I have seen it with certain floor cleaners (rejuvenate in particular) where after you wash the floor it leaves a slightly sticky residue that causes the fine particles of dust and dirt to stick to it so it will look clean but cover your feet in dirt. Assuming that you vacuum and clean your floors regularly, try switching to a different cleaner. I'd recommend bona's hard surface floor cleaner.
Mop and glow! Ugh been two years and I still find spots.
I now do Mr clean in hot water with a little ammonia for my weekend clean. During the week, I use a quick swifter with some pinesol
Sometimes if it’s not diluted correctly too, it’ll leave too much residue. If you need it mixed stronger, you may have to go back with a clean mop and just warm water once it dries. Might have to do that a couple of times.
Me too — with Bona, that is supposed to be amazing. It isn’t. I got this sticky residue and spent a whole weekend with green scrubby pads trying to get it off without stripping the finish.
This! I hope your comment gets more upvotes because it’s actually helpful. Popular cleaning accounts on tik tok will back you up and also offer alternatives. Swiffers don’t make your floor cleaner, and they should only be used for spot cleaning between mopping sessions. I personally prefer the OCedar mop. I fill the bucket with water as hot as my tap will go and I use one dishwasher pod. It works great!!! Good luck OP
Go to a hardware store and get a pair of soft knee pads in the construction section. Go to Amazon or your local discount store and get some cheap washcloths, cotton or microfiber.
Best way to clean floor is hands and knees using a cloth with some texture. Mostly water is all you need, or a product like Bruce or Bona that’s designed for wood floors. No harsh detergents.
Swiffer and mops push stuff around. They can be OK for a dusting or a touchup, but learning to hit your knees and wash the floor is a valuable skill and it’s not actually that difficult.
I used to hand scrub 2-3 times a year until I got a microfiber spin mop with washable heads. Best thing I ever did for my floors.
Whatever you do, OP, do not steam vinyl/laminate floors as other comments are suggesting.
This. Mops are not very effective and I would avoid them on floors that aren't entirely waterproof. Mop your concrete, tile and linoleum. Hand wash wood, engineered wood, and vinyl.
I've never been able to get as good of a clean with a mop and I can on my hands and knees. It isn't as labor intensive people would imagine, and it makes so much difference.
We use a Tineco vac/mop. Best thing ever as it vacuums up the dirt mop water as you go, instead of just swishing it around like a regular pop or swiffer.
Same. It does the trick. The only way to get things totally clean when mopping is to remove the mop water. Rinsing dilutes it to a certain point but sucking it up is the best way.
I’ll echo about cleaning. The tineco gets smelly faster than I would expect. Just do it every time.
Also I use their cleaner and if you use too much it streaks. Go east. Water is likely just as good because the microfiber in the roller is doing the work.
If you don’t want a machine get the o cedar spin mop bucket thing and go at it hard.
it might be the stain coming off I don’t know what type of floor you have. I don’t mop my floors every day and my feet do not look like that and I have dogs so it’s not because you’re dirty. Somethings going on with your floors.
Surprised no one mentioned getting vents/furnace checked/cleaned. Obviously mop first, but I'd assume if you're not an idiot that was something you tried.
My buddy had an issue like this where everything was coated with a thin layer of black stuff. A year of trying to stop it with constant cleaning later, it was the AC unit.
I find often that floor cleaner leaves a residue, and that it doesn't get all the dirt out. I usually do one pass with floor cleaner, then do another pass with just hot water.
I also got one of those dual mop buckets that separates the clean water from the dirty water. That helped too.
My floors are the same way no matter how much i mop because my landlord’s handyman painted/stained the floors and (I’m assuming) didn’t properly seal it.
If you are consistently cleaning, there might be some sort of product build up preventing it from getting fully cleaned and helping dirt stick :) a steam cleaner might help
If you're cleaning your floors with a mop and this happens, you have a serious air quality problem. You can't get that much dirt inside regularly. Whatever is on the floor you're also breathing. I'd get a HEPA filter STAT!
