Do you mop your shop?

[Eric DeSilva]

A DC thread on floor sweeps had me thinking about floor cleaning in my shop. I've got sweeps attached to my cyclone. I've also got a 4" vacuuming rig. But I still find myself sweeping up piles on occasion. Every time I do that, I keep thinking a broom is a lousy way of moving fine particles and what my shop really needs is a mopping.

So, figured I'd ask... Anyone mop their shop on a regular basis?

[George Bregar]

Wood floor, so no.

[Lee Schierer]

Same here, I have a wood floor. I do have a hose to plug into my DC that lets me suck up sawdust and chips from the floor. My granddaughter loves sucking up sawdust with it, now if I could just get her to come visit more often. I only use a broom for places the hose doesn't reach.

[Mike Null]

I do now. Concrete basement floor. A couple of weeks ago I had a lucky fall in that my feet went out from under me as if I were on ice and I fell face first. My knees took a a pretty good hit and they are still sore but a few days later I scrubbed the area. It was strange because most of the floor was not slippery.

[David Hostetler]

Bare concrete, so typically, no. I have however mopped up certain spills (oils and the like) after scrubbing them out with Dawn soap...

When I eventually get to stripping the floor, and epoxy coating it, I will most likely take up moping as a regular part of maintenance... The epoxy should be easier to mop up than concrete for sure!

[Neil Brooks]

Yeah. What David H. said :)

[Mike Davis NC]

I try to maintain about two inches of sawdust for foot and back comfort, so no mopping.

[glenn bradley]

Smooth concrete and "no". Temper my response with the fact that I don't do many things that spray chips all over the shop :). I sweep only now and again as most spoil is collected at the tool. Every couple weeks I sweep up a half a dustpan of debris and toss it. This does NOT include times when I am doing free hand routing that precludes a vac hookup :D. After those episodes are completed I generally sweep and vac to get back to "normal".

I don't try to get every spec as the very next thing I will do is go make some more. On the occasions when I have to sweep up I do a "pretty good" job and move on. I do not ignore certain areas and allow snowdrifts of dust to pile up. If I see that happening I will swing the vac hose over there and take care of it.

[Rick Moyer]

somewhat related: anybody blow out the shop? what do you use? compressed air? leaf blower?

[Erik France]

Only time I mop in my little shed of a shop (or is it shop in a shed?) is when my dog decides he wants to lay claim to some more tools.

Floor cleanup is normally done with a Rockler dustright hose & accessories attached to my DC. If it's too late or early I'll use a broom. As Rick asked; I will use the blower motor on my Rigid vac for cleanup most of the time, especially blowing off tools the the cutting area in front of my shop. I think it gets used more as a blower than it does a vac. Every once in a while I'll use the blower on the shelves & everything up higher, but thats usually caused by too much Guinness after a shop session resulting in impaired judgment. ;) *All power tools and all cutting tools unplugged or not in use before the first beer is opened*

[Chip Lindley]

So, figured I'd ask... Anyone mop their shop on a regular basis?

The thought had never crossed my mind!

But, IMO, slopping water around the bases of machinery is a rust incubator. It's a Shop, not a Kitchen.

[Chip Lindley]

So, figured I'd ask... Anyone mop their shop on a regular basis?

The thought had never crossed my mind! IMO, slopping water around the bases of machinery is a rust incubator. It's a Shop, not a Kitchen. (commercial kitchens employ lots of stainless steel for that very reason)

[Kevin Groenke]

We have vinyl composition tiles and dust mop the floor almost every day. Easily accessible areas get power scrubbed with a walk behind machine maybe once a year. We clear as much floor we can every three years for a wax job.

I also have a vinyl composition in my basement shop at home. That floor gets swept with a broom and dust mopped pretty regularly as well, but not waxed.

-kg

[Bruce Page]

I did once. When it was all said & done, I could hardly tell a difference but the mop had seen better days.

[Chris Padilla]

I leaf blow mine...in fact, I leaf blow the whole darned thing. Some people thought my house was on fire once.

Sometimes, depending on what I'm using for a finish, I will wet mop certain areas around my makeshift spray booth (a piece of cardboard folded just so) to keep the particles down. My HVLP sprayer (Apollo1000, 4-stage turbine) is a bleeder type so it has the bad habit of kicking stuff up.

[Jim Finn]

somewhat related: anybody blow out the shop? what do you use? compressed air? leaf blower?


