10 of the best mops to leave your floors sparkling clean

Best mops at a glance

• Best spray mop: Vildea 1-2 Spray Mop, £20
• Best disposable mop: Flash Speedmop, £16.50
• Best spin mop: Vileda Spin and Clean Mop and Bucket, £22.50
• Best electric mop: Karcher EWM 2 Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner, £139
• Best budget mop: Wilko String Mop with Handle, £2.99
• Best microfibre mop: E-cloth Deep Clean Mop, £22.49
• Best mop for corners: Beldray Antibac Triangular Mop, £12.99
• Best sustainable mop: Bamboo Cotton Mop, £6
• Best mop for tiles: Tiles OXO Good Grips Extendable Tub and Tile Scrubber, £15.99
• Best vacuum mop: Bissell Crosswave Cordless Max, £399.99

Mops can massively range in price. Standard mops that are used with a bucket of water are very affordable, while more advanced mops with built-in water chambers and special cleaning pads tend to be more of an investment. Steam mops are the most expensive option, and have not been included in this roundup as they warrant a list on their own. If you're looking for a steam mop, you can find our rundown of the best steam mops on the market here.

To help you find the best mop for your family, and for different types of hard floors, we scoured the market, researched the different mops available to buy and asked parents in our Top Testers Club about the mops they use and recommend.

For more household recommendations, take a look at our round up of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, and the best irons for crease-free clothing. It's also worth noting that there are some robot vacuums available that have a built in mopping function, though we haven't tested any yet and they may not provide as thorough a clean as a purpose built mop.

What to consider when choosing a mop

Type – Before you buy a mop it's important to consider all the different types available – there are a lot. Depending on how often and where you want to clean, there may be a different type of mop more suitable for you. Find out more about all the different types available. It's also worth considering how dirty your floors get. If you have a large family, a home with predominantly hard wood floors, pets or maybe even all of the above, you'll likely want to invest in a more heavy duty mop that will last for a long time.

Floor type – Most mops are suitable for all hard floors. However, some are only suitable for sealed hard floors so do take note and be careful if you have older wooden floors that may not be sealed. If you want to clean tiles then there are special mops for that too which are slightly more abrasive.

Machine washable heads – When you're cleaning a dirty floor you know your mop head is going to get dirty quickly. Buying a mop with a machine washable head is very handy and makes for a more hygienic clean. If you know you're going to be cleaning mucky floors often, it may be essential to get a machine washable mop head.

Ease of use – String mops and flat mops require a fair bit of manual force to really get a good clean. An electric mop does all the work for you. It's also important to consider the extra work that comes with using a mop and bucket. The bucket of water can become heavy and need emptying quite often which may be a pain. It could also lead to a lot of mess if spilt and the draining water from the mop action can be quite strenuous if you don't want soaking wet floors.

Our pick of the best mops

1. Vileda 1-2 Spray Mop, £20

– Best spray mop

Type: Flat spray mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: Yes up to 60°

A spray mop is a great way to clean the floors without any need for a bucket, making it mess free and meaning you don't have to make the floors as wet, therefore they dry much quicker.

The handle has a water tank which you can fill with water and any cleaning product to make your house smell fresh, lovely and clean. It's also a really hygienic mop which removes 99% of bacteria with only water. So, if you don't want to leave a scent behind, there's no need to add any cleaning solutions.

Parent tester Gemma has this mop and finds it very easy to use, "It's a good mop, cleans well and it's very handy not to have to use a bucket".

This handy spray mop can be used on any hard floors; tiles, lino, vinyl and laminate.

Pros: Sprays water mess free, machine washable heads, hygienic, only need water, suitable for all hard floors
Cons: No adjustable handle, no scent

Available from: Dunelm, Argos and Amazon

2. Flash Speedmop, £16.50

– Best disposable mop

Type: Flat disposable mop | Suitability: All hard sealed floors | Machine washable head: No, disposable

If you think regular mops are a bit unhygienic or don't need to mop your floor that often then this disposable Flash mop will do the job. However, out of all the options in this list, this isn't a very sustainable choice, especially if you mop your floors regularly.

It's quick and easy to use and the Speedmop Wet Cloths are 2 times thicker and wetter than floor wipes so really help dissolve stubborn dirt and grime.

Parent tester Anna, loves how quick and easy the Flash Mop is to use, "It's so easy and quick to set up, it's lightweight and stores easily too. Therefore, when you need to do a speedy clean it's perfect and you know you are disinfecting and giving the floors a good clean at the same time. It's great for when the children have made a mess after food, the dog has come in with muddy paws or if you know someone if popping over and just need to whizz around".

Unlike other mops it naturally has a fresh lemon scent to leave your house smelling divine after cleaning.

