The 6 Best Alternatives to Mopping are:
- Steam Mops (Very effective at removing stains & doesn’t use any detergent)
- Electric Mops (Ideal for heavy mopping & deep cleaning)
- Spin Mops & Twisting Mops (Most affordable alternative)
- Swiffer Mops (Quick & Easy to Use)
- Robot Mops (Requires the least amount of work)
- Dust Mops (Recommended for quickly removing dust)
1- Steam Cleaning Mops
A Steam Mop is one of the best alternatives to just regular mopping – it utilizes very hot steam to remove dirt, stains and kill germs and bacteria. Citation.
They have a similar shape and design to a Swiffer mop except they work by emitting steam through a pad. The hot steam softens stains, dirt, dust, and grime which allows it to be absorbed onto the pad.
Advantages of a Steam Mop Vs Regular Mop
1- Quick and Easy to Use (Less Effort Needed)
Steam Mops allow you to clean extremely fast, this is because the heat emanating from the pads quickly break up hard to remove stains and dirt.
By breaking them up makes removing stains much easier since it allows the particles to come off from the floor and stick to the pads of the steam mop.
Whilst with a regular mop you need to put your back into it since you would have to pass the mop over several times or even have to go on your knees and scrub before these stains can be removed.
Steam Mops are also very easy to use; all you need to do is add water to the tank, turn it on, let it heat up, and then glide it over your floor.
Whilst with regular moping you have to put a lot more effort in and you have to be constantly wringing your mop out to get rid of the accumulated dirt.
2- Very Effective at Removing Dirt & Grime
Steam Mops are the best at removing; tough stains, dirt, and grime. This is because the heat from the steam breaks them up allowing the residue to be easily absorbed onto the pads of the steam mops.
3- Doesn’t Use any Detergent
Steam Cleaners don’t use any detergent or chemicals to clean with, instead, they just use very hot steam. This means that you don’t have to worry about using detergents containing any toxic or harmful chemicals that can potentially harm you, your kids, or your pets.
And plus you are gonna save a lot of money by not having to buy too many detergents.
4- Sterilizes Your Floor
Once used correctly a steam mop can kill 99.9 % of all bacteria, viruses, and even mold found on your floor without having to use any harmful chemicals. Citation.
This is because the intense heat from the steam would kill most of these microbes. Now to ensure that your steam cleaner sterilizes your floor you should follow the instruction on your steam cleaner since each model reaches a different temperature.
But the key is to ensure that most of the microbes are killed is to take your time when you steam mop, by gliding the mop slowly over the surface allowing the steam to do its job.
5- Dries Very Quickly
Regular mopping can take a while to dry and this can be a really big problem if you have impatient kids and pets since they can quickly walk all over your still-wet floor leaving dirty spots all over.
But when you use a steam mop the steam quickly evaporates, so your floor would dry extremely fast in comparison to regular moping.
6- Multi-Purpose
Some models of steam mops come with attachments that can clean various types of surfaces and materials.
Such as your countertops, bathroom and toilet, carpets, rugs, sofas, and even your curtains.
Disadvantages of a Steam Mop Vs Regular Mops
1- Expensive
Steam Mops are more pricey in comparison to just buying a regular mop and bucket. But I consider them an investment since they save you time, energy, and detergent.
Now the purchase is a one-off investment since most steam mop pads are washable and reusable. And you don’t have to buy any specific items to use a steam mop you just need to add water.
2- Requires a Power Source
Steam Mops work with electricity so you will have the drawback of either;
- Having to deal with a long cord plugged into an outlet or
- Having to charge your steam mop up before using them since some models work with batteries allowing them to be cordless.
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3- Not Ideal For Heavy Cleaning of a Large Area
Steam Mops can clean a large area but they aren’t ideal for cleaning a large area that is extremely dirty meaning that it has a lot of dirt and crumbs. This is because the pads on a steam cleaner would get saturated with dirt pretty fast and need to be either washed or replace with a clean one.
