Bona Spray Mop Review

We purchased the Bona Premium Spray mop to try it out ourselves. Keep reading our in-depth review to see how our writer got on with it at home. Clean floors make your home feel lovely and fresh, but mopping is a chore that nobody enjoys! Using a bucket is often messy and it’s hard work lugging it around.

The Bona Hardwood Floor Premium Spray mop aims to make it a breeze to keep on top of this dreaded job. But how does the product fare in real life?

We tested this spray mop to find out all the nitty-gritty details and see if it lives up to the “Bona hype”. Keep reading for our full review and to find out if it’s a worthwhile purchase.

What’s in the Box

The Bona Spray Mop arrives disassembled, but it’s easy to piece the parts together. In the box, you get:

• Bona Premium Spray Mop head, mop handle, and mop pole with cartridge holder
• Bona microfiber cleaning pad x1
• Full size 34 oz bottle of Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner

A Modern and Sturdy Design

Straight away, I was struck by the durable and lightweight design of the Bona Premium Spray Mop for hardwood floors. It looks modern and sleek, and all of the parts piece together with a satisfying click to give the feeling of a high-quality spray mop.

It doesn’t feel flimsy or like it’s going to bend and crack, even during those times when you need to apply a little extra pressure to scrub at sticky stains. The Bona microfiber cleaning pad stays firm on the mop head thanks to the wide velcro strips.

Testing Insight

I also like how the washable microfiber pad extends past the mop head a little, as it’s 17.5 inches compared to the 16.5-inch mop head. I’m a fan of this mop system because it makes it much easier to replace the mop pad than if they’re both the same size.

And this is a large mop! It’s wider than many other mops on the market, including the leading competitor Swiffer. The WetJet is a much smaller 10 inches, so it takes longer to cover large areas.

Of course, smaller is better in tight spaces. But if you’re like me and want to spend as little time mopping as possible, the extra-large mop head of the Bona Premium Spray Mop is a great feature.

The final points to make on the design are how much I like the flexible rubber corners on the mop head, as well as the easily refillable cartridge.

The refillable cartridge is super simple to use and it doesn’t leak like some of my other mops do. And the flexible rubber corners prevent any dings and scratches if you catch the mop on any furniture.

A Couple of Minor Maneuverability Issues

The Bona Premium Spray Mop feels pretty lightweight to push across laminate flooring, even though I could feel a bit of resistance. It didn’t glide as such, but this gave me confidence that it was cleaning the floor.

And the coverage of the spray function is excellent. The mop dispenses just the right amount and leaves a fine mist over a wide area, so I can mop without having to stop and spray too often.

But I would say it’s easier to maneuver the Bona Spray Mop on laminate floors than hardwood floors.

On both types, the mop feels heavier to push when you first start, but it gets easier as the mop soaks up moisture. It doesn’t jump around on laminate, at least.

But there is a comfortable secondary grip to make it easier to push across your wood floors. It comes in handy when you need to have a good scrub, as it makes it much easier to apply pressure on the areas that need it.

But I have knocked a couple of points off for this seeing as it’s a spray mop for hardwood floors and it’s not the easiest to push around.

That said, I love how well the Bona spray mop pivots. I could get into all the tricky spaces around my table and chairs with ease. I didn’t have to worry about banging into the chair legs either thanks to the flexible corners on the Bona spray mop head.

What Surfaces Does it Work On?

This specific Bona Premium Spray Mop comes with a bottle of cleaner for hardwood floors, so it’s a spray mop for hardwood floors in that sense. But you could use it on different surfaces if you wanted to.

Just make sure you empty the refillable cartridge and use the correct cleaning solution for the surface you want to mop. The reusable mop pad is suited to all hard surface floors, so there’s no worry in that sense.

But let’s focus on hardwood floors for now.

One of the reasons I love this for hardwood floors is that it doesn’t saturate the surface with water. The fine mist spray lightly coats the floor, so it dries in around a minute.

If you’ve got hardwood floors, you’ll know how difficult it is to keep them clean without damaging them. Too much water can cause all kinds of issues, so I’m glad I’ve found the Bona spray mop for hardwood floors to solve this problem.

And you don’t have to use it as a wet mop. The Bona mop for hardwood floors is versatile, and you can run it around with a dry microfiber cleaning pad to sweep away dust.

Just make sure you pop the microfiber pad in the wash afterward so you don’t scratch your hardwood floors with any debris it’s collected.

Handles Daily Dirt

In terms of what kind of dirt the Bona Premium Spray Mop copes with, it’s just about anything you’d expect in a busy household. I’ve got a toddler and a dog, so my floors take a lot of wear and tear daily.

The Bona Premium Spray Mop is sturdy enough to clean hardwood floors effectively, even when facing sticky patches and pet accidents. I needed to use a couple more squirts of the all-in-one solution in these cases, but it still cut through the grime revealing beautiful floors.

