CakeyCakeyCakey, DD has independently dubbed our steam cleaner "Dragon" as well.
I can see where they get the idea from, it does look and sound a bit like a dragon! Maybe Karcher ought to capitalise on this and produce a green/red version with decorative wings and a tail. That'd be awesome, I'd buy it.
Anyway, I have now tackled various other things and can report back on them!
The most impressive one was the microwave after it suffered from a butter explosion. It took DH no time or effort at all to wave the steam cleaner around inside and the microwave has never sparkled so much in its life.
For safety we did turn the power off first and let it thoroughly dry out before plugging it back in.
Not so successful on our oven door, it helped loosen some of the dirt a bit but it wasn't the quick and easy miracle clean like it had been in the microwave. I had a go with various nozzles, but I think perhaps our lack of scourer might have been the problem? I will invest in some and then give it another try with the brush attachment.
I also had a go in the washing machine. I removed the plastic drawer and washed that separately, but then used the steam cleaner to clean inside the hole left behind, if that makes sense? It had gone rather vile gunky over the years of abuse and really needed a good clean out!
Didn't have massive success with the pressurised jet, it just moved the gunk around. However attaching the brush and giving it a scrub worked fantastically well.
I was able to give the nozzles where the water enters the washer a big scrub and now the washing machine is working fantastically again, rather than the rather lackluster attempts to fill with water it had been doing.
Love the hose extensions too, using just one of them meant I could reach right to the back without risking steaming my hand off in the process. But it wasn't so long it was unwieldy. It is a little hard to see what you're doing though when you're staring into a small space filled with steam that also steams your glasses in the process.
But that's a flaw of using steam!
For the additional questions:
- After a few uses, has your Steam Cleaner changed your cleaning regime at all? If so, how?
Yes. It is going to live downstairs and become my floor cleaner of choice - the old mop has been relegated to the back of the cupboard. For other jobs such as cleaning work surfaces, etc, it'll be used for the bigger weekend cleans but not a daily wipe down, mostly due to amount of time to get set up and store again afterwards.
- Are there any applications that you've used where you've been impressed with the results? For example, was the steam cleaner particular useful for cleaning baked on grease, or whole bathrooms?
I already mentioned the sparkling shower screen, now I can add the sparkling microwave to the list! It seems to cut through grease very easily, though the tough really cemented on stuff inside the oven gave it a bit of trouble. Maybe my oven is worse than most.
- If it came up in conversation, would you recommend or lend the Kärcher steam cleaner to a friend or family member or not?
Yes, I definitely would. DH and I have been amazed at the constant, high pressure steam it can produce. It feels like a quality piece of kit that should last us for ages. I like the variety of attachments you can get for it as well, such as the wire brush with scraper and even the wallpaper remover!
I am tempted now to look at the Karcher pressure washer to tackle our patio. But I've been wondering whether to let the steam cleaner have a try first...
Fortunately, all our family live hundreds of miles away so I probably won't have to share with them.
Would lend to a friend however if they had a specific need for a deep clean. I'd likely offer to help out so I could keep an eye on my steam cleaner and bring it straight home again afterwards.
One attachment I'd like to see is a carpet/fabric glider of some type, as there doesn't seem to be one of those available?