Now if you have multiple pads you can switch them as they get saturated which would allow you to clean a larger area.
4- Can’t Be Used on all Types of Floors.
It isn’t advisable to steam clean hardwood and laminate floors this is because the heat and moisture can over time damage these types of materials. You can click here to read more about materials and surfaces that you shouldn’t steam clean.
Steam Mops can work amazingly well on floors that have tiles, vinyl, marble, or bare concrete.
Recommended Steam Mop
I highly recommend the PurSteam Steam Mop – it is one of the most popular and effective yet affordable steam mops on the market.
But what I really love it for is that it comes with a bunch of attachments that allow you to steam clean your carpet, curtains, windows, upholstery, countertops, toilet and so much more.
Plus the PurSteam allows you control the amount of steam produced which allows you to mop certain surfaces that other brands of steam mops would damage.
Amazon usually has the PurSteam Steam Mop in stock, you can click here to see the current price for one there.
2- Electric Mops
Electric Mops are amazing this is because they allow you to deep clean without having to put too much effort into it.
This is because electric mop use motors to spin their mop pads which break up and clean stains, dirt, and grime and even allows you to buff your floors.
Advantages of an Electric Mop Vs a Regular Mop
1- Cleans Faster with Less Effort
Electric Mops make mopping very easy to do. Since their rotating pads or brush easily and quickly break up and then pick up; dirt, stains, and grime with just one pass.
So you won’t need to put extra effort into mopping or having to go on your knees to scrub off certain tough stains.
2- Ideal For Deep Cleaning
Now because of the power and effectiveness that electric mops have makes them very suitable for intense and deep cleaning of your floors.
But for certain models just ensure that you have enough mop pads at reach to switch them out.
3- Perfect For Buffing Your Floors
Some models of electrice mops have rotating mop pads which can also buff your floors leaving them with a nice glossy sheen.
4- Multi-Purposed.
Electric Mops are not just limited to just mopping hard floors, some models have a ton of uses such as the ability to wash and clean rugs and carpets with some models capable of vacuuming.
Now there are two types of electric mops;
- A Vacuum and Mop Combo (These mops can vacuum like a conventional vacuum and has a mop feature as well)
- An Electric Mop (A Straight forward mop that uses motors to make mopping easier)
Disadvantages of an Electric Mop Vs a Regular Mop
1- Expensive
Electric mops are very expensive and can cost hundreds of dollars so you should only buy one if you can afford it.
2- Needs a Power Source
Electric mops like your vacuum are limited by the length of their power cord which means that they need can only be used where you have electricity available.
Now there are some models that are battery powered but these still need to be charged.
3- Uses Detergent
Electric mop unlike steam cleaners will need to use detergents.
Recommended Electric Mop
1- Bissell Crosswave Vacuum Electric Mop
The Bissell Crosswave Vacuum Mop is the electric mop that I recommend, it is simply one of the best cleaning devices you can use.
You see the main drawback with most brands of electric mops is that dirt accumulates on the pads which then has to be changed. But with the Crosswave the dirt is not stored or absorbed on the pads or the brush. Instead, the dirty water with the sediments is vacuumed up and stored in a tank.
The Crosswave can also be used to wash and clean your rugs and carpets and can just be used as a regular vacuum. You can see it in action in the video below.
Where to Get the Bissell Crosswave
Amazon usually has great deals on the Bissell Crosswave, you can click here to see the current price for one there.
2- Bissell Spinwave Electric Mop
Now if you are looking just for an Electric Mop, without a vacuum function then I highly recommend the Bissell Spinwave.
It works by using motors that rapidly rotate the mop pad whilst a cleaning solution is sprayed onto your floor so as to thoroughly scrub and clean them. The power of the mop easily breaks up dirt and stains from your floor causing them to adhere to the mop pads.
