NOW CLOSED Kärcher steam cleaner feedback thread: Non testers – win a steam cleaner (RRP: £219.99) for yourself by letting Kärcher know your home’s ‘dirty secrets’

[AlexMumsnet]

This is the thread for the lucky 30 testers who were sent a steam cleaner by Kärcher and our currently using it to do the spring clean.

Kärcher say their Steam Cleaners "revolutionise home cleaning, tackling any and all frequent and difficult cleaning tasks with professional results and abolishing the need for hours of endless scrubbing! Our steam cleaner is a natural and environmentally-friendly solution that provides a family-focussed alternative from chemical cleaners that aggravate allergies and are harmful to children, killing 99.99% of all common household bacteria without the need for detergents"*

Testers are trying the SC 2.500 C

Testers: we'll be asking you to add feedback twice - we'd like your first impressions now and in a week we will add some more questions.

So, for your first impressions, Kärcher would love to know:

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?
~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?
~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?
~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

If you're not an official tester but you'd like another chance to get a steam cleaner (RRP: £219.99) for yourself then please share on this thread where in your house could really benefit from a bit of a deep-steam-clean. What's your home's 'dirty secret' ? the place where you've let the grime build up and now can't bear to look at? Where would you most want to use the steam cleaner?

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

*When thoroughly cleaning with the Kärcher Steam Cleaner 99.99% of all common household bacteria will be killed on common household hard floor surfaces.

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

Very straightforward and the instructions were clear.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

Kitchen cupboards, made very light work. The laminate floors and lino in the kitchen. The hob. Also on the dining table. But the varnish came off it.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

Easy to use. Great to get into nooks and crannys where otherwise I would need a toothbrush. It left the floors a little dryer than a mop but was much quicker. The cloths do get sopping wet very quickly though and ofcourse dirty. I think really if I had been paying upwards of £200 I would have expected atleast two of each cloth. I know they can be bought seperately but still.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

Getting gunk out from the joins in the floor. If I had grout that needed doing it would be great. I will in my new house but none in this one.

I wont be online next week until maybe friday due to the house move. So if I am late to the next questions forgive me!

It was easy to set up, I found the manual a little vague, but it was easy to set up.

I used the cleaner on our laminate flooring, hob, grouting behind the hob, the benches.

First impressions. These were mixed. There should be more cloths for the money, maybe another two of the same, and these get wet really quickly.

The cleaner left the floors a lot wetter than the adverts make it seem! At first I was disappointed, but then saw how quickly they dried so was more impressed.

Having pulled out the sofa I saw my son's sippy cup had spilt at some point a while ago and the steam cleaner made it so easy to clean up the mess. Literally two spurts of steam and a quick wipe. It was bloody brilliant.

The grouting wasn't cleaned with the steamer though. I don't know why it wouldn't work, but that part was disappointing.

the best thing for me was how it cleaned the laminate floor. Honestly, it looks amazing! It got all odd marks which accumulated over the two years living here. That was pretty awesome!

Also, as an added extra, I located the position of the bloody ants in the flat, and steamed them. I'm pleased to say I think they are gone :D

Non-tester here

I am domestically challenged, and am the proud possessor of three teenage sons and two dogs, so we have plenty of dirt in our house. My biggest dirty secret is that, although I do Hoover/sweep the wooden floor in the lounge and dining room, I haven't ever mopped them (apart from cleaning up spills etc).

Non-tester here too.

My biggest dirty secret is above eye level in the bathroom! The tiles are grotty & definitely need a deep clean as does the vast majority of the house but with a three week old baby & a 1yr old puppy I can't see this happening for a while without a one stop solution!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

Easy to set up - instructions weren't particularly useful, but not a hindrance either and managed fine.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

Downstairs floors (posh lino), kitchen sinks, bathroom floor, shower, bath, taps.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

A little bit underwhelmed tbh. It's good, and plenty of muck came off on the cloth when doing the floor, but they weren't perfect. And they weren't perfectly dry when done either. It was great on the limescale jn the bath and on the taps, but I'm not sure it's much better than a good spray with Viakal.

I'd definitely want more cloths for my money if I'd paid for it and maybe better advice on what tools to use for different jobs. I ended up marking the bath using the little power jet nozzle thing.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

The limescale removing definitely.

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?
No - I thought the booklet could have done with a lot more illustration and also a lot more explanation about what the different tools were for and which jobs they tackled best. I hadn't used a steam cleaner before and found it quite difficult to work out it out which attachment was being referred to.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?
In the kitchen, on wooden floors on the stairs, in the bathroom, on mirrors.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?
It was really good on metal surfaces and the cupboard doors in the kitchen. I degreased the cooker hood very easily, cleaned the oven door and also all the smears on the kitchen units. I was really amazed with how well it lifted the ground in dirt on my wooden floor near the front door, it did a superb job.

