I thought an electric mop would make me a 'cleaning Queen'. So does the Philips OneUp 5000 Series take the crown over a basic mop?

I'll admit to feeling sceptical about trying the Philips OneUp 5000 Series Electric Mop, wondering if it was an indulgence I just didn't need. It falls on the side of expensive, and it wasn't something I'd ever thought of purchasing.

But, with my love of a clean home ever present, the fact the clean and dirty water don't mix in the mop system started to tempt me. It's always been my biggest bugbear when mopping floors, but lugging around two buckets of water (one clean and one for rinsing) is never going to be a practical solution.

So, with my reservations front of mind, I took delivery of the Philips OneUp 5000 Series Electric Mop with interest. Would it see me popping on my cleaning crown with pride, or make me feel it was just an expensive cleaning accessory I didn't need?

Specifications

The Philips OneUp 5000 Series Electric Mop has a number of features to consider if you are weighing it up against other products on the market.

As well as including one cartridge of concentrated cleaning solution, one mop pad and a charging lead, it has the following specification:

• Cordless
• 70 minute battery run time
• 2 wetness settings
• 281 ml clean water tank
• 178 ml dirty water tank
• Empty weight 1.9kg
• Dimension: 35 x 12 x 140 cm

First impressions

My first thoughts when unpacking the Philips OneUp 5000 Series Electric Mop were ones of slight scepticism. The water containers were very small and I felt there was no way they could hold enough water to clean all my flooring in one go.

That aside, there was very little to dislike about the product. It's a clean and simple design in a lovely shade of blue. It only has a few components which always gets a big tick from me – particularly as I'd already cleaned vacuumed the floors and wanted to use the mop immediately.

So, despite my worries (which would only be either proved or disproved once in use) on the whole, there really was nothing overly negative to say. A great first impression.

Setting up and using the Philips OneUp 5000 Series Electric Mop

As mentioned, there are only a few parts that need assembling on the Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop. First up is the handle which easily slots into the main body of the mop and is secured in place with one screw.

Then, the cleaning solution cartridge is secured to the head of the clean water tank with a simple twist and click into place. I'll admit I wasn't expecting it to come with cleaning solution, and had assumed I'd need to add my own, or use a spray on floor solution.

One cartridge contains 40 doses and replacement cartridges are available on Amazon for £16.99. While this may seem a lot, it equates to around 42p per use. Depending on which type of floor cleaning solution you buy, this may or may not be comparable. But either way, I like the fact it's a dosed delivery as I know I'm personally guilty of pouring more cleaning product than I need to into a bucket when mopping.

Having a dispensed dose can only mean I don't waste or use more than is necessary.

Once you've attached the cartridge, you then fill the top water container with clean water, and press the button on the top to dispense one dose of solution. Pop the container back into the mop body, make sure the dirty water tank is in place too, and there's only one more step until you're ready to press the start button.

Once you're ready to mop, the final step is to wet the mop head under a tap and then reattach it to the base of the mop.

According to the instructions, once you've finished mopping, you can wash it in the washing machine, ready for the next use. It's recommended to replace it once every 6 months and a pack of two replacement pads can easily be purchased from the Philips website for £34.99.

Using the Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop

It's entirely accurate to say that using the mop is as simple as the set-up. There are just two buttons. One which controls the wetness settings, and the other to turn it on and off. I opted for the lower wetness setting as there were no obvious stains or debris to remove.

An LED display shows clearly how much battery power you have, and it's a case of press and go. With the mop head already wet, it simply glides across the floor.

The way the mop works is that it dispenses the clean water containing the cleaning solution onto the floor via the mop pad. It then then sucks up the dirty water into a separate container. The two never mix, meaning only clean water touches your floor – unlike a traditional mop where once you've mopped one section, you have no choice other than to put the dirty mop back into the clean water, rinse and repeat.

Instantly it felt like I was cleaning more deeply, and the 360° angled head meant it was easy to reach under chairs, tables and sofas without having to move too much furniture.

In terms of where I cleaned, I used it on bathroom floors, both of which are tiled, and also on the luxury vinyl flooring in my open plan kitchen, dining and living room and then on the wooden stairs leading to the front door.

The mop head was easy to move across all the different surfaces, and there are two things worth noting that are related to time.

Firstly, there's no doubt that it took a fraction of the time to mop the floors than it normally takes me. Secondly, the claims of a 50% quicker drying time are definitely true.

It can often take at least 30 minutes for the floors to dry fully once I've mopped. Using the Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop it was probably less than 10 minutes before they were clean and ready to walk on again.

And of course, there's also the matter of how much dirt the mop cleaned. It was more than I'd imagined it would be, to the point where I'm really not happy sharing this picture of the dirty water container! However, in the interests of editorial content it's featured below.

But what really deserves space on the page is how little water it has taken to clean my floors. Normally I'd have at least one, if not two mop buckets to discard. With the Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop, it's reduced to one small container.

In fact the mop specifications say that one container of clean water will clean up to 50m of floor and offer a 90% water saving. Based on my experience, I'd say those numbers are very accurate indeed.

Final verdict

At the risk of repeating myself, from ease of set up, speed of use, fast drying times and eco-friendly low water consumption, there's very little I didn't like about the Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop.

While it of course costs more than a normal mop and bucket, and you have to buy branded replacements such as cleaning solution and mop pads to use with it, it's surprised me just how good this product is.

I was genuinely sceptical before I started testing it, feeling it would undoubtedly work, but certainly not see me waxing lyrical in our morning meeting about just how great it was. Normally the last stage of mopping sees me moaning at the fact the cleaning still isn't finished, but since using the mop, it now feels like the best part of it, knowing just how quick it will be, and just how clean my floors will look at the end.

While I don't have a large home, as it cleans the floors quickly, I barely came close to using much of the battery. Plus, with a full charge lasting 70 minutes, it should easily be sufficient for most homes, even those with larger expanses of hard flooring.

If I had any minor niggles at all, it would be that if you like a strong scent when mopping floors, this cleaning solution doesn't offer it. But as I know from the results shown when testing the Molekule Air Pro, this isn't a bad thing. Cleaning products cause a big spike in poor air quality, making the pet and family friendly Philips OneUP 5000 Series Electric Mop cleaning solution undoubtedly better for use inside my home.

Do I still consider it a luxury rather than must-have item? It's a premium priced product, so I guess you could argue it's not accessible to everyone, but is it worth it? For efficiency, results and water saving quality, then yes, it definitely is.