What We Like
- Effective hands free wringing system
- Machine washable mop head
- Microfiber material attracts dirt
What We Don’t Like
- Flimsy telescoping handle
- No wheels on bucket
Mopping is a chore most of us dread. We’ve all been there, soaked up to our elbows and wringing out a mop with our bare hands. Even worse than getting yourself soaked, is getting your floors soaked in the process.
O-Cedar is a cleaning product veteran, who recently released their improved mop and bucket design. The magic of the O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop & Bucket System is that the special bucket does the wringing for you. That means the mess stays in the bucket, and your hands stay dry.
To see if this product is worth the hype, we tried it out ourselves. We used this spin mop to scrub grout, ceramic tile, laminate and any other hard floor surfaces we found. Here are the results.
What’s in the Box
The box this O-Cedar mop and bucket came in was surprisingly small, but everything was there.
Inside was:
- Spinning mop bucket
- One microfiber mop head
- Plastic mop head attachment
- Telescoping handle
The setup was simple and quick, and the whole thing was together in less than ten seconds. The microfiber mop heads snaps right into the plastic attachment. Just make sure there aren’t any strands that get in the way, or it won’t fit tight.
The telescopic handle screws directly into the other side of the plastic attachment. From there, all that was left to do was fill the bucket with water. The bucket is even designed with a pretty sturdy handle to help you lift it up and down.
O-Cedar says you can just use tap water with this mop, but I decided to use my favorite floor cleaner as well.
Keep in mind, a little goes a long way. I only used a capful of cleaning solution, and there was an abundance of suds coming from the dense microfiber.
Simple, Efficient Design
The design of this o cedar mop and bucket system is simple but clever.
The spinner takes up half of the mop bucket, and is activated with a foot pedal. The foot pedal spins the mop head around to shake off the excess water, basically like a salad spinner.
This ergonomic hands free wringing design prevents you from having to bend over a bucket to wring out the mop.
The telescoping handle is thankfully all one piece, as opposed to several pieces you attach together. This one-piece design means no fiddling around, and no losing pieces in storage.
To extend the handle, I just pulled and then twisted to tighten at the desired length.
The mop head itself has a 360 degree flexible joint, which felt cheaply made at first. However, once you screw in the spin mop handle, it stays on nice and tight. A lot of screw-on handles loosen as you mop, but I found this one stayed put.
One thing I was surprised by is that the spinner itself isn’t removable. While this makes the overall bucket design sturdier, it was a bit of an issue for cleaning.
Since my household is pet hair central, it’d be nice to remove this section to rinse out trapped hair.
Easy to Maneuver
The unique triangle design puts this spin mop bucket system a step above the rest. An angled tip means I could mop corners and tight spaces with precision. The whole thing lay flat, which made it easy to mop around the edges of the room.
The mop itself is very lightweight, thanks to a mostly plastic design. This is great for my back, but not as great for durability. Plastic cleans well, but I could see the mop bucket or plastic mop head cracking with heavy use.
The same durability issues go for the telescoping mop handle. I decided to put it to the test on tile grout in the bathroom. The mop did a great job cleaning, but the handle felt flimsy like it wouldn’t hold up with a lot of hard scrubbing.
The flexible mop head paired with a lightweight design made mopping under furniture effortless. The only issue was that the telescopic handle wasn’t long enough. Extended all the way to 48 inches it still felt short, like it needed one more extension.
One thing I wish this bucket system included was wheels on the bottom. One of the most cumbersome things about mopping is that you have to lug that bucket everywhere.
Unfortunately, that’s still an issue, and the bucket also wobbles back and forth as you carry it.
Spotlessly Cleans Most Surfaces
As soon as I took the mop head out of the box, I was surprised at how soft it was. According to O-Cedar, the microfiber material is safe to use on pretty much any flooring, from laminate to hardwood. It won’t scratch surfaces, but is textured enough to clean floors with grooves.
I decided to test the O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop & Bucket Floor Cleaning System on one of the toughest areas to clean grout. Grout shouldn’t really be soaked, so I spun the mop a dozen times to wring it out.
Unfortunately, the microfiber still held onto a lot of water, which seeped out when we scrubbed the grout.
While the mop did a good job cleaning grout, the excess water was an issue. I feel like this mop is better suited for general floor cleaning, not scrubbing. This is disappointing since the main point of the microfiber mop head is to deep clean stubborn dirt.
One thing I liked about the mop head is that it can be used wet or dry. Since it is microfiber, you can use it as a dry mop to gather dust before you do a wet mop.
