Steam Mop vs Spin Mop: What is Best for Cleaning Floors?

When it comes time to clean the house you may wish your cleaning tools could work themselves however, if you’ve got the right equipment then this tedious task might not be so bad. So, when you decide to mop the floors you may end up asking yourself, “Should I use a steam mop or a spin mop?” To answer this question, you will need to know the differences between each type of mop and decide which one will work best on your floors.

General Mopping Rules

Although mopping is a quite simple task, there are some general rules that should be followed in order to do it correctly.

Get rid of the dirt

Before you mop, you should always sweep loose dirt from the floor. Since mops are meant to sanitize and clean stains, if you do not sweep beforehand, you will only be moving the dirt from one area to another.

Mop Lightly

Too much water on any type of hard flooring is never good. Use as little water as possible when mopping to avoid deteriorating your floor. When the floor dries quickly as you mop then you are likely using the right amount of water. It’s also important not to over-mop your floor and stick to mopping only once or twice a month and spot-mopping when needed.

Limit Traffic

When you begin mopping, it is best to start in the furthest corner of the room so you won’t step on your freshly mopped floor as it is drying. It is also beneficial to keep any other household members (furry ones included) off the floor until it has completely dried.

Clean the utensils

Once you’ve finished mopping, it’s important to clean and store your utensils so they will be sanitary and ready for the next use.

Steam Mop vs. Spin Mop

From the type of flooring you have to the type of cleaning you want, there are a few differences to consider when choosing between a steam mop or spin mop.

Steam Mop

Steam mops work by spraying water on the floor before mopping it up with steam. There is no need for harsh chemicals with this type of mop as the steam acts as a disinfectant.

This is a great option if you have sealed floors however, it can warp or stain some types of flooring.

Steam mops are easy to use and work well in hard-to-reach places. These are best for a surface clean but do not deep clean floors.

Spin Mop

Spin mops are basically traditional mops with a slight upgrade. Instead of wringing water out of the mop yourself, once the mop is wet you then place it into a basket that will spin-dry the mop.

This is a great option for any type of flooring and comes at affordable prices. This is the best choice if you’re looking for something that will give your floors a deep clean.

With a machine-washable mop head made from microfiber, spin mops are great at collecting dust and eliminating bacteria.

Best Practices for Spin Mops

There are a few specifics to keep in mind when using a spin mop in order to see the best results.

1. Fill the water in the bucket to the fill line.
2. Hold the mop straight up while spinning in the bucket.
3. Wash the mop pad after use but avoid using fabric softener when drying.

Best Practices for Steam Mops

To get the best performance out of your steam mop, there are a few guidelines to follow.

1. Avoid using hard water, use filtered or distilled water, instead.
2. Don’t leave the mop on a surface for too long as the heat can warp any type of flooring.
3. Because steam mops use thin mop pads, if you are cleaning multiple rooms at once you may need to switch to a new pad.

Shark Steam Mop vs. O-Cedar Spin Mop Reviews:

Hard floor surfaces can get dirty rather easily and that leaves the door open for bacteria to coalesce and roam your space. That’s why it’s important to mop hard surfaces in addition to vacuuming or sweeping.

In this article, we’ll compare the steam mop vs. spin mop and determine which type of model is best suited to your particular needs. While the two types of mops in discussion perform the same job, the way they go about it is different. So, let’s dive in and check out which model is best for you.

Shark Steam Pocket Mop Hard Floor Cleaner

To get the ball rolling, we’ll first cover the steam mop. The Shark Steam Mop Cleaner is a powerful steam mop that sports an extra-large water tank, allowing you to complete the job in one fill almost every time.

Design

The unit is built like a vertical vacuum in that there is a handle stemming from the main compartment (here, it’s the water tank) and the head of the cleaner is attached to the body via a swivel neck.

The swivel neck style of the cleaning head allows you to push the Shark mop cleaner around as simply as you would a nimble vacuum. In fact, the mop operates very similarly to the conventional Swifter cleaner, but of course is capable of much more.

Cleaning pad

Conveniently, the mop is able to be turned sharply in order to hit those tough spots. The cleaning pad is capable of cleaning both the top and bottom of the pad, which also means that you can use the edges of the pad to wipe down sharp or deep spots.

Additionally, these microfiber pads are reusable and easy to wash after use. Simply toss them in the washing machine and there you have it, fresh cleaning pads.

