Swiffer Tips

This post is sponsored by Swiffer.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

One of my favorite things about blogging is getting to work with some amazing brands.  While I always love to discover new brands, I find it especially exciting when I get to work with brands that I have already been using {and loving!} for years.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to head down to the Proctor and Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati to get an up close and behind the scenes look at the Swiffer products.  I have been using Swiffers since we first moved into our house over 13 years ago, so it was pretty exciting to be able to connect directly with them. We started off our first full day with a fun presentation on the history of Proctor and Gamble and how everything developed from a little bar of white soap {later known as Ivory!}

It was really interesting to see all of the old packaging and see how the products have changed over the years.  I really wanted to take some of these vintage wooden crates home with me!  I think they would be perfect for my bathroom. 😉

The rest of the day was spent learning about the evolution of Swiffer, the technology behind the products, and little tips for how to use the products to their full potential.  Once we knew all the basics, it was time to spread the Swiffer Effect throughout Cincinnati!

On Day 2, we were divided into teams and sent on a mini “Amazing Race” around town.  We picked up some of the infamous Swiffer green boxes and had a variety of tasks to complete including a delivery to Habitat for Humanity and a trip to the dog park.  This was my pal, Loki, and his Mom was really happy to receive a box of cleaning goodies to keep his shedding under control!

Throughout the trip, our Mission was to spread the “Swiffer Effect” – those little ways that Swiffer can make a positive difference in our daily lives.  Swiffer may not be able to suddenly make your home the cleanest on the block, but it can help you to cut down on your cleaning time and allow you a little extra time for your true passions.

If you haven’t met Blue yet, he is our two year old golden doodle.  He is very well loved, but he loves to tear around in our backyard and those big paws of his track a lot of dirt and mud into our house.   Our wet jet is used daily to spot clean his little paw prints so we can have less time cleaning and more time playing.  See how happy that makes him? 😉

Before I sign off, I just wanted to leave you with a few ways that I use our Swiffer products for our daily cleaning.   For me, it’s all about getting things done as quickly and as easily as possible.  I might not have time to sweep or vacuum the whole house, but I can definitely keep on top of all of our trouble areas with a five minute Swiffer sweep or mop.  It’s amazing how much cleaner things can look with just a nightly tidy and quick clean!  Here we go with my tips…

• Use the pads to their full potential.
  While the attachment pads are not reusable, I often get many uses out of them before I have to discard them.  Even when they look really dirty, they can still continue to pick up that dirt and debris for much longer than I think they will.  Just keep using the same pad until you find that it is no longer picking up the grime – you might be surprised how long they actually last.   This goes for the Swiffer dusters and sweepers as well – just pull off the larger pieces of debris when you are done to extend their use even more.

• Think outside the box.
  You can always come up with some interesting ways to use your Swiffer!  I like to use our Swiffer Sweeper on the walls when I am doing a deep cleaning.  It’s super light weight so it’s easy to use and has a great reach for all of those little cobwebs that appear. This is also great to do on your walls prior to painting {followed by a good wipe down}.  We also have thick baseboards so the Sweeper works great across the tops of them as they are huge dust collectors!

• Stick to the authentic replacement pads.
  I know that it is tempting to pick up the cheaper, knock-off replacement pads {I have done this a couple of times myself!}, but there really is a difference between the quality of the pads. There is a ton of technology and research that goes in to the development of the pads and, during our trip to Cincinnati, we were able to compare the pads directly.  Even though they appear to be quite similar, there was definitely a big difference in the performance.  The Swiffer dry pads were thicker with more surface area to pick up more fine particles and debris, and the Swiffer Wet Pads were able to pick up a lot more water using this cool powder that turns to a gel when it gets wet. This gel also ensures that most of the cleaning product is absorbed back up into the pad rather than staying on your floor {good news for those hardwood floors!} and locks in all of that dirt and grime so you are not spreading it around. The generic brands may be cheaper but you will likely go through them twice as fast!

• Keep your products within easy reach.
  I use my Swiffer products mostly for the quick day to day clean-ups – spot cleaning the floor where the dog {or kids!} have left their muddy prints, cleaning up spills and food particles after dinner, and cleaning up those high traffic areas that need a little more attention than the rest of the house.  As with all cleaning products, the closer I keep them to where I will be using them and the easier they are to access, the more likely I am to use them.  So….find a spot that is handy for everyone in the family and make sure that everyone knows where it is!  The Swiffer Sweeper and Swiffer Wet Jet both have a handy hook at the top that makes them easy to hang in a closet {we just have ours hanging on a couple of Command adhesive hooks}.   And for those of you that don’t have anywhere to hang them, P&G also changed the handle design to make it more secure if your Swiffer is just leaning against a wall.  It’s all in the details!

• Get your kids involved.
  One of the benefits with the Swiffer products is how easy they are to use, and this means that even the kids can use them well!  It only takes a few minutes after dinner for the kids to spot clean the kitchen floor or around the table while I am tidying up the rest of the kitchen.  Spend a little time teaching them how to use everything and then delegate those tasks away.  I find my kids work much better if I am doing a task alongside them.  It’s kind of a double bonus as I get some extra time to chat with them while getting out of a little extra housework!

So there you go!  Hopefully that will help you out a bit with your cleaning and allow you a little extra time to enjoy your own Swiffer Effect!