Paul and I are lucky, and we know it.  Guadalupe comes to our house two mornings a week.  She cleans upstairs one day and downstairs the other.  She sweeps the floor, dusts, cleans the bathrooms, and mops.  And I am grateful for everything she does!

But… there is still plenty for us to do around the house.  Windows to wash.  Landscaping to water, mow, and  trim.  Fountain to clean.  Ceiling fans to clean.  Hardware to oil.  Oven and fridge to clean.  Patios to wash.  There’s always something!

Around here the main tool for cleaning floors is the string mop.  Guadalupe is a wizard with it, but sadly, I don’t like them much.  So when the time came around today for both downstairs patios to be washed, I used my own technique.

First, I sweep all the loose stuff.  Leaves, bird poops, and of course, Lucy’s fur.  Shedding is her favorite occupation, you know.

Next, I wash it down with water.

Then I heave hot water with vinegar and Fabuloso on the wet area using a plastic cup. (this is a Mexican technique)

Then I use a big broom to scrub away at the tile.  If you have a small patio you could use a plastic bristled regular broom.

Next rinse with the hose, and squeegee off with the foam squeegee, working your way towards the drain or the edge.

I use a hose with a trigger on it so it really doesn’t use that much water.  Water is very inexpensive here, with our household use combined with Cuahtémoc using our water for his car wash business our bill is less than 60 pesos a month. (about $5)

Why I thought this was noteworthy, I’m not sure.  I just know that if every time I needed to wash the patios I had to get out a string mop they would never get cleaned!