Hardwood flooring is a significant home investment, and you want to be careful to not only keep it clean but reduce the risk of damage. Typically cleaning a hardwood floor requires minimal water and lower or no heat, while laminate wood can tolerate a bit more. We've rounded up the best mops - both steam and spray mist - designed specifically for hardwood floors. Our favorite is the Shark Genius hardwood mop. This steam mop has three settings and uses unique mop pads that work to loosen and lift dirt from your floor's crevices and grooves without damaging your hardwood.
The Shark Genius is a steam mop specifically designed for hardwood floors. It has three different steam levels, so you decide how much heat and water you need on your floors. This helps ensure your woodwork doesn't get too wet or hot, which could warp it. The included mop heads are designed to pick up dirt and grime from deep within grooves and crevices that naturally occur with hardwood flooring.
When one side of the pad gets dirty, the mop head flips over so you can use the other side and keep cleaning. And when you're done, the pad can be dropped into your washing machine or laundry hamper by pushing a button rather than touching the dirty rag. The mop pads can leave streaks if you use them to wax your floors or wash them with fabric softener or dryer sheets. But washing with hot water and line drying should cut down or eliminate this.
The O-Cedar ProMist mop doesn't use steam to clean hardwood. Instead, it has a dispenser where a cleaning solution is fed into the mop. You can control how much to spray on your floor while using the reusable, textured mop pad to pick up a lot of mess, including stuck on grime. You can use different solutions for waxing and polishing your hardwood. Or you can skip the cleaner all together and use the O-Cedar as a dry mop to simply dust the floor.
Because it isn't a steam mop, you do have to use chemicals to clean, deodorize and sanitize your hardwood floor. This can leave some residue on your floor. The O-Cedar ProMist also doesn't have a rotating mop head. This makes it more challenging to get close into corners. The handle does lay nearly flat to help reach far under countertops and furniture while cleaning. This spray mist mop doesn't require any batteries to operate.
iRobot has stepped into the mop area with the Braava Jet M6. This robotic mop knows when to spray a mist and when to dry clean your hardwood floor. You can control the Braava Jet from your Android cellphone, but the iRobot also knows when to return to its base to charge on its own. The motion sensor knows when there is something in the way and avoids getting stuck in corners. It also senses when there is a drop so that it won't fall down stairs.
The best part is the iRobot Braava Jet M6 uses learning technology to map your room or multiple rooms, and figure out the best path to take and which functions to use during cleaning. It also first vacuums your floors to pick up any loose debris, then goes back around to mop them. It is essential to choose a cleaning solution that works for your specific flooring type and a multipurpose cleaner if you have different types of flooring in multiple rooms that you want to be cleaned by the Braava Jet. This hardwood mop is expensive, almost three times the cost of most mops. But it is worth the price for the convenience and the vast area of clean you get.
This mop doesn't use steam, so there isn't any worry of getting your hardwood floor too hot. Instead, the LINKYO Microfiber floor mop comes with pads, two for dry dusting, and one for wet mopping. The woven velvet pads pick up dust and dirt from your hardwood floor. The reversible mop pad has integrated scrub lines that, when used with a little cleaning solution, clean up sticky and dried up messes. Both types of pads that come with the LINKY mop can be cleaned and reused.
The mop head of the LINKYO Microfiber mop rotates a full 360 degrees. This allows you to get into deep corners and under countertops and furniture. The handle can extend up to 70 inches long. The LINKYO wet dry mop doesn't have a dispenser like spray mops, so you will need to buy and use this separately, but this is a good way of controlling what and how much is used on your hardwood. This mop also doesn't use steam, so you won't be able to thoroughly sanitize your wood floor without using chemicals.
The Bissell Symphony is a steam mop, wet mop, and vacuum in one, and you can use them all together at once or individually. All you need to do is press a button to turn on or off the function you need. Both reusable and disposable mop pads come with this mop that attach in a way to not get in the way of the vacuum suction if you wish to use it while picking up wet messes or mopping. The suction of the Bissell Symphony is strong enough to pick up pet hair, though some users feel it isn't as effective when used at the same time as the mop.
This hardwood mop heats water in 30 minutes but lets you control how much steam or water to use to ensure your wood doesn't get too hot or wet. Bissell sells scented discs that work with the Symphony steam mop that neutralize and eliminate pet odors as you clean. This is a larger mop compared to other models we reviewed weight over 15 pounds before water is added. The Bissell Symphony also a bit bulky because of the many features and functions included.
Bottom line
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The Shark Genius is the best mop for hardwood floors because it uses steam to clean and sanitize your floor instead of chemicals typically used in spray mist models. Unlike traditional steam cleaners and steam mops, you can control how much steam to use, which reduces the risk of using too much heat or water that tends to warp wood surfaces. You can forgo the steam altogether and use the Shark Genius as a dry mop instead.
This mop requires mop pads when in use. It comes with several reusable pads that can be cleaned and used several times before needing to be replaced. These pads are textured and designed to pick up dirt in the grooves and crevices that naturally occur in wood grains. You can also use reusable mop pads with the Shark Genius hardwood mop.