Mopping shouldn’t be a pain in the neck — at least not literally. Nor should it hurt you anywhere else. Here are some tips to keep you gliding along smoothly — with no damage to your hardworking parts.

Fill your bucket in the bathtub, since lifting a heavy bucket from a sink can create back and arm strain.

Bend your knees, and keep one hand on the handle and the other at the base of the bucket, advises Steven Yeomans, a chiropractor in Ripon, Wisconsin, specializing in orthopedics. Keep your knees bent slightly when mopping, too.

Grip the mop handle loosely to avoid agitating the nerves in your wrists and forearms, says Thomas Hyde, a chiropractor in Miami: “You’re not trying to kill the mop — you’re just trying to use it.”

Alternate your forward leg and hand grip as you go to avoid straining one side of your body.

Finally, if you can’t part with Grandma’s floor-scrubbing method — down on hands and knees with a rag — prevent strained joints and bursitis (housemaid’s knee) by wearing knee pads, suggests Yeomans.