I’m a mop-every-other-month kind of guy, and as you might imagine, the kitchen floor gets a bit unsightly between moppings. So I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, the Swiffer would give me a kick in the pants, floor-hygiene-wise. But I’m reluctant to drop sixteen of my hard-earned dollars on it before someone tells me I really should.
So let me ask – does the Swiffer do the job? Is it reasonably economical? Is it easy to use? In short, is it a blessing that lightens the burden of your days, or is it just one more goddamn thing around the house?
I use one mainly for in-between mops. Imho, it’s mainly for cosmetic purposes (a surface clean but not a deep-down clean) - oh! there’s a spot on the floor but I really dont want to drag out the mop & bucket… that kind of thing.
If I didnt have one, I’d probably be moping every week in between kiddos (we have them weekends, bm has them weekdays). So yeah, it comes in handy & it’s easy to use.
I’m not a fan, but that may be because I use it mainly to pick up dust instead of stains, and it does a pretty bad job of that: it removes the dust all right, but most of it doesn’t stick to the cloth, and then you have clumps of wet dust on the floor that you have to pick up with your hands or a paper towel.
Also, what kind of mop? I hope it’s not this. As the saying goes, either you want it clean or you want to use a mop; you can’t have both. Those things just push dirty water around.
I use it on two small bathroom floors (and walls) and I’m happy with it. Sometimes I get confused and use the pad on the floor that’s supposed to be for the walls, and then I have to rinse, but it’s still plenty clean enough for me. (No toddlers or crawling babies in the house.)
I don’t know if I’d use it for a large floor though, because of the economics. One pad probably wouldn’t do it. I have a washable mop (not a rag mop) for the large floors.
I sure miss the days when I could get down on my hands and knees and clean a floor properly, but I can’t do that anymore.
I have a crappy stained linoleum floor in my kitchen, which is mostly covered by a throw rug, and I use my Swiffer in there. I think it does a fine job. My kitchen floor tends to get dog-and-garden-muddy.
I also use it in the bathroom. You have to make sure you sweep/vacuum really well first, though, or else you just push a clump of wet hair around the floor.
The pads and the refills aren’t really as expensive as you’d think, and the batteries in the mop last a long time.
If I was using some sort of mop/bucket arrangement, I’d probably clean my floors even LESS. So Swiffer works for me.
I like Swiffers because you can use them for more than cleaning up the floor- the dry cloths make a great duster for the TV screen, tables, the tops of the family’s accumulation of action figures in the study, all that sort of thing.
We don’t actually use it on the floor that much, now that I think about it; we use those rubber carpet brushes that get advertised at the commercial barn of the state fair to pick up all the dog hair, and then vacuum up the dust before mopping the bits that get mopped.
But several people who live in dorms swear by the Swiffer to keep the linoleum floors dust-free and comfy for bare feet walking.
Nah I’m talking about the Wet Jet, where you push a button and solution comes out. There’s a battery (or two) that drives that process (I’ve had to change it once before).
I prefer a microfiber cloth. That way you can wash it and reuse it. Seems less wasteful than all those Swiffer refills. They’re also good for washing dishes.
I like my Swiffer. Just use the dry cloth first, then the wet cloth - the floor gets clean enough for me. And the citrus smell of the wet cloths I find oddly pleasing.
This is the same economic model that was pioneered (so my father told me) by Gillette, back when you would have a safety razor that would last for years, but you would have to keep refilling it with fresh blades. Their model was to give the razor away for free, because they would make their money on the blades.
So the cost of a Swiffer is not the $16 you pay the first time, it is the annual cost of all the refills. You might want to figure out how many refills you will use in a year, check out how much that costs, and see how that fits in your budget. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good deal.
I like the idea of a microfiber cloth. It’s cheap up front, lasts a long time (with repeated washings) and is an effective trapper of dirt. When I clean the floor, I prefer to be down on my hands and knees anyway (and one of the advantages of a small house is that the acreage of flooring that needs to be scrubbed is manageably small).
Roddy
eta: I can’t tell you how well they work, I’ve never used one. I do indulge in a Swiffer duster - the refills last a long time, and I only have to buy about one package a year.
They’re OK for a quickie wash, but not so good for heavy cleaning. The pads lose their absorbency pretty quick, so if you’re washing more than about a 5x5 foot floor, you’re soon pushing crud around instead of picking it up.
A lot of times, I’ll just grab some paper towels, get 'em damp and add a bit of Mr. Clean and wash the kitchen floor that way instead of getting the Swiffer mop out of the garage. It’s worth noting that my kitchen floor is pretty small.
I find the dry Swiffer less effective on the floors than sweeping or vacuuming, but I do like the Swiffer dusters.
I like the wet Swiffer, but agree that it provides mostly a cosmetic clean, as opposed to a eat-off-the-floor clean. I’m fine with that, as I don’t eat off the floor.
Y’all do realize that mopping isn’t *meant * to pick up dust and debris, right? Sweeping or vacuuming is meant to do that. As long as you sweep or vacuum before you mop, the Swiffer is fine, although you may find yourself using a paper towel to pick up some crud in the corners of the room (because the Swiffer wet-jet does NOT pick up dust and debris, it just moistens it and pushes it around).
I had the battery-powered vacuum (that’s the Duster, right?) and I liked it, but when the batteries got weak I didn’t replace it. I still use the pads to clean the lint trap of my dryer. Also, I used to wash them all the time and reuse them, so try that to cut your costs.
These days I find myself cleaning up plenty of puddles of puppy piss. Maybe I should consider the Wet Jet.
I find the Swiffer Wet Jet to be a godsend. I never mopped before I got it, because dealing with buckets is such a pain. It may not be as clean as it would be if I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed, but realistically that’s never going to happen anyway.
I just got a Wet Jet and used it to mop up my bathrooms (which badly needed it) yesterday. Much easier than getting out the mop and bucket, and did the job well enough. As far as the cost of the refills, I’ll do what I do with everything else: watch for coupons and sales, and stock up then. In fact, that’s how I bought the Wet Jet. Now I may check out some of the other Swiffer products.
I kept thinking, if I was sponge mopping my floor I would stop and rinse, often. With the swiffer either you’re changing the disposable (yeah, I don’t really care for that) cloths every few minutes, or you’re effectively just pushing the dirt around.
For me it seemed the equivalent of mopping your floor without ever rinsing the mop.
Now the other one on the market, (can’t remember the brand name at the moment, but it is not a square head, it’s got a point and is made to manouver well into corners and behind tight toilets, etc.) I do like. I still object to the disposable covers , though.
So I simply used some old towels to sew up my own, reusable and washable covers and I am delighted with the results. The head swivels, it fits in tight places, I can switch the cover out when it gets dirty, I don’t have to keep buying disposable clothes and they go in the washer and dryer.
I can see swiffer working if you just have very light or quick cleanup to do, but that’s not my house!
Have one of the wet jet ones - it’s been hanging in my laundry room since the first time it ran out of the solution stuff. I hate it. I refuse to pay for the refills. Besides, I don’t have that much floor to clean - I can do it easily with paper towels on my hands and knees - much cheaper and the floor ends up cleaner.
