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.

[mrscumberbatch]

My kitchen floors take such a beating daily with the human traffic that they always look grubby

Life is too short for me to be hauling the mop and bucket out every day so they'll stay like that for quite a while.......

[Jenny70]

Non tester.

My dirty secret is the cupboard next to the dishwasher, which has splashes all down it (when viewed from some angles)... whenever anything with liquid on/in it goes into the dishwasher, some splashes onto the adjacent cupboard door - the obvious ones get wiped, but when the light shines on it, I can see a whole fiesta of grease & coffee that has been missed...

[TwoPoundCharityShopShoes]

Not a tester shameless begging

I have three boys under 5 and a tendency to clean at eye level only

I would love one for my bathroom and futility room because i mostly wipe them in a rush!

Also as an aside, can the steam cleaner be used on Amtico?

[Piffpaffpoff]

Two places - the oven is a disgrace and my kitchen floor never seems to be clean no matter what product or method I try. I really wanted to be one of the testers as my floor really is a thing of wonder, and not in a good way .

[coribells]

Did you find setting up the Steam Cleaner easy, we're the instructions helpful?
The steam cleaner was pretty easy to set up. The instructions were not particularly useful. I would have preferred the various brushes to be labelled in the booklet with suggestions on what they might be useful for. I ve found it a bit trial ad error so far.

What were your first impressions from the first few uses.?
I didn't see a huge difference on my tiles or floor to any other cleaning products I generally use. However it's been great for cleaning areas I hadn't expected it to be useful for, such as skirting boards, getting crayons marks off walls, doors etc. It's good for getting into difficult hard to reach spots like behind the loo
I realise it's not recommend for leather couches, but I did a test patch on the arm of a chair and it came up really well.

What cleaning chore have you been most impressed with.?
so far , dirty marks on walls.

[asuwere]

Non-tester.

I have to admit my oven is the dirtiest thing in my house. It is such a horrible thing to clean - that's my excuse anyway!

[gorionine]

Non tester here.

I have never managed to move my fridge to clean under it in the two years we have lived here. It is positively wedged between the floor and the work surface. I have visions of horror where the mess under it gets actually so much it will move the work surface up!

[Roseformeplease]

My dirty secret (well, the one to do with cleaning) is that my house looks fantastic, from afar. We are very tidy, surfaces clear, little clutter. But, close up it is really, really dusty. Cupboards hide all our sins and drawers are full to bursting.

So, good on the outside - really bad underneath.

[xigris]

Non tester here! I have 3 small boys, one of which is heavily into football, cue muddy trainers and kit, such fun! I also have an elderly, occasionally incontinent cat . Strongly considering buying a steam cleaner but would like to know if they're ok to use on original (not posh!) sanded and varnished wooden floors? Thanks!

[youmaycallmeSSP]

Non-tester. At the moment I'm pretending the crooks and crannies around and under our kitchen appliances don't exist. They are hideously grimy and I can see it every time I clean the kitchen floor. Ick.

[prettybird]

My guilty dirty secrets are too numerous to admit

The bit under my wide gas stove that has never been cleaned since it was installed c.10 years ago.

The wooden floors under my sofas in the lounge which only get swept when we re-arrange the room.

The wooden floors in the same room which only get washed when...... actually, I don't know when.

The vent bits on my two built in ovens which I've noticed are horribly greasy having never been cleaned since they were installed (as above, c.10 years ago)

[Thisisanoutrage]

Non tester - the ensuite bathroom. Nobody but my husband and I go in there, so I always leave it till last to clean. Luckily one of the spotlights has broken so I no longer have to see the dirt.

[flutterbynight]

Non-tester here - my very dirty and not so secret area of the house which could benefit from a steam clean is the kitchen units - they get so greasy and take ages to clean so it's a job I often neglect! My DH is a great cook but I swear it's like he's smearing butter all over the cupboard fascias when he's in there! I may have o watch him at work and see if this is actually the case... Either way, would love a product to cut through the grime!

[missorinoco]

Non tester. My dirty secret is behind the U bends in the bathrooms. Even when I do them, unless I get on my hands and knees with a multisurface wipe and scrub, they are lacking. And I scrub about as often as there are 5 Saturdays and Sundays in March - once every 857 years they said on the radio earlier.

[SecretLindtBunny]

Non tester.

I have a little segment beneath the gas cooker which is in dire need of a BGC (Bloody Good Clean)

There is also the really flipping awkwardly place toilet upstairs that DH manages to miss occasionally. I use the downstairs loo, so he is fully responsible for upstairs as I was getting really fed up. He isn't the most observant cleaner so it is in a bit of a state.

Please can I win?

[TotallyEasterEggFlipped]

Not a tester.

Where in my house wouldn't benefit from a deep steam clean?

The worst room is probably the bathroom. There's orange dust all over it from the dry rot and loads of general scum/dirt that's built up since the last time I got around to cleaning it properly.

I dread to think what's lurking around the edges of the kitchen, since the floor itself is bad enough. As for the oven. Better not to think about that.

