How to Clean a Smelly Mop | You Should Read Our Guidelines

Mops are the most used cleaning tool in every house. But only a clean and smell-free mop can give your desire freshness after cleaning the house. Nothing becomes better than a fresh and clean home, and nothing becomes worse than the smelly mop in the house. Mops naturally contain moisture, and if you do not clean them properly, they will start growing bacteria, mold and mildew, and a stinky smell.

We know this well that bacteria, mold, and mildew can make your house unsafe and cover with an unpleasant smell. If you use a mop, then you must know the importance of cleaning the mop head regularly. Have you ever done it? Not yet? Well, in this article, we are going to discuss how to clean a smelly mop at home. Stay with us.

How to clean a smelly mop | Step by Step

Proper maintenance of the mop is necessary to make it odor-free, dirt free, germs free and long-lasting. Do not think that cleaning a smelly mop is a tough job, not at all. You just need to follow a proper direction to clean.

1st step-Initial rinse and proper inspection

If you just finish your mopping and notice an instant foul smell, then at first, you should rinse out the mop bucket. If still, the smell is hanging around, then it maybe comes from the mop head.

The use of hot water is an excellent way to remove the smell from the mop at the primary level. Run hot water through the mop. Now check the mop for any more smell.

If there is any stain on the mop pad, you can use a mild detergent to remove the stain.

2nd step-Rinse out the soap residue

It is an important thing to do. Your mop needs to rinse out all soap residue. A commercial cleaning product or soap can leave an oily residue in your mop. This residue will also cause the mop to retain moisture. Moisture is such a thing that we never want when it comes to cleaning and drying the mop.

You need to wring out the mop properly so that the wet mop does not hold moisture for a long time and dry up quickly. If you are still not sure that you have entirely removed the cleaner residue, you can go for a quick vinegar or bleach rinse. It is quite a good and effective way to remove any remaining residue.

3rd step-Drying the mop

Properly drying up is one of the most important steps of removing smells from the mop. You can dry your mop under the sun or air. The best choice is sunbaking. Ensure proper air circulation is quite challenging for drying the mop, but it is also a good process of making it smell free ultimately.

However, you can airdry the mop if you do not have outdoor access or it is a rainy day. You can hang your mop over the bathtub or shower. This process will help you drip excess water and let the mop dry. It will also ensure not to be a cause of water damage.

Hang the mop at any outdoor under the sunlight is the best way to dry mop quickly. Sunlight is a natural disinfectant also.

Sunlight will kill bacteria along with reducing the initial smells. It will also brighten the mop pad and reduce any new or old stains.

4th step-Store the mop properly

Do you know your mop also needs proper storing to make it long-lasting? In fact, store mop in a good place is a part of good maintenance. You need to hang the mop above from the ground. If you leave the mop pads/yearn to touch the ground, that means you are taking a change of not allowing proper air circulation through the mop head. It is another vital cause of creating the smell.

Store your mop in such a way that its head cannot touch the ground and cannot absorb unwanted moisture from the soil.

We hope now your mop is smell free.

How to deep clean the mop head to remove the smell

Have you ever noticed a smell when pulling out the mop from the storage? If yes, then before cleaning the floor, you should pay attention to remove the odor as soon as possible. We hope you know it better, mopping your floor with a stinky mop will give you a stinky floor. In this situation, you need to deep clean your mop.

First cleaning method

• Take one gallon of warmer or hot water at 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Add one cup of cleaning bleach.
• Mix them well and soak the mop into it for several minutes.
• Wring it out into the bathtub or sink.
• Put it again into the cleaning liquid.
• While the mop is soaking, ensure the cleaning solution can reach each fiber.
• Rinse the mop again with clean water.
• The bleach is very much active to kill up to 99% of all mold and germs.
• Repeat the entire cleaning method as many times as you need to eradicate the smell.

Second cleaning method

• Take one gallon of warmer water into a bucket.
• Add one cup of vinegar and one cup of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide into it.
• Mix them well and make a more natural cleaning solution. Expert recommends using vinegar as it is the most effective natural cleaner.
• Please remember that vinegar is considered less effective than bleach when it comes to disinfecting. But vinegar works really well in removing the bad smell.
• Now soak the mop into the solution and leave it for about half an hour.
• Now rinse it with clean water and check if the bad smell removes completely or not.
• Repeat the process if necessary.

Still, the mop is smelly?

Are you still find odd smell from the mop after successfully completing all four cleaning steps along with both deep cleaning process? If yes, then just throw away the mop head right now and replace it with a new one.

If the mop is a new one and creates an odd smell only after few uses, then you should try to find out the reason why it is keeping smell. Check the place where you store it and also check the drying process and cleaning process after each use. Maybe any of these maintenance works is going wrong. Check properly go with the right process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do you get the smell out of a mop?

Clean the mop head with a proper cleaning solution can easily remove the smell. Mix one cup of vinegar or one cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with one gallon of warmer water. Soak the mop into the solution for several minutes. Now rinse with clean water.

How often should you wash mop heads?

You should wash mop after each use. It will help to keep your mop clean and odor-free. Even you should deep clean the mop head occasionally to remove all the dirt and germs from it.

Where do you dump dirty mop water?

The better place for dumping dirty mop water is in the toilet or down your shower drain. You should never dump dirty mop water into a basin or sink where you wash your hand or brush your teeth.

Is sunlight can remove the smell from the mop?

Yes, in most cases, if you can dry your mop under the sun, the odd smell will remove altogether. But you need to wash it properly before hanging the mop under the sun to dry.

Wrapping up

As we already said, moisture is the prime cause of growing smell into the mop. So, remember that your mop should be 100% dry when you store it. We hope you can successfully remove the smell from the mop head by following the above-listed cleaning process. After each use, you should clean your mop, dry it correctly under the sun or air, and store it in a dry place above the ground.