[Blindtlk] Sweeping and Mopping floors

[Jim Portillo]

One of the ways I was taught was to do a grid pattern.  Actually, the grid comes in handy for many things, but sweeping and mopping definitely work that way. I learned that from my roommate when I was in Louisiana.  I use that same deal for vacuuming as well.


Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 9, 2012, at 9:21 PM, "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:

> I prefer mopping the floor on hands and knees with a sponge and bucket. The
> wisdom on overlapping strokes still goes, though.
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Julie J.
> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 3:13 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Sweeping and Mopping floors
> 
> LOL  You are too funny!  Sighted people leave bits behind. My teen age 
> son, who is sighted, sweeps the floor.  Then I mop it.  I assure you 
> that floor isn't 100% debris free when I start mopping.
> 
> Overlapping strokes just means that each time you sweep over an area you 
> are covering part of the space from the previous swipe. So the 
> mathematical explanation would be if your broom is 12 inches wide, each 
> time you should move it over 6 or 8 inches.  This way you will be 
> covering 4 to 6 inches  twice.
> 
> For sweeping I pick a corner and sweep everything towards it, instead of 
> trying to keep track of a pile somewhere in the middle of the floor.  If 
> you are sweeping a really big area, divide it into segments and sweep 
> each section into the nearest corner.
> 
> To clean up the pile of dog hair and dust that I've swept up I usually 
> use a damp paper towel.  I find this does a better job than the dust pan 
> approach.
> 
> Mopping is fairly straightforward.  You are basically  wiping off the 
> floor just like you would a table or counter top.  I start in the 
> furthest corner and work my way across toward my living room.  This way 
> I'm not walking on the wet floor.  I sort of make the area into blocks 
> in my mind.  So the first section is the little space at the end of the 
> counter between the wall and the stove.  I mop that.  Then the next 
> block might be the area from the stove to the refrigerator in front of 
> the sink.  This way I can remember what I've already mopped and what 
> needs done still.  After I mop each one of the imaginary blocks I rinse 
> the mop so it's clean for the next section.
> 
> I think the best way to learn what works best for you to sweep and mop 
> is to just do it.  You can check if your sweeping worked by tactual 
> checking with your hands or bare feet to see how much stuff is left.  
> There will be a small amount, that's normal.  The floor shouldn't feel 
> gritty though.  After mopping the floor should feel clean with no sticky 
> spots.  In my house the areas in front of the stove, the sink and the 
> back door get the most dirty, so I go over them twice just to make sure 
> they are clean.
> 
> You'll do great!  Give it a go and let us know how it goes.
> 
> Julie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 7/9/2012 3:50 PM, Humberto Avila wrote:
>> Hello everybody:
>> 
>> I want to learn how to mop up and sweep the floor of my house correctly
> and
>> without sighted help. Last night I was watching some videos off the
>> www.blindhow.com website on daily living, and for cleaning, mopping,
>> dusting, ETC. they say I need to use overlapping strokes. So, what are
>> overlapping strokes? Do you know?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Also, do you all have any tips and tricks, for mopping, sweeping, and
>> cleaning as a blind person doing it alone? Is it possible that, when I'm
>> sweeping up the floor, to not leave any debris anywhere at all, just like
>> sighted people can do it? If so, how do you do this? Any suggestions are
>> welcome.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> Humberto
>> 
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