7 Best Mops For Tile Floors and Grout

How To Choose The Right Mop For The Job

Tile mops are vital tools in every homeowner's housekeeping arsenal. However, with so many options on the market, it's sometimes challenging to determine the best model for your home. Some of the factors to consider before choosing a specific mop for your tile floors include;

Weight

The weight of the floor mop is a determining factor for how well you will be able to use the mop and store it. A more compact and lightweight mop will be best. The thing is, the more lightweight your mop is, the easier it will be to navigate while cleaning.

When it comes to storage, bulkier steam mops and flat mops will be much harder to put away after you finish cleaning. The sleeker designs will benefit your storage needs the best, and they will be easier to handle while floor cleaning. 

Price

Finding an affordable floor mop will most likely be one of your top priorities. A normal mop is always going to be way cheaper, while steamers can sell for up to $180. Between that price range, you can likely find a nice spin mop and bucket, or a mopping pad-style option. Whichever price you are comfortable settling for, just make sure it'll do a good job cleaning your tile floors.

Mop Heads and Mop Pads

The different materials of your mop, such as the mop heads and mop pads, will also determine how efficient your floor mop will be for the job. Mop heads are made with materials such as cotton, lamb's wool, and many other types of materials. The cleaning mop pads are disposable, and they come with both dry and wet mop pads for different levels of floor cleaning. When choosing your mop, if you have a steam mop, you'll probably have a mop pad/cleaning pad head that will be disposable. If you don't opt for a high-tech mop head and go for a traditional mop instead, you shouldn't expect a mopping pad or cleaning pad, but rather a washable mop head instead. 

Wringing Mechanisms

To avoid damaging your tiles, it's wise to clean your floors with a mop head that's not too wet, which is where the wringing mechanism comes in. Generally, mop wringers are located either in the mop bucket or on the mop's handle. 

Wringers that are found on the mop itself use either twist (bucket) or lever mechanism. Activating them applies pressure to your mop head, squeezing out excess water. 

Sponge mops mostly use lever wringers. When you pull the lever, the mechanism folds or rolls the mop head to squeeze out water. Bucket wringers, on the other hand, are designed in a mop's bucket. Some bucket wringers are fairly simple - they rely on manual pressure to squeeze water from a mop.

Others, especially buckets that come with spin mops, use hands-free wringing. Instead of touching a dirty, wet mop, you'll only need to depress a hand or foot pedal to expel excess water from your mop head. Overall, spin mops are convenient to use as they dry out mop heads better than other bucket wringers.

Water Tank Size

You should take the size of the water tank and cleaning solution reservoir into consideration if you are planning to buy a steam mop for your house. You will want a bigger water tank for a bigger floor cleaning job on larger surfaces, and you will have to refill it quite often. Not all water tanks are easy to use or refill so you will have to know what size water tank you're aiming to have with your steam mop, this way you can assure everything works properly.

Handle

Another useful factor to consider when looking for the best mop for your floors is the handle. Mop handles are usually made of metal, plastic, and wood. Handles made from metal and wood are less prone to breaking. Plastic, on the other hand, is often used for a handle's additional features, such as spray nozzles, pushbuttons, and comfort grips.

Irrespective of the material used to design the handle, it's wise to go for one that has nonslip or ergonomic grips for added comfort. Nonslip grips will help you keep control of your mop even when your hands are wet from wringing and cleaning. The more ergonomic your handle is, the easier it is to clean for an extended period without getting tired.

A height-adjustable handle, which contracts and extends to suit homeowners of all heights also contributes to comfort. If your mopping duties range from intense scrubbing to quick cleanups, you should give adjustable-height handles a try.

5 Types, Which Is Best For Your Home?

Traditional Wet Mops & Bucket For Tile Floors

The traditional option offers the one cheapest and most straightforward way to clean tile floors.  These are either made of plastic, or stainless still and are a no-frills type of product. Traditional mops are also the most manual type, so you will be able to find this mop at a cheap and affordable price, but you'll still need a mop bucket. If you don't already have a mop bucket on hand, the water bucket system is usually sold separately from the floor mop itself. The mop head is made of loops of string or strands, often cotton, Traditional mops are very absorbent, thus ideal for cleaning large surfaces. However, you can have a hard time wringing them out as they can become rather stinky due to absorbing a lot of water.

Steam Cleaners & Steam Mops

The best steam floor cleaners use steam to clean tile floors and eliminates dirt and germs on your floor with high levels of heat. These electrical mops come with a refillable water tank. When you turn them on, their water heats up, turning into steam which is spread onto the floor through the mop head. The hot steam is efficient at cleaning and disinfecting tough messes. The time you will need for it to heat up depends on which model you get. Some floor cleaner / steam mop models require time to heat up and some heat up right away when you turn it on. Generally, steam mops are ideal for porcelain and ceramic tiles, the most commonly used type of floor tiling in residential homes.

Dust Mops With Microfiber Mop Pads

Dust mops (dry mop) with microfiber pads tend to have a long handle and the capability to clean dust, dirt and cobwebs from all types of surfaces, including floors, ceilings, light fixtures, walls and hard to reach corners. They are designed for dry mop cleaning surfaces and are made out of materials such as microfiber mop pad lamb wool. The mop head comes in both disposable and reusable varieties, and the reusable cleaning pads can be washed in a washing machine and dried separately from the rest of your laundry to remove dirt buildup. Opting for a reusable mop pad is also better for the environment. Disposable pads are still a great solution though as well for hard floors. A dust mop is also effective for most hard floors, although dry mopping won't sanitize your floors. 

Scrub Mop

Scrubbing pads as a mop for tile floors work to remove tough stains from your tile flooring and utilize scrub brushes for the job. Using a combination of water, steam and the scrub brush will help you eliminate even the most difficult to clean stains from the surface of your floors. Scrub mops are also great at two things: getting into corners and tight spaces that would otherwise be a tricky thing to clean, and removing stuck-on dirt. 

Spin Mop

The spin mop often resembles a traditional wet mop design if you look at the simplicity and the handle. However, you enjoy better convenience because the head spins automatically with little to no effort on your part. You won’t have to wring the mop head manually. All you have to do is use the step pedal on the water bucket to clean your tile flooring.

Conclusion

After learning which is the best mop for your tile floors, you’ll be able to pick the best brand for your needs and your tile flooring. Ditch the spray bottle and sponge, get a quality solution built for tile. Tile mops are designed for tile, so be sure to consider tile mops specifically.

The best tile mop may seem hard to find, but this guide should help. Steam mops may be one of the best options if you are searching for a mop that will eliminate plenty of germs from your tile floors while spin mops may be the more effective twist on traditional options.