#NewFromSwiffer, the Swiffer Sweep & Trap! {Review}

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Swiffer, however, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

When we did some major remodeling on our home a few years ago, my husband and I agreed and easily compromised on most everything.

However, there were two aspects that I strongly (and unwaveringly) pushed for: white cabinets in the kitchen and hardwood flooring throughout nearly all of the first floor. It's not that I have something against wood grain cabinets, I just adore the modern look of white. As for the hardwood, after having a dog and two kids, the carpet was pretty much beyond needing a good cleaning.

Fast forward to today and, while I'm thrilled with my beautiful wood floors, I still don't think I've come to terms with just how often they need to be cleaned in order for them to not appear a complete mess. It feels like no matter what I do, I turn around and there are crumbs and dust and pieces of lint (and more) that have appeared. How is that possible?

Fortunately, there is a new Swiffer product on the market that is designed to keep my floors looking spotless with barely any work, the Swiffer Sweep & Trap.

Combining the same convenience of the original Swiffer Sweeper but now with the ability to pick up large particles, the Swiffer Sweep & Trap has the addition of rotating beater blades to the front of the device. The result is that the rubber blades scoop up all of the big pieces while the dry cloth takes care of the small stuff and your hard surfaces end up clean.

When you're done, simply throw away the dry cloth and empty the dirt bin into the trash and you can get on with your day quickly and easily!

Always happy to try out a simple way to clean dirt both big and small, I was ready to put the new Swiffer Sweep & Trap to the test.

Right out of the box, the only assembly required was to simply attach the ergonomic handle together and to the 360° swivel head, followed by hooking a dry cloth into the designated holders.

No cords, no plugs, no batteries, just time to get cleaning!

While we had plenty of our own messes to use to test the Swiffer Sweep & Trap, I began with the two debris packets included by Swiffer. As the product claims it "cleans up big and small messes in a single swipe," I had my doubts that it would be able to live up to that expectation.

Challenge #1: Wood shavings.

While the Swiffer Sweep & Trap did end up picking up all of the shavings, it took more than a single swipe, particularly on the very small bits of wood.

At the same time, however, I was impressed that I was able to zip nearly all of this into the bin with only a few quick pushes — much faster and easier than pulling out the full size, bulky vacuum!

Challenge #2: Nuts and bolts.

I had even more doubts that the Swiffer Sweep & Trap could pick up something as large and heavy as a metal screw and bolt, but it actually proved the complete opposite and flipped each one into the bin in one pass!

In fact, the more that I used the Swiffer Sweep & Trap, the more that I realized that the area in which it excelled was by using its rotating rubber blade on large pieces of debris.

No matter which area of our hardwood floor I cleaned, the 360° swivel head was able to get into nearly all of the tight spots and the dry cloth did well at picking up dust and hair that would surely be left behind by a broom.

However, even though bigger pieces of food, dirt, paper or more were trapped in the bin and easily dumped out by using the release buttons...

...it was the smaller, everyday dirt and crumbs that couldn't be caught.

Even after quite a few passes over and over, I found that the bits and pieces that were under Little Sister B's chair had just gotten pushed around and around.

So, while I would definitely reach for this gadget to quickly zip up the broken crackers and wayward Cheerios on a daily basis, I don't see it replacing my vacuum when it comes to complete cleaning. I do think that the Swiffer Sweep & Trap would be a great thing to have in a workshop or to keep near a litter box, but for a spotless hardwood floor after young kids have been around? Probably not.

To find out much more about the Swiffer Sweep & Trap, visit Swiffer.com and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. This innovative new product is available now exclusively at Walmart with a retail price of $19.97.