My Mop: A Household Product Review

Disclaimer: I'm starting this post by saying, this entire post may be extremely boring to most. It will be about simplifying the process of keeping a household and about how my new mop helps me in that process. It will also include some information about how romantic and sweet my husband is. So, if any of these things interest you then read on and if not...just stop now. :)


I've been in the market recently for a new mop and so my sister Tara recently told me about hers. She said that she bought it a year and a half ago when she was moving into a new place and she still loves it. One of the things she loves about it is that it has a removable, washable mop head that you can throw in your washing machine after every use and it comes out perfectly clean and as good as new for the next time your floors need cleaned. This feature was very appealing to me as the last mop I had did NOT have a removable head and I felt like every time I mopped the mop head got dirtier and dirtier and sometimes left my floor less clean, rather than more. I also found out that this mop actually is more than just a mop. It is a complete mopping system. Very cool. It comes in a box with a bucket and an attachable wringer that snaps into the bucket as well. Just what I'm looking for.

So, I asked what kind of mop it was and where she got it. Walmart. Of course, I go to Wal-mart at least once a week, sometimes more. I'd just pick it up the next time I go. I'm heading down the cleaning isle and realize my Wal-mart doesn't have the mop system I want in stock. Great, well, I'm convinced this is the mop I want, so I'll just have to find it somewhere else.

I get home and look up the mop online. Maybe I can order it off the internet. Nope, The only place that sells it online has the price listed in Euros. There's got to be a better way than having a mop shipped to me from Europe. I go to the website who actually makes this mop. Vileda. Which in turn takes me to O-Cedar. Two cleaning product brands. Ok, maybe I can find out what other stores carry this brand. I see a link that says, "Where to buy our products". I click and I see a list of at least 20 stores---Target, Publix, Walgreeens, Ace Hardware. All of these places I have nearby so I decide I'll check in the next time I'm out and see if any of these places have the particular system I am wanting. Two weeks of checking these places and nada. No one has my mop. I had my other sister check her Wal-mart on her next grocery run. Out of stock there as well.

I finally call the company. They tell me that the particular system I'm interested in, the Ultra Max All-In-One Mopping System is only sold at Wal-Mart. Great, all those wasted trips to check the other places who carry their brand. The customer service representative tells me that I am able to order the system directly from the company but that it would be more expensive, plus the cost of shipping. I decide to try one more Wal-mart. I'm heading to Knoxville in a week so I'll check the Wal-Mart there while I'm in town. Maybe I'll get lucky. The Knoxville Wal-Mart had an impressive selection of mops and brooms and had several of the Vileda brand mops, but not the one I was wanting. I tell myself, "when I get back home I'll just call the company again and just order it from them, pay the extra $5 cost and wait for it to arrive". I call. Now they tell me the system I want is on back order until the end of July. Eight weeks from now. I'll just have to be patient and continue mopping my kitchen floor with a rag for a little while longer. I mark my calendar at the end of July, "Order Mop". Ugh.

This past Saturday Kane went grocery shopping for me. He took Mara Kate and I stayed home to do a little cleaning and a little reading. It was nice to have a few minutes in a quiet house. Kane gets home and as he is bringing in the groceries he looks at Mara Kate and says, "Mara Kate tell Mommy what we got her". She looks up at me and says, "A mop, Mommy". A mop?! I look at him with questioning eyes. He says, "look out in the hall". I look and there is a box...with a mop, a bucket and an insertable wringer. It's the mop I've been looking for for over a month now. I'm thrilled!

I asked Kane how and he said he looked at the mops while he was shopping and spotted the boxes. He said he practically dove to grab one. He joked that he felt like he had to dodge sniper fire in order to secure one for me. He also confessed that he felt giddy the rest of the shopping trip knowing he was making my day by buying me a mop. A mop of all things to make my day. I know silly :)

He felt like my hero that day--and he was. He was also a very sweet and romantic husband to even think to go down that isle, just to check while buying groceries. I love my husband very much and yes, I love my new mop too. :)

The Vileda Ultra Max All-in-One Mopping System