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I really like the swiffer duster and the floor sweeper, though I've tried not to use them much lately in the interest of not generating so much trash. I do not like the swiffer wet pad sweeper. Not the wetjet with the spray bottle, but the sweeper that you just slap a wet pad onto. It's RIDICULOUSLY wet when it comes out of the packaging and I wind up with soaking hands and shirts after attaching it to the broom thing. I only get to do half of my floor before I feel like the thing is so dirty that I have to switch to a new one (which I guess might say more about the state of my floors than the product itself).

I feel so old-fashioned saying it, but I enjoy sweeping. Swiffering, not so much.

Swiffers aren't about cleaning, they're about generating trash.

I stopped using swiffers after someone posted about feather dusters a couple of weeks ago. The feather duster I bought since then far outperforms swiffers. And it's reusable, unlike swiffers.

I buy the Dominick's knock-off swiffer floor ones. I don't like the amount of trash they generate, but with two cats they pick up the hair like nobody's business.

Being an owner of a furry dog, this has been a great product for me. Ditto bluestar on the wetpad swiffer, though.

I got the swiffer as a gift. I do not buy the refills, but just use a barely damp rag (hubby's old socks fit perfectly). This picks up the dust left behind by the broom or vacuum on our hardwood floors perfectly, and doesn't generate any trash.

I like the swiffer duster with the extension arm, but could be talked out of it fairly easily by a good enviro-rant. It sure is handy though (wistful)...

Before I became so conscious of cutting down on the amount of disposable stuff I use, I tried the wet moppy swiffer thing, but between the grossly soaking cloths, the crap packaging that was near-impossible to reclose, and the too-short handle which had me stooping to use it, it was all way more trouble than it was worth. I did like the dry cloths for hand-dusting, but now I use microfiber dust cloths and I think they work better.

IMO, nothing's a substitute for a good vacuum cleaner if you don't have one. Swiffers are good for a quick once-over, but if you're using them to pick up huge dustballs and pet hair on a regular basis, it's probably time to upgrade your cleaning regimen a little.

Added to my previous comment: I realized my comment about upgrading the cleaning regimen might sound like I mean "clean more often, messy people!" I just want to clarify that all I meant by that was that if you're using Swiffers for the real heavy lifting, you might be happier using something like a vacuum that does the job with less effort. Sorry if I sounded borderline snotty--I need more tea, clearly!

A major concern no one has mentioned is that the liquid solution on the "Wet" swiffers are highly toxic to pets. It may be highly unlikely Fido would go swig from the Swiffer, but do you really want something deadly on your floors?

Hm, I'm wondering if finally getting a roomba would take care of all my furry tumbleweed needs. It would probably pay for itself after a year, instead of buying swiffer refills.

Has anyone tried the Method O-Mop? It sounds like the Swiffer, only with a washable microfiber mop pad and compostable sweeping cloths. I also wonder if it's possible to just buy the mop rather than the starter kit - I'd like to get more microfiber mop pads, and would rather use a Sal Suds mix for the floor rather than Method's floor cleaner (although I'm sure it's great - I like their products).

I can't recall the name of it, but I use a swiffer like device that instead of using a dispoable pad, uses a machine washable microfiber cloth/pad. I use it with this great spray hardwood floor cleaner (it's supposed to be gentle on the finish and on pets) for fantastic results.

Beyond even the obvious concern of the swiffer producing waste, who wants to spend all of that money to be buying pads all of the time? I get 6 months out of one of the reusables...

I've been using the swiffer dry for about five years now and really like it. (I've never considered buying the swiffer wet - I have hardwood floors in most of the apartment - and I have found that the little wet mopping required in the kitchen and bath is easiest done by hand. If I had a huge kitchen, I might feel differently.)
Typically I use the dry cloth and swap in a Murphy's Oil Soap wipe once a month for an extra layer of shine. I've found most of the wipes on the market do fit on the swiffer - not all are a perfect fit but they are usable.I have found that the pre-moistened pads by swiffer for floors does dry out very quickly and, more frustrating, the boxes they are sold in do not hold a good seal.
I am considering switching to a similar devise that microfiber cloth/pad similar to what is described by Mat. I think Method has a new one on the market that is relatively price conscious. I know I would want a set of microfiber cloths as I can't see washing them with my clothes or kitchen towels and would need to run a separate load for them.

betsbillabong: you can purchase omop items on the methodhome.com site. (http://tinyurl.com/26qaj3)

i've never tried them but i am looking forward to purchasing one soon. i like the idea of the swiffer but like so many others have said: the waste that is produces is not equal to or greater than the benefit of convenience.

I don't like the fact that it is disposable. It is also expensive and rather wasteful. And extremely yuppie.

