By Andréana Lefton | Updated Apr 20, 2022 10:10 AM

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Beyond traditional mops, spin mops are designed to take the “ick” factor out of wet mopping, eliminating the chore of hand cleaning your mop head. Instead, spin mops include a variety of ways to automatically cleanse and dry mop heads, including innovative handles, foot pedals, and buckets to make touchless wringing possible.

Most spin mops are also affordable, offering an inexpensive addition to your cleaning arsenal. In this guide, we’ll explore the important factors to consider as you begin shopping for a spin mop and then check out some of the best spin mops on the market in a variety of categories for cleaning your floors.

A spin mop enables you to clean the mop head without touching it. However, a spin mop isn’t a single item; it comes with a handle, mop head, and bucket. The bucket itself should contain both a freshwater reservoir and a spin bucket for wringing out the mop head. It’s essential to buy a spin mop with durable construction and a user-friendly spin mechanism to make cleaning your floors as easy as possible.

Common spin mop heads are made from microfiber or cotton, as these are affordable, porous, and effective materials for cleaning floors.

A spin mop has the same basic function as a regular mop: to lift both dry and wet messes from hard floors. It differs from a regular mop in how you wring it out. The bucket, which is paired with the spin mop, is equipped with either a foot pedal or a handle mechanism that does the wringing for you. Not as large as a string mop, a spin mop is better suited for home use.

The bucket itself has two chambers: one for clean water and/or soap and a separate “spin basket” to wring out the mop head. In some spin mops, the bucket’s clean water reservoir contains a built-in agitator at the bottom, which stirs the water and cleanses the mop head even more thoroughly.

Microfiber is the ideal material for the head of a spin mop. First, microfiber is super soft and won’t damage any flooring type, including hardwood, laminate, tile, and natural stone. Second, it’s ultra-absorbent. Good-quality microfiber can soak up wet messes and sweep up dry messes (so you won’t even have to reach for the broom or vacuum), all without leaving behind streaks. Third, microfiber can pick up germs and allergens, as well as dirt and dust, for a deep, healthy clean. Microfiber heads can be detached from the mop handle and machine washed for an extra-thorough refresh. With regular use, plan to replace a microfiber mop head every 3 to 6 months.

Spin mop handles include several parts, which should fit together without tools. They can be made of durable plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel. Metal handles tend to be stronger and may also contain hand pedals, which function to cleanse the mop head of dirt and excess water.

Look for adjustable, telescoping handles that can extend up to 50 or 60 inches in length. This prevents you from stooping and ensures you can also clean under furniture, in corners, and other hard-to-reach spots. As for the spin mop bucket, it is most commonly constructed of high-quality plastic or polypropylene (PP), including for the wheels. The spin basket, which sits inside the bucket, is typically stainless steel.

Some spin mop buckets feature wheels, enabling you to roll the water around with you and preventing the need for stooping, bending, and lifting. However, flat-bottomed buckets (without wheels) also have their place.

For one, there are fewer moving parts to potentially break, making the overall design sturdier and longer-lasting. Beyond wheels, look for a bucket that features a drain plug to easily remove dirty water as well as a splash guard to prevent accidental droplets from splattering on you, your furnishings, and other surrounding surfaces.

We’ve compared product specifications and features and determined our top picks. Our recommendations are based on high-quality materials, durable design, user-friendliness, and easy maneuverability. All these spin mops include at least two microfiber mop heads, and replacements are typically available on Amazon.

While lightweight to carry, the Tsmine spin mop is sturdy enough to hold up to daily use and includes six microfiber mop heads for more than 2 years of use. These circular microfiber heads are plush and highly absorbent, whisking away messes in no time.

With this spin mop, it’s the upgraded handle that does the work. No pedal, no problem. Made of durable stainless steel and telescoping up to 61 inches, the handle only requires you to simply press down on it to cleanse the mop head in the water and wring it dry in the spin basket.

The mint green polypropylene (PP) bucket boasts two wheels, a pull handle, and a carry handle. The bucket also features a drainage plug and a detergent dispenser for super grimy floors, regardless of whether they are tile, laminate, or hardwood.

Get the Tsmine spin mop on Amazon and at Walmart.

With four included mop heads and a durable design, the Simpli-Magic Spin Mop is an excellent choice for those on a budget. Although affordable, this hand-wring spin mop comes with several perks. Unlike some other cheap mops that are made from aluminum or plastic to save costs, this one features a sturdy stainless steel spin basket as well as a stainless steel mop handle. This construction is built to last, and with four included microfiber mop heads (each are machine washable and good for up to a year of use), there’s no need to buy additional parts for a while.

A user-friendly design also adds to this spin mop’s value. A built-in detergent bottle makes it easy to add soap as you go, and when the job is done, a drain plug makes it mess-free to drain the bucket.

Get the Simpli-Magic spin mop on Amazon and at Walmart.

Clean up spills and messes and maintain tidy floors with ease using the Hurricane Spin mop. Spills are no match for this spin mop: It features a super-absorbent microfiber mop head, which absorbs up to 10 times its weight in liquid to clean spills.

The soft 360-degree mop head is excellent for daily or weekly maintenance cleanings. With a pivoting head that allows the handle to lay almost completely flat, there’s also no need to move furniture around to clean. This spin mop’s large mop head and fluffy microfiber fibers are designed to reach into tight spaces.

