Libman Freedom Mop–Review and Giveaway

What Is It?

The Libman Freedom Mop came to my door last week and I was so excited. You know the whole Swiffer wet jet thing? How it’s supposed to make you mop more often because it’s little, light, and easy? Well I had one a while ago, and tried to make washable cloth pads for it, but that didn’t work out so well. I didn’t want to constantly be buying disposable ones (see: cloth napkins, cloth diapers, kitchen towels, etc) so I gave it away to a friend who was planning on buying one anyway.

Enter the Freedom mop. It has reusable pads for cleaning, and a refillable tank for whatever cleaning solution you like to use on your floors. All you have to do is buy the mop, fill it up, and go. It’s tiny and light, and much friendlier to your wallet and garbage can.

My Thoughts:

I was really thrilled to try this out. Is thrilled too strong a word? I’m not sure, but I was excited.

It came in the mail in a giant box, and I began to worry it was going to be some huge thing, but when I opened it it was really slim and light. Nice! I filled it up with white vinegar and water, and set to work on my kitchen floor.

I like that you can spray as much of the solution as you want in one area, and none in other areas… I got up some spots that had been bugging me for a while. Don’t ask me how long a while is.

The head pivots nicely to get around the edges of things, and the container holds enough cleaning solution to do lots of floor.

When I was finished, I pulled the little tab to rip off the velcroed-on cleaning pad, and threw it in my wash. Excellent!

The only things I’m really sad about are:
1)  that the pad doesn’t seem to hold much grime – you really have to be sure to sweep or vacuum well before you mop with it. However it might make up for that with the rows of green grocery-bag-textured scrubby line thingies (how eloquent am I?) that helped me get up some stuck-on stuff. Again, don’t ask me what the stuff was.

and, 2) that it only comes with one pad, and it supposedly lasts through about 50 washings. This means it will last a year if you use it once a week, but if you plan to mop any more frequently than that, or mop more than once in between doing laundry, you’ll need more. You can buy them separately at about $10 a pop, which seems like a lot to me. I would think $12 for a pack of 3 would be about right. So once again, I might try making my own… but since the whole base of the mop head is hook-side velcro type stuff, I think it would be easy to do that.

It won’t make your floor the most sparkly ever. BUT it’s quicker and easier than hauling out a bucket and a conventional mop. Which means you might actually mop. Like, ever. Which means it’s worthwhile.

My cleaning tips:

1. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of better-than-nothing. Swipe the tops of your furniture with a microfiber cloth, even if you don’t have time to move all the tchotchkes and really dust well. Mop with the Freedom Mop, even if you’re not going to haul out a bucket and do it the “real” way.
2. Clean one thing every day. (at least) Again, the better-than-nothing mentality is helpful here. Set a timer for 15 minutes and GO. You can spare 15 minutes, right?
3. If you have a baby, and your baby won’t play by herself because she wants to be part of the action (not that I have experienced this or anything), tie her on your back (using a non-stretchy wrap only) and clean. She can see what’s going on and experience the rhythm of the day.

Buy It:

Check out the Libman store locator on the Official site to see where you can buy one of these bad boys. Target and Walmart are some of the big ones.

Win It:

One lucky Joyful Abode reader will win a $100 Visa gift card, provided by BlogHer, AND a Libman Freedom Mop.

To enter the giveaway, you must comment here with your #1 cleaning tip.

Be sure to use a valid email address when commenting, otherwise I won’t be able to contact you if you win!

The SupaFine Print:

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
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d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
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