House Cleaning Tips

Have any of the dopers tried any of the “Swifter” type mops? If so, whats your opinion? Our entryway, kitchen and bathrooms all have tile floors and I am tired of getting on my knees to scrub them.

I find they are good for quick clean ups. It helps if you use the duster sheet first, to get up the hairs and fuzz, then the wet ones to clean. If you’ve got Linoleum From Hell, like we do, it won’t help, it’ll just brush over the dirty bits and make them look slightly shiny. When it dries, it’s pretty much the same.

I think they’d work best on hardwood floors, rather than in the kitchen. We have a toddler and there are splatters and splots everywhere and the swifter doesn’t get those up.

If you’re getting on your hands and knees a lot, you might consider investing in a floor scrubber. You’d still want to have a regular mop around for quick cleaning, but it would definitely eliminate any hard work, except maybe in the corners.

I use the Clorox mop and like it, but like others have pointed out it helps to use a dry cloth first, or you end up pushing the dry bits around. (I also have the original Swiffer that just picks up dry stuff for this). I actually vacuum my (tile) floors first, then use the mop. It’s much easier than regular mopping, worth the money to me, although I do wish the pads were a little thicker. The Swiffer might be one up on the Clorox mop there, but the Swiffer needs batteries. I just bought the one that was cheaper at the time. It’s great for fast clean-ups, and for cleaning the dog’s paw prints off. I use one pad to clean my medium-sized kitchen and bathroom.

A former coworker informed me that dryer sheets, like Bounce, are essentially the same thing as the Swifter and do just as well.

I’ve never used a Swifter so I can’t say whether she is correct or not. Anyone know?

I use just the dry swiffer cloths on the hardwood floors and they are great. They pick up all of the cat hair and dirt and other stuff on the floors. And they leave things shiny but not slippery. Great invention.

Thanks for the input, guys—I’m gonna buy me one, probably the Clorox version. I didn’t know the Swiffer(?) needs batteries, not that it matters a lot.

I think the batteries one refers to the Swiffer WetJet that actually sprays out on front of itself as you go along, and has a thicker pad than the cloths. The original Swiffer wet cloths are just to push around on your own steam.

I would assume that a dryer sheet would do the same thing, as these sheets use static electricity to hold dust, etc., right? I use the Pledge Grab-It version for dusting the floors with the dry and then quick mopping with the wet. You will still need to do real scrubbing, just less often. Definitely easier than a sponge mop though, just more expensive.

I use the dry Pledge sheets, too, and they work great for getting up dust and stuff from hardwood floors. My mother uses them regularly and finds she rarely needs to dust any more. Plus, my nieces like to help, and pushing the Swiffer around the floor is a cleaning task that even a three-year-old can do pretty well.

Whoever thought that people would actually buy a broom that needed user fees…

Seriously folks-- broom, dust mop. Even a three year old can use 'em! and you don’t have to buy replacement broom heads!

I vacuum my floors, then mop. We have Newfoundland dogs, and you ain’t seen dog hair until you’ve seen one of these monsters blow coat. The hair is over 6 inches long.

I haven’t tried a Swifter-type thing yet, might be good for the hair. I still have to mop afterwards, though, because these dogs are also terrible droolers.

Make that dust pan.