A foot pedal makes wringing the mop simple—there’s no need to bend over or touch the mop head to wring. Just place the mop in the wringing bucket and depress the foot pedal, and the basket spins as quickly as 1,000 rpm to thoroughly wring the mop head.

Get the Hurricane spin mop on Amazon and at Walmart.

The O-Cedar spin mop promises to remove over 99 percent of bacteria with just water. The manufacturer’s exclusive bucket design provides a built-in wringer as well as a foot pedal, which allows you to control the level of moisture in the mop head.

Some consumers don’t find the foot pedal on this model as efficient as pedal-less models, but with a splash guard and wheel-less design, the bucket is ideal for hardwood and laminate floors you don’t want to risk scratching. However, this spin mop is compatible with all floor types. The handle telescopes up to 51 inches and is ultra-lightweight for easy maneuvering.

The microscopic charged fibers in the microfiber mop heads are capable of attracting not only dirt and debris but allergens and microbes as well. While the mop heads are on the smaller side, this system includes several replacements.

Get the O-Cedar spin mop at Amazon, The Home Depot, and Walmart.

The Boomjoy spin mop is well designed and easy to use. It’s particularly effective for cleaning tile for several reasons. First, the microfiber mop heads are ultrathick and absorbent, which makes sopping up wet messes a breeze. Second, the mop heads, handle, and bucket are engineered to be scratch-free and are also sturdy enough to scrub grime and embedded dirt from bathroom and kitchen floors and other surfaces.

The steel handle telescopes to 51 inches, and the stainless steel spinning bucket is detachable for easy cleaning. The manufacturer advises users not to store a wet mop in the bucket, especially in the stainless steel spin basket, as this can cause damage over time. Thanks to high-quality materials, this user-friendly spin mop can outlast and outperform many competitors, and it even includes four microfiber mop head replacements for long-lasting use.

Get the Boomjoy spin mop on Amazon.

If your home has multiple types of hard surface floors, owning several different mops can be expensive and a pain to store. With the Libman Spin Mop and Bucket, you can clean every floor with just one mop. It features a deep-cleaning microfiber head and a bucket with a stainless steel spin chamber to make wringing a breeze.

You can use the microfiber mop as both a dry-dust mop and a slightly damp mop for hardwood floors. For deep cleaning, use the right solution for your surface and scrub away dirt and grime. The mop head is removable and can go straight into the washing machine to be laundered.

Get the Libman spin mop at The Home Depot and Walmart.

With the right accessories, a spin mop can be used for more than just cleaning floors. The Hapinnex Spin Mop and Bucket with Wringer Set comes with two microfiber mop heads, which can be used for sweeping and wet mopping, and a scrub brush for more difficult cleaning jobs. The soft microfiber mop heads can be used on all hard flooring types, including wood, laminate, and vinyl, and the scrubber brush is ideal for durable flooring like tile.

Along with its multipurpose use, this spin mop has several convenient features. It has both a spin washer (which spins dirt and debris off the mop when you’re dunking it in the water) and a hand-pump stainless steel spin bucket to drain the mop. A splash guard keeps dirty water contained, and when you’re done mopping, just drain the bucket using the drain plug.

Get the HAPPINEX spin mop on Amazon and at Walmart.

A hard-wearing build, a telescoping handle, and an easy-to-use hand wringing mechanism makes the Tsmine Spin Mop Bucket System an excellent choice for most homes. The Simpli-Magic Spin Mop is another great choice that offers similar features for an affordable price.

A high-quality spin mop can make cleaning messes and mopping floors more convenient. When selecting the best spin mops, user-friendliness was our top priority. Along with ease of use, we also looked at material durability, prioritizing spin mops made with high-quality plastic and rust resistant and durable stainless steel parts.

Through extensive product research and considering shopper reviews, we chose spin mops that are intuitive and comfortable to dunk and wring using a sturdy hand-wringing mechanism or foot pedal—the less bending or fiddling with the mop, the better.

Additional ease-of-use features scored a spin mop extra points. Some features we looked for included wheeled buckets, 180- or 360-degree mop-head maneuverability, and inclusion of a bucket drain hole, a splash guard, or a mop head agitator. We included several spin mops with these extra features to offer more bang for your buck.

A spin mop can take a little getting used to at first, so bone up on the facts before putting it to work. Make sure you read the manufacturer’s instructions, as each brand has a signature design and spin mechanism. Once you understand how to most effectively use it, a quality spin mop will make your cleaning routine easier and faster, especially if you have large, hard surfaces underfoot. Have more questions? Check out the most frequently asked ones below.

A spin mop works via either a foot pedal and/or a handle. Either way, most spin mops function via a mechanism that spins the mop head, wringing out excess water.

Yes. Detach the microfiber heads from the handle and toss them in the washing machine for a thorough cleaning.

Once the mop head starts to collect stains or picks up a lingering smell, it is due for a deep cleaning. Many spin mop heads are also replaceable and can be swapped out for a new one every 2 to 3 months, if needed.

Floors should be mopped every 2 weeks, at minimum. High-traffic areas and homes with pets or children may need more frequent cleaning.

Floors shouldn’t be sticky after mopping with a spin mop. However, you should still make sure your mop head is clean, take care not to use too much floor cleaner, and make sure you rinse the mop head with fresh water after every use.

Using too much cleaning solution can contribute to dull and dirty-looking floors. Consider using a flooring cleaner that is suitable for your floor type to remove the residue, or avoid soap-based cleaners altogether and use a damp mop with plain water instead.

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