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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Steam cleaners - are they worth the cash, and if so which brand should I buy?

42 replies

slackrunner · 01/01/2009 15:06

Tragic question I know...

I saw one on a shopping channel this morning and was transfixed...cue much eye rolling from dh.

I want one, to clean my manky floor tiles...so - are they worth it?

OP posts:
Original poster
slackrunner · 01/01/2009 15:11

.

OP posts:
babyjjbaby · 02/01/2009 12:09

yep worth every penny i love mine got it of bid tv fab just make sure its a pull along one like avacuem not a handheld one as the handheld ones are crap

dietstartstomorrow · 02/01/2009 12:11

My mum had a hand-held one and it was good.

I have a steam mop, which is brilliant.

I think steam cleaners are really effective, go for it!

babyjjbaby · 02/01/2009 12:13

the next thing i buy is going to be steam mop so if i just want to wipe the kitchen worktops down instead of steaming them i can just use th emop for the floor

Original poster
slackrunner · 02/01/2009 12:14

I will show dh this thread

OP posts:
blossomsmine · 03/01/2009 23:30

I have seen a steam mop on a shopping channel but can't remember then name of it. Can anyone suggest one that they already have or maybe have seen on the tv? Thanks

GypsyMoth · 04/01/2009 18:09

qvc have the H20.....it looks good on the demo!

pinkyporker · 04/01/2009 20:24

I have the H2O. Great on floors but rubbish on carpets. Wouldn't cope without it though!

GypsyMoth · 04/01/2009 20:41

its no good on carpets pinky? was going to get it to refresh my cream carpet. no heavy stains,just a bit of surface dirt. no good for even that then?

Original poster
slackrunner · 04/01/2009 20:42

I've taken the plunge and bought a Karcher - found a site that sells them massively discounted. Now I just have to hope they come up with the goods

OP posts:
Lauriefairyonthetreeeatscake · 04/01/2009 20:43

get the one from QVC as they have a 30 day money back guarantee if you don't like it

pinkyporker · 04/01/2009 20:49

Surface dirt yes....but not the stains the advert would have you believe.

blossomsmine · 04/01/2009 21:04

pinkyporker, i was hoping to get one that i could use on hard floors but also, really importantly, i wanted to be able to refresh a sitting room rug, as the dogs seem to just abuse it Would it be any good for that? I am so wary about buying one and then finding i have wasted my money...Again!

GypsyMoth · 04/01/2009 21:43

i'm gonna take my chances and get one....i think!!

Original poster
slackrunner · 04/01/2009 21:46

g'wan brie - you know you want one

OP posts:
hellogoodbye · 04/01/2009 21:48

We have a steam mop, it was about £20 from costco and use it all the time. I have never used it on the carpet though. Great on my old crappy lino though. I mainly like the fact that you don't need to use any chemicals and cleaning products. So probably saved money that way and it is so much healthiler, especially with a crawling baby.

lynniep · 06/01/2009 14:32

Has anyone got a more expensive one - like up to about 200 quid - and are they worth their weight in gold or is it just a stupid amound of money to spend on a cleaner?

Ok don't answer that. I know its a lot.

However DH is a clean freak and has been simmering for a year now, and is starting to, um, boil, at the state of the kitchen floor (tiles)/bathroom (lino)/oven/laminate floors/stair carpet but mostly the revolting state of the rug in the living room which is stained beyond grimness.

any recommendations? i know karcher and polti are mentioned a lot

fatjac · 06/01/2009 17:31

I have a Polti 2400 with the ironing attachment and I wouldn't be without it. Definately worth the money if you use it a couple of times a week.

lynniep · 06/01/2009 19:17

so is the 2400 able to clean rugs as well as hard floors? I was looking at that one

seb1 · 06/01/2009 19:21

I have Steam Mop and I like it.

Original poster
slackrunner · 06/01/2009 20:24

lynniep - I've just ordered a Karcher from here. I've still to test it, so can't comment on performance, but going on the prices alone they're massively cheaper than the Karchers on Amazon.

Steamers

OP posts:
fatjac · 07/01/2009 09:43

I have to say I've never really used it to clean carpets. You can get stains out by using the steam nozzle to blow the stain onto a piece of cloth but be careful if you have pure wool carpets.

ImaginaryGuitarSolo · 07/01/2009 11:23

I had a Karcher (SC1122) which was very good, but I felt it needed a bit more oomph in the pressure bar dept so after a lot of research I replaced it with the Polti Eco pro lux 3000 which was really expensive - and though it is a great cleaner I'm not sure it was worth the extra.

Although the build quality is more solid and retro (metal as opposed to the plastic of the karcher) a couple of fixtures have come loose on the hose which need replacing. It is also big and cumbersome, a problem if you're short on space.

Also, I couldn't say I notice the extra 2 bars of pressure except where it took the varnish off the highchair - in retrospect 3 bar was fine really. I have the Polti steam iron attachment which is really brilliant but I didn't try the Karcher one so can't compare.

All in all had I my time again I would have just gone up a model on the Karcher, maybe swapping the SC1122 for the SC1402 or SC1502 which are compatible with steam iron attachment (the SC1122 is not).

Both the Karcher and the Polti do clean really well and very quickly and are great for upholstery and buggies etc as well as floors, tiles etc. If you have a clean freak in the family they are definitely the way to go.

lynniep · 07/01/2009 22:39

thanks for help.
I'm thinking the SC1402 might be the way to go - I'm not too worried about our carpets (we only have stair and upstairs hall which are darkish red so look ok - probably wouldnt dare use it on that for fear of losing the colour) - just the living room rug which is large and particularly filthy and needs seeing to.
The rest of the house is laminated apart from the kitchen (tiled) which seems to attract disgusting sticky gloops of porridgey toddler foodstuff that won't come off.
Has anyone tried it on upvc windows as our window frames seem to get mouldy particularly in the conservatory if we dont keep on top of it.

ImaginaryGuitarSolo · 07/01/2009 23:20

Have you tried HG mould spray on the UPVC frames? It really works on actually getting rid of black mould spots on silicone grouting and also on UPV window frames. I was sceptical at first having tried sprays before but the HG stuff was recommended in the Times by Aggie (of How Clean Is Your House fame) and it really works.