Years ago, the spin mop was seen as revolutionary in making it much less tiring to remove dirt from a mop as well as wringing out water. However, it still didn’t make it any easier to actually mop the floor. Only the part of the mop that is pressed against the floor is effective in picking up dirt, whereas the loose strings just make the surrounding area slightly wet. Since the contact surface area is very small, it would take a long time to cover the entire space.
The latest iteration of pad mops finally solves this problem. The entire surface area of the pad, which is rather large, is at work in picking up dirt from the floor. It makes mopping the floor quite effortless.
There are many choices for pad mops on Taobao, and it is hard to pick one. Eventually, i went with this set of criteria – innovation, durability and sales volume. The pad mops are either bundled with a bucket, or not, and I felt the former are better, because the dirt removal and water wringing mechanisms are separate, thus more effective. They are also easier to use, having been designed with guided motion to perform the dirt removal/water wringing steps. These are more expensive, obviously, but if they work well and are durable, they will be worthwhile. When it comes to tools that I need to use day in and day out, saving money isn’t a priority. Well, they don’t cost a lot to begin with.
I ended with these choices (i bought two different mops out of curiosity):
大卫 (David?) – 193 Yuan or S$40
刮刮乐 (Guaguale) – 134 Yuan or S$28
The 大卫 (i’ll call it David henceforth) uses a very innovative dirt removal mechanism, by spraying water onto the mop pad. It looked convincing. However, you will have to push the handle down quickly to generate a spray. Also, the mop remains rather wet after scraping water off.
After mopping and before performing the spray clean
After spray clean. Looks rather clean to me, so it is actually effective
The 刮刮乐 (I’ll call it the Ezzymop henceforth, since it is marketed as such in Singapore) works as advertised, although the mop also remains rather wet after performing the drying step.
Overall, i am actually quite happy with both products, and if i have to choose one among the two, i cast my vote for the David. Although the Ezzymop is easier to use (especially suitable for old folks – you literally don’t have to bend when using it unlike for the David), ultimately, having to use less water to spray clean the mop pad of the David allows low budget household cleanliness maintenance. I can mop the house twice a day without leaving a bucket full of dirty water around. The larger amount of water used with the Ezzymop makes you want to save the water for repeated use.
Here are some detailed comparison between the two:
The Ezzymop (left) has a bigger pad than the David (right), so theoretically it takes less time to mop
For some reason, the David (left) adopts some kind of striped mopping pad, which results in uneven mopping (see picture below). The Ezzymop has a nice smooth surface. Nevertheless, i appreciate the white colour used on the David. You can tell if the mop is dirty just by looking.
This is what you get with the David during the first pass when mopping – water streaks. You definitely have to mop the same area more than once, which isn’t really difficult anyway.
The David has a height adjustable rod, and it is very solid.
The Ezzymop (stainless steel version) rod is very sturdy as well.
This is perhaps one area where the David has an advantage over the Ezzymop – it uses less water. Note the marking inside the bucket – it says maximum water level, not minimum. Since it sprays water, you don’t need to fill the bucket to the brim like you do with the Ezzymop (to ensure the entire mop gets soaked). With the David, you can probably make do with half the amount of water required for the Ezzymop.
You can easily dismantle the David to clean the sediments at the bottom of the bucket. Nice.
I reckon that most people will like the Ezzymop, and i highly recommend it. It’s cheaper too. By the way, the Ezzymop is available on Qoo10 for roughly the same price if you factor in GST and shipping cost. Sea freight shipping volume for the Ezzymop is 0.05 CBM while the David is 0.07 CBM.
Here are some mops i avoided:
Very intriguing water wringing mechanism, but i worry about the durability of such products. Besides, there’s no dirt removal mechanism other than inserting the mop and swinging it around in the bucket
This is actually the most popular pad mop on Taobao. It does dirt removal and water wringing in a single step, and i felt it is not as effective. Dirt may be left on the scraper and might end up on the floor again.