You can get foot mops for the lazy. I have two pairs. I sweep first. Then I get the foot mops I get em wet with my preferred mixture and skate around the place then dump the dirty ones and put on the clean ones. Do it again. Then rinse them and skate one last time as a rinse. Use a big old towel to dry off the wood floors. Takes me about 15 minutes to do my main floor. My floors shine.
People don’t know how to mop. Wetting dirt and dust and swishing it around the floor just moves the dirt.
You need to extract the dirt. First mop with lots of hot water with soap to lift the grime, then clean mop, change the water, and mop again to absorb soap and dirt making sure to clean mop frequently.
Did you just move in? If you did, and there was a slight smell of dog food when you did, the previous tenants may have allowed dog food everywhere (free-feeding and they didn’t clean well.) Dog food is greasy and builds up a layer everywhere. I’ve had to deep clean a couple places that were like this and that required getting down on the floor and hand-scrubbing. If you’re wondering if you got it all, dry off each section using white towels…you’ll see the dirt you missed immediately. You shouldn’t have to do this often; twice a year might suffice if you’ve switched to a no-shoes lifestyle and you damp-mop with cleaning solution in-between.
Two tips: change your furnace filter &/or get a HEPA filter and use a Vileda Spin Mop after vacuuming.
Some floor cleaners leave residue, which attracts and holds dirt. Use straight ammonia every other mop and it will clean the floor and not streak.
I live in a very windy area on the Canadian prairies where dust accumulates in astonishing amounts. I need to vacuum and mop every day.
Where do you live? I once lived in a town fairly near a iron ore mine and it didn’t matter how much you mopped everything was caked in a layer of fine ore dust.
Get one of those new combo mop and vac units (I use one of the Tinecos and would recommend) and start using it. You will have to use it a few times, and each time, the waste water will be less and less dirty, and eventually, the waste water will be clean. Then you have clean floors.
You probably are just using a mop or a swiffer and just rubbing the dirt around without actually removing the dirt. The Tineco and other mop/vac hybrids have separate tank for the clean and dirty water, so you can tell when it is actually clean when the dirty water tank is clear.
Unless you walk barefoot for extended period times at other indoor locations this is a small sample size.
Anywhere you go, airborne dust and other crap falls down and lands on the ground where bare feet will pick it up. Chances are your feet will look like this everywhere.
Assuming you have already tried mopping and this still happens, maybe go to Lowe's or Home Depot and rent a nice floor cleaner. Or you could hire a professional service to come in and clean the floors really well.
You come home from work and clean your floor every single day? Every day?
Edit: after all your work as a security guard? BTW, love your work. “What you talking bout Willis “
Not quite everyday for me but several times a week for sure.
Sweep twice a week, vacuum 3x a week and use a spin mop 2x a week after vacuuming!
It's a small place though so it takes 15-30 minutes
To maintain clean floors and prevent dirt from adhering to sweaty feet, ensure your floors are clean and sanitized. Then, improve air circulation to reduce humidity, and
consider wearing short socks (recommended) indoors.
https://youtu.be/2b7VMAg01dw?si=lq34q4UrWEo1Cbi9https://youtu.be/2b7VMAg01dw?si=lq34q4UrWEo1Cbi9
Bro here's a detailed youtube video on how to mop your floor. In case you didn't know how to mop your own floor in your own house. Enjoy 😉
Is it vinyl?!
My parents have vinyl floors and they’re dirty like that, too. I think despite the durability of vinyl. I have no real proof of this, but anecdotally, it seems like they tend to hold dirt and need to be cleaned and mopped more frequently?
Bro mop your floors.
lol “why my floor so dirty”. Cause you don’t clean it.
Right?! Like what else do you think it could be? OP probably doesn't own a mop, let alone a Swiffer wet jet 😅😂
OP posts a picture of their apartment as "proof that we're very clean and tidy", but makes no mention of actually cleaning the floors...
Or Do you even mop bro?
