The Ultimate Mop Buyers Guide

What good would a mop review website be without a page dedicated to helping you pick out the best mop? Well no need to worry, I’ve spent way more time researching and reviewing mops than any one person should so I’ve done the work and put together exactly what you should keep in mind when looking for a quality mop.  So without futher ado check out our Ultimate Mop Buyers Guide.

Choosing The Perfect Mop – What You Need To Know

There are really 3 main factors that matter when it comes to building a quality mop. These are the materials used for the product, the quality of the manufacturing work itself, and the built in “features” that increase it’s effectiveness.

Of these factors, the first two are vitally important and the third will just make a good product even better.

Why are the first two so important? Well, you can use the best raw materials in the world but if manufacturing work is shoddy the mop isn’t going to perform.  The same thing goes with the opposite situation, a well-manufactured mop made with cheap materials will break down or not perform up to par.  So making sure the mop hits of both of these factors is crucial. Once that’s done you can start adding features that will take a product from “good” to “great.”

What To Look For in the Mop Pole

So the main things you want to look for in a quality mop pole is that it’s lightweight, strong/durable, easy to maneuver, and has enough length.

When it comes to weight and durability I personally recommend a mop body made of “HIGH QUALITY” aluminum alloy as it’s both lightweight and extremely strong. Low-grade aluminum doesn’t cut it as it may be lightweight but it’s prone to have strength issues which need to be avoided.

Stainless steel is another okay option if your cleaning large areas where you don’t need to do much maneuvering (think gymnasium floor) however in most homes and apartments it doesn’t work too well as the additional weight makes it substantially hard to go around objects, under things, over things and it’s really just a hassle especially once the mop is wet.

Our Recommendations: An Aluminum Alloy Body

What To Look For in the Cleaning Head

There are a ton of different types of mop heads and all claim to be the best for your mess. That said a lot of them are gimmicks.  The most popular types of mops include traditional cut end & looped end mops (think raggedy ann hair), sponge mops, spin mops, disposable spray mops, and microfiber mops.

Of these mop heads the two types that actually do a good job cleaning are the traditional cut/looped end mops and the microfiber mops. Personally, I don’t want a bunch of different mops for different situations so I want the mop head that’s the best at the most.

For extreme messes, nothing is going to top an extra large traditional cut/looped end mop however these require a large mop bucket, a large drying squeegee, etc.  For most people (myself included) that type of production just not gonna fly with the messes I see 95% of the time. Additionally for small messes, it actually tends to come up short compared to quality microfiber mop pad.

So after testing most types of mop heads, the ones I recommend are microfiber floor mops. NOTE:Make sure you buy a high-quality microfiber mop as the cheap “dollar store” style mops (with thin, cheap cleaning pads) are pretty much worthless. 

A high-quality microfiber mop pad picks up nearly any type of mess with ease i.e dust, dirt, pet hair, mud, liquids etc. A cheap mop pad does a great job at moving your mess from this spot to that spot…

Other Features You Need to Look Into

Recommendation 1: One of the main features I think everyone should make sure they look for when buying a mop is a pole with adjustable length. Read that again, make sure you get an extendable mop pole that gives the option of extra length. Is it really that important? Yes.

Different messes and different areas work best with various mop lengths.  Scrubbing a stuck on mess is substantially easier when you mop pole isn’t 4 feet long. Added length gives more leverage and cleaning force, while saving your back from fatigue. Additionally, you’ll want the extra length when cleaning under furniture or wiping down walls/tall windows. These days you don’t need to settle for a mop that isn’t adjustable so just don’t do it. No one wants to have multiple mops for multiple jobs.

Recommendation 2: Some type of swivel functionality for easy maneuvering and getting to those hard to reach places. Personally, a full 360 swivel is ideal as it enables the mop to go under furniture with ease, hug your floors trim and edging, and go over those less than ideal surfaces. Alot of cheaper mop heads swivel, but not well.. meaning the mop head kind of gets stuck when you are trying to rotate it. A quality swivel makes it easy to work on a ton of different surfaces including stairs, flooring, drywall, windows, or even your shower. Seriously once you’ve used a mop with a good swivel you won’t go back.

Pricing & Actual Long-Term Cost

The Disposable Mop Pad Con – A Business Case Study

This is an area that I wanted to make sure I covered in this guide. One of the trends I’ve noticed over the last few years is the number of people buying mops that use disposable pads like the swifter.  You have to give them credit for their marketing prowess but the product itself is 1) not very effective 2) actually substantially more expensive than you initially think and 3.) Terrible for the environment

Similar to how razor companies started offering “cheap” razors in the early 1900’s and making their money on the backend with expensive razor cartridges the mop industry has done the same thing.  The thought process is why only make $X on the consumer when they buy the mop and call it a day when we could sell them a disposable 15 pack on “hardwood mop pads” / “wet mop pads” / “dusting mop pads”… every month at $8 a pack?

Over the course of a year that adds up to nearly $100 in mop pads. There aren’t many consumers out there willing to spend $100 on a mop but for some reason, they have no problem being blinded by the “cheap” mop with a great brand name that they’ll realistically spend $1000’s on during their lifetime. Seriously avoid all “disposable pad” mops and use that money to take a few dream vacations instead. Plus you can tell your friends you’re doing your part to help to save the environment (and secretly your bank account.)

On the other hand mops like steam mops and microfiber flat mops have pads that can be used 100’s of times which in disposable mop pad math makes them worth around $100 each…

So What Kind of Mop Should You Buy? 

In the end, I think these days the best option for home, apartment, office, or classroom use is a high quality microfiber floor mop. For some larger commercial needs like janitorial work I think a traditional mop/bucket combo is going to be hard to beat. For some use cases where it’s more of a dusting job than a cleaning job a standard dust mop can do a good job as well.

But if you want something that’s going to handle most jobs, knock them out quickly without fanfare, and not break the bank you’re going to be hard pressed to beat a quality microfiber flat mop with an extendable rod and built in swivel head.