In the bathroom, I descaled some pretty limey areas (London has very hard water) and cleaned the shower screen with it - I usually have to use several applications of Viakal which smells horrible, this time it got rid of all the limescale at the top of the screen on its own and I only used one spray of Viakal at the bottom where the limescale had really built up as I'd been saving it up for a few days to try the cleaner on it. It also cleaned my tiles quite nicely and desmeared the mirror. It cleaned my shower tray very easily as well and it was much easier to do than conventionally with spray cleaners and cloths on my hands and knees.

I found it the results less impressive when I tried it on a mark on the sofa.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?
Definitely the floor - I made a video of me doing a bit of it and am very happy to email it to anyone who would like to see it. It was almost miraculous, it made a difference so quickly and with such little effort. I have been forcing friends and family to watch it for the past few days...

Not a tester.

Where would my house really benefit...around my stove/oven. My stupid landlord put in a unit that is smaller than the space so there is a gap between the edge of the unit and the cupboards that are constantly getting crap spilled down. I have block things my mom brought me from the states, but I still just spent a good portion of cleaning time today reaching as far as I could with a sponge. A bit of steam would probably sort that right out!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

It was easy to set up and put together. The instructions didn't give a lot of detail, and I wasn't sure which attachment to use for which task so just went by the pictures on the box.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?
Kitchen floor (stone tiles), kitchen sink (stainless steel), hob and tiles, bathroom tiles and floor.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

It got the kitchen floor really clean. Although it's generally mopped most days I was shocked by how much dirt came off on the cloth. It was completely black. I had to scrub a few areas quite hard but the floor looks really good once it's done. It dried very quickly too.
When I cleaned around the edge of the sink, I think I was a bit over enthusiastic and managed to dislodge a load of dirt and spray the particles quite far up the wall, which then also needed cleaning.

It's improved the look of our kitchen and bathroom tiles. The grout on the tiles behind the hob was getting pretty manky and now looks a lot better, but I think I'll need to go over it several times to get it looking really clean. Maybe I was expecting too much. It also didn't remove the limescale around the sink as well as I'd hoped.

The extra long hose attachment is useful. I agree with the previous posters that extra cloths should really be included at that price.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

So far, kitchen floor.

Don't even get me started about where in my house needs a deep clean it's the Bain of my life - I've even asked DH for a full house clean for my bday! Main issue = our house was brand new sparkly renovated with magnolia carpets, no less....then DH got the slobberiest dog in the world. With dark fur. shudder so...the whole house really!!! If just one place, I guess the hall/dining room - at least could make a good 1st impression then!!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?
Yes, very easy. I dislike IKEA style pictorial instructions but here they were clear.
~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

In the kitchen: on a tiled floor, and on cabinets.
In the dining room: on a laminate floor.
In the bathroom: on a laminate floor, on an acrylic bath, on a glass shower screen, on a mirror, on tiles and grouting, on a chrome shower storage thing.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?
For a start I liked that it was easy to set up. I would have preferred a retractable lead though - I don't think it is???

I didn't find it dramatically different to mopping on the tiled floor. I didn't find it cut through grease on the cabinets either.
However it worked really well on laminate - much less scrubbing, especially over dried on cereal under dd2's highchair, and the floor was less wet than when I mop, which is great, and will help preserve the life of the laminate.

It was fine on the bath and the bathroom tiles, no better or worse than wiping with a cleaning product. I really liked using it on grouting - it easily got rid of that pinkish tinge that I normally need to really scrub at. Also good on the glass shower screen - again less scrubbing needed to get rid of soap scum. I didn't like it for the mirror or chrome taps. I had to polish these afterwards to get them to shine, so I may as well have just polished them with a microfibre cloth in the first place. It was really good on the chrome shower storage thing, which has a tendency to rust.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

Grout or laminate floor, as above.

Non tester!

My kitchen is the worst at the moment. We are having extensive building work done and the builders keep walking through with muddy or dusty boots on and leaving marks all over the floor. I haven't the energy to clean it evrry time so it is manky. I'm also pregnant and suffering with SPD and havent been able to clean crevices, corners and tops of cupboards properly for months. I sound such a slob but it looks ok on the surface-dishes and sink are always clean and worktops tidy, you just can't look too closely...

