The New Swiffer PowerMop Might Convince You to Finally Ditch Your Mop

A mop and bucket are classic tools associated with a clean home. When someone gets out the mop and bucket, some deep cleaning is about to take place. But while some of us might still own a mop and bucket, they’re probably not dug out of the closet and used as often as they once were—if you have a mop and bucket at all. Honestly, in many homes, a mop and bucket aren’t the essential cleaning tools they once were, even though homes haven’t miraculously gotten cleaner. Those floors still need a good scrubbing from time to time, and sometimes only a mop is up to the task.

Still, if you long ago swapped out the labor-intensive mop and bucket for a wet sweeper, you may not have the floor cleaner you need to truly get your floors sparkling. To solve that problem, Swiffer—the maker of time- and effort-saving cleaning tools such as the Swiffer Sweeper and the Swiffer WetJet, both of which are often used in place of a traditional mop today, even if they don’t offer the same level of clean—has announced what it’s calling its biggest innovation in 20 years: the Swiffer PowerMop.

With the cleaning power of a traditional mop but the convenience of the Swiffer Sweeper or WetJet, this all-in-one wet cleaning system is the perfect alternative to a mop and bucket, whether you’re ready to ditch yours or you never had one in the first place. You can get the deep clean you need (and your floors deserve), without the time and effort it takes to fill a bucket with water and lug it around while you mop. (We won’t even get into the mess of dealing with a bucket full of dirty mop water.)

The result of seven years of innovation work, the Swiffer PowerMop is built like the WetJet, with a built-in repository for cleaning solution that can be sprayed on the floor with the push of a button. Unlike the WetJet, though, the PowerMop has a sleeker build, and the cleaning solution sits inside the handle frame, so you can actually lay it flat to reach under furniture. (The 360-degree swivel head also helps with that.) The PowerMop also has a larger mop head, for greater floor coverage. That mop head is paired with multi-layered disposable pads that absorb moisture and dirt instead of just pushing it around. These layers also ensure your PowerMop won’t cause streaks and smears by picking up and trapping dirt, so it isn’t redeposited on the floor with the next pass.

And for those with wood floors, Swiffer has thought of that, too. A quick-drying wood cleaning solution is available, so you can get the same convenience while cleaning wood floors without worrying about lingering moisture damaging them.

Swiffer has already changed the floor-cleaning game before with the Sweeper and WetJet, and while we love and value these tools (and use them in our own homes), your floors do need a deeper clean from time to time (especially if you have kids and/or pets running around)—and that’s where the PowerMop comes in. As a lighter-weight, easier-to-use alternative to the mop and bucket, the PowerMop offers effective cleaning in a compact tool. As Swiffer says in its announcement of the new PowerMop, “It’s time to mop smarter, not harder.”

Our Favorite Features of the New Swiffer PowerMop

Better Homes & Gardens joined two members of the Swiffer team—Maria Striemer, a Senior Scientist, and Niki Parsons from Swiffer Research & Development—for a demo of the new PowerMop, and amid the many great features mentioned above, a few stood out as being especially smart and helpful.

First, the mop head comes equipped with LED headlights so you can see where you’ve sprayed already, so you won’t forget whether you’ve already applied solution. These handy lights mean you’ll also likely use less solution, saving you money over time, plus you’ll be able to avoid spraying too much solution at any one time, which can damage wood floors.

The more streamlined body of the PowerMop also makes for much easier storage. The locking head helps, so while you can use the tool at different angles to clean floor trim and other awkward spaces, you can also tuck the entire tool away neatly in the closet when you’re finished, with the head flat against the handle instead of jutting out.

Announced May 4, the new Swiffer PowerMop will be available nationwide in stores and online starting in June. The PowerMop kit includes the PowerMop, a bottle of cleaning solution, and a pack of mop pads.