10 Best

Floor Mops

of October 2023

Whether you have a floor made from tile, linoleum, stone, or hardwood, you’ll be tasked with cleaning it regularly. The traditional mops used to require you to “get your hands dirty”, to wring the mop out yourself. And depending on the area that you have to clean, mopping the floor can get downright exerting. Fortunately, you can get floor mops nowadays that can get the job done for you, with considerably less effort, and better results!

We’ll cover the traditional mop styles, as well as some of the more newfangled patents, that allow you to soak the mop head, wring it out, and even change the mop head, without having to touch it with your hands! You’ll be able to compare how effective each type is, and whether it’s suitable for the type of floor in your home. There’s no reason to work harder than you have to, to get a spotlessly clean floor!
 

What kinds of floor mops are there?

If we distinguish between mops by the type of mop heads, the most common are sponge mops, string mops, and flat mops.

Looking over the Best Reviews Guide of the best floor mops, we see a number of options available:

• Traditional mops: There are traditional mops, without any special mechanism to wring out excess water. For example,

  • String mops: These usually have a mop head made of cotton fiber, which is very absorbent. That way, it’ll wet the floor to break down any caked-on dirt. And, when you wring out your mop to pick up the excess water, the mop head will help you dry the floor more quickly. An example is the American Market Large Wet Deck Cotton Mop.

American Market Large Wet Deck Cotton Mop

• • Cloth mops: These are also referred to as “flat mops”. They employ a cloth that you attach to the mop head. When it accumulates enough dirt, you wash the cloth separately and use it again. An example is the E-Cloth Deep Clean Mop. A single cloth is good for 100 washes!

E-Cloth Deep Clean Mop

• • Sponge mops: These use a synthetic spongy material, and can include a lever to squeeze out any excess water. They’re available in a number of widths. A wider sponge means that you can get a larger area clean in each stroke. For example, the Yocada Sponge Mop has a 10.24” width. It has a special head to let you alternate between a sponge, a rubber squeegee, or a brush head. It also has a telescoping handle that can extend from 42.5” to 52” in length.

Rubbermaid Brute Steel Roller Sponge Mop, showing the sponge, squeegee, and brush

• Spin mops: These mops have the mop head on a pivot that can rotate. They use a specially designed bucket with two compartments: one containing water and one with a wringer compartment that spins to wring excess water out of the mop head. The wringer compartment is usually operated by a foot pedal. The faster you step on the pedal, the water you’ll squeeze out of the mop. That way, you can adjust the amount of water to fit the cleaning job. An example is the O-Cedar Easywring Microfiber Spin Mop & Bucket Floor Cleaning System.

O-Cedar Easywring Microfiber Spin Mop

The O-Cedar mop uses a round mop head. There are spin mops with flat, rectangular mop heads as well. An example is the Rubbermaid Microfiber Flat Spin Mop. It’s still a “spin mop”, in that the mop head can pivot a full 360 degrees. But, the bucket system doesn’t spin the mop head to wring it out. Instead, the side panels in the bucket will allow you to scrub away the dirty water from the mop head. This design is 66% lighter than the round mop head when it is fully soaked with water. This makes it more maneuverable and less tedious when mopping.

Rubbermaid Microfiber Flat Spin Mop

• Spray mops: Spin mops require you to schlep a bucket of water around with you all the time, and wring out the mop every time you dunk it in the bucket. Instead of dragging a pail of water around with you, there are spray mops that hold a tank of water or cleaning solution. You then press a button on the mop’s handle to spray out a jet of water. An example is the CLDream Spray Mop. It has a very large water reservoir, that’s able to hold 800 ml of water. It comes with microfiber pads for wet mopping, and chenille pads for dry mopping, to just pick up dust.

CLDream Spray Mop

There are also spray mops that employ batteries to use the spray feature. An example of this is the Swiffer WetJet Hardwood and Floor Spray Mop Cleaner. However, Swiffer products require you to use their proprietary bottles of cleaning fluid and their replaceable mop pads.

Swiffer WetJet Hardwood and Floor Spray Mop Cleaner

• Steam mops: These mops eject a jet of steam to break up dirt on hardwood, tile, or linoleum floors. The heat of the steam also sanitizes, killing germs even without using any cleaning solution. An example is the Bissell Power Fresh Steam Mop (Model No. 1940A).

Bissell Power Fresh Steam Mop

Here are some of the impressions of customers regarding their choice of floor mop:

• For dusting as well: We’ve mentioned using these mops with copious amounts of water. But many mops are also useful for dust mopping floors. They can pick up pet hair and dust, and that’s a good prep before you wash the floor more thoroughly with water or cleaning fluid.

• Spin mop vs. Swiffer: A customer who tried both the Swiffer and the O-Cedar Easywring Microfiber Spin Mop preferred the O-Cedar. It doesn’t leave the floor too wet, and you have the choice of using just hot water, water with white vinegar, or a cleaning solution.

• Save your hands: One of the advantages of a spray mop is that it spares your hands from having to come into contact with all sorts of chemicals and detergents. You just have to load the canister with water or cleaning fluid, and just mop away!

Here are some tips and essential features to look for when selecting a floor mop:

• Check that the mop is suitable for your floor type: We have seen that many of these mops are good on hardwood, vinyl, tile, and stone floors. However, some mops come with warnings that their cleaning fluid may actually damage the floor. For example, the Swiffer WetJet Hardwood and Floor Spray Mop should not be used on unfinished wood or oiled or waxed wooden floors. It also shouldn’t be used on unsealed tile floors. So, always check that the mop that you buy suits your floor.

• Mops with pads: Mops that use special proprietary pads may need you to purchase special disposable pads (like for the Swiffer WetJet), while other spray mops, such as the Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Microfiber Floor Mop, employ reusable pads that are even machine-washable. Either way, you’ll need to attach new pads as the old one gets dirty. They attach easily by means of Velcro hooks and loops.

• Bottles of cleaning fluid: As we mentioned, there are spray mops that use proprietary bottles. In principle, they’re meant for a single use, and then you dispose of them. However, some customers who use the Swiffer floor mop have found a hack of putting the mouth of the bottle in hot water for 90 seconds. This will soften the plastic to the extent that you can twist off the cap. You can then put in any cleaning fluid that you like. But the Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Microfiber Floor Mop uses a refillable bottle for its spray mop. That’s more convenient.

Replacing the Swiffer Floor Mop's Water Bottle

 Final Verdict

We studied some of the pros and cons of the various floor mops on the market at present. You have the choice of traditional mops, spray mops, spin mops, or steam mops. If they match the type of floor in your home, they’re guaranteed to get your floor clean, and can even disinfect your home as well!