Cleaning: Using Your Microwave to Mop

I have a wonderful friend who has a floor steamer.  And although I know she'd loan it to me in a heartbeat, I'm hardly going to borrow it for my weekly cleaning.  My solution is to use one of my favorite kitchen appliances - the microwave!  I use my microwave once or twice a day to sanitize my kitchen dishrag.  Just get it nice and damp, then nuke it for 2 minutes to completely sanitize it.  That way I'm not spreading nasty colonies of bacteria any time I need to wipe off the counter.  It's easy and cheaper than using paper towels every time. 

I've decided to use the same concept in my mopping.  Although I toss my microfiber mop pad in the washing machine when I'm done, I do like to use the microwave to heat up my mop to help simulate a steam-cleaning of the floor.  It also saves water since I don't have to wait for hot water from my tap.

Just get your mop pad damp as you normally would with cold water.

Microwave on high for a minute or so.

Mop away.  Obviously the steaming heat dissipates fairly soon, so I do toss it back in the microwave part-way through the mopping job.  I especially like doing this when mopping bathroom areas since I don't like to use lots of chemicals (I hate the residue).  This way I get a much more intense clean with the steaming hot mop than with merely hot water.  Let me know if you have any other ways you use your microwave to clean.