You can see how it works in the video below.
Where to Get the Bissell Spinwave
You can get the Bissell Spinwave on Amazon, you can click here to see the current price for one there.
3- Spin Mops & Twisting Mops
Spin Mops and Twisting Mops are very similar to conventional string mops. Except they both have an additional design that greatly improves the effectiveness of the standard mop.
You see one of the biggest issues with the regular mop is that you need to wring the mop out to get rid of the dirty water.
Now both the spin mop and twisting mop fixes this problem by having an extra feature that makes wringing the mop easier which allows for the mop to clean better and to dry mop.
This is especially useful if you have hardwood floors that can’t handle a lot of water.
Spin Mops
Spin Mops come with a great bucket design that helps you to completely wring your mop out dry without having to get your hands wet and dirty.
The Spin Mop buckets have a compartment on the top that you have to place your mop in and then you need to peddle a lever on the side to rotate the mop. By spinning the mop draws the dirty water out from the microfibers and drains it out in the bucket which leaves your mop clean and dry.
You can see how it works in the video below.
Where to Get a Spin Mop
The O-Cedar Mop is the most popular spin mop on the market, you can click here to see the current price of one on Amazon.
Twisting Mops
Twisting mops are designed with a feature that allows you to turn the lower part of the handle which cause the mop to wrap around the stick with a lot of force thus draining the dirty water from the mop.
You can check out the video down below to see how it works.
Where to Get a Twisting Mop
The Libman Tornado Twisting mop is the industry leader for twisting mops, you can click here to see the current price for one on Amazon.
4- Swiffer Mops
Swiffer mops are some of the most popular floor cleaning tools on the market. These mops are extremely easy to use with ability to quickly clean up spills or wipe away dirt and dust from your floor. Citation.
And what I love about most Swiffer mops is that they are super affordable. Plus you don’t need to use too much water or detergents and you can ditch your bucket.
But they have some drawbacks, Swiffer mops are not suited for heavy or deep cleaning and most of their cleaning pads cannot be reused and need to be thrown away after a couple of uses. And constantly buying cleaning pads over time can become expensive and is bad for the environment.
Where to Get Swiffer Mops
Most grocery stores and retailers like Walmart and Target would have Swiffer mops in stock. But you can also get them on Amazon at really good prices, there are two main models:
1- Swiffer Wetjet – these mops are better for a more comprehensive cleaning they can handle more dirt and larger spills. You can click here to see the price for a Swiffer Wetjet on Amazon.
2- Swiffer Sweeper – this model is more suited for light cleaning such as mopping up small spills and for dusting. You can click here to see the price for one on Amazon.
5- Robot Mops
Robot Mops are very similar to a vacuum robots also known as a Roomba. Except robot mops can do both vacuuming and mopping at the same time.
Now the main advantage with these machines is that you won’t need to constantly be having to mop up spots of; spills, stains, and dirt. Instead, these little robots are constantly working autonomously to keep your floors in order without you having to put in any effort.
But the main drawback with robot mops is that they are pricey and they can’t really do deep cleaning and they struggle with mopping up extremely dirty floors. They are meant for light mopping and vacuuming.
Recommended Robot Vacuum
Now they are a bunch of different brands of robot vacuums on the market but the one that I recommend is the Kyvol Mopping & Vacuuming Robot.
The Kyvol is an extremely effective robot mop and is the only one that does both vacuuming and mopping, most other brands just do mopping.
You can the Kyvol Robot Mop on Amazon, you can click here to see the current price for one there.
6- Dust Mops
Dust mops are specialized mops made of microfibers that were designed to clean your floors without having to use any water which makes them ideal if you have hardwood floors.
They are amazingly effective at removing dry dirt, dust, and both pet and human hair all without using a vacuum or any water or detergent.
The brand of dust mop that I recommend is the O-Cedar, you can click here to see the current price for on Amazon.
Citation and References
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