Looooooooooove my Omop. Works much better than the Swiffer I had previously, and the reusable microfiber pad is the truth! Also love Method's lemon ginger cleaner. I try to give the floors a quick sweep and mop almost everyday, and this is so much easier with the O-mop.

Swiffer is the only product I have tried that can actually pick up hair. It also reaches places the traditional broom can't go.
If there is something else on the market that works just as well as the swiffer please let me know. I've heard about the method dryer sheets here on A.T. They are reusable and can be used just like the swiffer. If someone has tried this let me know how it works. I'd switch in an instant if it can pick up hairs as well as the swiffer!

I am another owner of hair generators (a persian and a field lab) and they make SO MUCH HAIR. I use swiffers 2x a week when I don't have time to vacuum just to keep the dust/hair down. Seriously. I would LOVE to be able to generate less trash, but I also do want to live in a clean house.

I love my Swiffer. I use a regular broom on my apartment as needed, but if I'm doing a really thorough cleaning (like before I have people over, or when I just feel like being extra clean) I follow the sweeping with the Swiffer. I have a cat and it's really good for picking up cat hair. I only use the Swiffer every 2-3 weeks usually, and unless my apartment is more dirty than usual I can even use the same Swiffer sheet twice. Sometimes I'll even take it off, flip it over, and reattach it because the backside seems to work just as good as the front. So anyway, I'm not that worried about the waste that I'm creating.

swiffers are wasteful and i find sweeping to be very theraputic.

I own two cats who shed vast quantities of fur year round. Swiffers do a very good job of getting it all up, and I have found that you can use them on one side and then reverse them to get twice the use out of one cloth.

Swiffer dry or wet is no match for my kitchen floor. I get down on my hands and knees with a rag, the same way I did as a little girl.

I lose a lot of my own hair on a daily basis. It just seems to turn up everywhere. And Swiffer or it's competitors nab that, plus dust bunnies quick and easy and with a minimal amount of dust which gives me sneezing fits when cleaning. Plus it reaches the tops of doorways and the high picture rail and it is the best solution for killing bugs. Squash 'em, stick the wand in a bag, peel off the cloth and voila!

I hate Swiffers. I think the sheets are a bad alternative to just sweeping/vaccuuming. (They do NOT do a good job and if I'm going to clean, I'm going to do it right.) Also, the Swiffer Wetjet smells like major chemicals, and none of it is environmentally friendly.

I just bought the Method "swiffer" with reusable microfiber cloths. You can use your own cleanser, too--not like the Wetjet. I love it. Works really well.

I sweep at least twice a week but have recently invested in a swiffer to deal with the dust I can't quite reach with the broom as well as the fine dust that the broom doesn't quite get, so my wood floors look nice.

Okay, now I sound like an insane cleaning person, which I'm most demonstrably not. I just have a VERY dusty apartment.

I hadn't thought about the disposable nature of the swiffer, but I will likely try to get some of the mentioned decomposable swiffer-clones when I run out of my initial supply.

I have critters and the swiffer was NOT CUTTING IT. So I broke down and got the roomba. I bought it at Costco, (because for those who are not aware- they have an amazing 100% satifaction guarantee). the Roomba is not perfect. I have to clean it a lot- but over all, I have it run everyother day- and it works really well for day to day maintence with a cat and a dog with fairly long hair and an under coat (tranlsation I have a dog, a cat, and multiplying dust bunnies) i.e. it has replaced my swiffering. I do sweep about once a week, but I am pretty happy with the roomba. BTW The swiffer wet jet does not even hold a candle to a sponge mop and murphy's with hot water on my light bamboo floors.

Hdtex, it's an urban legend that Swiffers are toxic to pets. Google "swiffer toxic pets."

I just posted this under the Bona Floor Mop post because I hadn't seen this post yet, but:

On Ebay, I found a seller with some GREAT handmade reusable/washable "Swiffer" sheets. I don't remember the seller. I've really found them to work as well (if not better) as the disposable Swiffer sheets. Bonus for the fact that they take up less space in my small kitchen than the box of Swiffer brand sheets.

I really like the OMop and the associated cleaners (lemon ginger for tile, the almond for wood).

I used to Swiffer after vaccuming and in an attempt to get away from those disposable cloths, I bought the OMop at Target. I have two, albeit, shorter haired, dogs, so in order to get up their hair and dander first, I really recommend a good vacuum that is safe for tile/hardwood and then a once-over with the OMop on a weekly basis. Any less often and I think Swiffer or OMop really isn't a substitute for a good scrubbing (on your hands and knees) of a super dirty floor.

What a wasteful bit of landfill!