It is no doubt that floor cleaning is the major part of a home cleaning routine and that floor cleaners are the most used home cleaning products. At the end of the day, the floors of our homes gather the most dust, dirt, grime and germs. Walking around in shoes at home, pets in the house, bringing in things from the outside and placing them on the floor, all these things make our floors germ hotbeds without us even realizing it. But most people don’t pay heed to this fact. For most people, a floor that is stain-free is clean. However, given that kids consider the floor to be their playground and most Indians consume their meals by sitting on the floor, it is necessary to shift our focus from basic cleaning to safety from germs and overall hygiene.

Therefore, to help pick the best floor cleaner for your home, here are some properties you must look out for.

Choose based on type of material – The first step in picking a floor cleaner is understanding what it is made up of. Be it urban cities or tier two towns, most people generally used bleach or acid as a base to clean their floors. However, this proved to be harmful to the skin and extremely corrosive. Moreover, these products did not serve the function of protecting the floor from germs. Therefore, keeping these functions in mind, pick a floor cleaner that is made with a formula which removes stains while keeping germs away.

Choose based on (quick) action time – Another property you must look out for in your floor cleaner is how quick it works to kill germs. Whenever a floor cleaner is swiped over the floor, it remains wet for a particular time before drying up and starting its action on germs. This is known as the ‘kill time’ of a floor cleaner. An effective floor cleaner is that which offers a reasonable but rapid time to kill viruses and germs.

Choose based on ability to act against viruses and harmful germs – Cleaning and disinfecting are two separate functions and your floor cleaning liquid must also double up as a disinfectant. For this, one of the most important qualities a floor cleaner must possess is that of killing harmful germs, bacteria and viruses that crawl around the floors making them a harmful hotspot for your family, not just for a few hours like popular floor cleaners but throughout the day to keep them from building up again. This ability to kill germs and viruses is important to ensure the safety of your family. Without it, a floor cleaner is redundant and doesn’t serve the main purpose of keeping your home genuinely clean and germ-free.

Choose based on its ability keep your home insect-proof – Given the leaps in technology and the hectic pace of life, don’t you think your floor cleaner should offer you more than the basic function of removing stains from your floors? Till when will you run around swatting cockroaches with newspapers or lining the floors with turmeric to keep ants from crawling around the house? Also, why bother harming your health with chemical laden bug sprays? Instead, look for a floor cleaner that contains ingredients which work against insects as it is swiped across the floor.

Choose based on its ability to keep your home fresh smelling and fragrant – Even though scent and smell are one of the most important parameters to define a home’s overall cleanliness – it evokes pleasant memories and makes a home feel more safe, welcoming and pleasant to be in; we often overlook this aspect until we are forced to do so. Strong cooking odours or foul garbage can odours are often masked with air fresheners and humid, musky odours brought on by stranded air during changing weather are often diffused by scented candles or incense sticks. However, wouldn’t it be amazing that instead of investing separately in these measures to keep your home smelling refreshing, you could have a floor cleaner could infuse your home with a refreshing citrus-y or a calming lavender fragrance?

One floor cleaner that meets all this checklist is the Emasol Floor Cleaner. It is India’s first floor cleaner that has the BGV24 antimicrobial formula that helps prevent the build-up of germs and viruses that cause infections and put your family’s safety in jeopardy. It also keeps tiles, marble, ceramic and mosaic flooring stain-free. It is also made with the natural oils of citronella and lemongrass which prevent household insects from breeding in your home. It also comes in two scents – citrus and lavender and is perfect to impart a subtle but long-lasting fragrance to your home. And while offering a multitude of functions and being a superior alternative to popular floor cleaners, it is light on the pocket, and works better while letting you save.