Is the Tineco mop hard to clean and maintain?

[Patrick Findaro]

Anyone who has owned a wet/dry vacuum knows that cleaning and maintaining the unit can be a chore in itself. This is a big reason why I steered away from these units. I owned one years ago and the maintenance took longer than it took to mop my floors. Tineco seems to have taken that into account with the S5. The self-cleaning function cleans the roller after each use. The dirty-water tank has a built-in debris catcher, which catches debris and hair to prevent it from mixing with the dirty water. When it’s time to clean the dirty-water tank, I simply remove it from the device and pull the catcher out to dispose of the debris. Once that’s done, I empty the clean-water tank as I would a bucket of dirty water from a traditional mop.

The Tineco S5 also comes with an extra roller and extra filter. I clean the brush roller every few uses with soap and water, then leave it to air dry. While the cleaned roller is drying, I can use the additional roller if needed. I want to note that it is important to empty the dirty-water tank after every use. If you leave the dirty-water tank full, you run the risk of a very smelly situation. However, I will use the vac/mop a few times throughout the day and empty and rinse the dirty-water tank after my last use of the day.

The first time I used the Tineco, I was in love. I could not believe how well it cleaned my floors and left no streaks. I don’t use this wet/dry vac to clean the types of big messes some videos show (like a bowl of spilled oatmeal or cracked eggs on the floor); I use it for cleaning the types of everyday messes that are typical for most homes. For this reason, I was extremely pleased with its ability to clean crumbs, dropped noodles, and other small debris while also lifting sticky messes from my floors. There is a viral paper towel test associated with the Tineco wet/dry vac, so I tried it for myself. I cleaned my kitchen floor and then ran a paper towel over various spots, and to my surprise, the paper towel was completely clean. The Tineco comes with its own solution for cleaning floors, but 98 percent of the time, I rely on water only. I’ve used this mop more than 30 times, and its cleaning power and ease of use continue to shine.