Try The Barefoot Test To See How Clean Your Floors Are

How often do you really need to clean your floors to claim a clean house? The barefoot test can help you determine the right answer for your home. Everyone’s house has unique needs, some floors need to be cleaned once a week, while other floors can go 2 weeks in between cleanings.

The Dirtiest Floors in Your House

Floors are a hot spot for bacteria in your home, and can even make your family sick. A survey conducted by the Hygiene Council involved researchers visiting 35 US homes to swab for bacteria in 32 distinct locations. The results of these findings were shockingly dirty, with two distinct floor spaces in your home dirtier than the rest.

The floors directly in front of toilets contain an average of 764 bacteria per square inch, while the floors directly in front of the kitchen sink contain an average of 830 bacteria per square inch. Making these 2 areas the dirtiest floor spaces in the average home.

Surprisingly, floors are far from the dirtiest surface areas. They pale in comparison to your bathtub drains (119,468 bacteria per square inch), or your toilet bowl (3.2 million bacteria per square inch). Regardless, there are still a lot of bacteria on your floors that need to be combated to keep you and your family healthy.

Without a lab to test for bacteria, how do you know when your floors are dirty enough for a cleaning? That’s where the barefoot test comes in handy—or rather, footy!

How to Use the Barefoot Test

The barefoot test is the easiest way to determine how clean or dirty your floors truly are. For the best results, wipe down your feet so that they are clean prior to starting the test. With clean feet, walk across your floors and then inspect the soles of your feet. Do you have cheerios, dog hair or something mysterious stuck to the bottom of your feet? That means your floors need to be cleaned.

Step it up a notch by putting moist socks on your feet and walking around—now what do you see on the bottom of your socked feet?

Tests like these are super simple and give you an idea as to how dirty your floors really are. You’ve probably unknowingly conducted the barefoot test before. Have you ever been walking around barefoot and decided to put on socks because the floors felt dirty beneath your feet? That’s a clear sign right that your floors need to be cleaned.

How Often Do My Floors Need to be Cleaned?

The bare minimum is every 2 weeks, but each household is different. For instance, if you have kids, pets, or a big family, chances are your floors need to be cleaned more often than if you live alone or have no pets.

Another factor that can impact floor cleanliness is if people wear shoes inside. A study from the University of Arizona found that the bacteria on the bottom of your shoes transfers to floor surfaces as much as 90% of the time. Just think about all the nasty places your shoes go—like public bathrooms, yikes!

Additionally, your dusting schedule can impact how often your floors require cleaning, as can the placement of furnace vents and filters.

You can use the barefoot test to help determine how often your floors need to be cleaned. Try the barefoot test a couple of days after you clean. If floors still look okay, try again 1-week post-cleaning. By doing this you can start to determine the exact time frame your floors start to get dirty.

Spot Cleaning Floors

No floor is going to stay flawless for an entire week, that’s why spot cleaning is important. As soon as you spill something, clean it up so that it doesn’t have a chance to spread and contaminate other parts of your home.

Save Time & Enjoy Cleaner Floors

In one year, the average American family living in a 3-bedroom 2-bath house spends 4 solid days cleaning each year. That means even if you only clean once a week, you could gain back at least 96 hours a year by simply hiring a maid service. If you clean every single day, you could gain as much as 730 hours!

Signature Maids can clean your house from top to bottom, disinfecting floors like it’s our mission—because it is! Contact us today for a free custom quote for our affordable cleaning services.