Steam cleaning - am I missing something?

[HexBramble]

I have the Morphy Richards 9 in 1 (bought during half price sale) and have just tried to use it to get the cooker top clean. I have cooked on oil on my hob so it's gone beyond sticky to like a dark film.

The steam has got a tiny bit off, but I've been at it for about half hour and the piece it has removed has still got a mark.

Am I missing a trick here?!

Watching with interest as my steam cleaner just makes things wet not clean....

I still use Flash/Cif or whatever cleaning liquid I have when steaming particularly dirty floors / appliances and scrub and steam away with my steamer.

If you haven't already maybe give the cooker a spray with Flash / Mr Muscle, leave it to soak in for a few minutes then steam? HTH

I bought one on a whim but am at a complete loss as to what to do with it.

I wafted it over the tiles behind he cooker but they remained grease spotted until I scrubbed them with degreaser. I tried the cooker top but it just got wet. I tried using the fabric brush to refresh a coat but it just wet the fabric and made a mess. Im therefore loathe to try on the settee.

What on earth use is it?

Ohh was looking at the Morphy Richards one but are you saying its no good? My friend swears by her X5 but I suspect that its not as good as the advert suggests as she did her bathroom tiles with it and it took her all day apparently.

I used to have a £20 floor/carpet only one which was brilliant but it stopped working recently so am looking to replace and was going to get a multi-use one. But now I'm thinking whether I should just get another floor/carpet one and stick to elbow grease for the rest?

I can't get it to work on grease at all well. I have a karcher, it's great at dirt, so good for floor cleaning. Also getting into nooks and crevices that are hard to reach. Like around windows, between banisters etc.

But it's pretty useless in the kitchen because of the grease.

My Karcher is great for degreasing. You do have to scrub a bit or else wipe quite hard with a cloth - you can't expect to just wave it at it and expect it to disappear.

I have scrubbed to no avail with my karcher. Are you using a degreaser as well Turnip, I find I have to scrub with Cif or similar with a sponge to get the grease off. I could use the Karcher for a final rinse but it's too much trouble by that point.

I still like it for floors and windows though.

I use baby wipes with a tiny squirt of fairy liquid. Not much elbow grease and everything's sparkling, including stainless steel.

I polish everything after cleaning with a bit of kitchen roll, and it gleams.
I wash floors with a flat mop and it's perfect, as I can fling the head into the washing machine.

I think steam cleaning and steam cleaners are a bit of a fad- do you really need to have everything sterilised at 180 degrees or whatevs.... Just another piece of equipment for suckers storage!

Steam cleaners are very over rated imo.

I agree with using baby wipes, they are fantastic on grease!

I have the Morphy Richards one, and I use it because I paid for it, but quite frankly, getting on my knees and using a bit of elbow grease takes the same amount of effort and gets the same results. I don't need to sterilise my floors, so I kind of wish I hadn't wasted my money.

I shall add baby wipes to my next shopping list.

I've got a MR one too, which a bought a couple of years ago for £40. It's good but not as good as I hoped. I use it to clean the oven, although I put oven cleaner on first, it really helps lifting the dirt. I use it too to clean the shower which is of a stupid design and has lots of nooks and crannies. Last use is for the pram, which regularly gets covered in banana/biscuits.

I think the really good steam cleaners not only let steam out but also suck the mucky liquid back in. Mine just squirts powerful steam but then you do still have to wipe everything.

Yes they create rivers of dirty water if your not careful.

They come into there own for things like cleaning a pram (on the driveway ideally so avoiding the water problem). Or getting into the nooks and crannies of a shower.

If my karcher dies though, I will not rush out to replace it.

Hex, I've just used a magic eraser on the burnt on cooker film - did the job.

No, no chemicals at all Monica, and I did the really greasy extractor fan grille in our old kitchen which can't have been done for years. No idea why it seems to work for me and not other people. I can't remember what spec my Karcher is but it's at the smaller end of the range, definitely not a super-powerful one.

I had expected it to vaporize the dirt. I was appalled when I realized it just loosens it and you still have to wipe it away

I put a lot of welly into the rubbing and scrubbing but it's still not coming off.

Frustrating isn't the word!

I'm not sure a magic eraser would cut it, after lobbing a couple of litres of steam at a spot the size of a saucer

Have had two over the years before - never that impressed. Why then did I buy a small one this week? No idea, "Hoover Steam Express Handy", thought it would clean the crevices of the downstairs shower - rubbish, had to resort to Viakal as usual despite steaming and scrubbing.

Might try the window attachment - has lots of attachments at least to disappoint further.

I got a black and decker one and it is very disappointing. It does a good job on some types of floors, but on others, like my kitchen which is a sort of vinyl tile, the cleaning pad keeps coming off. It is held on by Velcro - big mistake, should have been a signal not to buy it - so you have to clean so CAREFULLY, or else the damn thing comes off. It would be quicker to go back to my mop and bucket. I emailed them to suggest that using Velcro is a stupid idea and got the reply that this happens on some types of floor, with the suggestion that I use elastic bands to keep it on!

I have used it once on things other than floors - it did a good job of my shower, but it seems quite a faff really.

Dont they all use Velcro to keep the pads on?

Sorry posted too soon.

I think the message I'm getting I that they are ok for floors bur all the other functions are not much cop!

"Dont they all use Velcro to keep the pads on?"

The MR one doesn't. The pad can be fastened very securely, and it doesn't come off when cleaning.

They are designed for people who clean every day. In other words they do a good job of cleaning when it wasn't actually dirty.

I was disappointed with mine (Lakeland handheld) but it's the only way I found to clean grubby white paintwork (not even bleach worked before). I also use it to blast animal hutches - makes me feel I've done good, anyway.