Steam mop: why do I NEED one?

[user1471523870]

I am very tempted to buy one, but I don't want to waste money on another gadget. I keep reading here that it's great and life changing, but I am not sure I understand all the pros.

Would you tell me why you bought one and what you like about it?

When you get one, do you still use your standard mop sometimes or has the steam one completely replaced it?
And is it inconvenient to drag the cord around?
Also, is it noisy?

Thanks!

I hardly ever use mine. It takes longer than wet mopping and I think it doesn't clean as well. I like a basic wet mop, plus a flat microfibre one with a spray bottle for spot cleaning.

I bought mine because I'm a slave to advertising. I love it. It's not noisy, takes half the time of a normal mop and I have no trouble with the cord. I have the H2O X5. Expensive but totally worth it in my opinion. I've bought extra pads for it because they don't wash amazingly well so don't look clean when you're using them. I've not used any of the other attachments yet but I think it's worth it for the mop alone.

I've had mine for a year and use it multiple times in a week. I'd read reviews before buying that said it stops working after a while but I've had no issues. Just don't ever put anything but water in it. If I want any fragrance, I put something on the pad before attaching it.

I have one it’s great, but I’ve used it maybe twice in two years. Easier just to mop normally

I find the attachments are brilliant for a deep clean I wouldn’t use it for daily use as a bit of a hassle.

I have one, it’s not a patch on a regular brush and mop. Maybe fine for daily run around but not proper clean. I’ve never bothered with attachments but if someone could persuade me why they’re good I’d be grateful

Following! I've been looking for a good one too

I don't use mine. It takes forever to heat up and leaves tide marks on the floor.

I've got a Karcher sc3 I wouldn't recommend an actual steam mop I think they are costly and not all that great but if you are tempted by a steam appliance these are good as you can use them for a multitude of things - shower screens/hobs/tiles and they have a floor attachment so you can mop with them as well. You don't say what you want to use the steam mop on but I have a large tiled kitchen/hall/utility area and use a Karcher FC5 (I'm not a Karcher rep I've just found these there best household gadgets!). It's great for cleaning and the floors are squeaky clean afterwards.

Just goes to prove it's different strokes for different folks. I have a karcher with a long tube and various attachments, and I wish I'd bought something simpler and quicker to use. Probably I'm just too lazy but it does take time to set up the karcher and disassemble it afterwards, empty it out etc.

I've got a H20 X5 and use it most days on the kitchen floor, I've got several of the cloths so they get used a couple of times and go on the wash. It's quick and effective and means I don't have a wet mop hanging around. I sometimes splash a bit of zoflora (or similar) on the floor and run the
mop through it and it makes the kitchen smell nice for ages. This plus a cordless stick vacuum are essential to me now.

@naughty I'm totally in agreement. It's definitely easier and quicker to use than an ordinary mop. It cleans really well too. I have to change my cloths every two uses because it does start to leave marks after a while but that's my only complaint and it's not really a complaint because I'd use clean cloths over dirty any time. I was using it tonight and thinking about this thread. I wouldn't be without it now

Well dh is a gullible idiot and we have 2 karchers (one inside and one for outside) BOTH of which HAVE STOPPED working. We haven't overused them or anything and have tried to get them mended with spares for them. (no one will do it).
They are rubbish. I like my normal damp (J cloth) mop with floor cleaner sprayed on left for a couple of minutes and mopped off. No rinsing or anything.

You don't need one! I thought I did, bought one and it is a useless faff. I bought a spray mop and it is so much easier (and my floor looks cleaner!)

you don't need one exactly Minkowski If we stopped buying all those damn plastic, Unnecesary highly advertised machines . Then the world might have a bit of space left when we finally flood it.

They are tankered across the world in those enormous highly polluting ships. That's without the pollution created by the factories that make them.

We use ours a lot. Ceramic tiles in kitchen, utility room and hall way, lino in Bathrooms. I am onto our 2nd one - started with the H2O (£80 on offer plus at least £20 for all the extra pads). I liked the idea of the handheld steamer for windows, limescale etc. Found it too heavy to hold up. So the replacement model is a VAX (half price in Sainsbury so £35) and is only used for steaming the floors. I think it gets them very very clean and it dries very quickly so less chance of slipping. I dont use any smelly products so it really is just the steam that cleans.

The biggest benefit of all is that my then 8 year old loved mopping, still does years on, so I get lots of help with the housework!

I've had several over the years. Last two were H20. Despite following instructions to the letter - descaling with white vinegar, only using their own accessories, including the fragrance they make and sell with it, both just stopped working. We only have a small area of floor to use it to they were hardly overused. I now have a VAX carpet washer which has an attachment for hard floors. Far more versatile and useful. In fact, the VAX came with a free steam mop - I've never even opened the box!

You don't need one. Expensive and inefficient. I have a Shark. The water tank is too small, the cable is too short for the whole of the kitchen floor. I was thinking it would be for shower tiles but it's not.

I love ours. It converts to a hand held, i steam all of our mattresses, the dogs bed, skirting boards, behind furniture. Once every few months I do a deep clean.
Weekly I steam all the hard floors and the rug which comes up like new each time. What’s not to like?

What's not to like? The producer that sells highly advertised ones beginning with Ka , deliberately makes them so they can't be repaired. (all the repair shops we took them to said so). See my post upthread. We bought one for outside , one for inside they are sitting and rotting in the garage , the guarantee ran out after 2 years and that's how long they lasted.

It's healthier to use mops etc. too.

And they aren't effing cheap.

I have a shark steam cleaner, does all sorts of stuff, I think it’s great, I like the fact that the floor dries quickly. It’s also satisfying to see how grey the pad looks when you are done!

For those of you happy with the purchase, does it remove all the dirt from the floor? I have a bleached wooden floor and somehow it seems my mop just brings the dirt around. Maybe because I am using an e-cloth mop, but I don't have this issue on the kitchen/bathroom floors where there are tiles.

user1471 I LIKED my indoor steam cleaner (while it worked) We are totally tiled downstairs and it cleaned well (you have to sweep first of course). I'm not sure if it'd be too hot for a wooden floor. It might raise the grain in it.

The outside one broke some of the paving on the terrace . They are full on.

Loved our steam cleaner - for the 4 months it worked.

We have tiles and it did clean really well, much better than a mop.

Plus I liked the fact that it was cleaning by steam, iyswim, rather than chemicals.

But would not rush out to buy another one...

I agree on all counts Ilovemy (also like\agree with your user name, apart from we have cats! We love them of course! )

I make my own floor cleaning spray ;a mixture in an old spray bottle of lemon and or other old essential oils,, also a drop of eco cleaner. made up with water give it a good shake, I spray it on in patches e.g. by the cupboard then leave for 4 mins or so and wipe it clean with a floor cloth or microfibre cloth. Sometimes on my knees!