Stupid Hardwood Floors

I have tile floors so I have the same problem but it is dogs tracking in sand and grand babies dropping stiff. I use a dry swifer and it works great in between sweeping and moping.

As far as the cost of the pads you mentioned, I wash my dry swifer pads in the washer with the towels. They just keep on going. I have had a swifer for years and I am on my second box of pads. lol

Handheld dustbuster - saved my sanity. I run it across the floor each time mud is tracked in, someone drops crumbs, or my husband traipses through with his golf shoes on. So, about every 5 minutes. Seriously though, perfect for those small spills (non liquid of course, popsicles are a no no in our living room for this reason). Mop every other day. And no swiffer, that will ruin hardwood.

I also love my dustbuster because it is the perfect size for a chore for my 6 and 7 year olds.

Are any of yours old enough to run the mop across the liquid spills? It doesn't have to be perfect. Save perfection for that every other day mop.

Murphy's Oil is the best for cleaning hardwood, IMO.

I wish I had actual hardwood floors. We have wood laminate Pergo stuff, with large rugs by the front and patio doors and one in the living room. But I do home daycare...so I have alot of rules and do my share of cleaning.

Popsicles? Outside only! We do not eat or drink anything unless seated at the table. Period. When my own daughter was little (under 10?) it was this way as well. We still don't do anything but lightly sweetened ice tea/hot tea or water here, so not a ton of worry about other sticky drinks with my 16 year old!

Shoes are removed at the rugs (that I can vacuum..and I do once or twice a day from the kids, parent traffic and the shedding cats). If the kids feet (inside the shoes) are gross..we remove shoes on the outside steps and do a quickie foot wash. Its a PITA, but saves me the inside mess.

When I do clean my wood laminate, I use a washable, micro-fiber (wide head) mopping pad I got at Menard's. I got 2 of them so I always have a clean one. I use cleaner mixed with water in a spray bottle. Squirt, squirt...mop, mop (and for the laminate to not be smeary, I have to use paper towels and dry it right away as I go along...not sure real wood has that issue?). I am not sure why I never tried the spray bottle application before...dang, but it makes it so much easier than a bucket or filling the sink with water and cleaner!

So between rules that are common sense and easy to follow for my daycare kids (all under age 4)..and an easy-for-me cleaning routine...It just gets done!

Good luck!

I very rarely allow anything other than water to be anywhere but the kitchen area. That helps a ton. My kids also know to take shoes off immediately when they enter the house. The dog still sheds though and she's not stopping, so I do feel your pain. I love the smell of Almond Method hardwood floor cleaner and that pretty smell makes cleaning a positive thing. I use a rewashable microfiber pad mop instead of the swiffer pads and it's cheap. Oh and one more thing. I make my kids clean up their spill with a rag immediately. They know where the rags are and go do it on auto-pilot now. Train them early. Of course, my son missed about half of his juice spill, but at least he tried.

I have similar flooring right now and have come to this conclusion... You LIVE in your house, so, it's going to look LIVED in. Stop stressing and enjoy the summer. Go outside and play with those kiddos. :)

every other day unless we have company...but most of our company has kids too so they know i clean just not every 20 minutes....
i dont know how wrong this is but on a few occasions if i cleaned the floors in the morning and they were filthy in the afternoon i would have my son spot clean with warm water....i tried to work it into his chores but he chose the vacuum instead (damn it!!!) and now he chooses to take things apart and act like hes fixing things around the house....

but seriously like every other day....with a spot clean in between...i would love to give up the carpets in the bedrooms!!!

Get yourself a Shark steam vac or steamer. I just keep mine out and run it over the offending area. Much easier than getting out the mop and bucket.

I vacuum twice a day. What drives me nuts is stuff sticking to my feet. I love being bare foot when I am home.

Every morning I run the dust mop over the floors (Dog Hair!!! Oy!), and wash them. Since it happens every day I don't ever have to really scrub at them. The dustmop is a Safeway thing. The floor mop (that I use daily) is a MR. Clean terrycloth stretchy thing that goes over a padded thingmy (don't ya just love the technical terminology) that is about 9 inches by 20 inches by half an inch (aka fits under couches, furniture, etc like a breeze). I use a waterless cleaner (BioKleen Lime & Orange for wood) that I just spray on and mop up with the damp flat mop. Dry about 2-5 minutes later. It takes me about 10 minutes to dust mop and mop my whole downstairs. Then I just take the terry cloth thingmy and toss it in the wash with the first load of the day.

Rule One...never to be violated. We eat in the kitchen and in the kitchen only.
End of problem.

we don't allow shoes in the house at all, food and drinks are restricted to the kitchen and dining table except for the babies' bottles and water bottles (klean kanteens). I gave up on commercial cleaners as they seem to attract dirt even though they say they don't. my favorite cleaners are Biokleen's Floor Cleaner or traditional vinegar diluted with water with some lavender essential oil. I use rags and mops that can be washed in the washer and they work great even though the rags require me to be on my hands and knees for cleaning. I think it helps me see more and get everything cleaner the first time keeping the floors looking nicer longer. both clean extremely well, keep the floors shining longer and make spot cleaning much easier. I can clean them every few days this way instead of daily. this is with 18 month old twins and a 4 year old running in and all day. all the kids are great about removing shoes when coming in the house since it's always been the rule. so the babies even do it automatically. we do keep a small area rug by the door to catch debris as they take off shoes and to help when the 4 year old races in with shoes needing the potty and not having time to remove shoes.

Mamatothreewee....

The ONLY way to solve this problem is for you to make your kids sit at the dinning table or island counter (if you have one) whenever they eat...no matter what they're eating! I have four kids (and lots of nieces/nephews) and can NOT imagine how gross my floors (or entire house...doors, couches, toys, etc.) would be if I let my kids eat somewhere other then at the kitchen table! The only time I budge from this if when we have a party BUT...they STLL have to eat in the kitchen or outside if it's nice. Oh...ONE exception...they can have a small hard candy away from the kitchen..

A few thoughts...
make sure you have rugs by the entrances, they colllect a lot of the dirt
no shoes allowed
eat only at the kitchen table
there will always be spills, but I used cups with covers for years, not just when they were toddlers and preschool

How about setting limits on where food and drink are consumed? Or at least by kids?

Also, maybe relax your standards a little bit.

Can the kids (and/or husband) help with the mopping?

Very easy. Limit all food and drinks to the dining table. I do not budge on this, I even make my kid keep a glass of water at the table. I have all wood floors and that is what I do. I also have a shoe basket at my door and we usually take our shoes off when we come in as well. And to cut down expense and time, I do have a swiffer mop, but I don't buy the pads. I just use a regular dry washcloth in it and spray the floor with white vinegar/water solution. It works much better than the pads, and I am able to just spot clean as needed. I very rarely have to mop the whole floor at once.