It has been quite some time since I purchased a down to earth old-fashioned, hands-on mop. One that actually uses water. I have been using the Swiffer for years now, always feeling just too old for all the scrubbing, waterbucket filling, carrying and eventually having a very 'damp' mop hanging or leaning against the kitchen wall. And yes I am actually too old for this kind of nonsense, but the Swiffer just doesn't do all that good of a job on its own. My kitchen floor looks very 'used' after about a week or so of cooking, and sweeping, and swiffering left me dissatisfied. It just didn't look shiny and hygienic as my mother would have said. So in spite of my very old and aching back I had to consider that an old-fashioned mop was needed. And that's what I did. The reason I actually discontinued to use the old sponge mop years ago was because they were a lot of work, smelly and a problem to store, and then all the water carrying, and I somehow got old. But I had no idea that the old sponge mops had become a rarity on the market, no new-fangeled 2021 modern and hip model, nobody has invented something amazing and easy yet. Basically I had two choices, one that looked exactly like my old one, shudder the thought, and the OXO Bytterfly mop, oh and of course then there are the yarn-spaghetti kind of mops that come with a bucket on wheels, that gives me an even bigger shudder. I decided - wait, wait, wait for the drum roll - I choose the OXO Butterfly mop. Now, I wasn't sure if a sponge mope could really be washed in the washing machine as was promised, but I liked the way it folded in two - the sponge that is - and the way it looked (lol) and the promise of easy to use and hanging it off the floor, no puddle of dirty water to worry about, even if you don't plan to hang it up. Honestly the old stinky and brittle sponge mops promised much the same except you couldn't throw it in the washer, without the handle of course. (I haven't done that yet, I guess I'm chicken, I fear it may shred into little pieces and then I'd have to buy the old model). I won't be technical here, I am too old for that too, but I have used this mop three times now and I was so excited after the first use, because I had a really shiny hygienic floor now. Can you eat off of it, naw, and I wouldn't recommend it anyway. (Where did that gruesome saying come from anyway, who invented that, yuck). So anyhow, I was very happy with my clean floor, but the mop is not that easy to handle, I struggled with squeezing out sufficient water, which is actually really important. I just don't have that kind of strength, and really don't think that muscles should play such a large roll in cleaning a kitchen floor. And I didn't want water dripping on my beautiful kitchen floor after I was done, the one I worked so hard to get that beautiful. I figured that the difficulty was because of my age, and it has been ages since I used a mop like it and it was and still is rather new. But be aware that it is tight, and when I squeezed harder the plastic plates which are holding the sponge, and fold in the middle, came off the handle. Now it was even more difficult for me to snap the handle back into the loop designed for that. This happened several times. The reason for this misshap is pulling hard on the mechanics to squeeze out the water, but if you don't put some muscles on that then you have a very wet sponge. On my third use I tried I was being very cautious with t he handle pull to squeeze out as much water as possible, I used less force but did this a few times and you do get most of the water out of the sponge. But I feel that this is a failure in design and the science of this mop. One should not have to struggle so. I don't want to return the mop to Amazon for a refund, comes in a huge box, just too much trouble and stress. But I am not a happy camper. I do like the way it is made so the sponge doesn't touch the floor when you're done, it kind of sits on a little foot off the floor. I also like the sponge, it's bigger than the old mops and has a kind of fabric on the surface which seems to really help, especially with the waxing. The problem remains with the design. I understand that the way it is put together is so you can remove the songs. The mechanism for squeezing out the water is different, it actually folds the sponge in half, and I think this is a pretty good idea. If only the handle didnt pop off so easily and be so hard to snap back in. Oh, and It has a larger sponge which makes cleaning the floor easier I liked that it covers a larger area with each stroke. I still use the Swiffer for a quick cleaning, and intend on using the mop every month or so to keep the floor shiny and clean, because the swiffer is still not enough.