It is heavier than some other mops though, so I wouldn’t use it for a quick clean-up. I’d use something lighter and then bring out the Bona spray mop when I need a more intensive clean.

Testing Insight

But compared to the old-fashioned mop and bucket, the Bona mop is a great choice for quick and effective cleaning.

The extra-large mop head covers an entire floor in no time while removing marks by scrubbing stubborn spots.

It’s worth vacuuming before you use your new mop though, so you don’t end up pushing dirt and sharp debris over your floor. While the Bona spray mop is great at cutting through stains, you’re still better off removing dust before you start to prevent damage.

Seriously Impressive Performance

There’s no doubt the Bona Premium Spray Mop cleans wood floors effectively. The combination of the gentle mop head and Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner tackles dirt and grime.

But not always straight away.

If you’ve got stubborn stains that won’t budge, it’s worth spraying some cleaner and leaving it for a couple of minutes before mopping. If I sprayed and mopped straight away, the stains were tough to remove no matter how hard I scrubbed.

After leaving the all-in-one solution for hardwood floors to work, it was much easier to cut through the marks. A few extra mop sprays gave me the added cleaning power I needed.

And it didn’t just leave the floors clean!

Testing Insight

The Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner left the wood floors with a beautiful natural shine. And I didn’t notice any streaks as it dried, which is a huge plus.

After all, so many cleaners claim to leave a streak-free shine and don’t deliver.

But the Bona Premium Spray Mop tackled tough stains in a busy household and still managed a natural shine. There wasn’t any sticky residue or slipperiness after cleaning the floors, either.

So it’s only fair to give a high rating for how the mop performs. I was impressed by the beautiful floors and how easy they were to achieve.

A Disappointing Lack of Accessories

I find it disappointing that the Bona Premium Spray Mop for hardwood floors only comes with one microfiber cleaning pad. It doesn’t feel very premium when I need to straight away search the internet for extra replacement microfiber pads.

But still, Bona’s microfiber cleaning pad is washable and they claim you can pop it in the machine up to 300 times. So it will last a long time, which saves money and is better for the environment.

They’re also not expensive to purchase online from Amazon. And you can always try non-branded ones if you want to save a few extra cents.

But still, I would like to see another microfiber pad or two included with the Bona Premium Spray Mop. So I have knocked some points off for the lack of extras.

The only other real bonus feature you get is the retractable hook to make storage easier. It’s a simple addition that means I can hang it up in a cleaning closet and not take up valuable floor space.

Common Complaints

Despite my positive experience with the Bona Premium Spray Mop, there are some drawbacks and common complaints that are worth mentioning. Here are the main ones I’ve come across.

Price

This Bona mop system isn’t overly pricey, but it’s still more expensive than some traditional mopping options. You get the added convenience of a built-in spray function With the Bona spray mop, which hikes up the price.

You still have to factor in the extra costs of buying a replacement Bona cleaner cartridge and spare microfiber mop pads. Even if you don’t opt for branded ones, you’re still going to need more than one.

Large Mop Head

While I love the wider mop head, it’s not always the best cleaning solution. Some users find the usable cleaning surface area is just too wide, so it hinders rather than helps.

If you want a mop for cleaning smaller spaces, then it’s worth looking at options with narrower heads. I’ve listed a couple of alternatives further down.

Leaks and Squeaks

Some users had issues with the cleaning solution leaking from the spray bottle, and others didn’t like how the mop squeaks when you apply extra pressure.

While I can’t offer a solution for the squeaks, it’s worth contacting Bona if you suffer from any leaks. After all, they offer a return service if you’re not 100% satisfied with any Bona cleaning solutions.

Inconsistent Trigger

I found the Bona Premium Spray Mop delivered a consistent fine mist each time I pulled the trigger, but it seems this isn’t always the case. Some reviewers found they were left with different amounts of solution on the floor.

Sometimes, only a trickle came out. Even with the spray trigger held completely down.

Again, if you have any concerns it’s worth contacting Bona to see how they can help.

Alternatives

Not sure if the Bona Premium Spray Mop is the right choice for you? Take a look at these other options instead.

Swiffer WetJet Hardwood and Floor Spray Mop

You can use this classic Swiffer (view on Amazon, Walmart) on all finished wood floors, but it uses disposable cleaning pads rather than washable ones. It’s also slightly lighter, but it’s more suited to quick clean-ups and light soiling rather than stubborn stains.

READ FULL REVIEW: Swiffer WetJet Floor Spray Mop Review

O-Cedar ProMist MAX Microfiber Spray Mop

The O-Cedar(view on Amazon, Walmart) has a similar design to the Bona Premium Spray Mop, but it uses dual-sided washable microfiber mop heads and doesn’t come with any cleaning solution. Instead, you need to add your chosen solution to the refillable tank when you want to use it.