West Meets East - Sponja vs Mopping

Our apartment floor is fully ceramic tile except for a few area carpets in the main living room.  Most locals use a method called Sponja to clean floors.  This requires 'smartut rizpa' which are floor rags and a 'magav' (a long handled squeegee).  I am told by some that I will love this way of cleaning floors and will never go back.  So I set out to learn this new-and-improved method that claims to dominate the floor cleaning world.  I go online to find instructions on how to do this, because my first attempt proves futile and frustrating.  I must be doing something wrong.  The rags don't stay on and my feet get soaked and I just about break my neck slipping, not to mention that guiding the water down the floor drain looks much easier than it is since floors are not level and drains are not necessarily at the lowest point in the room.  Here is a summary of the instructions I found online just so you relate better to what I have attempted (italics are my addition):

How to Sponja like a Sabra (Israeli born woman):

"Remove everything from the surface of the floor. This is usually the hardest part of the job; a basket helps.

Gather supplies: Broom and dustpan, one or two large buckets, cleanser or vinegar, several floor rags or equivalent, squeegee with long handle.

Sweep well (debris will clog the floor drain).

Fill a bucket with soapy water, hot if you have it.

Pour “puddles” of water in each area of the floor you are planning to wash. One bucket of water is enough for a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and two bathrooms (your stairs to the outside, your sidewalk and your neighbors walkway).

Put a floor rag over the squeegee. It will not stay there very long, just keep bending over every few seconds and replacing it.  Consider it aerobics.  Wrap using a variety of methods such as burrito style, but it is perfectly normal for it to fall off and frustrate you.  Hang on you'll be done....eventually.  You can cut a hole in the middle of the rag and drop it over the handle, however this makes it harder to rinse the rag. Now spread the water over the surface of the floor. Be cautious, or you will slip and fall and break your neck, you've just created an ice rink.

Use a hard broom to scrub any stubborn spots. Some squeegees come with a scrubber on the back (otherwise get on those hands and knees and do some more aerobics).

Put the rag in the hamper (have one just for rags) and use the squeegee to “sweep” the dirty water into a drain. You can open one of the drain holes in the floor, or sweep it into your garden if you have one (or do what  most cleaners in Israel do and sweep it out the front door, where everyone just tracks it back inside.) Alternatively, sweep the dirty water into a dustpan or shovel (are you kidding me!?), or soak it up with a rag and squeeze it into a bucket.

Put a few inches of clean water in a bucket, and drop in two or three clean rags. Wipe the floor with the rag and the squeegee, replacing as the rags get dirty. Then decide whether you want to 'sponja-dry' the floor using  more clean rags to do so.   If not you’ll open up all the windows and doors so the floor will dry quickly, even in the dead of winter. Most homes are without heat in the winter so this is a trade-off you need to weigh carefully.

Replace furniture and put away supplies then do the load of laundry you just created using all those rags.  Go have a shower and change to freshen from the sweat you just worked up and then have a nap.  You deserve it."

I wondered how the Sabra keep their floors looking so prestine and found out that this method is often applied on a daily basis keeping the floors looking sparkly clean, the pride of the Israeli Hausfrau.

Hmmmmm.... vs (my 'old-fashioned' method) mopping

Gather supplies:  Mop, bucket, cleaner or vinegar, broom/dustpan or vaccum

Sweep or vacuum your floor to collect any large particles.  Fill your bucket with hot water, add our favourite smelling floor cleaner or vinegar.  Dip your deck mop into the water and wring it out using the built in wringer over the bucket, then set the mop on the floor and move it back and forth until a section of the floor is clean.

Continue mopping, refreshing your mop in the bucket whenever it needs to be wet again. Work backward from the far corner of the room so you can leave when you're done without stepping on the space you've already mopped.

Leave the floor to dry. Empty the remaining liquid down the drain and store your supplies. Go out with friends for coffee (while the floor dries) cause you have enough energy & time to enjoy the rest of the day.

Well, shamefully, I'm no Sabra - and I am truly impressed by their commitment to clean floors!  But the truth is Sponja, (which ironically means a "person who is humiliated & degraded" or "doormat")  the art of swooshing, sloshing and washing is just not my style.  I don't eat off my floor and don't plan on starting.  Once a week I may pull out that mop and pail, give it a once over and get'er done so I can get on with other things.  This is my life, where West meets East.