I Fought With A Mop Today

Mops should not change. They should be easy to use, simple, and do their job effectively. My old mop died a rusty death so I decided to replace it with something different. Maybe those sad mop commercials got to me, I'm not sure. So I went with a wrap around model that advertised that it was good for tile. I threw out the old mop and now, two weeks later (I'm not hiding that I rarely mop), I opened the new  one. I had actually forgotten I had bought it, so it was like Christmas when I went to get it and saw a bright, shiny, still in the package mop. Let me back up for a second. I work about 10 hours a day, and usually (as noted above), cleaning is not a priority when I get home. I also have a handy husband and cleaners that come about every three weeks (who do a fabulous job on my floors). This week is fall break, so I have some extra hours in my day to contemplate the floor (and go barefoot long enough to notice how dirty my feet get). So the need to mop came upon me as a sudden, overwhelming... well, need. I popped the package open and found that the handle wasn't quite latched into the mop head gadget thingy. Looked easy enough, a slanted peg just needed to be popped into the other side. A half hour later, I was on the floor, sweaty, red-faced, and swearing loudly, with tools strewn about like wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Three screwdrivers and a hammer, many loud expletives (my daughter was worried I'd injured myself), and I had finally conquered that mop. The plastic is a little cracked, but it is still useful. Not as effective as I had hoped, however, and I certainly didn't look anything like that relaxed, happy mopper in the commercial. Believe you me, I'll be promptly calling that 1-800 number to lodge a complaint with 3M as soon as I post this. By the way, I took this as a sign that the more infrequently I approach a mop, the better.