Welcome to our Healthy Homes & Workplaces 10-part series. In these stories, we delve deep into the science and engineering behind our machines to reveal our Dyson top tips, tricks and recommendations for keeping your home and workplace clean and healthy though lockdowns and beyond. Find out more on Instagram through #DysonHealthyHome.
Dyson engineers Sharon Yap and Dr Calum Robertson discuss the best ways to clean hard floors – keeping them dust-free, germ-free and stain-free. Rethink your daily cleaning routine with our tips and tricks below.
We all have different approaches when it comes to cleaning. In many Asian homes, notably in China, Japan and South Korea, families are accustomed to spending time on the floor – whether it’s children playing, sitting to watch television or even having meals together on a low table.
With this, achieving a “barefoot clean” is essential. With the help of Dyson experts, we explore different cleaning methods and habits to understand what really works best when aiming for “barefoot clean” on hard floors - as well as what doesn’t.
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“There is a common misconception that it’s ok to go straight into mopping floors as that cleans up all the dirt in your home,” explains Sharon Yap, Head of Technology Development at Dyson. “If dust isn’t removed fully prior to wet cleaning, then it can be smeared across hard floors when mopping your floors, potentially leaving a dirtier rather than a cleaner floor.
"The best advice for cleaning wooden floors is simple: vacuum your floors at least once a week to prevent your dirt from grinding in,” she adds. “For me, I try to give the high traffic areas of my home a little extra attention, such as kitchens and bedrooms, as the floor can quickly collect a lot of dirt, debris and stray hairs.”
“Many people believe that hard floors are more resistant to wear and tear – for example, marble flooring is a common type of flooring in many households, and some might use cleaning products that contain ammonia or acids, which will cause the flooring to erode and be uneven! Even while scrubbing the floor, be sure not to use anything with sharp bristles like metal scrubbers. Also, if you don’t vacuum first, you risk spreading dirt rather than removing them.”
The daily routine for most people consists of removing the visible dust you see from hard floor surfaces, using a variety of methods – dry wiping, sweeping and vacuuming. However, what’s equally important is the invisible dust that cannot be seen with the human eye, which is best removed with a vacuum cleaner. If you prefer to follow up with mopping your floors, here’s what you need to keep in mind:
“With mopping, you use disinfectant to clean. You are not trying to remove germs but rather you are trying to kill them. The combination of mopping to kill germs and suction to remove fine dust are two very different jobs. They need to work in unison to achieve that barefoot clean feel. You really must ensure you are vacuuming properly, with the most effective technology to try to remove all of that dust is removed before reaching for the mop,” says Yap.
Dampening dust on floors – even fine dust invisible to the naked eye – could mean that you’re creating a habitat more favourable to dust mite and mould proliferation.
"Our 30 years of research in microbiology shows that the best way to get rid of dust allergen is to remove it completely from your home – which is why we invest so heavily in vacuum cleaner technology. In order to capture the fine dust and dirt that may not be seen to the human eye, you need an effective vacuum that picks the dust up, has efficient cyclones to keep it in the machine, as well as filters and seals to make sure it's not emitted back into your home. By doing this, you can then move on to the next step of cleaning your floors to achieve that true barefoot clean,” adds Yap.
Top tips to keep your hard floors dust free and clean:
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While hard floors can be fairly straightforward to maintain, they are still susceptible to wear and tear over time, as well as stains. Stains are made up of a number of chemicals or chemical components, so it’s important to understand what cleaning products you can use for the type of stain.
“There is an assumption that hard floors are smooth, but that’s not true. Wooden floors have grooves and even tiles can be porous and absorb stains,” says Dr Calum Robertson, Chemical Research Scientist at Dyson. “The strong chemicals aren’t always the best solution – bleach can remove the varnish on wooden floors, so it’s always safer to start with a lighter solution like soap and water to avoid damaging your floors.”
*Chang A, Schnall AH, Law R, et al. Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 — National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:496–498. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6916e1.
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