mopping -- what could be more exciting?

I don't know why it's taken me so long to figure out how to properly mop a floor. I have tried numerous types of mops to get my kitchen floor spic and span -- cotton mop head like the janitors use, sponge mop and bucket, Swiffer Wet Jet -- and nothing seemed to clean well enough. They all, especially the Swiffer, left streaks of dirt and grime behind. Whatever head I used would be filthy after mopping only half the floor so the second half seemed dirtier than before I cleaned it. I always sweep first, but our kitchen door is the door we use nearly all the time so people are coming in and out all day tracking dirt. Then there is the issue of having a two-year old who insists on sitting in an adult chair at the kitchen table, and most of the time he wants to walk around while he eats juicy orange slices and watermelon. You can imagine the sticky splotches scattering my floor. I don't mop as often as I should, it's true, but I don't see why it's so hard to come up with a technique that only requires a once over.

Now to the learning part, my mother was here for baby Doodle's birthday party and she suggested mopping first with whatever cleanser I want to use (sometimes vinegar and water, sometimes ammonia and water) and then going back over the floor with a clean swiffer or cloth with just plain water to remove the streaks. Apparently this is how it used to be done, and probably still is by people less naive than me. So, today after sweeping and mopping twice (once with detergent, once with water) I am semi satisfied with the floor's cleanliness. In order to really get it as clean as I'd like I need to be on my hands and knees with one of those green scrubby sponges to get the dirt that has stained the crevices of the tiles. Okay, enough about cleaning!

BD is taking an awesome nap allowing me to get a lot done around the house. Including putting the screens into our basement windows and opening them for the spring. I hope we don't have toxic mold down there. I'm waiting for the petri dish I placed down there to collect enough air particles to produce something in 48 hours.