It was easy to set up, quite intuitive actually. Just as well because the instructions are not particularly clear.
So far I have used it in the 2 bathrooms;so tiles, floors, shower screens, mirrors, outside of toilet and the toilet seat. Also steamed my radiators and kitchen granite worktop.
First impressions are good and I think I will get better at it with practice. I've been most pleased with the following, it was really great at reviving the grout around tiles and removed yellow urine stains from the underneath of the inherited toilet seat- even scrubbing with bleach hadn't helped that previously and this was chemical free! The granite and tiles were sparkly clean but needed buffed after cleaning.
I think for that price there should be more cloths included and I think I am going to invest in the window attachment. I'm worried about using it on my oher hard floors though! Ive got engineered and solid wood but isn't steam bad for wood?

Non tester here.

We have a pet rabbit who has run of the garden but comes in at night, he sleeps in the small area/ entrance between my front door & inner door.

He is a grubby sod & because there is rubber flooring which is kinda ridged there is absolutely no way to clean it, I'm thinking a steam cleaner is the only thing that will tackle it.

It's embarrassing as its the main entrance to my house but we can't get any other flooring at the minute.

I try to hide the mess with mats but the rabbit eats them.

Non-tester here.

When I first moved into this house the kitchen looked like it had been deep-fried. Grease everywhere. I have scrubbed and scrubbed and will be getting a new oven for Christmas (ages away).

If I had a Karcher Steam Cleaner to help with this mucky job I could spend more time on Mumsnet instead of cleaning a grimy kitchen.

Ok my dirty secret is the bathroom [ blush] I live in a very hard water area, have 2 dc and a dh who seems to ooze grime when he is in the bathroom. The taps, the shower, the shower screen, the grout, you name it. In fact I have wondered if chucking it all out and starting again would be easier!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

The instructions were OK - it was easy enough to put together, but for which bit to use where I found the pictures on the website more useful

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

Kitchen: Ceramic tiles on floor, wall tiles, granite work surface(!), kitchen units, hob,

Bathroom: floor tiles, shower, shower door, bath, toilet! wall tiles and grout,

Other - doors, skirting boards, wooden floor, laminate floor, stains on carpet, sofa, rugs, windows,

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

I liked the fact that the ceramic tiles dried so quickly and it did get them really clean.

It was good to be able to change the tool and just keep on using the cleaner to do different things in the same room - tiles, doors, etc will definitely get cleaned more often!

It was quicker than using a mop

It was good to be able to clean the bathroom without cleaning products, however I found it a bit of a faff as you have to really wipe with a cloth as you're going along. Probably just takes practise to do it all efficiently.

Wasn't particularly impressed with the shower screen, windows etc - streaky afterwards.

I agree with others that 2 cloths sin't enough to be included.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

Kitchen floor - quicker, easier and cleaner

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

The instructions were next to useless. It was ok to set up but I felt a little anxious that I'd get it wrong.
~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

Kitchen floor (Lino), kitchen sink (stainless steel), UPVC door surrounds, fridge door, 2 x bathrooms, doors, door handles and surrounds, inside of patio door, grubby bits on kitchen walls.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

Mixed. It was great at my bathroom tiles which are a matt finish. They dried quickly with no streaks. Also great at getting the orange stains from around taps and bath. Agree with poster about the urine stains on underneath of toilet seat. These are the bane of my life but gone in an instant with the steam cleaner.

I don't get on with the hand tool (larger brush which has an elasticated cloth to cover it) at all. I used it to clean the inside of my patio doors and it has scratched my new doors despite having the cloth on it.
I'd like to use it on my carpets but have read mixed reports on whether to go this.
I don't rate it at all for cleaning the bath - it still felt grainy afterwards.
When using the detail nozzle I find that it just moves the dirt about and splash backs make more works.
I have lost confidence in where I can use this without damaging the surfaces.

No spare cloths with a product that costs this much is a joke.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?
Bathroom tiles.

I'm deliberately not reading what others have said.

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?
I eventually found it pretty easy to set up despite difficult to interpret pictures in the intsructions. What would really help the spatially-challenged such as myself would be a simple naming and labelling diagram of the parts. This is your floor brush. This is your hand brush you dummy etc . Nowhere could I match the parts with their names in the instructions. But the parts fit together so beautifully with such satisfying clicks that it's actually like playing with duplo and you can't really go wrong.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?
So far - wood floor, laminate floor, tiled floor, bathroom - floor, wall tiles and grouting, behind taps and shower screen. Cooker hood and splash back. Oven door.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?
Mixed.
The floors (tiles, wood and laminate) - excellent. Quick easy and it really cleaned - especially the wooden floor. I wasn't sure if it's OK to use on wood as it's not mentioned in the instructions but it's done a great job. Dh came in and said 'wow the floor looks so clean, what have you done to it?' And he never notices clean floors.
Cooker hood and greasy splash back - I was expecting miracles (like the TV advert with the beautiful smiling lady and gleaming stainless steel). I got after much going over many times with the smallest brush a still sticky to the touch cooker hood but without quite so much grease. (And a horribly greasy brush and greasy puddles of condensed water all over the kitchen surfaces). I need chemical help here.
Mouldy bathroom grouting - used the small tool - very good. It did the job and well, but then probably so would scrubbing with a small stiff brush (which is essentially what I was doing.)
Shower screen - not really made any differencve tbh.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?
The wood floor (see above)

