Anyone for swockey? (Swiffer Cleaning System)

Member Name: kimgraham

Product:	Swiffer Cleaning System
Date:	10/09/01 (1072 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: antistatic, light, telescopic

Disadvantages: cloths are expensive

A few months ago I replaced the majority of my downstairs carpets with laminate flooring. It certainly looks very smart and on the whole is easy to clean. When I bought the flooring a helpful shop assistant suggested that I purchase a Swiffer.At that point I hadn't heard of a Swiffer, so the chap duly enlightened me. They did not have any in stock. Drat!

I duly trotted along to Safeways and came home the proud owner of the aforementioned article. It is a useful gadget with an adjustable handle and a rectangular head which swivels. You wrap a special cloth around the base, which is jointed so it can work at any angle.This is very useful for sweeping ceilings.

It certainly picks up loads of dust, which ,according the box , is electromagnetically attracted to it. You initially are supplied with a few cloths, which look like super thick tissues.I found that for it to be effective you have to replace the cloth extremely frequently.So, although it does a reasonable job it is not really cost effective.The replacement packs are quite expensive.
It is worth checking out the cloths of some of the rival appliances as they are sometimes cheaper or on special offer.

Not long after purchasing our Swiffer I found that they had far more potential than I had originally thought!

I was putting it away one day because I had run out of cloths. Some idiot had left a bottle top in the middle of the floor. To be honest, I had had a bad day. I was not my usual jolly self. In a fit of temper I attacked the bottle top with the swiffer and sent it hurtling across the laminate floor.
"Wow", said my youngest-" that looks fun" can I have a go?" she duly took over, and 5 minutes later "swockey" was born! We hurtled across the floor playing hockey with our swiffer and when the rest of the family came in they thought we were quite mad. But we didn't stop there, oh no! The possibilities are endless. We tried "
;
swennis" and "Swoits"(like the old cruise ship quoits) then we went into the garden and tried "swounders" and "swicket".

It is just such a great shape for whacking inanimate objects around with. If you are playing a floor level game soft drink bottle tops are best,they don't scratch the floor! Outside we tried soft balls and shuttlecocks. By this point elder daughter had been dispatched to B&Q to get another one as the games would be better if two people could "bat"!

By this time we were all on the floor giggling hysterically at our stupidity, and I could tell from the comments coming over the garden fence that the neighbours thought we were very strange!

I was about to teach a teenager who comes to the house, and she turned up early. "What on earth are you all doing?" she said. I said we have invented some new games to play with our swiffer. We started to show her, and she had a go. Then, with great aplomb, I grabbed the swiffer- "look" I said , taking a big swing, "swolf". I was by this time, in the music room. I did not look carefully around and there was a resounding crash. I had sent my mug (mercifully empty) into orbit!
Well, that brought us back to earth somewhat "swiftly".
Sorry, that was very bad!
Fortunately it missed the new piano.

We now restrict our swiffer games to safer areas. But we do have great fun. It isn't often used for cleaning as the cloths are a bit of a rip off. We have certainly had our moneys worth, for the sheer fun we have had with it, even if not for it's intended purpose! When we do use it to clean it is very good. Give one a go- it will give you a laugh and keep you fit all at the same time.

NB: the games are played without a cloth.


UPDATE: It is now possible to buy large floor cleaning "wet wipes" to fit any swiffer type appliance. They are mad
e by Pledge.
I tried them on my Swiffer as they were on special offer in B and Q. They are very good, but at £1.75 a pack a bit of an extravagance. A mop and soapy water do the job for a fraction of the cost. That being said, you do end up with a damp, smelly and rather un-savoury mop hanging around the kitchen. I always have the feeling that I am just spreading germs around rather than removing them! At least the wet wipes are very hygienic. I like to use them after the cats have run across the kitchen with muddy paws! They are probably worth keeping for those quick emergencies but I personally would not use them regularly! Then again, if I win the lottery......

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