I've just got a steam cleaner for Christmas. And it's rubbish.

[Mylittleponyisskinnyandbony]

What am I doing wrong? Steam mop is ok but not earth shattering. Window squeegee useful.

Oven - no change. Bathroom - useless. Stains on upholstery - nada. What am I doing wrong ....???

What type is it? I love my Karcher, it's not magic, but it's so easy to use.

It's a vax. Which best buy with amazing reviews so I figure I'm doing something wrong! What/how do you use yours? Do you use cleaning products as well / use its attachments?

I find steamers loosen the dirt much more effectively than actually cleaning it and mopping up the mess.
So I find I have to use the brush attachments to lift stubborn grime and then wipe with a cloth.

It's not as easy as it's portrayed on the TV.

Oh DP said the H20 something was the best one after extensive research and that's what u got for Christmas, and I love it. Does my floors lovely.

Cor, exciting Christmas present you got there!

I know. And they say that romance is dead

I succumbed too, earlier in the year. Got it out as soon as we got home and steamed everything for two days, thought meh...and never fired it up again.
Might do one day. It didn't revolutionise any cleaning for me though.

I got a steam cleaner for Christmas too, though to be fair I did ask for it.

I've tried it on carpets, and guess it must be doing something because the pad gets dirty. Planning on trying in bathroom tomorrow.

I thought it would steam through dirt, especially in bathroom. Put concentrated nozzle on and aimed ... but just steam. No dirt running off, no shifting soap scum or marks or grot around taps. Looked exactly the same. But wet. Put the brush on and it was at just such an awkward angle I gave up. Even tried on loo but the wee mark underneath seat stayed put. Looks like I'll be buying Cillit bang for a few more years. I'm (bizarrely) gutted. Those of you who love them, do you steam and wipe in bathroom and grot comes off...???

I bought one earlier in the year. Using it seemed like more hassle than my usual routine. Gave it to my mum who desperately wanted one. She wasn't impressed and handed it back after 2 weeks.

The only cleaning shortcut I know of is employing a cleaner.

Well, it was exciting for me. I asked for one for a start, I'd been asking for one all year.

For a second he doesn't have much money and saved for months to get me one.

So I'd say pretty bloody romantic yeah.

I was excited too! But disappointed now :-(. Glad yours works better Hurr1cane. Just keep thinking I must be missing a trick as the reviews were so good and it just doesn't seem to actually do anything ...

I love mine, you can see the dirt/soap scum loosen then just wipe with a cloth. I think you have to leave it in the one place for longer than you think, at least 15 seconds, which doesn't sound much, but when I counted it out it was longer than I had been doing. I use it on the tiled walls and floors, granite work top, sanitary ware, shower cubicle and tray, all round the taps, round the drain in the sinks and actually point it into the drain so it cleans the pipes and loosens any fat or grease deposits

I bought a Murphy Richards one from the good food show a few years ago.
Took it back the next day because it didn't clean ANYTHING. Just made everything wet.
I do have a steam mop now that's good for hard floors but I wouldn't bother using it for anything else.

Sorry, Morphy Richards!!

I was disappointed too. I think I expected it would vaporize the dirt but it just loosens it. You still have to wipe it away. It's a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Oh dear . . . I think my house must have been much dirtier than everyone else's

Mine doesn't have attachments etc, it's just for the floors.

Got a very big tiled floored kitchen plus wooden floored hall and it's good cos it cleans marks eg muddy footprints and it dries immediately. So it's better than a mop and easier than hands and knees and a floorcloth.

Have to hoover first tho. Which is fine.

I bough a Shark steam mop last year. With having the cats, I don't like using chemicals. But it was near useless. Didn't even shift overspill cat food or muddy foot prints from shoes. I took it back and swapped it for a £5 Vileda mop

I have the Morphy Richards 9 in 1 and I love it!

It just loosens the dirt, then you wipe away with a cloth. I use the concentrated nozzle around the taps, toilet rim, shower etc. The scrubby brush head is good for ingrained dirt in the floor.

The best, most recent revelation was the limescale scum on the shower screen. No amount of scrubbing with bathroom cleaner would shift it. I gave it a once over with the steamer, then buffed with an E-Cloth, and it's like new

I think the other main thing for me is that I know it's sterile. My dog is suffering incontinence, and slopping a wet mop around moving dirt from one place to another just doesn't feel right. At least when I steam I know it's properly clean.