Uasually, I use as many natural (and cheap) cleaning supplies as I can, but I have a couple of questions- for quick cleaning, some friends of mine have recommended a Swifter- a broom/mop deal with disposible heads. Have any of you used these?

Having been shut up all winter with two kids a dog and a cat-plus an occasional dog that likes to visit and some infant nephews, plus cooking and all those other "smellful" events, the house smells far from "fresh" I've heard some recommendations for "Febreeze"-have any of you used this?

Any quick cleaning tips-especially those that can be handled by kids are greatly appreciated-I'm getting really tired of housework-must be some cabin fever setting in, plus, I'm working on several projects that, frankly, I would rather do than clean.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), March 04, 2002

Answers

If the Swifter is what I spotted in the store last wekend, it's expensive! Lordy, for $25.99, I can buy a lot of buckets and sponge mops! It does look convenient, butI'm wondering how often the disposible head needs to be changed. I can't imagine one cleaning my muddy kitchen AND bathroom! As for Fabreeze, it is a good product, but don't use it if you have pet birds in the house. It isn't good for them at all! I don't particularly like the scent of it, but it was great when our cat had problems with accidents when it was sick.

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

I bought the mop[swifter] and as far as I am concerned it was a waste of money,I have a large kitchen, and with three dogs, and six cats in house, It just will not do a whole floor.I have to change the pad to finish the floor. I do use febreese, It works great in bathroom, I only spray the liveing room when I will be going to bed as I can"t stand the smell. But by morn. Its gone. I prefer the large vanilla candles. A light smell, and it covers doggy smells real well.

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), March 04, 2002.

yup, those things look like a marketing ploy to get people to continually buy overpriced supplies for it. I guess you could clean those disposable wipes but then what's the advantage over a regular mop?

I had a free sample of Fabreeze. Seemed to work very well and a little bit went a long way.

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

forgot to mention.. I don't know if it's just in my head but vinegar seems to work good at killing odors and leaving a fresh smell(after the vinegar smell had died down)

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

I have one of those for cleaning dust, it isn't a swifter brand though! I bought it at Wal-mart for about $12, and I found the replaceable cloth things, at the Dollar Tree with 20 in a pack for $1. So I thought that was a pretty good deal! I like mine because we have a wood burner, and it really gets the dust. If I sweep with a broom it just stires up the dust. I don't use it all of the time, maybe once or twice a week. I turn the cleaning cloth over and use both sides, and I have also used a lightly spritzed soft cleaning rag also. I think it is a nice tool.

I got a sample of the Febreeze and couldn't stand the smell. I like to open all the windows and boil a pan of water with some cinnamon in it.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 04, 2002.

My daughter bought one and thought it was a waste. I buy large jugs of vinegar and large bags of baking soda (I need it for my goats) and the huge things of dish soap at Sam's. I really haven't found anything that I can't clean with that and old fashioned mops and rags.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), March 04, 2002.

Kelly-----I got free cupons for both-in the mail--- The "Febreeze" was too strong for me----but remember I have chemical poisioning---& use all natural---- I thought I would try the Febreeze out on the sun porch--where the dog sleeps & the Guinea pigs live-- but it was tooo strong for me----might work for some one who is not allergic to chemicals!!

I love the Swifter!!!!!! I have two of my cockteals in the hall way of the kitchen---& they throw seed!!!!!!! So many times a day I run that little swifter around the bird cage & I have a clean floor!!! With a broom & dust pan I never got it all---or did it keep my floor shineing!! Boy with that swifter it does!!! The dog is long haired----she sheads on the kitchen floor---the swifter gets her hair slick as a whistle!!!!

I got free coupons for them--in the mail--I wouldn't buy the Febreeze ----but because of the chemicals I have problems with----the swifter I would buy if I had not received a free coupon!!!!

-- Sonda in Ks. (sgbruce@birch.net), March 04, 2002.

I have the first swiffer that came out a few years ago,just a waste of money if you have a real home and family.I heard or read some where that all these artificial scents aren't good for our noses.I don't use them anymore.

-- willa in IL. (goodall6@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

I , like melissa, have a swiffer. I get the clothes at the dollar store. and I use both sides. I use them for dusting too, 4-5 times. I also like febreeze, but it is expensive, so I OCCASIONALLY buy the stuff from the dollar store. Its $2.00. My sis and I did a test to see which one was best. We took 2 old towels out to her dog house. She has shar-pei's ( or somthing like that) and left them there for two days. Then we each took one, and she took hers to one side of the yard, me the other. ( it was windy, trying to be scientific.) . I sprayed mine with the dollar store stuff, she had febreeze. We each sprayed the towels with 10 sprays. Then took them inside, and placed them in paperbags, till my brother inlaw got home. He was the sniffer , as he has a very sensitve nose. He couldnt tell which was sprayed with which product. Just my tcw... Kristean

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 04, 2002.

A lot of people just use damp clean diapers instead of the cloths, and I assume you could cut up t-shirts and do the same thing.

I like the mop better (the head can be thrown into the washer), but I need to get a proper bucket (where it has the squeeze handle on top. Maybe a janitorial supply store?

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 05, 2002.

Thanks GT: You have answered my age-old unanswered question--what to do with the mop head? I'd NEVER even thought of throwing it in the washer! I do try to soak in bleach water every once in a while. But I do hate that sour smell the mop head gets.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 05, 2002.

Ann, the one I have has a band sewn across the top, so the mop handle clamps it flat (and not so much tangling). To help keep the tangles (and the lint transfer) down, I also put it in a pillowcase rubber-banded shut. The older mops used to tangle something awful!

Much nicer to do it in the washer, and even if you don't use bleach, it gets plenty clean.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 05, 2002.

I have a friend who swears by the grab-it or swiffer cloths for little jobs, but not for big ones. She uses them for her car, and I have to admit it worked pretty good when I tried it on Lance's dashboard. She also uses them for her ceiling fans, but I think mine are a little beyond a swiffer right now ;-)! She has found that if you swish them around in a sink of slightly soapy water and let air dry they are re-usable. It's apparently something In the cloth and not something On the cloth that holds the dust.

As far as the mop bucket, GT, I think I saw one at Wal-Mart a while back with the wringer on top. Not an overly heavy-duty one like you might get for commercial use, but I would check the price and also check a janitorial supply. I would think if the Wal-Mart one is low quality, the janitorial supply would be your best bet. Check the prices on their cleaning supplies too. I've heard they are lots less expensive than anywhere else on their concentrates.

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), March 05, 2002.

Thanks, Christine, for the suggestion!

My problem is that the kitchen has a lowered ceiling--in the bathroom I usually use a recently flushed toilet with cleaner, or the bathtub, and still squeezing is a bit of a problem--and I get tired of knocking out the plastic sheet for the fluorescent lights when rinsing the mop in the sink (don't always disengage it from the handle, but now that I think of it, I could do that too.... :)

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 05, 2002.