The 6 Best Mops for Hardwood Floors of 2024, According to Testing

Best Overall

Bona Hardwood Floor Premium Spray Mop

View On Amazon $42 View On Target $35 View On Walmart $33

After testing, the Bona Hardwood Floor Premium Spray Mop is our pick for best mop for hardwood floors because its dual-zone microfiber head is extra large to cover more ground. It was also portable and easy to maneuver while testing, and it easily cleaned up messes while still being gentle on the hardwood floor. 

The Bona Hardwood Floor Premium Spray Mop was designed specifically with hardwood floors in mind, with a mop head that is safe for all unwaxed, unoiled, polyurethane-finished wood. Its reliable design was simple to load, and the mop was easy to set up overall—it was just a matter of attaching three poles.

We liked that this mop has a handlebar spray lever that easily sprayed water or cleaning solution at the base of the mop. It was also simple to change the mop heads thanks to the hook-and-loop attachments on the bottom, and the mop heads are very easy to clean. 

We found that this mop was extremely easy to maneuver. With a rectangular shape and the ability to swivel left, right, up, and down, we found that it easily cleaned around furniture and managed to get right up against walls and corners. At times, it felt like it was anticipating our movements—that’s how easily it moved across the floor. 

We also put this mop to the test when it came to cleaning up various messes. None of the messes took more than eight swipes of the mop to clean up from the hardwood floor during testing.

The hardest messes for this mop to tackle were the ketchup and the butter. The butter mess took four sprays of water and eight swipes and was the most difficult stain, leaving some residue behind, but we used this mop’s scrubber feature in order to clean the mess. 

Keep in mind that the handle on this mop is not adjustable, so if you’re very tall (or short) you may want to consider that there will be no changes to your mop. 

How It Performed After Six Months

In addition to testing this mop in our lab, we also tested in the real world for six months. Overall, we continued to be pleased with the performance of this mop. With just a spray and a few swipes of the mop, we were able to easily clean messes like dried on dirt from pets.

Stickier messes were also a breeze to clean, but we did find it was best to rinse out the microfiber mop pad after cleaning up those messes so the stickiness wouldn't harden onto the fabric.

One of our testers actually previously owned an older version of this mop, and they appreciated the slight design changes on the new one.

It also continued to maneuver well around furniture and other obstacles, and we appreciated that the microfiber mop pad was machine washable. We washed it with other clothes after almost every use, and it was also clean afterwards. It didn't shrink in the dryer, and none of the fibers frayed or hardened.

After using it for six months, we still recommend this product because of its ease of use and effectiveness.

Product Details: Type: Spray mop | Weight: 5.8 pounds | Handle Length: 49 inches | Accessories: One refillable cartridge, Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner refill, microfiber cleaning pad

Best Budget

Swiffer PowerMop

View On Amazon $30 View On Target $30 View On Walmart $30

The Swiffer PowerMop is the best mop for hardwood floors if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option. This mop came with a cleaning solution and disposable mop heads that made cleaning the various spills and stains look easy.

While this mop did not have a swivel joint, we still found that it was able to clean right up against furniture easily thanks to its long, narrow, and flat mop head. Unfortunately, the pocket for the cleaning solution does hinder this mop’s mobility a bit since it is a little bulky. The mop is also lightweight and portable, and we liked that we didn’t have to tote around a cleaner since it attaches to the mop itself. 

It took just two minutes to clean the hardwood floor of stains during testing, with the butter mess requiring the most work (12 swipes of the mop). After cleaning the messes, we tested how well the mop really worked by wiping a paper towel on the floor behind it, and there was no residue left behind. We do like that the disposable mop heads have scrubbing strips that are able to get into the groves of your hardwood floors easily.

Keep in mind that the mop heads are disposable, which while not the most eco-friendly choice, is convenient since you don’t have to wash any mop heads. 

How It Performed After Six Months

The Swiffer PowerMop worked just as well at the end of the six-month testing period as it did the first day in our testing lab. We appreciated the large mop head size, and we liked that it wasn't so big that it made maneuvering around furniture difficult.