Additional features

The unit is corded and sits at about 18 ft. long so you have a decent bit of space to work with before you have to replug the cord in another outlet.

The steam that the Shark Steam Mop produces is capable of sanitizing up to 99.9% of bacteria and particulates that accumulate on your hard floor surfaces. This is possible without using any harsh chemicals, making it safe for use in homes with pets and children.

What Customers Are Saying

You would be hard-pressed to find a consumer who has an issue with, or even dislikes, this Shark Steam Mop Cleaner. The mop is an absolute home run for folks with pets and young children. The only qualm consumers do have is that the tank can seem tiny when cleaning large spaces.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, it’s tough to beat the Shark Steam Pocket Mop Hard Floor Cleaner, unless you’re looking for a plethora of extra features, which this model doesn’t have. But are steam mops worth it? Of course!

The cleaning power of this Shark unit and the reusability of the microfiber pads help this mop stand out, in addition to its incredibly affordable price point.

It’s also an added bonus that no harsh chemicals are needed in the operation of the Shark Steam Mop. So, let’s see how they spin mop stacks up to the competition.

O-Cedar EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop

This next mop in review is a spin mop style. The O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop is your standard mop model. It’s equipped with a mop head that is situated at the end of the mop stick/handle.

Particular qualities of spin mop

Rather than cleaning the floor and collecting dust in one move like the steam mop, spin mops require you to constantly wring out the newly mopped dirt and bacteria into a bucket.

The reason this must be done is that the microfiber mop head is deep-cleaning and it absorbs the dirt and bacteria that you clean. This necessary step of wringing the mop can seem like an instant step back from the easy operation of the Shark Steam Mop.

However, the bucket design for this O-Cedar mop is cleverly designed with a built-in wringer that makes wringing out the microfiber mop head simple and hands-free. Additionally, the bucket is equipped with a pedal that activates the spin wringing mechanism inside the bucket.

This is important because controlling the moisture that’s present in the mop is essential to a proper mop cleaning. The bucket also has a splash guard that protects your floors from splashing water from wringing out the mop head.

Maneuverability

When it comes to steering, the O-Cedar Spin Mop has very little built-in maneuverability. Instead, the mop handle is able to be pushed forward or pulled back. This means that to steer the mop you are essentially pulling or pushing the mop to one side of the other, rather than steering it.

However, the 180º front and back flexibility of the mop head makes it great for reaching under furniture and other hard-to-reach spaces. The mop is also capable of being used wet or dry.

What Customers Are Saying

Consumers are generally very satisfied with the O-Cedar Spin Mop. Whereas many mops require multiple runs in order to really clean the floor, consumers find this mop capable of doing one run and being done; meaning that after one run there are no streaks or lines that require a second clean.

However, there are some consumers who find the mop to be a bit of an issue. For one, the mop head is noted as being incredibly small, with a grown man’s hand capable of grasping the entire mop head. Another complaint from some is the handle and its instability over time.

The Bottom Line

Overall, the O-Cedar Spin Mop is a very solid mop for those looking to do the traditional mopping. However, when compared to the Shark Steam Cleaner, there’s really nothing all that enticing about this spin mop.

There isn’t hot steam to aid in the cleaning but rather a bucket that you constantly dump your dirt and bacteria into, which is far less effective than the steam and clean method.

However, some folks may find that the spin mop actually performs better for them than the steam mop on harder floors or hard floors with intricate design or detail, making the floor uneven. The spin mop head will generally do a better job on floors like this.

Conclusion

So, does a spin mop work well? Does a steam mop work at all? The answer to both is yes. However, the Shark Steam Mop Cleaner is a much better tool than the O-Cedar Spin Mop when comparing the two. The ease of use of the Shark mop leaves something to be desired for O-Cedar mop users.

As aforementioned though, the O-Cedar mop may perform better than the Shark mop on uneven or intricately detailed hard floors thanks to the microfiber pad’s design.

Overall, the Shark Steam Mop is a more efficient cleaning tool than the O-Cedar Spin Mop. Unless your space is being covered in mud and heavy grime constantly, the Steam Mop will serve you better in the long run.

If your space is constantly muddied up or full of nasty grime, the O-Cedar mop might just be the tool for you. So, which side do you fall on? Get your new mop today!