Leifheit Wischtuchpresse Review: The Hands?Free Floor Mop System People Swear By

You bend down to wring out the mop for the third time. Your back twinges, dirty water splashes on your feet, and the floor still doesn’t look truly clean. The bucket is heavy, the mop head is disgusting, and halfway through the living room you start negotiating with yourself: “Maybe it’s clean enough.”

If that sounds familiar, you’re exactly the person this product is aimed at.

The Leifheit Wischtuchpresse—sold internationally as the Leifheit Profi XL Floor Wiper Press Set with Rollers—is designed to take the strain, mess, and guesswork out of mopping. It’s a complete, German-engineered system: a wide flat mop with a removable microfiber cover, plus a bucket with a built?in press so you never have to wring by hand.

The Solution: What the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse Actually Does

At its core, the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse solves three everyday pain points:

• No more bending and wringing by hand – You place the mop into the press and push down the handle. The built?in pressing mechanism squeezes out dirty water for you.
• No more soaking-wet floors – The press removes enough water that you can damp?clean even sensitive floors like laminate and parquet without leaving puddles.
• No more hauling a heavy bucket – The bucket sits on integrated rollers and has a pull handle, so you roll it behind you instead of carrying it room to room.

Leifheit AG (ISIN: DE0006464506), a long?established German housewares specialist, positions this as a semi?professional floor cleaning system for homes that want hotel?level results without hiring a cleaner.

Why this specific model?

Leifheit sells several mopping systems, but the Profi XL Wischtuchpresse stands out because it’s designed for larger areas, frequent cleaning and fuss?free operation.

From the official Leifheit product specs and user feedback, these are the real?world advantages that matter:

• Extra?wide 42 cm mop head (approx. 16.5 inches): This larger working width lets you cover more floor in fewer passes. In practice, users report that large living rooms and open?plan spaces take noticeably less time to clean than with narrow sponge or string mops.
• Foot?operated folding mechanism: The flat mop plate folds in half when you step on a clearly marked pedal. That means you remove and reattach the mop cover without touching it with your hands—much cleaner and friendlier if you’re squeamish about dirty water.
• Microfiber wiper cover Profi extra soft: The included cover is designed specifically for delicate, water?sensitive floors like real wood, parquet and laminate. It’s soft and absorbent so you can clean with minimal water but still lift everyday dirt, dust and light stains. According to Leifheit, it’s machine?washable at 60 °C and should not be tumbled dry.
• Bucket with integrated press: Instead of a loose wringer insert, the bucket has a fixed, purpose?built press. You place the folded mop head inside and press using the long handle. The lever effect squeezes water out of the cover so your hands stay dry. Users highlight this as the key reason they upgraded from traditional mops.
• Rollers and pulling handle: The bucket sits on small rollers and features a handle designed to pull it behind you like a travel bag. For people with back issues or limited strength, this is a meaningful quality?of?life upgrade—no more lifting a bucket full of sloshing water.
• Compatible with other Leifheit Profi covers: While this set ships with the "Profi extra soft" cover ideal for sensitive floors, the Profi system can also work with other Leifheit covers available separately (for example, covers optimized for tiles or more stubborn dirt), giving you an upgrade path without replacing the whole system.

In short, this model is built for you if you have a mix of larger floor areas and delicate flooring, and you clean often enough that every ergonomic improvement actually matters.

At a Glance: The Facts

Feature	User Benefit
Approx. 42 cm extra?wide mop head	Fewer passes per room; faster cleaning of large areas like open?plan living rooms and hallways.
Foot?operated folding mechanism	Attach and remove the mop cover without touching dirt or bending down as much.
Microfiber wiper cover Profi extra soft	Gentle, low?moisture cleaning on water?sensitive floors such as wood, parquet and laminate.
Bucket with integrated press	Hands stay dry; consistent wringing delivers the right dampness for streak?free floors.
Rollers and pulling handle on bucket	Roll the bucket behind you instead of carrying heavy water, easing strain on back and arms.
Machine?washable cover (up to 60 °C)	Reuse the same cover many times; more hygienic than old?school string mops.
Part of the Leifheit Profi system	Upgrade later with different Profi mop covers without replacing the entire setup.

