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What this pictured object is called in English?

I was googling for mop and squeegee and got confused since based on the pictures in google images the most mops and squeegees look different. Then what is the accurate name for that?

Mop with flat cloth head

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    Are you looking for the British or American answer?
    – Todd Wilcox
    Dec 10, 2017 at 14:36
  • Both are ok for me to know)
    – Virtuous Legend
    Dec 10, 2017 at 15:25
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    Swiffer actually calls it a "sweeper" to differentiate it from their many other products.
    – rolfedh
    Dec 11, 2017 at 12:25

7 Answers 7

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I expect most Americans, when seeing this, would call it a Swiffer, even if it is not actually a Swiffer brand product. It’s similar to how many Americans call any kind of facial tissue a Kleenex.

After doing a web search for "dust mop", I agree with Corvus B that the generic term for this product seems to be dust mop.

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    Yes. I'd say the distinguishing characteristic of a swiffer-type mop is the disposable, cloth-like pad/attachment. Note that there are quite a few similar products with re-usable cloths, which are more likely to be called a microfiber mop or similar. (FWIW, I wouldn't call this a dust mop, which to me has a pad with loops.)
    – 1006a
    Dec 10, 2017 at 19:14
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    My Swiffer mop has disposable pads. The pictured pad looks removable and washable. I googled Swiffer mops and it didn't bring up anything like this.
    – Kat
    Dec 12, 2017 at 3:00
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Either plain mop or dust mop, depending on how it's used.

A dust mop is used dry to pick up dust. It is not used with water or soap. Your pictured mop looks different than a traditional dust mop, but it would probably work as one. If it's used with water, it is not a dust mop.

Some mops of this style have sprayers that squirt soap ahead of the mop. If that's the case, I would just call it a mop. They're essentially the same principle as a traditional mop, just implemented a bit differently to make cleaning them easier. It's not different enough to need a distinct name.

If you do need to differentiate it from a traditional mop, I would focus on the specific thing you need to differentiate. If someone wants to know where your mop bucket is, you could say something like, "I don't have one; I have a mop with an attached sprayer." If you're trying to find replacement heads in the store, and you don't see the style you need, then you'd say, "where are your flat/microfiber/Swiffer mop heads?" (Pick the descriptor that best matches your particular mop.)

If you are trying to find a similar mop on Google or Amazon so you can buy one, then my testing shows that "microfiber mop" or "flat mop" both work well, although I've never heard anyone actually use those terms. If you're asking an employee in a physical store, you can simply call it a mop, because all mop types will be together.

It is definitely not a squeegee or sponge mop, because it doesn't have a sponge head that is squeezed with a mechanism on the mop handle.

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How about flat mop?

I had only heard such mops referred to as "mops" before, but the Wikipedia page on mops seems to be calling them in general "flat mops" (with other more specific terms based on their features or intended uses). I would immediately understand the term, as it's a mop and it's flat, and a web search for "flat mop" brings up similar results.

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  • Thank you. 1+^. It is good that Wikipedia record it as "flat mop", but it a little bothers that dictionaries or Cambridge dictionary don't mention it.
    – Virtuous Legend
    Dec 10, 2017 at 13:48
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It looks like a dry mop to me,

Dry mop is listed in Merriam-Webster dictionary online as "a long-handled mop for dusting floors".

In my place of work we use mops similar to this to dry floors after moping with a regular mop, so as to reduce the risk of people slipping. We call these dry mops.

I work in UK.

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It's a sweeper floor mop, both a sweeping and a mopping tool. There are many different models and shapes. As Todd answered, Swiffer company and many others make such mops.

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Norwex makes this one we have, they call it a mop.

https://www.amazon.com/Norwex-Mop-Starter-Package/dp/B003H4NCQ0

That being said, my wife and I call it the swiffer-- and yes, every time I know I am being wrong and/or lazy.

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In line with the US "Swiffer" (brand; which I've also seen in Holland), I think in the UK the same market position is held by "e-cloth"; and "e-cloth mop" gives sponsored/shopping results on Google from competing brands, so they use it as a keyword. More generically it would be "microfibre mop" as that's the type of cloth without brand name.

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    Can't say I'm an expert on cleaning products but I'm a native speaker of British English and I'd have no idea what you were talking about if you said "e-mop". Indeed, I'd probably assume it was some sort of electronic version of a mop (buhhh, what on earth would that be?) by analogy with email and e-cigarette.
    – David Richerby
    Dec 11, 2017 at 14:37
  • @DavidRicherby where did I say "e-mop"? I also wouldn't have an image in my head if anybody said "e-mop" to me. The brand is "e-cloth", as written, and is sold in e.g. Lakeland and similar homeware shops. I'm not saying "e-cloth" isn't a stupid name, and I guess the "e" stands for "electrostatic".
    – user3445853
    Dec 12, 2017 at 16:06
  • @user3445853 Sorry, you said "e-cloth" and "e-cloth mop" and I mistakenly turned that into "e-mop". But it makes no difference. As a British person, I've never heard of either of those things, so I dispute that it's an especially well-known brand. (Indeed, the fact that I got the name wrong and nobody but you noticed only emphasizes this point!)
    – David Richerby
    Dec 12, 2017 at 17:08
  • Sorry I got the name wrong in the same way David Richerby did, but just like him I would not call "e-cloth" mops a household name in the UK. If I were pressed then possibly Vileda or Addis are the moo and brush companies that come to mind. For example take the UKs largest supermarket Tescos website. tesco.com/direct/home-furniture/brushes-mops-buckets/…
    – Sarriesfan
    Dec 12, 2017 at 22:59

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