A woman is warning others not to rely on Swiffer mops when cleaning their floors, and says using a real wet mop is the only way to clean correctly.
Everyone loves a good cleaning tip and recently, TikTok user Liviegianna (@liviegianna) posted a quick PSA for anyone who’s been wondering about the best way to get their floors clean.
In the short clip, the TikToker uses a wet rag to clean one-half of a tile on the floor. The mop reveals a stark difference between the clean half and the grimy, grey half that was yet to be wiped.
“When the previous cleaners only used a Swiffer or bona mop instead of an actual mop,” reads the text overlay. The TikToker explains her distaste for the branded wet mops in the caption.
“Swiffers and bona mops are great for SMALL spills and such. Not great for actually cleaning your floor,” she writes.
Is a Swiffer or a mop better to clean with?
Liviegianna isn’t alone in her thinking. In a r/askscience Reddit post, someone asked whether mopping the floor is less effective than using a Swiffer. One commenter provided a lengthy response.
“If ‘clean’ is no germs, then it depends on what you put in the bucket. Pinesol and the like will kill all the germs it contacts,” they write, adding that the best way to clean a floor is by “mopping with solution, then a mopping with clean water.”
The commenter compares using a Swiffer to using a wet wipe on your hands. They explain that once the wipe is saturated, it stops picking up dirt. If a person doesn’t switch out the Swiffer pads, they are “literally rubbing the entire floor with its own dirt without any dilution.”
They also said, “The argument against the mop/bucket is that you are using the dirty water everywhere. This is only somewhat true. You are lifting up dirt in the water you mop with, and are wringing it out into the bucket, diluting the dirt.”
@liviegianna Swiffers and bona mops are great for SMALL spills and such. Not great for actually cleaning your floor… #fyp #satifying #cleaning #cleaningtiktok #gross ♬ Lemmie just – shut up
Commenters preferred a wet mop
Liviegianna received 6.6 million views on her TikTok post, and numerous viewers expressed their agreement in the comments.
“As a house cleaner, I hate when customers want us to use their bona mops/solution. It doesn’t clean the floors in any way,” wrote the comment with the most likes.
“They made us use a Swiffer at work and I hated it … it’s basically just like mopping with a baby wipe that you’re smearing all the dirt around with,” agreed another.
One person lamented about the difficulties of having different hygiene standards than others.
They wrote, “My bf wants a swiffer so bad. I tell him no. I want to have *actually* clean floors. they clean the bathroom at his parents with the swiffer, and it makes my feet stick to the tile. I CANNOT.”
Another commenter replied, “I thought I was going crazy when my shoes was stick to the floors after [Swiffering].”
“Omg!! Yess, that’s what that was?? I got rid of my swiffer ever since. I do it the way my grandma, aunties and mom have done. They get down on the floor and scrub it clean. It’s painful but it’s clean,” someone else shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikTok via Instagram direct message for further comment.
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