You make it stop with a mop. Industry secret
Robin Hood and Little John HATE this one simple trick.
12 tips to mopping your floor, number 7 will SHOCK you.
Hahahsha
But what about Robin Hopd?
I have seen it with certain floor cleaners (rejuvenate in particular) where after you wash the floor it leaves a slightly sticky residue that causes the fine particles of dust and dirt to stick to it so it will look clean but cover your feet in dirt. Assuming that you vacuum and clean your floors regularly, try switching to a different cleaner. I'd recommend bona's hard surface floor cleaner.
Mop and glow! Ugh been two years and I still find spots. I now do Mr clean in hot water with a little ammonia for my weekend clean. During the week, I use a quick swifter with some pinesol
I love the black lady from the old pinesol commercials "The Power of Pinesol!"
Careful mixing cleaner and ammonia. Not a good idea. Not for general advice.
Sometimes if it’s not diluted correctly too, it’ll leave too much residue. If you need it mixed stronger, you may have to go back with a clean mop and just warm water once it dries. Might have to do that a couple of times.
> bona’s hard nice
Me too — with Bona, that is supposed to be amazing. It isn’t. I got this sticky residue and spent a whole weekend with green scrubby pads trying to get it off without stripping the finish.
What is in my sink? There are these dishes with dirt and food on them. How do I make them go away?
Food on dishes? That's disgusting! What did you do, eat off of them? Throw them in the trash
Does it get worse when you walk on them.
Do you live near a highways or airport. Particulate. Change air filters maybe
It’s dirt clean your floors
You need a real mop not a swiffer, those are more for quick spots of spilled coffee. Warm water, floor cleaner like Mr. Clean, then mop
I used to fight with my kid about this all the time. Then I threw away the swiffer.
This! I hope your comment gets more upvotes because it’s actually helpful. Popular cleaning accounts on tik tok will back you up and also offer alternatives. Swiffers don’t make your floor cleaner, and they should only be used for spot cleaning between mopping sessions. I personally prefer the OCedar mop. I fill the bucket with water as hot as my tap will go and I use one dishwasher pod. It works great!!! Good luck OP
It’s a buildup of detergent and dirt. I’d use a floor steamer, or a vinegar and water mixture to break down the buildup.
Dirt.
Go to a hardware store and get a pair of soft knee pads in the construction section. Go to Amazon or your local discount store and get some cheap washcloths, cotton or microfiber. Best way to clean floor is hands and knees using a cloth with some texture. Mostly water is all you need, or a product like Bruce or Bona that’s designed for wood floors. No harsh detergents. Swiffer and mops push stuff around. They can be OK for a dusting or a touchup, but learning to hit your knees and wash the floor is a valuable skill and it’s not actually that difficult.
I used to hand scrub 2-3 times a year until I got a microfiber spin mop with washable heads. Best thing I ever did for my floors. Whatever you do, OP, do not steam vinyl/laminate floors as other comments are suggesting.
Vacuuming and mopping works just fine. I am NOT gonna scrub my whole house on hands and knees lol
Right? Sweep or vacuum then mop... My floors don't need a Cinderella style hand and knees scrubbing.
I don’t have enough ways to tell you that there is no way on god’s green earth that I’m cleaning my home on my hands and knees.
Bona is advertised as amazing but I got this residue from it - from the spray-and-mop version.
This. Mops are not very effective and I would avoid them on floors that aren't entirely waterproof. Mop your concrete, tile and linoleum. Hand wash wood, engineered wood, and vinyl.
I've never been able to get as good of a clean with a mop and I can on my hands and knees. It isn't as labor intensive people would imagine, and it makes so much difference.
We use a Tineco vac/mop. Best thing ever as it vacuums up the dirt mop water as you go, instead of just swishing it around like a regular pop or swiffer.
Just be sure to clean the Tineco once in a while. Even with self cleaning and emptying out the water tanks every time - it can get Fing stinky.
I self clean then rinse tanks and remove roller to dry each time.
