Flash Power Mop

I have found the answer to my prayers.. Something that really takes the effort out of washing floors.

Browsing the aisles of Asda this evening I spotted a largish colourful box on the top shelf with the magic word REDUCED, always guaranteed to grab my interest. On further examination I discovered that this box held a Flash Power mop.

Having just had a laminate floor laid and a disgusting mop and bucket at £10 this seemed too good an offer to miss so into my trolley it went.

On arriving home I couldn't wait to see what magic the box held. Could this be an answer to my prayers? Floor cleaning without an effort.

I am unable to give any information about the assembly of the mop as my son spotted the box and put it all together for me. The only comment I can make is that all seemed very simple and effortless and took less than 5 minutes.

Whilst assembly was being done I quickly set about sweeping the floors, then i wrestled the power mop from my son and set about cleaning my new laminate floor.

A low buzzing noise told me when I was spraying the floor. I think I must have enjoyed buzzing too much as I left the floor rather damp. Whilst I was drying it my son set about cleaning the disgusting kitchen floor. This took very little time and even the worst marks came off the ceramic tiles with very little effort. He buzzed less and thus sprayed less and the floor really did dry in a couple of minutes.

My turn again and into the downstairs bathroom, again the floor has ceramic tiles - white ones at that - the room is a very awkward shape. This did not prove to be a problem as the mop is very flexible and excellent for getting into corners and under low furniture.

Then I just peeled off the disposible head and threw it into the bin.

Given the previously rather disgusting state of my kitchen floor it could not have been saved for use another time but I should imagine that if used on a floor cleaned more recently it could well stand another use.

First impressions...
Very easy to use once you have got used to pressing the spray button less frequently than I did initially.

Interesting buzzing noise when it sprays fluid onto the floor helps you to judge how much liquid you have put on the floor.

Very pleasant smelling cleaning fluid. The smell is not too strong and only slightly chemical in nature.

Very clean floors. laminate was not very dirty but kitchen was and with very little scrubbing it came up beautifully clean. Streak free too.

My son likes 'playing' with it so I may get help in keeping the floors clean - at least until he leaves home..

What do you get for your money?

An easily assembled mop
4 AA batteries
A bottle of cleaning fluid
3 mop heads
4 scrubbing strips
Instruction booklet

What you can clean

This mop is suitable for:
Wood and laminate
Marble
Stone
Vinyl and Linoleum
Ceramic tiles
The leaflet carries a warning that it is not to be used on unfinished waxed or oiled wooden floor,non sealed tiles or carpets..

Instructions for use once assembled:

Sweep or vacuum your floor
Press the button to spray your floor for 3 or 4 seconds to cover
1 square metre.
Mop
For stubborn stains flip the mop and scrub with the side of the mop

To change the cleaning solution:

You can choose between Lemon or Ocean fragrances.
Take out the empty bottle by pressing a purple release button. Bottles of fluid have a cap that is designed not to leak so you can change fragrance if you want to. I haven't tested this and to be honest I am unlikely to do so until my bottle is empty.

You should be able to clean 100square metres with one bottle of fluid.
There is a warning not to use any other liqid as it may dull floors.

Power

The spray mechanism is powered by 4 AA batteries which should last for about 12 months. There is a warning not to use rechargeable
batteries.
Other info
The first page of the informationbook is taken up with DO NOT warnings some of which I found quite amusing..
DO NOT dispose of Flash Cleaning Mop cleaning pads in the toilet.
DO NOT place hands in cartridge housing. Sharp hazard.

The mop is guaranteed for 2 years from date of purchase

On the back page of my instruction booklet I find a coupon which asks me to recommend a friend and be in with a chance to win a family holiday - Unfortunately the closing date was 30th June 2005 - So that is why it was so cheap.

DO NOT attempt to fill the souion cartridges.

The downside

I don't think that this is very environmentally friendly as it doesn't use rechargeable batteries so I will have to make sure that I take them to the local tip for safe recycling. Also the mop heads will be going to landfill and the chemicals in the fluid are probably not too environmentally friendly either. The bottles can be recycled though.

The running costs have got to be a bit of a draw back too as the replacement heads cost around £2.50 a pack and replacement fluid bottles cost between £2 and £3 pounds.

I am a bit worried that this will go out of production and I will be unable to get pads or cleaning fluid

Consumer information

Manufactured by Proctor and Gamble UK
Consumer services telephone 0800 028 3292.

This power mop is available at Asda for £10
www.wilkinsonplus.com for £17.98
Ebay for £13.99
and possibly many other stores