ספונג'ה, Washing the Floor- Israeli Style

Washing the floor, a key element of Sex on Fridays is one of those inevitable chores that no one likes to do, but everyone knows must get done. Like all cities, Tel Aviv accumulates the grime and dust given off by cars, buses and everything else around us. When I lived with my old roommate we washed the floor once every two weeks and I decided to instate this in my new household. Ariel was less than thrilled by this idea, but plays his part twice a month to help clean our apartment.

Washing the floor in Israel is an entirely different experience than in the States. The first time I learned to wash the floor I lived on a kibbutz and worked in the kindergarten. After lunch when the kids took a nap, the teachers’ helpers washed the floor. While there are certain variations to this method- given the amount of space you need to cover, the number of things you need to lift up and the amount of water you use- the basics remain the same:

1. Before doing anything else you lift as many things up off the floor or move them to an area where you are not washing, including throw rugs, small tables and garbage cans. Instead of mopping under a table or chair, it is best to lift things up if at all possible.
2. Next do a once over sweep to pick up as much dirt as possible.
3. Now comes the 3 step washing process:
a. Fill a bucket with soapy water (soap designated to wash floors), get a squeegee, מגב, and a rag, known as a, סמרטוט. Proceed to spill water on the floor and then swoosh it about with the rag at the end of the squeegee.
b. Once all of the water has been dumped and moved about the floor, take off the rag and squeegee the water towards the drain. The best thing about Israeli living quarters is that they have at least one drain off to the side of a patio or wall where you dispose of the water.
c. Rinse out the rag and then go over a final time with a damp cloth.

This process may sound like a lot of work but it truly doesn’t take that long…especially if two people are doing it at once. It also makes a lot more sense then putting the spongy end of a mop in a bucket of water, squeezing out as much water as possible and then going over the floor square by square until it is clean. By the end the water is so filthy that you are washing the floor with more dirt that you started with. Perhaps I exaggerate…slightly.

I must put a disclaimer to this blog entry: while most would agree with me that the method described above is the traditional way of washing the floor, not everyone is a fan of dumping water on the floor, just to have to mop it up again. Israelis, like Americans, would rather the quick fix and do as little work as possible.

I can just imagine what will happen when Swiffer hits the stores.