CINCINNATI - Consumers are wiping up dirt, dust bunnies and pesky pet hair like never before.

        The introduction three years ago of Procter & Gamble Co.'s Swiffer cloths created a breakthrough category in household products that has grown and appears here to stay, said Jack Trout, of Trout & Partners marketing strategy firm in Greenwich, Conn.

        “What you have had with Swiffer is a new idea that worked very well because it was a breakthrough,” Trout said. “Swiffer has almost become the generic for these types of products, and that's what you want in marketing - to become the generic brand.”

        Other companies have jumped on the quick-cleaning bandwagon since Swiffer's introduction, Trout said.

        The convenience products appeal to working women - and men - who are pressed for time, said Melissa Johnson of P&G.

        Megan Koti, 28, of Cincinnati said she uses her Swiffer “religiously.”

        “I have a cat, and the cloths and sweeper are just great for picking up all that cat hair. The hair just sticks to it like a magnet,” Koti said.

        Cincinnati-based P&G introduced the flexible, lightweight Swiffer sweeper and the disposable electrostatic cloths that can be attached to it - or used alone for hand dusting - in August 1999.

        The cloths made of polyester and polypropylene build up a negative charge as they are rubbed over a surface. Close contact transfers electrons from the dirt to the duster, increasing its negative charge, P&G's Johnson said. Hair and dust articles are positively charged and are attracted to the Swiffer cloth like iron to a magnet.

        “When you're done, you just throw the cloth away,” Johnson said. “Our goal in home care is to create fresh, innovative products that liberate people from the drudgery of household tasks, and that's what the Swiffer family of products does.”

        The Swiffer line has grown to include cleaning mitts, wet cloths and a wet-mopping system.

        “A household products company lives and dies by its new products and its ability to grow that product by extending the line in other directions,” said financial analyst Douglas Christopher of the Los Angeles-based Crowell, Weedon & Co. “That is what Procter & Gamble has done with Swiffer.”

        The Swiffer brand gave P&G the lead in U.S. supermarket and drug store sales by vendors of cleaning tools, mops and brooms for the 12-month period ending Aug. 11. Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based marketing research company, said the consumer products giant had sales of $96.5 million in that cleaning category for a 20.3 percent share of the market.

        Racine, Wis.-based S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. introduced its almost identical Pledge Grab-It dry cloths and sweepers the same month as Swiffer.

        Johnson also advertises its quick-cleaning cloth in much the same way - touting its abilities to grab the dust, dirt and hair that traditional brooms and dust cloths only stir into the air.

        Over the 12-month period ending Aug. 11, S.C. Johnson was second behind Swiffer in U.S. supermarket and drug store sales in the cleaning tools, mops and brooms category with $56.4 million, Information Resources says. The Pledge Grab-It line accounted for most of those sales. The Pledge Grab-It line also has expanded to include a disposable cleaning mitt and wet cloths that can used on the sweepers.

        In January, the Oakland, Calif.-based Clorox Co. introduced its Clorox ReadyMop, and all-in-one mopping system similar to the Swiffer WetJet system. The products that have cleaning solution attached to the mop are touted as quick and easy replacements for the old-fashioned mop and bucket.

        “I was a convert against my will,” said Cynthia Townley Ewer, editor of www.OrganizedHome.com, a web site that provides consumers with information and resources for organizing and cleaning their homes. “Since they are disposable, the cloths aren't environmentally friendly. They are also more expensive than using a traditional washable cloth, but they do work well for a lot of things.”

        Ewer said her tests found the cloths hold dust and hair better than lamb's wool, feather dusters and even damp cloths.

        Consumer Reports magazine also has given the electrostatic cloths good marks for certain types of cleaning.

        “The Grab-It and the Swiffer picked up most of the fine dust and pet hair - much more than the conventional dust cloth,” the magazine said, although it also pointed out that the quick cleanup cloths are costlier than conventional dust cloths.

        The Swiffer and Pledge Grab-It starter kits retail for about $10. The WetJet and ReadyMop starter kits sell for about $25.

        Consumer and marketing experts are not yet sold on the wet mops and mopping systems because of the higher costs, Trout said.

        Ewer said, “Everyone likes the idea of not having to get on their hands and knees to scrub floors or squish sponge mops. But the cost can add up when you have to keep replacing the cloths and cleaner, and some consumers have told me that the mop poles break too easily when they try to scrub stubborn dirt and stains.”

        Shiralyn Mayon, 28, of Cincinnati, who was unhappy with the dry cloths, said she plans to stick with traditional methods.

        “They just didn't work as well as I thought they would,” she said. “I think a damp cloth or paper towel does just as well and it's cheaper.”

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