No Mop? Here's A Hack For Cleaning Your Dirty Kitchen Floor

Cleanliness is one of the most important aspects of kitchen maintenance. Sure, you want to keep your pantry stocked full of must-have canned goods and ensure your cooking knives are sharp, but keeping that space clean is vital to your well-being. Not only does it reduce the potential for food contaminants, it also eliminates possible slipping hazards and food-based messes that could attract pests (though there are plenty of ways to eradicate pests if they do pay you a visit). Fortunately, you don't have to drag out a mop and bucket whenever the kitchen floor needs a scrub. 

Instead, you can combine the practical uses of a towel and a broom to get your tile sparkling and clean. First, you use the broom for what it's intended — sweeping crumbs and dust from your floor. Next, you get your towel ready by giving it a soak in hot, soapy water, either in a bucket or in your kitchen sink. Just be sure to have a source of hot water ready so you can easily rinse your towel when needed.

Now comes the fun part. To clean your floor, you lay the towel down flat and push it around using the broom. Once the towel becomes saturated with grime, you can simply rinse it in your bucket and continue, or swap it out for a fresh towel. You may also cut a hole in the center of your towel, slipping it over the broom handle before mopping, which helps keep it in place. Depending on the size of your kitchen, a standard-sized hand or body towel should work well, but a beach towel is likely too unwieldy.

The simple efficiency of this hack may be why it's been the standard floor-cleaning method in Italy for many years. Instead of storing a clunky mop-and-bucket combo or constantly purchasing disposable mopping pads, you can get your floor squeaky clean with about 20 minutes of towel hockey. Plus, since most towels boast greater surface area than a standard mop, this method may be faster, more practical, and cost-effective.

There's also no need to purchase a cleanser specifically for mopping your floor. Not only is Dawn dish soap perfect for degreasing your kitchen cabinets, but it's also perfect for lifting grime from tile or linoleum. It'll also leave your floor shiny and won't leave a waxy residue on your towels that could cause issues with your washing machine. For particularly stubborn messes, it's also perfectly safe to add a glug of white vinegar to your Dawn and hot water solution. The acidity will help break down stuck-on dirt.

You can also break up tough, dried spills and splatters with the broom bristles themselves. Just drip a little mop water onto the stain and let it soak for a few minutes. After that, you should be able to use your broom to scrub the area, cleaning up any remaining residue by mopping the towel over it. After your floor is clean, throw down a dry towel and swirl it around to polish your kitchen floor to a beautiful shine. Then, leave your broom out to dry.