If you have mainly hard flooring in your home, you’ll probably want to keep it clean and stain-free with one of the best vacuum cleaners, wet and dry vacs or your trusted mop and bucket.
And if you want an easier way to clean your hardwood floors, TikTok is full of quick and handy cleaning tips shared by the dedicated “cleantok” community.
But, flooring experts are warning against this one cleaning hack that’s gone viral.
The ‘ice mop bucket’ hack
Following the popular hack of flushing down ice to clean your toilet or drain, people are now using ice while mopping their floors. Yes, you heard right!
This trending ‘ice mop bucket’ hack came about after several TikTok users shared posts about using ice cubes in their regular mopping routine, instead of just warm or hot water.
One user @felykdimon demonstrated by simply pouring a bag of ice cubes into her bucket, followed by detergent and cold water, before mixing it all together.
And if you’re wondering what the point of it is, ‘cleanfluencers’ claim this hack ‘shocks germs’ and gets rid of harsh marks easier than warm or boiling water.
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However, a floor expert strongly debunks such claims, highlighting that cleaning with ice has no proven benefits. What’s more, bacteria and viruses such as listeria, e-coli and salmonella are able to live in freezing temperatures.
“Anyone who mops their floor with ice needs to be banned from cleaning,” states Liam Cleverdon, floor expert and director at Flooring King. “If you want to actually clean high-traffic areas where bacteria is present such as in the kitchen and bathroom, using this technique is ineffective, as ice water does not get rid of bacteria.
"Warm and hot water are generally more effective than ice-cold water because they help break down grease, grime, and dirt more efficiently, as well as allowing cleaning agents to work better.
Using warm water alone, without any cleaning agents may not be much more effective at eliminating bacteria either. To ensure your flooring is sanitized, it’s best to follow the manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines and use appropriate cleaning products that are designed to address bacteria and stains.”
Besides not sanitizing your floors properly, mopping with ice can also damage your floors. It can lead to warping, scratching or worse, cost you on expensive repairs or replacements.
“If the ice has sharp edges or carries debris around with it, it can potentially scratch a surface, especially if you are moving it around floors that can be susceptible to scratches,” adds Cleverdon.
If you’re mopping delicate floors like wood with ice cold water, it can damage the material by exposing it to too much moisture as the ice melts and seeps into the wood, leading to warping, swelling, and even mould growth – this can be an extremely costly mistake to fix and can start forming in as little as 24 hours.”
How to clean hard floors the right way
So if you want to make sure your hard floors are clean without damaging them, what’s the best way to do this?
“Surprisingly, your mop doesn’t need to be soaking wet to be effective in cleaning your floor,” advises Cleverdon. “This may feel like you're giving your floors a deep clean, however, using too much water on wood or wood-effect floors can cause excess moisture to seep through the surface and cause lifting or warping.
Instead, use a relatively dry or damp mop with a suitable floor cleaning solution that works for your flooring type, and any pesky stains will soon come up.”
In addition, avoid steam cleaners. Whilst these are great for some parts of your home, steam cleaners can damage wood or wood-effect floors, such as LVT, laminate or engineered wood, by causing discoloration or altering the finish by warping or cracking.
For more top floor cleaning tips, check out our guide on mopping vs wet and dry vacuum — which is better for your floors?
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