It easily cleaned up a variety of messes, but we did find it took some extra scrubbing to remove stuck-on messes. Additionally, compared to other mops we tested like steam mops, we were pleased with how convenient and easy to use this spray mop.

While we appreciated the disposable mop pads, we wish they were more affordable. The mop pads are about $2 each, which adds up fairly quickly if you are mopping a few times a week.

Product Details: Type: Dry/Wet | Weight: 4.65 pounds | Handle Length: 49 inches | Accessories: Two batteries, two mopping pad refills, one floor cleaning solution

Best Splurge

Nellie's Wow Too Bundle

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While the price of Nellie’s Wow Too Bundle is higher than any of the other mops on this list, we found that it was one of the best mops for hardwood floors during our testing. During testing, we found that this mop takes all of the elbow grease out of the chore, with a mop head that oscillates 1,050 times per minute. 

We loved the thoughtful design of this mop, and we appreciated that it had a simpler charger rather than a cumbersome docking station. It also has a powerful battery that has a runtime of 90 minutes and an easy-to-use reservoir that can hold a variety of cleaners. 

When it came to testing this mop, it passed all of them with flying colors. The all-in-one design meant that we didn’t have to carry around any accessories while cleaning the messes.

When it came time to mop up the spills, we found that this mop worked even better on hardwood that it did on tile. It outshined the other mops, cleaning up even the butter in just five swipes of the mop.

Apple juice, canola oil, ketchup, and soil took one, three, two, and four passes respectively and never needed more than two sprays of solution. No matter how much cleaning we did, the mop pads never seemed full or overly dirty. We cleaned for under three and a half minutes, and the battery didn’t indicate any drainage. 

The mop heads attach with a hook-and-loop fastener —we simply pressed the mop pad to the bottom of the mop head to attach and pulled to remove when we were done cleaning. We found that our hands did have to touch the mop head when removing, so cleaning up has the potential to be a bit messy if you’re not careful. 

How It Performed After Six Months

After using the Nellie’s Wow Too Bundle for six months, we would still recommend this mop. Despite the large mop head, we had no trouble maneuvering it around furniture such as a dining room table, coffee table, and TV stand. It even cleaned under cabinets and around bathroom toilets well, too.

During our real world testing, we also discovered that this is a great mop for those with pets. When we mopped after sweeping and vacuuming, we noticed that this mop picked up the remaining dog hair that was stuck on the floor.

We washed the mop pads by putting them in a laundry bag with bath towels, and they always came out perfectly clean and smelled fresh. There were no loose threads or snags after laundering multiple times, and we were pleased that they held up well.

There are a couple of details to note if you do purchase this option. We noticed that the spraying mechanism wasn't as effective at about the two-month mark. However, we realized that there was just a bit of product buildup on the nozzle. After we cleaned that, the mop worked perfectly once again.

Our only real complaint involved the canister—the instructions recommend not leaving any product in the canister, but it was difficult to completely empty it. This wasn't a dealbreaker for us though because we loved the performance of the mop so much.

Product Details: Type: Cordless dry/wet mop | Weight: 9.33 pounds | Handle Length: 46 inches | Accessories: One cordless electric mop, one canister of floor care solution, an extra set of scrub and polish pads

Best Electric

Bissell SpinWave Cordless Spin Mop

View On Amazon $139 View On Target $155 View On Best Buy $155

Unlike traditional spin mops, the Bissell SpinWave Cordless Pet Hard Floor Spin Mop has a water reservoir that is connected to the mop, eliminating the need to tote around an additional bucket full of water while cleaning, or to empty that bucket when finished. It’s our pick for the best electric mop for hardwood floors. 

The first detail we noticed while testing was how easily this mop was able to glide over the floors. It weighs 11 pounds, but did not feel cumbersome, and it was able to navigate around furniture and clean right up against a bookshelf with ease. 

