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Spin mops have circular microfiber heads that help clean your floors and other hard-to-reach areas and come with mop buckets with built-in spinning baskets that fling water and dirt from the mop’s head. Whether you need a whole-floor or spot-cleaning tool, spin mops are an affordable and easy-to-use cleaning solution.
To help you find the right spin mop for deep cleaning your home, the This Old House Reviews Team tested four of the best spin mops on Amazon and scored their performance based on a series of tests. Here are our top picks and findings on how each mop performed during testing.
Top 4 Spin Mops
- Easiest to Wring: Hurricane Spin Mop
- Best Accessories: Tsmine Spin Mop Bucket System
- Most Mobile: Mopnado Deluxe Rolling Spin Mop
- Easiest to Maintain: BOOMJOY Spin Mop
Compare the Best Spin Mops
Product | Number of Mop Heads | Wringing Method | Weight | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hurricane Spin Mop | 0 (replacements at an additional cost) | Pedal-activated | 5.1 pounds | Light blue |
Tsmine Spin Mop Bucket System | 6 | Push-to-wring handle | 5.5 pounds | Mint |
Mopnado Deluxe Rolling Spin Mop | 2 | Push-to-wring handle | 9.9 pounds | Lime green |
BOOMJOY Spin Mop | 4 | Push-to-wring handle | 8.3 pounds | Stainless steel |
Product | Number of Mop Heads | Wringing Method | Weight | Color |
Easiest To Wring
Pros and Cons
✔ Its bucket has a built-in pedal for wringing the mop head
✔ Its flexible mop head pivots 360 degrees
✔ Features a translucent bucket that helps you monitor its water level
✘ Its bucket doesn’t come with a drainage hole
✘ Doesn’t include an extra mop head
What Customers Are Saying
Many satisfied customers complimented the spin mop’s lightweight design and affordability, with customers explaining that they preferred it to traditional mops. Negative reviews questioned the spin mop’s durability, with a few users complaining that the bucket is made with thin and flimsy material.
Our Experience
While this spin mop lacked the mobility features seen in wheeled models like the Mopnado Deluxe Stainless-Steel Rolling Spin Mop, its efficient wringing mechanism and absorbent microfiber head made it our second-best performer. The spin mop’s flexible head navigated our cleaning area with ease and applied an even layer of cleaning solution across our testing area. Additionally, its pedal-activated wringing system was easy to use and produced a damp and manageable head.
While this spin mop had an easy-to-wring mop head, its microfibers shriveled after drying, causing its coverage to shrink. Additionally, the spin mop had difficulty cleaning the thick puddle of soda during the spot clean test.
Our Score
Metric | Score |
---|---|
Mobility | 4.5/5 |
Spot cleaning—water | 5/5 |
Spot cleaning—soda | 4/5 |
Floor cleaning—application | 5/5 |
Floor cleaning—coverage | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—flexibility | 5/5 |
Wringing efficiency | 5/5 |
Overall score | 4.7/5 |
Metric | Score |
Best Accessories
Pros and Cons
✔ Includes a mobile mop bucket with built-in wheels and a pull handle
✔ Its microfiber head is effective on a variety of floors like laminate and hardwood
✔ Its bucket has a built-in drainage hole
✘ Its lightweight design is unstable during transportation
✘ Its microfiber head doesn’t cover as much area as other top-rated mops
What Customers Are Saying
Many positive reviews praised the spin mop’s design, with users complimenting its simple installation and easy-to-use handle. Other satisfied customers said that they liked the mop’s lightweight design. Negative reviews complained about the durability of the spin mop’s plastic bucket, which many said was flimsy.
Our Experience
This spin mop proved an all-around cleaning solution, performing last in just two of our tests. The mop was an excellent spot cleaner, easily wicking away water and soda spills. The spin mop also tied for first in mobility with the Mopnado Deluxe Stainless-Steel Rolling Spin Mop.
While this spin mop proved efficient at spot cleaning, mobility, and wringing efficiency, it fell short in the application metric of our floor cleaning test. The mop’s microfiber head consists of small braids that apply a thin layer of solution to the cleaning area.
Our Score
Metric | Score |
---|---|
Mobility | 5/5 |
Spot cleaning—water | 4.5/5 |
Spot cleaning—soda | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—application | 4/5 |
Floor cleaning—coverage | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—flexibility | 4.5/5 |
Wringing efficiency | 5/5 |
Overall score | 4.6/5 |
Metric | Score |
Most Mobile
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes with a scrub brush attachment
✔ Features a rust-resistant drying basket
✔ Has an adjustable mop handle
✘ Its large bucket is difficult to refill
✘ Has a stiff handle that’s difficult to use
What Customers Are Saying
Many positive reviews centered around the mop’s microfiber head, with many customers stating that it was effective at cleaning various floors and easy to wash after use. Negative reviews complained about the spin mop’s handle, which many customers said was loose and needed constant adjustments.
