Here’s a cleaning product review that nobody paid me to write, nor did they send me free product. I simply bought the Swiffer WetJet, a bottle of refill solution, and a box of refill pads one day, and promptly left it in the closet and re-hired our cleaning lady. Alas, she is not on call 24/7, and I am hosting book club tonight (we read “Coraline” by Neil Gaiman this month) and after I realized that I had no replacement vacuum cleaner bags, I swept the floor and found the bag of products I bought so long ago. I decided to try it out on our wooden parquet floor to attack the spots created by children spilling milk and juice and then deliberately going outside, scooping up hands-full of miscellaneous street dirt, and then bringing them inside and rubbing the dirt into the little spots of milk and juice. I considered banning sippy cups from any room but the kitchen, but we have enough trouble getting my children to wear pants, so that is a battle I am not yet ready to fight.
Here are my observations about the Swiffer WetJet (and yes, Procter & Gamble, I am willing to receive free alternative devices to test and review. Tweet me!):
1. The solution has a strong odor and does not appease my desire for non-toxic cleaning chemicals.
2. The solution bottle leaked the first time I stuck it in.
3. The cleaning pads are not re-usable but they should be.
4. I do love the little scrubber thingy on the side of the Swiffer pad head: it is easy to use and actually does the job.
5. One can accidentally hit the “spray” button, which propels the solution in a wide, far, arc and if you are not careful you will randomly spray small children, pets, and carpeting. It also makes a funny buzzing sound because it is battery-operated, and it reminds me of the buzzer in Taboo which my friend Chris loves to randomly use during a game, freaking out the contestants and starting fights.
6. Overall, this does the job. Usually when I actually clean the floor I first vacuum, then skulk around with a Clorox Cleanup wipe in my hand, hunched over, peering at the floor and attacking spots. This product saves my back and takes far less time. On sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, it was a bargain at $19.99 plus the cost of the refill solution and pads.
7. Oh, one last thing. The FAQ in the directions says one pad will clean a space equivalent to over 300 square feet. Ha! Whoever wrote that has never been in MY house. In less than 50 feet I was simply pushing wet dirt around.
I’m so glad to read this review as I assume I am alone in needing 95 pads to clean my floors. Okay, not that many, but I believe that one pad per 300 sq ft is only for those women who clean their floor several times a day and have no animals, kids, or drippy mates. Obviously, we are not that kind of woman, which is probably why we like each other.
I am proud of you for rehiring the cleaning lady! I had a very dark day Wednesday when the cleaning lady may not have made it because of an appointment. But when I opend the front door, she did not let me down, with the strong pine scent announcing “Deb has been here!”
How was the book???
I love my clorox wet jet, though mine does not have batteries. I know, chemically and I throw away these pads. So un-green. Sue me.
I just realized I said “Clorox wet jet” … I think I have the Clorox version. They are basically the same thing, though I’m certain their manufacturers would disagree. I also live for my swiffer dry sweep. Again, un-green, I know…
You do know there are supposed to be fibers in them that can be dangerous to pets and children like mine that think they are pets and lick the floor.
Totally agree with you on the annoyance of being able to accidentally hit the spray button while pushing the thing around. Drives me loco.
re: dangerous fibers. I did NOT know. Regardless, I have been devising contraption so I can use it with a cloth instead of the pads, and also devising a scheme to fill the bottle with Simple Green instead of the toxic formula. I like the device, not the toxicity and additional cost.
Sigh.
I love my cleaning ladies.
That’s where my brain stopped.
I was like you, pushing around flowery smelling dirty water… My frustration with the Swiffer Wetjet is what pushed me to buy my SteamFast steam cleaner. It cost something ridiculous like $40 and it cleans with plain tap water! LOVE it.
And that totally sounded like an infomercial. Sorry!