<p>Okay I admit I am a 20th century dinosaur who still uses sponge mops and old fashioned dust mops. But I keep hearing miracle stories about Swiffers, and am about to embark on some serious fall cleaning (with D off to college and H on a business trip for the next week or so). </p>
<p>So what I am missing? Is this invention going to revolutionize my housekeeping? :)</p>
<p>I think they’re okay for light jobs, but not the heavy duty cleaning. The swiffer tool is flimsy and you can’t put much pressure on it. I’ve used them for sort of dusting or light mopping of floors.</p>
<p>No problem with dust mops if they’re washed regularly. Sponge mops are so badly contaminated with bacteria that you might as well not clean with them. Me, I like to clean with old towels, which I then wash with bleach to keep clean.</p>
<p>I have a swiffer that I use to keep our hardwood floors relatively clean between proper cleanings.</p>
<p>The “dry” swiffer is a god-send on hardwood floors…they are a magnet for pet hair. The jury’s still out on the wet ones…I agree they are good for a light go-over, but if you need honest-to-goodness scrubbing, they won’t get the really tough stuff just on their own.</p>
<p>The swiffer is terrific (and no I don’t own stock). We have one at home, kids each have one in their apartments/houses at school. Good if used daily to clean up small things. DS did that…and it kept the floors clean. The wet ones also pick up those hairs…but not if you let them accumulate for a whole school year:)</p>
<p>We buy the dry refills which are great dust magnets…and DS uses them to swipe down his floor moldings and dust. For someone with allergies, they are terrific as they catch the dust instead of moving it around.</p>
<p>Like any other mop…if you REALLY want to get into all the nooks and crannies, it won’t work…get down on your hands and knees with a brush.</p>
<p>My former housekeeper swore by swiffers, so I went out and bought one. I really don’t like it. The dry one doesn’t seem to do anything but push the dirt around - I still have to sweep. The wet one uses “their” cleansers, and I like “mine” better. I tried using the dry clothes with my own cleanser, but it doesn’t work - they don’t absorb.</p>
<p>So I have compromised - I have some old waffle-weave dish towels that fit the sweeper pretty well. Easy to wash, and I can use my own cleaning fluid. And I’m not crazy about everything being disposable anyway.</p>
<p>I only use it on my tile and linoleum floors (bathrooms, laundry room, etc). I have a different mop with a terry cloth cover that I use on my hardwood. (Came from K-Mart - only place I’ve seen it. Have 2 or 3 covers so I can use one while another is in the wash.)</p>
<p>How sad was that my first thoughts were : swift boat veterans ? … what do I know about them … :o</p>
<p>Ugh! Warning, swiffer can ruin your floors (the wet one.)It is ok on vinyl (like armstrong, which I am not even sure is made anymore. Keep it AWAY from wood. Very sad troubles (destroyed the polyurethane finish among other things.) My experience with the dry one is ok to pick up 80-90 percent of pet hair.</p>
<p>I know spot clean the wood floor with method “wood for good.”</p>
<p>There’s a similar but much more heavy duty product called sh-mop, easily found on-line via a google search. I’ve had mine for years – at least 5 but probably longer. I purchased a 3-pack of terry cloth covers that fit over the mop head (essentially a flat rectangular platform about 6 x 12", though newer ones might be a different size). I moisten the terry cloth first, squeeze out the water, put it on the mop (easy, there’s elastic around the edges), then use a spray bottle to apply hardwood floor cleaner to the floor. If it gets dirty while mopping, I take off the cover and flip it over so the other side is “out”. The handle swivels completely flat so the mop gets under things easily. After use, you remove the terry cloth cover and throw it in the wash. This thing is so sturdy and has held up to years of serious, forceful scrubbing. I believe there may be “duster” type covers available, too. The sh-mop hanging flat against a wall for storage – we use one of those snap-in holders that grabs the handle.</p>