Our Experience
Despite being tied for the third-best performing product during our series of tests, the Mopnado spin mop proved mobile and effective at spot cleaning, tying with two other models for second in our series of spot cleaning tests. The mop also tied for first in our mobility metric because of its user-friendly wheeled bucket and carrying handle.
This spin mop was at the bottom of the list for wringing efficiency. Its stiff handle was difficult to use with the bucket’s drying basket and required frequent adjustments throughout the cleaning process.
Our Score
Metric | Score |
---|---|
Mobility | 5/5 |
Spot cleaning—water | 4.5/5 |
Spot cleaning—soda | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—application | 5/5 |
Floor cleaning—coverage | 5/5 |
Floor cleaning—flexibility | 4/5 |
Wringing efficiency | 4/5 |
Overall score | 4.6/5 |
Metric | Score |
Easiest to Maintain
Pros and Cons
✔ Its mop bucket has a built-in detergent holder
✔ Comes with a stainless-steel mop handle
✔ Includes a two-inch-thick microfiber head
✘ Its mop handle was flimsy and hard to control during testing
✘ It’s difficult to attach microfiber pads to its diamond-shaped mop head
What Customers Are Saying
Many positive reviews centered around the spin mop’s sturdy and durable design. Other positive reviews praised the drainage hole in the spin mop’s bucket, saying it was useful and convenient. More critical reviews complained that the spin mop leaked during use.
Our Experience
This spin mop from BOOMJOY is an efficient spot cleaner but lacks the flexibility seen in other top-rated models. It tied for first and second in both the water and soda spot cleaning tests, easily absorbing each liquid. The spin mop also performed well in the application and coverage tests during the floor cleaning. However, the spin mop didn’t come with a wheeled bucket and was heavier than other top-rated models.
Our Score
Metric | Score |
---|---|
Mobility | 4/5 |
Spot cleaning—water | 5/5 |
Spot cleaning—soda | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—application | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—coverage | 4.5/5 |
Floor cleaning—flexibility | 4.5/5 |
Wringing efficiency | 4.5/5 |
Overall score | 4.5/5 |
Metric | Score |
Buying Guide to Spin Mops
Before purchasing a spin mop, it’s important to understand how each product’s design and specifications impact its performance and user experience. Here are four factors to consider before buying a spin mop.
Wringing Mechanism
Most spin mops have a water bucket that’s divided into clean and dirty water sections. While the clean section of a mop bucket holds soapy water for cleaning your floor, the dirty section includes either a pedal or handle mechanism for wringing the mop head.
Spin mops with pedal mechanisms like the Hurricane Spin Mop use a pedal to spin and sling dirty water off the mop head. Spin mops that use a handle mechanism like the Tsmine Spin Mop Bucket System have a push-activated handle within their dirty water section that spins the mop head for easy cleaning.
Mop Head and Handle Material
Generally, a spin mop uses an absorbent microfiber head that easily traps dirt and water. Microfiber is the chosen head material for most spin mops because of its durability and low maintenance. While most spin mops use microfiber heads, they can be found with either plastic or metal handles. Mops with metal handles are more durable than their plastic counterparts but are usually more expensive.
Bucket Features
Many spin mop buckets are constructed with features that help you clean a mop’s head or add clean water to its container. For example, certain spin mops have a built-in detergent bottle that lets you add soap to its bucket as you mop. Other models, including the BOOMJOY Spin Mop, have built-in drains for emptying the dirty water.
Included Accessories
Most spin mops include additional accessories that replace worn mop heads or add scrubbing power to the mop. For example, the Tsmine Spin Mop Bucket System includes six microfiber replacement heads, while the Mopnado Deluxe Stainless-Steel Rolling Spin Mop has an attachable scrubbing brush for cleaning stuck-on dirt and grime.
Testing Metrics
To determine the benefit and effectiveness of each spin mop, we tested the products on mobility, spot cleaning, floor cleaning, and wringing efficiency.
Mobility
When cleaning with a spin mop, the mobility of its included bucket impacts its overall efficiency and how quickly you can get a job done. Spin mops with wheeled buckets or large carrying handles are easy to move from room to room, while models with heavy buckets are awkward to handle and make large-area cleaning more difficult.
