Month: March 2023

How does one wash a floor? I was over eighteen the first time I washed a floor. Can you believe it? I remember early in my first year at TUKS telling my friend Kholofelo I had never washed a floor before. She was flabbergasted. Her reaction made me realise that there was a part of life I had up to then not participated in. The next weekend at home I took a bucket and a mop and washed the kitchen floor. It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t terrific. But it resulted in a clean floor and I could say I’d washed a floor. I felt enabled.

The reason I missed out on all those life skills of course is that mine was a traditional South African middle class family of the eighties. We had a sleep in maid most of the time. The maid always washed the floors!

I started late but I’m an expert by now

Well, I am forty-five now and for most of my adult life I have done the cleaning myself. No-one can count how many times I have washed floors. In fact, I am quite a pro. I can even write a blog about my preferences. 

• I hate traditional mops. They stink. And all they do is slop dirty water around on the floor.
• I hate dipping my mop into a bucket of dirty water. I cannot imagine dirty water cleaning anything.
• I dislike wax based detergents that promise to clean and polish your floor at the same time. They cause wax build up that eventually discolours and then your grouting is permanently dirty!

How to wash a floor the Mrs Martin’s way

My method? I like a broad, flat microfiber mop. I spray our very own FLOOR onto the floor, neat. Do not overdo it. One spray per m2 should be enough. I wipe it off with a damp microfibre mop. Then I rinse the mop in clean water (normally running water at the bath or whichever tap is closest at the moment) and repeat until the job is done. The next time I go over the floor with water only. This way I know the microbes are on the floor long enough to do their job, and the soap is eventually rinsed off. Not that leaving it on the floor would be a problem, really. FLOOR does not contain anything that could build up.

And my kids help. I will not let them turn 18 before washing a floor! Washing floors is as much a part of life as brushing your teeth and I will teach them how to do it. I will resist the notion that certain mundane skills are not important to learn because someone else will do it. Any skill enables. And being able to just ‘get on with it’ is priceless too.

Still, my house is only ever spotless two minutes before guests arrive. Even with help. Please tell me I am not alone?

Till then

Pet urine smell? HELP!

If you own pets, you have been there. Cats and dogs pee on your carpets, no matter how well you train them. Puppies can make a mess but we feel cat wee stinks the most… who agrees?

When a pet wees (or poops!) on a carpet or other porous surface, you can wipe all you want, you will not get all the filth out. That little bit of urine or poop that is left, contains bacteria and these cause the bad smell.

So how do you get rid of the stink?

Mrs Martin’s FLOOR cleans all types of floors without leaving residue or fumes that will harm your fur baby. The microbes inside clean very deeply, and sorts out bad smells at the root. Mrs Martin’s PERSIAN does the same for carpets.

Mrs Martin’s ODOUR can be sprayed onto any surface or textile, and does not need to be rinsed off. The fragrance is safe for your four-legged friend, and the microbes destroy all traces of bad smells. (Did you know that ODOUR was designed for this?)

How to clean up where the cat peed:

1. Clean the accident site as well as you can with a strong solution of FLOOR and water, and a sponge. If the slip up happened on a carpet, use PERSIAN foam. Do not wet the carpet too much, because damp amplifies the smell.

2. Spray with ODOUR twice a day for at least a week. Small doses regularly work best. ODOUR contains friendly microbes that eat and crowd out the stink producing bacteria, so you are treating the problem at its roots.

This solution works so well that it often inhibits dogs from going back to the same spot.

If it still stinks?

In severe cases a deep clean of the carpet may be necessary. Consider using experts such as Clean For Sure in such cases.