A Cleaner House Makes a Healthier House — These 11 Mops Get the Job Done

Avoid harmful cleaning chemicals with the powerful Feppo 2-in-1 Steam Mop and Handheld Cleaner, which uses heat to dissolve dirt, grease, and grime. The relatively budget-friendly device heats up in a minute or two and works well for the price, taking care of our tester’s dirty bathroom floors. “I had a higher-end steamer in the past, and it required more work and cost more. This is way better,” said editor Ashley Zeigler.

Zeigler loved that the device comes with extra tools: a window scraper, nylon and metal brushes, and even a garment steamer. These tools mean that the mop can also clean kitchen stoves, crevices, ceramic tile, grout, cars, and stuffed animals.

The mop has a generous 16-foot cord, too. Note that our research found some users felt the mop was uncomfortable to hold, and steam mops are also not suitable for wood floors.

According to O-Cedar, microfiber is effective at removing up to 99 percent of bacteria in addition to pulling up dirt and grime. As a result, the brand’s EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop and Bucket System makes cleaning easy without harsh chemicals. “I would recommend this to anyone with hard floors,” said editor Nicole Bonaccorso. “It works well, cleans well, and can work in any space. It’s not big and doesn’t require much.”

She loved that the triangle-shaped mop head could easily get into corners. The device is easy to operate: Plunge it into a bucket of water, place it in the spinner, and use the foot pedal to wring it to the desired moisture level. The foot pedal eliminates the need to bend over, which can be a problem for people with mobility issues, says Dr. Capozzolo. You can also quickly remove the mop head by stepping on it and pulling the handle, then throw it in the wash for easy cleaning.

During Bonaccorso’s testing, the mop handle would often collapse back to the shortest position when she tried to use the extension feature. She also found that the spin feature caused the bucket to feel a bit unbalanced and crooked while carrying it.

Before you let the price of this robotic vacuum mop dissuade you, think about just how much it can do. It vacuums every type of floor, mops every type of hardwood floor, empties its dust bin automatically, and washes its mops in hot water. That’s completing the work of multiple tools while you’re off doing something more important (like relaxing).

“I was genuinely surprised by how thoroughly this robot mopped and vacuumed, and I love how seamlessly it transitions between each task,” said Everyday Health editor Ally Hirschlag, who has been using the Qrevo CurvX in her own home for two months and still hasn’t had to replace the water in its tank. “It also rarely gets caught on rugs.”

This robot is much smarter than those of the past. Not only can it detect various surfaces and obstacles, but it can also tell when particularly stubborn dirt needs a few extra passes. You can let it do all this on its own or use various settings for light or deep cleaning. It has an arm that can reach out to sweep corners, a notorious problem for other robot vacuums. Access controls with an app on your phone or a smartwatch, or give it direct voice commands (even without an internet connection). Hirschlag wished this were smarter in just one area: When the dustbin is full in the middle of a task, it does not return to the dock to empty it. That means it will keep on trying to vacuum and instead just push around the dirt.

A robot’s help is invaluable when it comes to cleaning. Whether you are a parent with a house full of kids and pets, a busy professional, or managing mobility issues due to age, injury, or disability, a smart machine that mops and vacuums is a worthy investment. The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni E25 was Scully’s favorite robot device. Despite the high price, she says, “This is the only robot vacuum I tried that I thought I’d buy another one if it broke, and it’s also the one I recommend the most to friends and family. It’s so easy to use, smart, and helpful.”

The device uses mapping and object sensing to navigate and clean rooms. It self-empties, self-cleans, and even doses and mixes the exact amount of cleaning solution for a job, which is why we think it’s the best at cleaning floors with multiple types of surfaces. You can program it, run it on a schedule, and receive a report after each clean. The transparent water tank makes it easy to know when to refill, and the device had the easiest setup across all of the robotic products Scully tried. Note that the robot did get stuck and die a few times, but the overall performance was exceptional.

This unusual-looking mop-and-bucket system does away with two hassles: wringing the right amount of liquid from the mop and the feeling that you’re just spreading dirty water around. Every time you lift the mop out of the water chamber of the bucket, a blade scrapes dirt off it. Then you dip it in the second chamber, where another blade wrings out excess water.

Tester Taylor Smyrnos found the system “satisfying” and effective, even though it took her a minute to figure out. You can use any cleaning solution you’d like, and the microfiber pad is machine-washable up to 50 times. The other benefit she found was that it’s all fairly compact for storage. There are also several options for buying extra pads. In our research, we found that the pad's Velcro wears off, which may result in it getting stuck in the bucket when you wring it out.

Getting the house prepped for a family visit? The long-handled AIR U+ Floor Scrub Brush is an excellent tool for getting grime off grout, from between laminate, or anywhere else that needs a thorough deep cleaning. Basically a scrubbing brush on a stick, this easy-to-use tool has bristles and doesn’t absorb moisture, so it isn’t meant to be used on its own. Instead it should be used to loosen crud before a follow-up with a regular mop.

