Can anyone tell me about steam cleaners?

[CambridgeBlue]

DH and I are both working full time now and housework is coming pretty far down the list . My mum suggested a steam cleaner would be useful but I've been looking at them and feeling a bit clueless as to what to go for. I don't really understand how they work or what they can be used for and there seems to be a massive variety of models (is a steamp mop the same thing?) and prices.

Can anyone explain them to me and suggest what I should be looking for?

[lavendersgreen]

I tried a few steam cleaners before I came to my Karcher, it's blooming ace

It has various attachmets for cleaning work surfaces, upholstery, floors etc and I wouldn't be without it.

You really do get what you pay for with steam cleaners, so go for a good one.

[CambridgeBlue]

Thanks that's good to know. What is it though that makes them better than any other cleaning method? Is it that they clean more thoroughly or are quicker or what? I'm prepared to spend a bit if I can tell it'll be worth it but I'm not sure I get it at the moment!

[lavendersgreen]

Yes they do clean much more thoroughly, I use mine to supplement my usual cleaning routine about once or twice a week (for kitchen surfaces, sinks etc) and it is my main floor cleaning method.

Could you borrow your mums ( assuming she has one?) See how you get on with it.

They are quick to set up and put away and more hygienic than mops and buckets.

[ShadowsShadowsEverywhere]

I love mine! I have two toddlers and 2 7/8month old kittens who go outside so bring muddy paws in. The kitchen diner floor used to be this huge faff that I couldn't find time for daily, with a sponge for the set in dirt and then a mop which always seemed to look dirtier than the floor anyway now takes me 2 mins at the end of each day. Mins is a vax steam cleaner and I love it. The steam stays hot (obv!) unlike with a mop and bucket where the water cools down and you rely on chemicals to kill the bugs, the steam is far more hygienic. It has a trigger button so I can control how much steam I use at any time so it's easy to shift really stubborn bits. I have 4 of the mop cloth attachments so I bung one in the washing machine every day, meaning there's always a clean one to use on the floor. The floor dries very quickly as well. I use mine to clean the oven (inside) and it's just as good as hardcore chemical oven pride but quicker. I steam the curtains and sofas regularly so the curtains don't need washing as often. The carpets get a refresh every few months and it really helps avoid those sticky black marks where kids have dropped juice and I haven't noticed.

Love love love mine. It's so much faster than any other cleaner, less messy and far less chemically. Mine was down to £60 from £100ish, I do agree that you get what you pay for, I've had cheaper ones in the past that were nowhere near as good as this current one.

[ShadowsShadowsEverywhere]

With hard floors it's literally a case of giving it a sweep and then, no matter how grimey it is, you just whizz the steam cleaner over it once, twice if really set in and that's it. No cleaning fluid needed, no scrubbing back and forth and wringing out the mop and then changing the water cos it's gone black. Just easily whizz it over the floor and Tada! It's so liberating! The floor used to be my biggest pain in the arse because whenever people came round it'd be covered in muddy paw prints because I just didn't have time to get down and scrub it.

[ArgyMargy]

Shadows I've also been thinking about one of these. What's your model? I don't fancy a massive machine as I've nowhere to store it!

[HellKitty]

Mine was about £30 on Amazon, it's really thin so no problem storing it. I thought I'd try a cheaper one to see if it would transform my life like a lot of MNs said it would. It did! I just hold it over stubborn stains/spills and its a breeze. My 13 yr old does the upstairs bathroom and porch, I do the rest. Wish I'd got one years back.

[MrsFlorrick]

I've got h2o x5. It's utterly fantastic.

I only mop the stone bathroom floors with it (solid wood downstairs-I'm too chicken to try it on the oak).

But I dust the whole house with it. Wet/steam dusting weekly keeps your house super fresh and clean and it's easy.

It is faster than dusting with wet cloth or using some sort of polish.

It also helps with the bathroom cleaning. You can use the small nozzle thing to get a jet of hot steam to clean crevices etc and the window attachment to clean shower screens and mirrors.

