Spray mops, like the ubiquitous Swiffer WetJet, aren’t the best tools for soaking up spills or cleaning grout.
But they are incredibly convenient, since the handle, pad, and cleaning solution are all stored together, premixed, and ready to go. It’s a combination that’s made them wildly popular. For most minor messes on most kinds of flooring, spray mops work well enough. The WetJet is my go-to mop at home, and a number of my Wirecutter colleagues also rely entirely on a spray mop of some sort.
I’d even argue that the gatekeepers of deep-cleaning wisdom don’t give the genre enough respect. Studies have actually found that the flat cleaning pads often used in spray mops can clean even better than traditional mops in some important ways.
Part of the problem, I think, is that a “spray mop” is almost synonymous with “Swiffer WetJet,” and for some, “Swiffer” is another way to say “expensive garbage generator.” Swiffer’s single-use pads and detergent bottles do create a prodigious pile of trash over time. If the landfill contributions don’t bother you, the recurring costs might.
Spray mops don’t have to be expensive and wasteful, though, not even a Swiffer. I’ve spent almost nothing on fresh supplies for my WetJet in nearly five years, and I can count on one hand the number of disposable pads I’ve thrown away in that time.
Let’s be clear: A Swiffer is meant to be used with disposable refills. The Swiffer website features precisely zero pads or bottles designed for reuse. (The company does have a reclamation program, if you’d like to jump through a few extra hoops to participate.)
I’m not here to defend the Swiffer or its business model, and I have no opinion about how it stacks up to spray mops sold by Bona, O-Cedar, Rubbermaid, or any other brand—essentially they all ship with reusable pads and refillable fluid reservoirs.
Wirecutter has never done comparative testing on spray mops, and we haven’t recommended any in our larger wet mop guide. (And I’m not talking about the Swiffer Sweeper, which is not a spray mop and is not a product we recommend at Wirecutter.)
But the Swiffer WetJet and the newer, similar PowerMop have tens of thousands of positive user ratings across major retailers, as well as a massive brick-and-mortar presence at big-box stores and supermarkets. Loads of people are very happy to own them.
If you have a Swiffer spray mop and think it’s pretty good, but you want to cut back on the waste and expense of those refills, it’s actually pretty easy.
Washable microfiber pads are inexpensive and very common for Swiffer’s spray mops. I bought this two-pack back in 2020 because it had the most user ratings at the time—and it still does, with more than 44,000 at the time of writing. These pads are all I’ve really needed, and they’ve held up just fine over time, as far as I can tell. I wash them with my other microfiber hand rags, basically following the best practices for tossing microfiber cloths into the laundry.
Some of my Wirecutter colleagues own different microfiber pads for their WetJets, and their reactions are about the same as mine: They’re totally adequate. The user ratings are pretty consistent from listing to listing, and none of them are particularly expensive. Shop as you see fit.
As for the cleaning solution, WetJet bottles have plastic security tabs to stop you from unscrewing the top and refilling the bottle. Here’s the secret to cracking it: Dip the tip of the bottle—with the cap still attached—into a bowl of gently boiling water for about 15 seconds. This will soften the plastic tabs, and the cap will be hot! So wrap a cloth around your hand before you grab it. Then the top should twist right off. Don’t forget to dump the used water. (Some how-to videos suggest using a screwdriver to get under the cap and bend the tabs, but I think the hot-water method is easier.)
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can then use a nail clipper (or a similar tool) to cut off the plastic tabs inside the cap. This way, you won’t need to re-soften the plastic for future refills.
It’s a similar story with the newer Swiffer PowerMop. The pad is a different size, but there’s no shortage of reusable third-party microfiber cloths made to fit the PowerMop’s head. Same for the juice bottle: The PowerMop’s is a different shape than the WetJet’s, but it also has plastic security tabs that go soft in hot water.
Swiffer sells its cleaning solutions only in disposable bottles, so you’ll have to choose something else. Other companies sell mixtures intended to be used in spray mops, or you can mix up your own. I’ve never had trouble getting the Swiffer’s spray mechanism to squirt other companies’ cleaning solutions. I have two bottles in rotation: one for vinyl, laminate, and tile; another filled with a wood-floor cleaner.
Why go through all of this when you could just get a “regular” mop and bucket (which Wirecutter’s cleaning experts also recommend)? Here are some reasons:
- Convenience: The spray mop just makes it so, so quick and easy to wipe up mud, paw prints, oily splatter, salty snow water, or whatever else ends up on the floor of my kitchen, bathroom, and entryway. It’s ready for action all the time. This was the most common point of praise among my spray-mopping colleagues at Wirecutter.
- Storage: When I bought my Swiffer, I lived in a condo with nowhere convenient to store a bucket for a traditional string-mop setup. If I’d kept it in the basement or the back of a closet, I never would’ve used it. Some of my apartment-dwelling colleagues agreed. (Something like the Libman Wonder Mop could have worked. But a spray mop is still easier to use because there’s no wringing involved, and the cleaning solution rides along in the handle, ready to spray.) Even now, I live in a house, and I still don’t have a great spot to keep a bucket.
- Comfort and accessibility: One of my coworkers noted that a spray mop is much easier on her back than dealing with a bucket full of water and a wringer. Another pointed out that on some mops, the battery-powered push-button spray mechanism needs only a very light touch to operate.
- Works fine: When I tested robot mops for Wirecutter, I found that pad-style cleaners worked fine on flat ground, even for a whole-house wipedown. And in our guide to mops, we recommend the Libman Rinse ’N Wring, a pad-style mop—without the spray mechanism, but with a carry-along bucket for cleaning solution. The EPA has actually encouraged hospitals to wash their floors with swappable microfiber pads, after a study found that string mops reduced bacteria counts only by 30%, while microfiber was 99% effective. Household string or flap mops now tend to have washable microfiber heads, which should even the playing field. But if a pad is good enough for a post-op recovery room, it’s good enough for my house.
- Spills: Traditional mops can soak up a few glasses’ worth of spilled liquid. But so can the pile of rags that I keep in a kitchen drawer. I’m not the only Wirecutter staffer who deals with spills that way.
- Sticky stuff or bumpy surfaces: The soft microfiber pads work better on tougher jobs than you might think, especially because you can press down into the head pretty forcefully—more than with a regular mop, I believe. If my spray mop can’t get the job done on its own, I just plop down on my hands and knees and get after it with a brush and stronger cleaning solutions. This happens only a few times per year, for me personally. But you could also keep a string mop around for this kind of cleanup, as some of my colleagues do.
- The option for disposables: If I need to clean up something truly foul, where I’d probably want to use disposable pads, it’s nice to know that I can find some for a Swiffer at just about any supermarket. I’ve never had to do this, and if I didn’t have a Swiffer I’m sure I’d manage just fine. But one of my colleagues just dealt with a mold situation in her apartment, and she was thankful for this option.
If you’re happy with your string mop, or whatever you use to wet-wash your floors, that’s wonderful—don’t change it. But if it’s making you miserable, don’t count out a spray mop. And remember, it doesn’t have to be a Swiffer—especially if the fear of recurring costs and waste has been holding you back.
This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Katie Okamoto.