“I would recommend this to someone who wants a deep clean, someone who enjoys cleaning and seeing the dirt and grime come up,” says Bonaccorso. “And I have to recommend it to parents of messy kids.”

The tool easily gets into the corners with a 45-degree angled brush, Bonaccorso says. The shape does make it hard to dip into a water bucket. It doesn’t absorb liquids, so this tool needs to be used in addition to another mop.

Hardwood floors require special treatment when mopping, namely less moisture and gentle cleansers. The Bona Premium Spray Mop is safe for unwaxed, unoiled, polyurethane-finished wood floors. It uses a biodegradable, plant-based, pH-neutral cleaning solution and doesn’t get too wet, says Bonaccorso, who tested this product. This gentle cleanser may work well for people with allergies — harsh chemicals can be a trigger, Dr. Parikh says.

It’s also easy to use. A container of cleaning solutions rests at the base. Just pull a lever near the handle to spray the solution and run the microfiber mop head over it. Bonaccorso says the mop glided smoothly over wood floors and got around corners easily. While the mop didn’t give the deepest clean, it worked well for daily use. “It’s kind of cool to have a product like this for hardwood floors,” she says. “It’s nice to give them a quick wipe down without going through the whole cleaning process.” Note that the container of solution adds extra weight to the mop.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use mop that you can whip out and put away quickly, the Swiffer PowerMop Multi-Surface Kit should be on your shopping list. Like other spray mops, it doesn’t require a bucket and is easy to maneuver, says health writer Katie Mannion. “I love that it’s a lightweight spray mop that eliminates the need for a bucket,” she says. “Not only is it incredibly easy to use, it’s quick and doesn’t require any extra steps — filling a bucket, wringing out a mop head, etc. But my favorite feature has to be the 360-degree swivel head. That along with the slimmer profile makes it really easy to reach under furniture and around tight spaces and corners.”

The mop’s efficiency stood out to Mannion, who cleans her kitchen in 5 to 10 minutes a day. Her entire 2,500-square-foot home takes roughly 30 minutes to clean and generally requires only a single pass. That said, the mop doesn’t give a deep clean, and the disposable pad system isn’t eco-friendly.

If you’re looking for a versatile, easy-to-use mop that won’t break the bank, the Bona Spray Mop Air is a worthy choice. The device has a 360-degree swivel head that helps you maneuver in hard-to-reach places and is safe for wood, stone, tile, laminate, vinyl, and luxury vinyl tile. “I like that it’s lightweight, and it’s a cool idea to have a refillable spray bottle attached to a mop,” says Bonaccorso. “I like that the cleaning solution isn’t overpowering, as I’m sensitive to cleaner smells.” 

We love that the cleaning solution is water-based, pH-neutral, and 95-percent U.S. Department of Agriculture–certified biobased. Plus, the mop pad is reusable and made from recycled material, making it one of the most eco-friendly options on our list. That said, Bonaccorso found that this mop was less effective at absorbing messes than models with disposable mop heads. It also didn’t glide very easily, so you may need to give the floors a few squirts to get the pad saturated enough to be effective.

If you’d like a mop that can reach up walls and windows, the Joymoop Mop and Bucket With Wringer Set is a great choice. This device has a flat microfiber mop head that rotates 360 degrees, making it easy to maneuver. The stainless-steel handle extends to 60 inches for reaching higher spaces easily. It’s also fairly lightweight.

When I tested this, cleaning my windows and walls wasn’t necessarily easy (I tried it in my kitche), but it wasn’t as physically demanding as it would be with something heavier or more cumbersome to control. I also tried this mop on my kitchen floor to pick up daily grime like dirty footprints and mildly sticky liquids. It performed well, cleaning up these messes with just a few passes. I like the bucket’s separate compartments for clean and dirty water.

That said, I tried the mop on a few stickier messes, and it took a lot of effort. This mop isn’t for heavy-duty cleaning. I also didn’t like that the bucket needs to be filled to the top to fully submerge the mop head in water.

It took writer Nicole LaMarco only 20 minutes to clean a 1,000-square-foot space with this spray mop, which should give you a pretty clear idea of why people like spray mops so much. “I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to make cleaning their floors easier and more convenient,” she said. She liked how well the mop head swiveled around as she used it in narrower spaces and around corners.

One thing that sets this spray mop apart is that you can use any floor cleaner in the 22-oz spray bottle. Like some other mops on this list, it uses machine-washable microfiber pads to absorb liquids and scrub out stubborn dirt. These pads are safe for all kinds of hard floors. The spray is mechanically operated, so you won’t need to replace the batteries. LaMarco did note that her elderly mother also tried to use this mop and found it difficult to push around the room.