For really hard to remove marks on your floors it has a built in scrubby strip.

To get started you need to buy this starter pack which comes with 4 wet and 6 dry refills, but from then on you only need to buy refills which are around £5-£7 for a pack of 12.

Pros: Hygienic, suitable for all hard sealed floors, quick and easy, has a scent
Cons: Not very sustainable, could end up costing quite a bit with refills

Available from: Sainsbury's

3. Vileda Spin and Clean Mop and Bucket, £22.50

– Best spin mop

Type: Spin mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: Yes, up to 60°

If you like the usual mop and bucket but don't want to soak your floors then this Vileda spin mop is really useful.

The mop has a scrubbing roller head to scrape any dirt off the floor. There's no need to push and squeeze on the mop to drain the water out as it spins in the bucket via a single pump action, doing a lot of the hard work for you.

The mop head is really absorbent too, so should soak up most of the water. The head is made up of microfibre and red power fibres to provide a great clean.

When the mop head gets dirty you can easily put it in the washing machine.

If you're struggling with space and unsure whether you can store both the bucket and the mop, you will be glad to hear that the bucket is very compact and the mop handle can be broken down into 4 different segments to be stored in an under sink cupboard.

Parent tester Antonia has this mop and says, "It's super easy to use and the only one I've found which cleans up well after my dogs".

Pros: Drains the water with spin motion, has a scrubber, absorbent, can machine wash, compact to store
Cons: Bucket will take up extra room, could be messy with bucket of water, no scent unless you add it yourself

Available from: Amazon and Argos

4. Karcher EWM 2 Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner, £139

– Best electric mop

Type: Electric mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: N/A

If you want the mopping all but done for you, then an electric mop may be a good option.

This Karcher electric mop is completely cordless so you can freely clean all your hard floors. Thanks to the self-rotating rollers, cleaning is effortless and there's no need for much if any, manual scrubbing from you.

It has a 2 tank system, dirty water goes into 1 tank and the clean water in another. This means that the rollers are only ever fed clean water to clean your floors.

The rollers are really absorbent so the floor dries super quickly. It's slim design allows it to get in all the nooks and crannies of every room too.

This electric mop is suitable for all floors and can be used for up to 20 minutes before it needs charging again, which could be an issue if you have a large house with lots of hard floors.

Parent tester Mezza recommends this electric mop, "The amount of dirty water it picks up is horrendously satisfying. It leaves our vinyl floors cleaner than traditional mops. Only downside is it runs for 20-30 minutes".

Pros: No manual force needed, easy to use, separate tubs for clean and dirty water, absorbent, suitable for all floors
Cons: Can only be used for up to 20 minutes, larger to store than a regular mop

Available from: Currys and Argos

5. Wilko String Mop with Handle, £2.99

– Best budget buy

Type: String mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: No, hand wash only

If you just want a budget, basic mop without all the bells and whistles that the slightly more expensive options provide, then this Wilko String Mop might be the one for you.

It has a highly absorbent string mop head which can be removed and washed. However, it can only be hand washed rather than machine washed so may not be as hygienic as the machine washable options.

It can be used on all hard floors, and floors will take approximately 15 minutes to dry after being mopped.

When the mop head gets too dirty to be sufficiently hand-washed, you can buy replacement heads.

Pros: Great budget option, absorbent, suitable for all hard floors, replacement heads available
Cons: Does not come with bucket, no scent. head not machine washable

Available from: Wilko

6. E-cloth Deep Clean Mop, £22.49

– Best microfibre mop

Type: flat mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: Yes

This versatile mop can be used on all hard floors, surfaces and windows and the microfibre head will leave a streak-free clean. There are no chemicals required, you can clean your floor with just water.

The mop's telescopic handle means it can be adjusted to make mopping as comfortable for you as possible.

Once you've finished mopping you can throw the pads in the washing machine and use them over and over again.

Pros: Versatile, microfibre head for streak free cleaning, no chemicals needed, telescopic handle, machine washable pads
Cons: Have to spray water on the floor yourself, no scent

Available from: Lakeland, Amazon and John Lewis

7. Beldray Antibac Triangular Mop, £12.99

– Best for corners

Type: flat mop | Suitability: All sealed hard floors | Machine washable head: Yes

Usual rectangular flat mops can make cleaning in tight corners quite difficult. This triangular mop is ideal for just that with it's pointed end you can easily clean in any crevice and corner.

Much like the E-cloth mop this one also has an adjustable handle to ensure you're comfortable while mopping. Better yet, to get under tables, sofas and other furniture, the handle can bend.

The mop head is absorbent, machine washable and has an antimicrobial treatment that prevents everyday staining and bacteria build up.