We did find that cleaning was a bit of trial and error, as this mop requires you to spray water from the mop itself rather than dipping it into a bucket and then spinning the excess water out, like you would with a traditional spin mop.

Once we got the hang of it, we found that it was very effective and only required water and less than 10 swipes to clean the even most stubborn of our messes: butter. We did note that when it came to removing the butter from the hardwood, we needed to follow up our mopping with some scrubbing, as this mop wasn’t as effective in getting into the cracks of the hardwood. 

This mop was also easy to clean up, with pads that connect to the mop via hook and loop fasteners, and came 60% clean with just a rinse under water after we finished testing. We like that this mop came with a plastic plate on which you can store it, making it possible to store the mop upright without keeping the mop heads in contact with the floor after cleaning. It also comes with a small, portable charging cord. 

Keep in mind that, with a run time of 20 minutes, you may need to recharge if you have a large house, but we found during testing that the battery life was sufficient, especially given how quickly this mop tackles stains and spills. 

How It Performed After Six Months

The Bissell SpinWave Cordless Pet Hard Floor Spin Mop continued to impress us throughout it's six-month real world testing. We tested this spin mop in a household with several children, and it easily tackled messes like fruit juice, popsicle drips, and cheese from macaroni. It also had no issues cleaning muddy shoe and paw prints.

We also appreciated that it provided a deep clean without us having to exert any extra energy. Additionally, even though it is electric, it was so quiet during use that it didn't wake anyone else in the household.

The machine washable mop pads were easy to clean, although it did take quite a while for them to dry in the dryer. The only complaint we have with this electric pod is that we weren't able to clean corners as well due to the round design of the mop pads.

Product Details: Type: Wet mop | Weight: 11 pounds | Handle Length: 45 inches | Accessories: Two soft-touch cleaning pads, two scrubbing pads, sample bottle of cleaning solution

Best Microfiber

OXO Microfiber Spray Mop

View On Amazon $50 View On Oxo $40

A microfiber mop head is a great tool for cleaning hardwood flooring as it is a material that does not leave behind scratches or damage your floors. It also can be used wet or dry, making it versatile, too.

The Oxo Good Grips Microfiber Spray Mop is our pick for the best mop for hardwood floors with a microfiber mop head because it easily tackled stains and messes without leaving any damage behind. Plus, if you have a hard-to-remove mess, you can step onto a button located on the back of the mop, which detaches the mophead to reveal an additional scrubber tool.

This can be done without the use of your hands, so you never have to stop cleaning to grab another tool or to pull off a dirty mop head. The scrub brush is removable to make cleaning the scrub head simple. 

At less than 4 pounds, this mop is extremely lightweight and portable, and we found that it could easily work around furniture and up against walls in order to provide a close-up clean. We found that its swivel joint was extremely responsive, and it felt that the mop almost did so automatically. 

We found that it was easy to use, with a handlebar spray lever that we could pull any time we felt more water or cleaning solution was necessary. We used water for our testing, but it is possible to put another hardwood-safe cleaning solution. On average, we needed about 5.5 sprays of water per stain.

While testing, we found that this mop was very effective in removing messes and stains from hardwood floor, with the only difficult mess being the butter. We used the slide out scrubber during this part of the test, as we needed something to get into the cracks of the hardwood.

Unfortunately, this mop did not get the mess completely clean—even the scrubber could not get into the cracks effectively. However, it did impress us with how easily it picked up the soil and dirt on hardwood. 

How It Performed After Six Months

After six months, the Oxo Good Grips Microfiber Spray Mop didn't show any signs of wear and tear, and it still cleaned as well as it did in our testing lab. It was able to clean up sticky kitchen messes with ease, and even cleaned up muddy paw prints well.

The mop came with two machine-washable, microfiber mop heads. Despite frequent washing, the mop pads held up well, and there were no loose threads or frays.

Product Details: Type: Microfiber | Weight: 3.29 pounds | Handle Length: 53.5 inches | Accessories: Detachable, machine-washable scrubber