This clever bucket solves mopping’s gross factor

The point of mopping floors is to clean them, but it’s actually pretty messy, as you’re sloshing increasingly grimy water from your bucket to the floor. Are you actually cleaning, or just redistributing the filth? Joseph Joseph, a U.K. houseware design studio and manufacturer, has a new solution: a two-chamber mop bucket called the UltraClean that separates the fresh soapy water from the dirty water, and squeezes out the mophead as you go.

This just might be the biggest advancement in mop bucket technology—yes, it’s a thing—since the mop wringer. The secret to the UltraClean system is its slot, which is designed to do two things at once: clean and rinse.

Here’s how it works: Joseph Joseph’s UltraClean system includes a bucket, a mophead and handle, and three machine-washable microfiber mop pads. First, you fill the top reservoir with sudsy water. Then, each time you insert the mop into the bucket, a built-in scraping mechanism squeezes the dirty water into a bottom collection chamber while a mechanism above the scraper—which the company calls SprayClean—pumps fresh water onto the mophead. The SprayClean mechanism keeps the mophead clean and ensures it’s damp but not soaking wet. This means your floors dry more quickly.

Joseph Joseph—which is known for sleek redesigns of everyday objects like the garlic press, kitchen scales, and microwave-safe cookware—spent four years designing the UltraClean system. While the product is practical, it also has what cofounder Antony Joseph calls a “delight factor.” Seeing disgusting, dirty water accumulate in the translucent bottom chamber is oddly satisfying. It’s a clever feature that shows you just how hard you’re working. (Cue the #CleanTok videos.)

The mop was well overdue for redesign. In fact, the cleaning tool hasn’t changed all that much in over a century. In 1893, an American entrepreneur named Cassius A. White invented the mop wringer, a simple device that squeezes water out with a lever. The wringer helped and has since been integrated into commercial buckets, which are clunky and don’t separate the clean water from the dirty water. Self-wringing mops don’t solve the water issue either.

Joseph Joseph’s UltraClean system gives the mop bucket a long-overdue redesign. It retails for $90, though it’s not yet available in the U.S.

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