I feel really dirty now. I promise, I'll clean my house. eventually

[Corygal]

Non tester here.

I have never cleaned the oven. Now it gives me The Fear (and oddly fragranced cakes).

But my real dirty secret is the flaming pipes and skirting - 30s place, with those long pipes and bevelled kickboards. Yech. Dont mention the oh-so chic chrome towel rail, dob 1927. Could be beauteous, but when I have a go but retire swooning.

[SilveryMoon]

Non-tester here.
I have a few dirty secrets in my home
On the surface, my home looks lovely, people comment on how tidy and clean it looks (not sure how they expect it to look) but I ever let anyone look inside my oven. I hadn't cleaned it for about 2 years and now it'll take hours and hours. I try to give it a wipe when it's still warm from being used, but it needs a hell of a lot more than that!
The grouting in my kitchen and bathroom has seen better days and I don't clean behind doors We rarely close any of the doors in our place, so I forget to clean behind them. Means a quick dash for the dustpan and brush and a babywipe when a visitor goes to the bathroom! (our bathroom door is outward opening, so when it's closed, you can see all the dust etc in the hallway.

I think I'd use a steam cleaner mostly in the kitchen and bathroom for tiles and taps.

[shaztwins1]

no tester here too.

a steam cleaner would be perfect for the tiles in my bathroom (tiled from floor to ceiling all round) it takes me most of the day and lots of effort to get them sparkling hence its not done very often im sure it would take dh me 5 mins with a posh steamer

[Crazybit]

I already wrote a 'First Impressions' piece so I am submitting this to the thread and will answer the specific questions underneath.

Well it arrived! I was super excited, I unpacked it straight away with dd2s help (age 5) and the wheels went on easy enough. I had a read through the instructions but it was a little unclear what bits and bobs had come with it in the box and whether these would usually be included or where an added extra. However, it looked really pretty simple to put together.
I wanted to use it immediately, on everything, even the kids, unfortunately that is not a usage listed so they had a bath instead.

Once they were in bed, I had a quick go on the kitchen sinks and taps.
Filling up with water is pretty self-explanatory and the connections are not hard to work out.

Now my kitchen sink and taps are not particularly dirty, so I couldn't really tell a big improvement, although it did look like it had been cleaned.
So I moved on to the cupboards and handles, now they were grimy. My kitchen is small with a rubbish extractor fan so it does get grease everywhere. So far, I am impressed. It did a nice job, there was patches of ground in dirt that I had to spend a little bit of time doing but they came up pretty good. I ended up doing the whole kitchen cupboards, hob and extractor fan which took about 90 minutes. I realised that if you let a little bit of pressure build up, your first squeeze of the trigger is most powerful which is good for getting into the little corners of drawer handles that you could not get clean with just a cloth.
I did find that when I turned it off, it would still steam, for quite a while afterwards. .something that is worth bearing in mind if it is to be left out near young children. Another thing I noted, there is a storage hole for the mains cable, I?m not keen on this, I?d prefer something to wrap the cord round, or ideally it could be wound in internally to keep it tidy.


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

Yes I found it pretty easy, the instructions are not particularly clear to be honest but with a little bit of time it can be worked out.

~ Where have you used the Steam Cleaner?
I've used it in the kitchen-on the cupboards and the hob.

~ What were your impressions from the first few uses?
I think that is great! It makes light work of some jobs and leaves most things looking good. However, I'm not convinced it is the magic cure I have dreamed of and it will need some elbow grease to go with it.

~ What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using a Steam Cleaner?
So far-the kitchen cupboards and top of the extractor fan.

[Grockle]

Non tester. I actually bought a Karcher steam cleaner (a cheaper model than the one on this thread) since I wasn't picked for the trial. It was one of Which? worst buys so I would normally avoid an item with suck a low ranking BUT the reviews on Amazon were really good.

Anyway, it's rubbish. I really wanted to be able to steam the grout in the kitchen & bathroom (not horrific but a but grubby-looking). My exMIL had a steamer that squirted grouting beautifully clean but my Karcher did nothing I also used it on the carpet where the dog had left footprints & assorted stains but it didn't lift those either. It's fun to use and means I've mopped the floor more than I usually would but I can't say it has helped with deep cleaning like I hoped it would. I think Which? may have been right.

[HazeltheMcWitch]

OOh, Grockle - can you remember what Which's top-selling cleaner was?
Sorry you bought a lemon.

[Grockle]

One was this one

I'm a bit cross that I didn't go for that.

Can look the other one up later if that helps.

[lottytheladybird]

Non-tester

Bathroom floors, shower cubicles, oven extractor fan, tops of bookshelves, fire place, curtain poles...hmm...looks like I should stop typing and start cleaning...but then again, maybe it could wait another day/week/month/year...

[MakeTeaNotWar]

A non-tester here.... As well as on my grubby kitchen tiles, can this also be used on the grease-encrusted tops of my kitchen cupboards??