Swiffer Dusters Kit Review

Recently I was given the chance to sample and review some P&G products for free, courtesy of SheSpeaks.  One of the products in my package was a Swiffer Dusters Kit.

I've always wanted to try the Swiffer. They always looks so handy and perfect in the TV commercials, wiping away every last ounce of grime while the lady of the house dances around, cleaning happily. I have to say, I was a little bit let down by the actual product. 

I didn't hate it. I liked it. I'd say it was pretty darn convenient even... but it wasn't a replacement for a bottle of lemon-scented Pledge and a good ole cloth rag. As the ultimate test I could put the Swiffer through, I decided to tackle my ceiling fan blades. We can always tell how dusty it is in the house by how dusty the fan blades are. For some reason the dust just seems to magnetize to them.

This is a chore I absolutely must do each week, and I hate it - not just because it makes my arms unbelievably sore - but because it's difficult to wipe up the dust without it falling all over the floor. I have to be very careful about it, especially on the ceiling fans in the bedrooms, since they are directly above the beds. The last thing I want to do is sprinkle all that allergen-causing junk onto the place we sleep.

I was really hoping that the Swiffer would catch all the dust as it claims to in the commercials, but it really only catches the smaller pieces of dust. As soon as you get a little bit of a dust bunny going from a long swipe, you're toast. The 'bunny' will hop away and off of the Swiffer and onto the floor. I feel like a big part of this is because the duster is so dry, but if you have to spray cleaner before using it, that kind of defeats the purpose of an easy cleaning job.

Another thing that bothered me somewhat is that whenever I came across a "rougher" surface (like the glass hanging lamp in the picture) the dust got left in the smaller grooves and the Swiffer's fabric would catch on any textured surfaces - leaving little pieces of Swiffer all over. (Which I then had to clean off.)

I also noticed that whenever my coffee tables or fan blades or any other wood item had a rough patch of wood, the Swiffer not only snagged, but tore. It reminded me of running rough skin over a pair of nylons. Snag, snag, snag. That's a sensation akin to nails on a chalkboard for me. After a little while I just started steering clear of any old-looking wood.

I did however, love the fact that it was easy to use. It worked great on the smaller dusting jobs (like around the edges of clocks or cabinets). And it is definitely something that would come in handy if I wanted some help around the house. It would be more than simple to hand one to my husband, point at the house and tell him to dust as much as he could with the one I've given him. Even the kids could do it, that's how easy it was to use.

I will probably keep some of these on hand for lighter dusting jobs and it can replace the Pledge rag for dusting my mother-in-law's knickknack shelves. (There are few things I hate so much as *spray* *move figurine* *swipe* *move figurine back* *repeat with the other twenty items*) It was great to be able to use the Swiffer with one hand and just move stuff around with the other. So convenient!

So bottom line, you can't just pitch all your other supplies in lieu of the Swiffer, but it can definitely make your life a lot easier when it comes to certain jobs. And it will certainly come in useful on days you can wrangle your hubby into doing a bit of work for you!