200th post

Unbelievably, I have found enough stuff to talk about to last for 200 posts so far.
And if you are still with me, well, we both need help maybe. Just joshing.

So what could be worthy of a 200th post? What life altering event, what happy occasion or ode could qualify as meaninful enough to earn the 200th post title?

I give you this!



This is the O Cedar Microfiber Deck Mop. It was all of 8 dollars and 99 cents, but it has changed my life.

You see, when we built our house, we couldn't afford real hardwoods for the entire downstairs. But we did not want carpet everywhere with 6 kids, and us, we're dirty/messy too.
So we went with a laminate from Shaw. We bought the most expensive one simply because it was the one we liked the most. It was wide planked, tiger wood-ish and quite lovely.

Now being that it was expensive and laminate, I was excited that it would be easy to clean, easy to take care of and therefore make one aspect of my life-the care of the 1200 square feet of it in the downstairs-easy.

But alas. It has been a nightmare. An absolute nightmare.
In the beginning I bought the ultimate laminate floor cleaner pack. Dust mop, cleaning mop and laminate cleaner all in one. Cost me around 35 dollars at Home Depot.

Well, it didn't clean that well and left streaks when I was done and any bare feet immediately left their mark.
So I tried a different laminate floor cleaner.
Same thing.
I researched and got other people's opinions such as:Vinegar and water, your standard mix.
Or Vinegar and distilled water so that there would be no minerals left behind to leave streaks.
Plain water.
Suggestions for every brand of floor cleaner.
And I bought no less then 5 different mops hoping one of them would work. All to no avail.

What I finally found that worked well enough, was plain water that I would lightly mist the floor with, and then I would dry/clean with a towel on my hands and knees.

Needless to say the task was so daunting that it continually got shoved down the list of to do items.

Finally, I had a melt down one day. I mean, I don't have time to wash the floor on my hands and knees once or twice a week. Which is how often a family of 8 with 2 small children who spill everything, needs their floor cleaned.

So I email Shaw. I basically beg them to help me. To tell me what to do because I am lost and a little angry that I spent $8000 on this floor as an upgrade only to have it be a nightmare that doesn't clean well and constantly makes my kitchen look dirty.

The very nice Shaw lady emailed me back and told me that most likely the different floor cleaners and methods I had used had left a residue on the floor that was causing the streaks and easy marking.

What!?

So laminate cleaners or plain water with vinegar should not be used on a laminate floor?

That is what she said.

She kindly asked my for my address and mailed me directions on how to get rid of the residue (which involved spraying an ammonia/water mixture, letting it sit a minute, then scraping it with a plastic scraper for spacking, then wiping that all up with a clean towel, of course on my hands and knees), which I did, and then she sent me a sample of Shaw's laminate flooring that really is the best one for their floors.

Anyone else sense a conspiracy?
So I slave away for a few hours to strip the residue. Then I spray their cleaner and wipe it down with a terry covered mop.

And guess what?

Less streaks, I will admit, but the second anyone walked on it, little foot prints and gunk appeared.

So I resigned myself to just cleaning the dumb floor on my hands and knees and saving my money to eventually install real hardwoods that are way easier to maintain. (I say this from experience, we had hardwoods in Rhode Island and Utah).

Then one day at Target, I once again, because I hope beyond hope, looked for yet another mop that would save my back.

I spied the O Cedar microfiber mop and just had a good feeling.

I bought it, brought it home, and the injured myself, so the first person to use it was Maile when she came to clean my house for me. I was very pleased with the results. But did not inspect too closely sense I could not bend over, and was too drugged up to really care.

So today, I decided to try it for myself.

And it is wonderful. Easy to use, cleans really well, dried with no streaks, uses plain water, and Henry's naked feet have yet to leave one mark.

I am as happy as they come today.
And it only cost me about $150 in different cleaners and mops plus the loss of my sanity, before I finally found the solution.

But, there is always a solution.
Thank you, thank you O Cedar. You have made me a customer for life.

Have a great weekend!
I know I will.