<p>The Sh-Mop is a product from The Clean Team. They have a lot of great cleaning stuff, tips, etc. The book/method behind the products is Speed Cleaning. Check out everything here: [The</a> Clean Team. - Efficient Housecleaning and Environmentally Friendly Cleaners](<a href=“http://www.thecleanteam.com%5DThe”>http://www.thecleanteam.com)</p>
<p>I use a Swiffer Wet Jet on various non-wood floors when I’m too lazy to get out the bucket and mop. Swiffer dry cloths are OK as dust cloths, but I’m not crazy about them on the end of the pole – I’m always trying to put too much pressure on it, and it’s pretty flimsy.</p>
<p>thanks for all the insights. Like most, I still do the heavy duty stuff the old fashioned way (hands and knees LOL) but wondered if swiffers made more sense for light duty. I think I’ll stick to my old fashioned methods after all. (So easy to use old tea towels as dust mop covers then throw them in the wash)</p>
<p>“but wondered if swiffers made more sense for light duty”</p>
<p>I have used both wet and dry Swiffers for years and think that they are terrific for light duty. My polyurethane finish looks fine. I HAVE been told by a friend that if I ever want to do a light screening and reapplication of polyurethane without sanding the floor that the prior use of a Swiffer can make the result look cloudy. I don’t know if this is true or not.</p>
<p>I use the wet Swiffer on my wooden floors often…usually when I am talking on the phone to my mom. I can do the whole downstairs during a fifteen minute call. (Multi-tasking is the only way to go.)</p>
<p>I upgraded to a heavier duty Swiffer handle when I saw them offered at Costco. The original was flimsy.</p>
<p>I love my Sh-Mop (hardwood floors here) and have bought the terry mop heads on eBay (3 pack for about $10, including shipping). Last summer (2007) while taking D to college in NYC we went to Cheap Jack’s for laundry supplies. I hit the Sh-Mop head jackpot. $1 a head. I bought 20. I have been able to launder them (first putting them in a lingerie bag). They seem to last forever.</p>
<p>I’m only going to agree with everyone else. I use the swiffer for light duty stuff. I have a couple of the flimsy things (I’m frustrated by not being able to put much pressure on the sticks) which do come in handy for other uses. I’ll link both together sometimes so I can reach the far corners of the two story entry without always hauling in the ladder.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of the Sh-Mop but will check that baby out!</p>
<p>I have to say it’s pretty embarrassing to be posting twice on a thread about mops. But…the Sh-mop is just incredibly durable. I don’t even have a sponge mop in the house anymore – got so tired of buying those replacements heads, or looking for replacement heads that had been discontinued. I have purchased two swiffers, broke both of them (might have been operator error or excess force due to grumpiness resulting from an aversion to house cleaning).</p>
<p>I swear by swiffers. I’m not a frequent duster/mopper, but the swiffer IS a pet hair magnet (and we have a golden retriever). It is also wonderful for ceiling fan blades and air vents, and all those odd places. It works less weel (unless brand new) on completely flat surfaces which might take a couple of passes to get all the dust. I like that it doesn’t require any sort of product to dust, and the dust doesn’t fly all over the place.</p>
<p>I love the swiffer mop as well. It’s true that it does not do heavy mopping well, if you need to scrub. The little scratcher on it is not sufficient for heavy scrubbing, but for regular mopping of stuff that easily comes loose with liquid, it’s wonderful. I like their cleaning solution better than any other I’ve tried, and it dries very quickly. I also like how easily it gets into usually hard to reach places and up to the edge (along baseboards, around the toilet). If the floor if very dusty/pet hairy, you will push stuff around, but I push/pull it into a pile. The cleaning pad has an edge on it that catches a lot of stuff. When I’m done, I pull the pad off and use it to pick up any pieces. </p>
<p>Tried to send Swiffers with S to college, but he flatly refused.</p>
<p>The only other cleaning product I like as well as swiffers are Magic Erasers. They’re terrific for cleaning the tub and shower door and my ceramic oven top.</p>
<p>Oh, don’t even get me started on Magic Erasers…Love them. L-O-V-E!</p>