Overall I have to say I may have been expecting a bit too much. It doesn't do miracles but it does sterilise well without chemicals. The floor and hand tools have the same effect as wiping with a hot damp cloth (which is essentially what you're doing). The blasty nozzle job is a bit more fun.

Hello, non-tester here.

My 'dirty secret' is the Bathroom. It doesn't look too bad but the grout,window,taps,tiles,bath,sink and shower all need a whoosh with one of these steam cleaners to get them sparkling again.

non-tester who has a new for bedroom home but only shows folks around 3 bedrooms because the fourth is a haven of mess!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

It was easy enough to set up. However, the instructions for use are all diagrams, and given I am visually impaired were of absolutely no use what so ever. I appreciate the need for pictures, but more detailed written instructions would also be helpful and make your product more inclusive. As a visually impaired single parent I should be able to buy a product as simple as a steam cleaner and be able to use it out of the box without having to ask for help. As it happens I am generally not one for instructions and managed to figure out all the tools well enough on my own, but not everyone would.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

cooker top, kitchen floor, oven door, cooker hood, bathroom and parrot cage.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

It did fairly well on the floor but left it wetter than I thought it would. having looked at reviews for steam cleaners (incl steam mops) this seems to generally be the case. Cleaning the cooker hood came up well enough too but again there was quite a lot of water which then ended up on the worktops.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner? I do like what it did with the kitchen floor, but I also liked it on the harder to reach places e.g. in the bathroom where I wouldn't be able to see the dirt to get to iyswim.

Without reading others replies....

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

I found it easy to set up. Didn't use the instructions as it was self explanatory to set up. However , a list if what attachment to use for what tak would have been helpful!!

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

Floors, splash backs,bathroom, hob top, detail cleaning.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

I like how light it is. I like the swivel head that allows you to get in corners when you do the floors. The detail spout and brush is great. I love how quickly the floors dry.
It didn't work as well as I hoped on the lime scale on the shower screen. I thought it would completely come off, but I could have been using the wrong attachment! It also smells a bit funny, like almost burnt plasticky?
I like that the attachments are all interchangeable, with two lengths of straight bit. It means you can get exactly the right length for the job rather than it being just a little too short or a little too long.
I also thought the water ran out quite quickly?

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

I think I liked the kitchen floor the best.quick and easy with a great finish. Also. Little detail cleaning gets done as it is so easy, as opposed to it bring a big chore you never get around too. Spray wipe done! No fading with different cleaners and spending hours on your knees scrubbing with a toothbrush!

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

It was easy to set up the Steam Cleaner, however it would be really useful to know which brush to use for which job. I didn't really find the instructions that helpful - they were too vague and I would like to see more details.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

So far I have used the Steam Cleaner in the kitchen. The cooker hood was cleaned quickly and easily (once I figured out which head and cloth to use), however a few of the stickier bits remained. Chemicals are probably needed there. The tiled splash back cleaned well and quickly. I cleaned the oven door too, but that was left steaky, so next time will wipe down with a dry cloth afterwards.

The floor (laminate) cleaned beautifully - noticably much cleaner!!

I've yet to do the bathroom - but that's because it was given a thorough cleaning the other day. Would like things to build up a bit so as to give the Steam Cleaner a real go at it.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

My impressions were that whilst this is a really good product, I don't think it will take the place of chemical products entirely in my house.
It really does make cleaning easier and quicker.
I like that we are provided with 2 poles to help with the reach
I was a little frustrated with the long head in that the little swivel piece that connects it to the hose kept coming out.

Like other reviewers, I do feel that it should have come with more cloths. One use of the smaller cloth on the hood, left it filthy and needing a wash before I can use it again!

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

The floors!! Quick and easy and very little effort required! However, for the price I do expect a bit more from it than just well cleaned floors, however it is early days and I need to use it more to form a better opinion.

~ Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, were the instructions helpful?

DH had a go with it at the weekend and found it simple enough.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?

He tried it on the bathroom tiles and grout, but gave up when it was clear it was making little impression.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?

It did nothing to get rid of or even reduce the limescale splashes around the bath, so we're a little disappointed, so far.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?

Nothing yet. I finally have a child free day, today, to see how it deals with the kitchen and bathroom floors.