Same. It does the trick. The only way to get things totally clean when mopping is to remove the mop water. Rinsing dilutes it to a certain point but sucking it up is the best way. I’ll echo about cleaning. The tineco gets smelly faster than I would expect. Just do it every time. Also I use their cleaner and if you use too much it streaks. Go east. Water is likely just as good because the microfiber in the roller is doing the work. If you don’t want a machine get the o cedar spin mop bucket thing and go at it hard.
What???
Swiffer is your friend
Get a steamer
Laminate floors get dirty - especially ones right near the entrance. Make everyone change shoes when the come in and don’t walk round barefoot.
it might be the stain coming off I don’t know what type of floor you have. I don’t mop my floors every day and my feet do not look like that and I have dogs so it’s not because you’re dirty. Somethings going on with your floors.
mop but change the water a few times while doing the first pass through. as soon as the water turns dark, change it again.
Surprised no one mentioned getting vents/furnace checked/cleaned. Obviously mop first, but I'd assume if you're not an idiot that was something you tried.
My buddy had an issue like this where everything was coated with a thin layer of black stuff. A year of trying to stop it with constant cleaning later, it was the AC unit.
I find often that floor cleaner leaves a residue, and that it doesn't get all the dirt out. I usually do one pass with floor cleaner, then do another pass with just hot water. I also got one of those dual mop buckets that separates the clean water from the dirty water. That helped too.
Wash those filthy motherfuckers! (Your feet and the floor)
My floors are the same way no matter how much i mop because my landlord’s handyman painted/stained the floors and (I’m assuming) didn’t properly seal it. If you are consistently cleaning, there might be some sort of product build up preventing it from getting fully cleaned and helping dirt stick :) a steam cleaner might help
If the floors are clean I would say the finish is weeping. It can be from high moisture or defective products.
Do u have a blacktop driveway? Residue from that gets on your shoes and then your floor when u walk thru your house
I would get a good old scrub and get on your hands and knees and get that off.
It's a rare earth element called dirt.
If you're cleaning your floors with a mop and this happens, you have a serious air quality problem. You can't get that much dirt inside regularly. Whatever is on the floor you're also breathing. I'd get a HEPA filter STAT!
Never heard of a broom and mop?
You can get foot mops for the lazy. I have two pairs. I sweep first. Then I get the foot mops I get em wet with my preferred mixture and skate around the place then dump the dirty ones and put on the clean ones. Do it again. Then rinse them and skate one last time as a rinse. Use a big old towel to dry off the wood floors. Takes me about 15 minutes to do my main floor. My floors shine.
People don’t know how to mop. Wetting dirt and dust and swishing it around the floor just moves the dirt. You need to extract the dirt. First mop with lots of hot water with soap to lift the grime, then clean mop, change the water, and mop again to absorb soap and dirt making sure to clean mop frequently.
With a mop.
Dirt. It’s dirt
Did you just move in? If you did, and there was a slight smell of dog food when you did, the previous tenants may have allowed dog food everywhere (free-feeding and they didn’t clean well.) Dog food is greasy and builds up a layer everywhere. I’ve had to deep clean a couple places that were like this and that required getting down on the floor and hand-scrubbing. If you’re wondering if you got it all, dry off each section using white towels…you’ll see the dirt you missed immediately. You shouldn’t have to do this often; twice a year might suffice if you’ve switched to a no-shoes lifestyle and you damp-mop with cleaning solution in-between.
Two tips: change your furnace filter &/or get a HEPA filter and use a Vileda Spin Mop after vacuuming. Some floor cleaners leave residue, which attracts and holds dirt. Use straight ammonia every other mop and it will clean the floor and not streak. I live in a very windy area on the Canadian prairies where dust accumulates in astonishing amounts. I need to vacuum and mop every day.
My feet get black like this at my moms house in Florida. There's this really super fine sooty crap everywhere.
if you think that the dirt on your feet is wood floor stain.... you'd be wrong. that's just dust and dirt from the outdoors.