It obviously doesn't do the actual cleaning by itself (sadly when will they invent that!). But it makes it easier and faster. And importantly house stays clean and fresh for longer.

DH and I now tackle it together. I dust and clean bathrooms and kitchen with my x5 and he comes in behind me to hoover and mop wood floors.

It means it takes no time at all.

Thing is DH and I had cleaners for years when I was working and the DC were babies. Stopped just over a year ago and started cleaning myself.
Then started a new business so found myself short of time. DH hates dusting and finicky things like cleaning bathroom crevices kitchen worktops etc but he is very good at hoovering and washing floors. Goes much harder at it than I do.

So perhaps some division of labour with one of you doing steam duster and the other doing floors?

[vikkiroberts84]

I use a steam cleaner on floor boards, works a charm :) Definitely something to get!

[ShadowsShadowsEverywhere]

Argy this is mine. It was £60-70 (can't remember exact price) in the sale over Christmas and is obv back up to full price now, so depends what your budget is. They do tend to have quite good offers on steamers in argos though so it might be worth keeping an eye on a few models to see if they drop in price.

[ArgyMargy]

Thanks Shadows!

[Cookiesallforme]

We have ( or should I say had) a karcher.

Blooming marvellous :)

Until I blew it up.

DH not happy about that as I really don't quite now how I managed to do that and he can't work out what I did to it either!


Have borrowed my Mums for now as DS 2 has bad reflux so is sick on the carpets a lot.

[CambridgeBlue]

Thanks for all the advice, DH has ordered one as he's got a day off on Friday and if I'm making him spend it doing jobs he wants a gadget to play with! Looking forward to seeing my immaculate house when I come home from work :).

[Bunbaker]

I think they are a waste of money and no better than mopping the floor or getting down on your knees to clean the floor. I have one and often CBA to set it up when it is easier and quicker to get down on my knees.

[ChocolateCherry]

Agree with Bun. I really wanted to get one. It's ok I guess, alright for tiles but no better than me armed with cloth and spray.

The problem imo is that they don't suck the dirt away so you still have to wipe it up.

[unlucky83]

This might be the thread for me
I have had a very cheap (£20) steam mop - Abode make for about 2 yrs. It has just died - my fault left it turned on by accident for hours not being used. I bought it because at the time the which reviews seemed to show the more expensive ones were the best cleaners but left the floor wetter - the cheaper ones not so good at cleaning but left the floor drier and a dry floor was my priority (no more stopping Dcs running on it for hours, no more waiting for under furniture to dry...) Looking now and some of the expensive ones seem to have got better at drying the floor (and my old one is a don't buy!)
Now I am in a complete quandary - the adobe one did the job fine
(although tbh after it died I did most of downstairs on my hands and knees with a microfibre cloth - just cos it seemed less of a hassle than finding/getting to the mop and bucket! - and it was actually pretty easy and dried quickly...)
So I could get another cheap one ...or I could get a better one ....
I have a cheap handheld steamer (£15) that I use for nooks and crannies and defrosting the freezer...but it is a bit rubbish - and the steam isn't controllable, carries on steaming after you stop pressing the trigger etc (always thought it might be faulty). And I have to get it out, set it up , extension lead into the bathroom etc - I don't use it as much as I thought I would.
But if I had a handheld one to hand (so to speak!) - got a 5 in one type ...maybe I would use it more...
Now I've come across vacuum and steamer all in ones - they don't seem to do both at the same time though (that really would be great!) You vacuum then have to switch to steamer ...but not sure that they would be good at hoovering or getting into corners...and they don't have the handheld bit... and I have a cordless upright vac AND a proper vac anyway...
Whatever I get it can't be difficult to set up, take up a lot of space or be unwieldy - what I liked about mine was it was easier to use than a squeegee mop ...and left the floor dry! So I think a canister type is out ...but being able to steam the fabric sofa and table tops etc would be handy (I used to lift my 'mop' up to do things like that)...
Really can't decide and really could do with having one for next Tue (mop downstairs day)...although I could find my mop and bucket by then....(or buy one of those spinny mops I keep eyeing up)