What Users Are Saying

Looking across retailer reviews and discussions in German and international forums, sentiment around the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse / Profi XL set is strongly positive, especially among people who clean frequently or have back issues.

Common pros mentioned by users:

• Noticeably kinder on the back – Many buyers explicitly mention that they can mop more often because they don’t dread the bending and wringing anymore.
• Great for laminate and parquet – Those with sensitive floors appreciate that the microfiber cover stays just damp enough after pressing, avoiding warped boards or water marks.
• Feels robust and well?built – The press mechanism and handle are frequently described as sturdy, with the whole system feeling more "professional" than budget mops.
• Cleans faster and more evenly – The wide head and flat design pick up dust, hair and everyday dirt efficiently, especially in larger rooms.

But there are some recurring cons to be aware of:

• Bucket is fairly large – Some users note that the bucket and press system take up more storage space than a simple mop and pail. If you're in a very small apartment, you'll need a dedicated spot for it.
• Learning curve on pressing technique – A few reviews mention that it takes one or two tries to figure out exactly how far to press for your preferred level of dampness.
• Higher initial cost – Compared to a basic mop and bucket, this is an investment. Most positive reviewers, however, feel the durability and ergonomics justify the price over time.

On Reddit-style discussions and cleaning forums, the tone is similar: when people switch from a cheap mop to this system, they rarely want to go back. Criticism tends to focus less on cleaning performance and more on physical size and price.

Alternatives vs. Leifheit Wischtuchpresse

The floor mop market is crowded: spray mops, spin buckets, steam mops, throwaway pad systems. So where does the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse sit?

• Versus generic spin?mop buckets
  Spin mops use a round head and spinning basket to wring out water. They’re often cheaper, but the round footprint is inefficient on edges and corners, and the heads tend to smear dirt rather than lift it. The Leifheit's flat, wide microfiber pad offers better edge cleaning and more uniform contact with the floor, plus a more robust pressing mechanism.
• Versus disposable pad spray mops
  Spray mops with disposable pads are convenient but generate ongoing costs and waste. They're also not ideal for deep cleaning large areas because the pads saturate quickly. The Wischtuchpresse, by contrast, is built for bigger jobs: you have a large water reservoir, a reusable cover, and a proper press to refresh the cover as often as needed.
• Versus steam mops
  Steam can be powerful on tiles, but it's risky on many types of wood and laminate, where excessive heat and moisture can cause long?term damage. The Leifheit system is intentionally low?moisture and specifically positioned as safe for water?sensitive floors when used correctly.
• Versus other Leifheit systems
  Leifheit also offers smaller and more compact systems, but the Profi XL Wischtuchpresse is the brand's answer for people who prioritize ergonomics, gentle cleaning and coverage speed. If you're in a small apartment with mostly tiles, a simpler Leifheit system might be enough; if you have a mix of wood, laminate and larger spaces, the Profi XL is the more future?proof choice.

Final Verdict

There's a moment, the first time you use the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse properly, when you notice what's missing: no cold, dirty water on your hands, no aching back from crouching, no streaky drying marks on your laminate. Just a mop that glides, a bucket that quietly follows, and floors that look like someone else did the hard work.

This system won't magically make you love cleaning. But it does remove many of the reasons you hate it. The wide cleaning path, microfiber cover and integrated press turn mopping from a clumsy, physical chore into a more streamlined, almost mechanical task: dip, press, glide, repeat.

If you live in a home with real wood, parquet or laminate floors and you clean more than once a week, the Leifheit Wischtuchpresse / Profi XL Floor Wiper Press Set with Rollers is one of the rare cleaning purchases that can genuinely change how your body feels afterwards. It asks for more space in your closet and a bit more money up front—but pays you back every time you finish the whole house without that familiar ache in your back and knees.

For anyone who's done negotiating with "clean enough" floors, this is a smart, long?term upgrade to how you live with your space.