Pros: Triangular for corner, handle bends for going under furniture, adjustable handle, absorbent, antimicrobial, very affordable, machine washable heads
Cons: Only suitable for sealed hard floors, may need to spray water on floor

Available from: Beldray

8. Bamboo Cotton Mop, £6

– Best sustainable mop

Type: String mop | Suitability: All hard floors | Machine washable head: No

Most mops have plastic handles but this one has a much more sustainable handle made from durable bamboo.

The mop head's strings are cotton and is a great budget sustainable option. However, you likely will need a bucket of water with cleaning products in to properly clean your floor.

Unfortunately the heads aren't machine washable but you can wash them in the sink, replacing them when they get tired.

Pros: Sustainable bamboo handle, affordable, suitable for all hard floors
Cons: Need bucket of water, mop heads are not machine washable

Available from: Dunelm

9. Tiles OXO Good Grips Extendable Tub and Tile Scrubber, £15.99

– Best for tiles

Type: Sponge mop | Suitability: Tiles | Machine washable head: No

All the mops listed so far can be used on tiles. However, if you want to give your tiles a good scrub, then you may need something more like this which can really scrub the tiles and lift off any dirt, using a more abrasive pad than those designed for wood or laminate floors.

The handle is telescopic so there's no need to stretch or bend. The simple twist mechanism will extend the pole to the ideal height. The cleaning head pivots and has an antimicrobial pad abrasive enough for tiles.

It's also a great scrubber for other parts of the bathroom such as the bath or sink.

Pros: Scrubs and cleans tiles, telescopic handle, antimicrobial pad, versatile for rest of the bathroom
Cons: Too abrasive for all hard floors, head is not machine washable

Available from: Lakeland, Amazon and Harts of Stur

10. Bissell Crosswave Cordless Max, £399.99

– Best vacuum mop

Type: Vacuum mop | Suitability: Sealed hard floors | Machine washable head: No, head cleans itself

A vacuum mop such as this Bissell Crosswave one is ideal for muddy paw prints and food spillages as it will vacuum up any mud, crumbs and bits of food whilst also cleaning the floor, making it fantastic for busy households.

It has a 30 minute run time and takes 4 hours to fully charge the battery. There's no need for the mop brush to be machine washable as it cleans itself in its storage tray after each use.

Much like the Karcher electric mop, this also has 2 tank technology which separates the clean water and the dirty water.

An added bonus is that included inside is a bottle of Bissell Multi-Surface Floor Cleaning Solution.

I have tested the Bissell Crosswave Cordless (pictured above) and found it cleans hard floors really well, especially muddy footprints and paw prints whilst also vacuuming up some dog hair and clumps of mud. However, I'd advise pouring the dirty water tank down the toilet rather than the sink as there may be bits from the vacuum even after draining.

Pros: Vacuums and cleans floors, 2 tank technology, cleans itself
Cons: Can only be used for up to 30 minutes, dirty water can still contain some bits from vacuum

Available from: John Lewis and Currys

What are the different types of mops available to buy?

There are lots of different types of mops on the market and it can get a bit confusing as to which kind you should choose. Here are some of the most common type of mops featured in the list above:

Flat mop – This type usually has a long pad which does not require a bucket or water for cleaning as you can just rinse the pad under the tap or spray water onto the floor. You can get a large variety of flat mops, different shape heads or different fabric heads. You can even get disposable flat mops. One of the main benefits of flat mops is that as there's no bucket of water the floor doesn't need to get that wet so can dry reasonably quickly.

Spray mop – Much like the flat mop, with a spray mop you don't need a messy bucket of water. You can fill the container on the mop with water and a cleaning solution if you like and just spray the floor as you go and mop dry with the head.

Sponge mop – You can get abrasive sponge mops ideal for tiles or softer sponge mops for laminate, vinyl etc,. They usually have an attached wringer to get excess water out and removable heads to replace.

Dust mop – This requires no water and is simply used for dusting the floor. They tend to look like a flat mop but likely have a microfibre head.

String mop – This is the classic mop, featuring a long handle and strings made of cotton. These are the most affordable option but probably the messiest and least effective mop on the market nowadays. You need a bucket of water with cleaning solution which can be heavy to carry and could spill.

Electric mop – If you have a lot of hard floors in your house, it may be worthwhile investing in an electric mop which requires less manual force. They're super hygienic and very easy to use.

Steam mop – This is an incredibly hygienic mop as it cleans the floors using steam. These are in fact categorised as different from regular mops so have not been included in this roundup. They tend to be quite a bit more expensive.

Spin mop – A spin mop is very much like a string mop, without the force needed to strain the water out of the mop as the spin action in the bucket does it all for you and they're much more effective and mean floors dry a lot quicker than they would with a regular string mop.

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