Great Light Cleaning Performance
I mixed warm water with a splash of Puracy Multi-Surface Cleaner and paw print smudges were wiped away. The microfiber left the floor shiny but not wet, and it dried without leftover streaks.
Although I did a vacuum of the test areas before mopping, I noticed the microfiber clung onto stray dirt and pet hair. Usually regular mops just push around dirt and hair. The fact that this mop actually attracts and picks up this kind of debris is a huge plus.
In my test, I noticed that the area around the bucket system stayed completely dry. The foot pedal spinner got rid of any excess dirty water that would usually drip off the mop. The spinner is equipped with a splash guard, which prevented water from spraying on the nearby walls.
Given the overall inexpensive plastic design, I wouldn’t classify this as a heavy duty cleaning mop. However, for general cleaning and refreshing, this mop certainly does the trick.
It’s a great option for households with pets, because of its ability to cling onto hair.
Mess Free Maintenance
All the parts on this mop come apart, so cleaning up is pretty seamless. When I was done, I just unscrewed the handle and pried apart the mop head from the holder.
The instructions suggested stepping on the mop head to pry it off, but this caused water to squish out.
What’s great about this mop head is that it is in fact machine washable. No need to hang a stinky mop out to dry! I threw it in the wash on a delicate cycle, and even put it in the dryer without any damage.
Keep in mind that there is still a plastic piece attached to the mop when you wash and dry it. This causes some clanging around in the washing machine, but nothing too noisy. Avoid using a hot drying cycle, and don’t use any fabric softeners.
Cleaning out the mop bucket system is nothing special—I just dumped the dirty water down the sink. The clean and dirty water are already mixed together in this model, so you’re emptying the whole thing at once.
Keep in mind that the bucket is oval shaped, so it isn’t balanced when you lift it up.
Replacement Parts Available
The original package only comes with one microfiber mop head, which is supposed to last three months. This is entirely dependent on how often you clean, and how dirty your floors are. I could imagine stretching that to 4-5 months in my home with regular machine washing.
Replacement mop heads are easily found online, usually in a 4-pack. I noticed there are a lot of off-brand options, so make sure you get the actual O-Cedar brand replacements.
Cheaper knock offs will usually use cheaper materials and you could end up with a very different product.
I mentioned earlier that the plastic mop head holder felt a bit cheap. Luckily, I found out you can buy a replacement for this part as well.
Common Complaints
Browsing through online reviews, one of the biggest complaints is the small size of the mop head.
When it gets wet, the mop does seem to “shrink” in size, and is only about the size of a dinner plate. To clean a whole house, it would take probably twice as long as with a standard mop.
Another complaint, and something I also noticed, was that the plastic mop holder sometimes scrapes the floor. This was particularly noticeable when I angled the mop to clean the trim.
The microfiber doesn’t always get in between the plastic and the floor, which leads to annoying scraping.
While I didn’t have an issue with the telescoping handle, other reviewers say it often collapses on itself. I could see this being possible if the extensions weren’t screwed in tight.
A solution to this might be to simply use a different handle, since the screw on attachment is a universal size.
Alternatives
There are lots of copycats of this O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop and Bucket, and there are also some good alternatives. These products do things a little differently, with great results.
Swiffer WetJet Floor Spray Mop
Swiffer’s lightweight spray mop is perfect for light to medium cleaning without the hassle. The spray function lets you clean without soaking your floors and making a mess.
The addition of cleaning pads makes maintenance easy, you just put on a fresh pad for next time. If you want something more cost efficient, you can also buy reusable mop head refill pads that are machine washable.
READ FULL REVIEW: Swiffer WetJet Floor Spray Mop Review: An In-Depth and Unbiased Review
Mr. Siga Professional Microfiber Mop
For the heavy duty cleaning power of a string mop without the fuss, try this Mr. Siga Professional Microfiber Mop. This mop’s dense microfiber is more durable than a string mop, and is able to deep clean tough messes.
The stainless steel handle is sturdy yet lightweight, and extends to reach awkward areas. The reusable microfiber pads are also machine washable, but must be air dried for best results. This is what tough cleaning in a lightweight package looks like.
Design
Maneuverability
Performance
Maintenance
Key specifications
Product Name: O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop
Product Brand: O-Cedar
SKU: B00WSWGVZQ
Price: 37.99
Weight: 4.89 pounds
Product Dimensions: 19.5×11.7×11.5 inches