I use compressed air to blow out the entire shop including the floor. With the roll up door open.

[Matt Meiser]

somewhat related: anybody blow out the shop? what do you use? compressed air? leaf blower?

I try to about once a year. I clean pretty good, then open all the doors and windows, turn on the exhaust fan and air cleaner, dn a mask, and fire up the leaf blower. I just keep working my way around over and over until I stop kicking up dust.

[Aaron Berk]

somewhat related: anybody blow out the shop? what do you use? compressed air? leaf blower?

I've got a painted garage floor, but no moping.

I VERY frequently use shop air combined with 2 exhaust fans and a gas leaf blower to "dust" my shop, top to bottom.

I set up the fans to create a nice draft through the shop, then carry around my air nozzle in one hand and leaf blower in the other.
I forgot to move my truck once, it was close to the garage door, and when I was done dusting my truck was COVERED in it. So now I park my rigs on the street before dusting. lol

[Harvey Pascoe]

Painted concrete floor here. I vacuum and use a yard blower about once a month to the crap under tables and machines. Floor is looking kinda messy now due to spills that collect dust that the vacuum doesn't get so I'm about to mop it up. I wouldn't mop just for residual dust. Too busy/lazy for that.

[Jim Tobias]

I have wood floors in shop and have used the same floor cleaner/dust picker upper that I use on hardwood in my house. It's a Bona product. It is probably a biannual process , at best. Most of the time, vacuuming is the best it can expect.

Jim

[Paul McGaha]

I have a bare concrete floor that is smooth. All I do is vacume with a shop vac. I try to do it at the end of each day I'm in the shop.

To vacume the tables, tools and floors takes about a half an hour.

Of course I dont always remember to clean but it just seems like things go better when I do (Start the day with the shop clean).

PHM

[Leigh Betsch]

So, figured I'd ask... Anyone mop their shop on a regular basis?

What are you nuts!:) I have a saying I use on my wife: "Sawdust ain't dirt. Any if you think it is go back into the house" Well, I've not actually ever used this saying but I've thought about it! Of course then I would have to sleep in the shop.

[Brian Kent]

I put the hose on the exhaust side of the shop vac and bow out the garage shop after every big project. Despite point of source dust collection and an overhead filter, sanding still puts a sawdust "Patina" on everything so I blow it all off.

[Tom Ewell]

Mop only for spills and only the area of the spill.

Quick vac and or sweep after dusty operations, before finish work and to take out those dusty cobwebs when I notice them.

Thorough vac,sweep, wipe down once or twice a year.

[Jim Rimmer]

I've got a painted garage floor, but no moping.
I don't mop and as a result, neither do I mope. :)

[Thomas Canfield]

I have seen some shop pictures posted here that looked like they had been mopped, but mine gets a sweeping and sometimes vacuum. I'm waiting for the warm day to open up my closed shop and blow off the dust coating with a leaf blower and run my exhaust fan. Mop - no way.

[Andrew Joiner]

I try to maintain about two inches of sawdust for foot and back comfort, so no mopping.

I must be obsessive. I try to keep about 3 inches of dust and chips on my shop floor. It's good padding for the knees when you're looking for a tiny fallen fastener.

[Marty Paulus]

I try:rolleyes: to do a cleaing in my garage/shop twice a year. Once in the spring to clear our all the 'stuff' from the cold months and once in the fall before the cold weather hits. I try to empty the garage of all movable objects and have used the leaf blower. Of course with the shed in the back yard I have to rotate between the winter and summer stowage issues so that usually prompt the cleaning modes.

[Gary Pennington]

Whats a mop?

[eugene thomas]

i mop the floors at work when my turn. at home in the shop i alwice seem to have soemthing more urgent to do.

[David Helm]

I got out of the Navy 44 years ago and haven't used a mop (swab) since. I do occasionally open the big sliding barn door and blow dust out.

[Chris Fournier]

I have painted concrete floors in my shop and tiles in a few places. Winter snow and salt makes a mess so I do indeed mop. I also keep the bathroom very clean as I have clients that request to use the loo. I don't flood the floor with water and don't have any rusty machine bases. The floor looks great for couple of weeks...

[Van Huskey]

Never even considered it. I have like others mentioned mopped up specific spills.

[Brent Ring]

Never even considered it. I have like others mentioned mopped up specific spills.
+1 Here and the occasional spots where the dog and the cat decides that sawdust is very absorbent.