Like so many families across the world we've been spending more time at home, which means a lot of extra foot traffic in and out of the kitchen. All day. Every day.
For the first few weeks we got by with a steam mop, but quickly realized we needed something a bit more heavy duty. Our lil' Shark® is great, but it just can’t keep up with two adults, three kids and a dog. In a few key strokes (‘best mop for tile floors and grout') I found the O-Cedar® EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop & Bucket System on Amazon. At around 40 dollars the price was right, it came with two mop head refills and plenty of good reviews.
I needed something that could deep clean my hexagon floor tiles and all of the grout lines. Getting the mop ready for its maiden voyage was a snap. The handle height is adjustable, so with a few quick twists it was ready to go. Next, we screwed in the red base and snapped the mop head into place. Since our floor needed a deep cleanse, we opted for a mixture of Pine-Sol and hot water instead of our typical mixture of white vinegar and hot water.
Wait, how does this thing work?
Once we had the mop assembled and the blazing hot Pine-Sol mixture ready, it was time to put it to the test. I plunged the mop inside the mixture and then the wringer. It took a few seconds to get comfortable with the idea of holding the mop loosely inside my grasp so it could spin freely. It seemed counterintuitive as I pressed down on the pedal, but this is the likely result of past experiences with those old yellow buckets with manual wringers. For those, holding onto the mop and wringer handle seemed like an Olympic sport. The harder you held the mop and pushed down on the wringer handle, the better.
Once I got the hang of it, I was pleasantly surprised how easy O-Cedar made it to have a perfectly wrung out mop. No muscle required.
Does it really clean the floor?
Yes, my friends. Yes, it does. The microfiber mop head worked like a charm. It whisked away dirt, spills and water marks. It even caught those stubborn dog hairs that my broom missed. The triangular shape of the mop head certainly helped when it came to cleaning in the corners, but I felt compelled to used an old rag and my hands to get into the crevices—especially since the rest of the floor looked so good.
How's the clean-up?
I'm going to be perfectly honest. I have a slop sink in my garage, which made clean-up very convenient—if you've ever considered installing a sink in your garage I highly recommend it. Anyway, the EasyWring bucket is really big (11.5" H x 11" W x 19" L) and unless you have a large sink in your kitchen or garage, emptying and rinsing your bucket might be a little tricky. I also wanted to rinse my mop with fresh water. I rinsed it in my slop sink and decided to wring it out again using the bucket...but quickly realized it needs to be weighted with water in order for the pedal to work effectively.
All in all this is a quality product that works well. The bucket is well-constructed, heavy-duty, and (despite it's size) relatively easy to handle. The mop is also well-made, but the handle did pop out of the red base a few times. It snapped back into place easily, but time will tell if it’s built to last. Fingers crossed.