Spot Cleaning
A spin mop’s dry microfiber head is used to clean spills. Effective spin mops can clean a variety of liquids in just a few passes, while less effective models will take multiple passes and may leave some moisture behind.
Floor Cleaning
Many spin mops are used for deep cleaning hard surfaces. Quality spin mops will evenly apply sanitized water to your hard floors, cover a large area in one pass, and contain a flexible microfiber head that’s easy to control. Additionally, efficient floor mops will remove dirt, dust, and debris tucked underneath cabinet doors and stuck to the sides of floor edges.
Wringing Efficiency
A spin mop bucket needs a fast and effective wringing mechanism to streamline the cleaning process and keep the microfiber head clean. A top-rated spin mop will come with an easy-to-use wringing mechanism that removes excess water and produces a clean and damp head in seconds.
Our Testing Process
Here’s an in-depth look at how our team tested each mop’s mobility, spot cleaning, floor cleaning, and wringing efficiency.
Mobility
Mobility was evaluated during both the spot cleaning and floor cleaning tests. We measured how easy it was to transport the mop and its bucket from storage to the spill during spot cleaning and from area to area during the floor cleaning portion of our test.
Spot Cleaning
We tested how the dry spin mop fared against a puddle of water and a puddle of soda. We noted how many passes it took each mop head to remove standing liquid and how dry it left the surface after cleanup. To ensure consistency, we poured one cup of water and one cup of soda on the ground before testing each spin mop.
Floor Cleaning
To test a spin mop’s ability to clean an open floor, we tested each mop in a 10-foot-by-10-foot area. We noted how even each mop applied its cleaning liquid, the total coverage each mop applied with one pass, and how easy it was to move the microfiber mop head. To make testing consistent, we used the same 10-foot-by-10-foot area for each spin mop.
Wringing Efficiency
During the floor cleaning test, we evaluated how difficult it was to wring each mop. We wrung each mop five times, measuring both the wringing difficulty and how much water the mop released.
Scoring
Each metric was scored out of five points, and the final score for each product was an average of the metric scores.
Mobility
We measured mobility during each step of our testing process. Once all tests were performed, we calculated a spin mop’s mobility by comparing it to its competition. For example, the spin mop that was the easiest to move from area to area received all 5 possible points, while the second-best received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-best received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If the mobility of two spin mops was equal, each mop received the same score.
Spot Cleaning
The spot cleaning test was two-fold, with each model scored on its ability to absorb a water spill and a soda spill. The spin mop that used the fewest passes to clean the liquids received all 5 possible points, while the second-best received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-best received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If two spin mops performed the same, each mop received the same score.
Note: The spot cleaning score was calculated separately for the water and soda tests.
Floor Cleaning—Application
The spin mop that applied an even coat of water to the 10-foot-by-10-foot area received all 5 possible points. Additionally, we checked for dry streaks during each pass. The spin mop that had the fewest number of inconsistencies received all 5 possible points, while the second-best received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-best received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If two spin mops performed the same, each mop received the same score.
Floor Cleaning—Coverage
The mop that took the fewest number of passes to cover the 10-foot-by-10-foot cleaning area received all 5 possible points, while the second-best received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-best received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If two spin mops performed the same, each mop received the same score.
Floor Cleaning—Flexibility
The spin mop with the head that was the easiest to maneuver received all 5 possible points, while the second-best received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-best received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If two spin mops performed the same, each mop received the same score. For example, the mop with a head that cleaned corners without jamming or slowing received more points than a model with a rigid and inflexible head.
Wringing Efficiency
We scored each mop on how difficult it was to wring and awarded the easiest mop with all 5 possible points, while the second-easiest received a 0.5-point deduction, the third-easiest received a 1-point deduction, and so on. If two spin mops performed the same, they received equal points.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spin Mops
Which spin mop is the best?
The best spin mop for your household depends on your needs and priorities. If your floors experience a lot of foot traffic, opt for a heavy-duty spin mop model. If ease and convenience are preferred, look for a model that wrings effortlessly. If value is your primary consideration, choose a spin mop that comes with multiple replacement heads and a multi-year warranty.
How does a spin mop work?
A spin mop has a rotating microfiber head that’s wrung out with a spinning basket.
What’s the difference between a spin mop and a flat mop?
Both flat mops and spin mops are convenient cleaning tools used to wash a variety of floor surfaces. However, flat mops use a disposable or reusable pad, while a spin mop uses a permanent microfiber head that’s cleaned and wrung out by its mop bucket.
Should I mop with hot or cold water?
Hot or cold water can be used on most surfaces except hardwood floors, which can become warped from the heat.
Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
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