Something for those among us with arthritis and who can't afford a maid. [View all]

I have arthritis in my knees and it has become very painful to kneel on the floor to scrub the bathtub. I finally nailed down a system to help me accomplish this task.

Tools:

a Swiffer mop
rags cut from old sweats
a mixture of vinegar and Dawn dish soap and water in a spray bottle (about a capful of Dawn to a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar in a larger sized spray bottle)
handheld shower spray head

I had some old heavy sweats that were ready to toss and was thinking what a shame it was to lose them because they had a really good thick nap inside. I decided to cut them into cleaning cloths. Sweats cloth does not ravel. I cut them into oblong pieces the size of the width (long side) of the swiffer mop head and double the length (narrow side).

To use the rags on the swiffer mop head, I first wet the rag and fold the edges on the long side in a bit and poke the corners into the little retainer holes on the mop head. The rag should be nap side out.

I spray tile surround and the tub with water and the mist a good coating of the cleaning solution on all and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes to allow the cleaning solution to start breaking up any soap or hard water residues. Then I use the mop to scrub all surfaces. When done scrubbing, I rinse the enclosure and the tub with clear water using the shower spray. This system really cleans well and spares me a good deal of physical pain and climbing since the top of the enclosure was difficult for me to reach too. Oh, I toss the cleaning rags into the washing machine once a week and it looks like those rags may last as long as the clothing they were cut from.