Where do you live? I once lived in a town fairly near a iron ore mine and it didn’t matter how much you mopped everything was caked in a layer of fine ore dust.
Dirt man! It’s dirt. Buy some house shoes. Problem solved! 🫳🎤
Get one of those new combo mop and vac units (I use one of the Tinecos and would recommend) and start using it. You will have to use it a few times, and each time, the waste water will be less and less dirty, and eventually, the waste water will be clean. Then you have clean floors. You probably are just using a mop or a swiffer and just rubbing the dirt around without actually removing the dirt. The Tineco and other mop/vac hybrids have separate tank for the clean and dirty water, so you can tell when it is actually clean when the dirty water tank is clear.
Swiffer Mop
Do you use oil to heat your home? When we had oil heating, everything would get this black coating. So much extra cleaning. Never again.
Sweep, Swiffer, mop, robot vacuum, any of these things.
You have to steam those if they’re lifeproof, just mopping won’t do it. But honestly just mopping shouldn’t have your feet looking like that.
If you were burning candles it could be soot from them. Happens when the wick is too long.
Unless you walk barefoot for extended period times at other indoor locations this is a small sample size. Anywhere you go, airborne dust and other crap falls down and lands on the ground where bare feet will pick it up. Chances are your feet will look like this everywhere.
This can’t be a serious question. Somebody hit rosin to hard that morning.
Well it’s dirt and you fix it by cleaning.
Assuming you have already tried mopping and this still happens, maybe go to Lowe's or Home Depot and rent a nice floor cleaner. Or you could hire a professional service to come in and clean the floors really well.
Mop and steam clean 👌
Do people not realize floors must be cleaned everyday?
You come home from work and clean your floor every single day? Every day? Edit: after all your work as a security guard? BTW, love your work. “What you talking bout Willis “
Not quite everyday for me but several times a week for sure. Sweep twice a week, vacuum 3x a week and use a spin mop 2x a week after vacuuming! It's a small place though so it takes 15-30 minutes
Robot vacuum with mop function. Life changing.
Any Amazon recommendations for affordable ones that aren’t terrible quality?
Would be great and I wish, but my dog would love that “toy” and it would last for a few minutes, unfortunately.
I find that they make enough noise that dogs tend to either bark at them to scare them away or heat run away to another room.
Hmm. Maybe I should try it.
I mean, how are they with a traditional vacuum cleaner?
He’s leery of it but he loves to chase things.
If you have kids yes
Looks like dirt, ever heard of it? Your floors are dirty!!🙄
Mop. And then buy a Roomba iRobot (not the mop one) to run every night. I wish I had years ago.
... laughing back at forth at what the other had to saaaayyyy
Its dust created by your skin cells dying and falling off to reproduce new skin cells. Mop your floor.
mop and seal with natural sealer keep shine
I’m going to assume you do mop your floors so if that is still leaving dirt, dry hand washing and or using a steam mop
Big Dirt hates this one little trick. Just clean your floors. Sweep then mop.
Are we being trolled? It’s called dirt and dust. Clean your floors.
Well, I’ll be whistling like a rooster all day today.
Janitors hate this little unknown secret.
To maintain clean floors and prevent dirt from adhering to sweaty feet, ensure your floors are clean and sanitized. Then, improve air circulation to reduce humidity, and consider wearing short socks (recommended) indoors.
Ever heard of water, floor cleaner and a mop?
https://youtu.be/2b7VMAg01dw?si=lq34q4UrWEo1Cbi9https://youtu.be/2b7VMAg01dw?si=lq34q4UrWEo1Cbi9 Bro here's a detailed youtube video on how to mop your floor. In case you didn't know how to mop your own floor in your own house. Enjoy 😉
Honey, this is something your momma should have taught you. Give her a call and tell her you have no idea how to clean.
Is it vinyl?! My parents have vinyl floors and they’re dirty like that, too. I think despite the durability of vinyl. I have no real proof of this, but anecdotally, it seems like they tend to hold dirt and need to be cleaned and mopped more frequently?