCsun]

I am now using the Hoover Floor scrubber. It is like a carpet cleaner for tile floors. It vacuums the water up as it cleans. I had to dump the dirty water four times. Use it once a month for a deep clean then relax! :)

[Bonnevie]

I also noticed this. My old house didn't get like this with a much older ac unit and me using the garage as entrance. I use the higher quality filter. but at my old house we had filter openings in every room....here there is just one on the unit....

[DeanFL]

Ditto here - new house in Gilchrist; now16 mos old. During design, we decided to go with laminate floors in most of the home. Aftermarket, and decided on brazilian cherry like (darker red/brown). We had the new carpeting removed and they installed the lam days after moving in.

Turned out very nice BUT noticed very soon the light dustlike appearance after a day or so. Especially when the sun is streaming thru the front and walking toward it...yikes. Our house was the last built in this whole area, rest of homes were 1 year built after ours was done. Neighbors were so glad after ours was done to get rid of the sand/lot. After a while we commiserated with the neighs, and about 5 nearby ones have the same issue - darker wood floors and dust.

We got nice new swiffers etc etc. The AC syst et al works perfectly with new filters... But enough was enough. We decided to arrange for a housekeeper. She comes every 2 weeks for a thorough inside cleaning. Our rational was (my better 1/2 came up with this one...) my responsibility is outside and I have lawn cut/fert etc...so.... Life's too short, and she's right (of course).

So every 2 weeks the dust is gone (or moved) from surfaces etc, esp a nice clean floor. 'course that doesn't last long, we still need to swiff now and then - but at least the big stuff is nicely done.

Per the other poster re the 'dust to dust' matter - if that was the case...I'm NOT losing any weight.

[Yung Dum]

Stop dwelling on washing your floor every day; there are more important things to be concerned with.
Vacuum as you feel necessary and that will take care of the dirt.
If your bare feet aren't dirty, then your floor is fine.

I agree. If you can't see the dirt, don't let it bother you. There's more to life than clean floors. Try to enjoy it,

[Vladimir]

Static or maybe cosmic dust?? I'm glad I am not the only one that noticed this. Some good suggestions to minimize it but unfortunately the only thing to do is to use the swiffer which really does the trick. Take a look at your ceiling fans as the fine dust just sticks to the fan as well.

[dplars]

A normal house has an air change rate of three per hour. With the best windows, doors and weather stripping you might get it down to one air change. Back in the 60 we did get the air change rate down toward one, but the home then developed moisture problems and was like living in a bottle. Get some pets and then you can really enjoy cleaning with the knowledge its for someone you love.

[Bonanza]

I love my Roomba! It sometimes gets stuck though. When I lived in a all-tile house before TV, it was perfect as there we wide open rooms.

We have a robotic vacuum similar to the Roomba. It's called "Neato."
The thing we like about ours is that it will back up when stuck.
It also returns to its charger by itself when the current gets low.

[Barefoot]

Stop dwelling on washing your floor every day; there are more important things to be concerned with.
Vacuum as you feel necessary and that will take care of the dirt.
If your bare feet aren't dirty, then your floor is fine.

:agree: There are so many wonderful things to do in The Villages.
Our cleaners wash the floors every two weeks which is often enough for us!
An occasional quick sweep takes care of the grit.
Washing floors isn't on my bucket list.

[Hummintwo]

Sunnyatlast is right on regarding the continuous dirty dust in spite of all your best efforts. Check with the nice folks that are citizen advocates for recommended companies that effectively do this type of work to air ducts and the results you are now experiencing will change drastically. I don't know if home warranty would have any recommendations for companies that do air duct cleaning but it is true that you must hire a company that is qualified to do the work appropriately and effectively. In addition, steam mops and dust mops do just move the stuff around. A good hepa filter powered vacuum cleaner removes the dust into the unit not into your air space.

[Teachers Pet]

:agree: There are so many wonderful things to do in The Villages.
Our cleaners wash the floors every two weeks which is often enough for us!
An occasional quick sweep takes care of the grit.
Washing floors isn't on my bucket list.


This is really a disgusting topic. Only every two weeks, Bare? Come on now

[Rango]

Replace your tile with carpet. The dirt sinks into the fibers and you never see it. :o)

Do not wear shoes in the house.