Barefoot Test: How Clean Is Your Floor?

A person lifting up their foot, with cereal and other debris stuck to the bottom
It is truly incredible how quickly your kitchen floor can accumulate crumbs and dirty footprints – especially is you have a house full of little ones. You're busy, we get it. And on top of that, you have an army of cereal slinging munchkins working against you. When that’s your reality it’s completely normal to wonder, “How often should I be cleaning my floor?”

The answer is in The Barefoot Test.

The Barefoot Test

We’ve all done it, unknowingly. The Barefoot Floor Test is when you walk across a floor and then pick up your foot to look at all the crumbs and specks that stuck to the bottom of your foot.

The great thing about this test is that it’s practical. You cannot always “see” a dirty wooden floor, so you might be imagining one and be cleaning it too often, wasting time, effort and money, and potentially dulling your floor’s beautiful finish.

But if you take off your socks and the floor needs cleaning, you’ll “feel” it.

Finding Your Optimal Floor Cleaning Schedule

How often should you clean your floor? The rule of thumb is every two weeks, but every household is unique. Depending on your dusting schedule, if you allow shoes to be worn in the house, if you have kids or pets, even your furnace vents and filters can affect floor cleaning schedules.

To find that perfect schedule for your home, mark your calendar and use The Barefoot Test a week after you clean the floor. Still good? Go three more days to see if you need the floor cleaned three times a month (every 10 days). Then test at two weeks. Still good? If so, fantastic! Keep going until you have your own personal schedule that’s both practical and efficient.

Floor Cleaning Tips

As a residential cleaning service that’s been cleaning floors for customers for over 30 years, we’ve learned a thing or two about giving you floors that pass The Barefoot Test. Below are some links to floor cleaning tips and advice from the professional at Molly Maid:

Let Molly Maid Help

We’re experts at saving homeowners time. Contact your local Molly Maid online to ask about home cleaning services that meet your schedule, budget and cleaning needs, and enjoy more free time than ever.