Kärcher SC1 Steam Stick - Review thread - non testers - chance to win one of your own! NOW CLOSED

[KathrynMumsnet]

This thread is for the 30 Mumsnetters who are currently testing out the Kärcher SC1 Steam Stick.

Kärcher say "The SC1 Steam Stick is the UK’s first handheld steamer that can also be used to clean floors. The Steam Stick cleans deeper without chemicals killing 99.99% of all bacteria just using tap water, making it an environmentally and family friendly alternative to chemical cleaners. It’s an innovative new way to help you effortlessly clean the most difficult and frequent household hotspots; whether it’s cleaning everyday dirt from floors, limescale from bathroom tiles, spot cleaning stubborn carpet stains or eradicating tough, dried-on oven grease."

Non-Testers: If you’re not an official tester but you’d like another chance to be in with a chance of getting a Steam Stick (RRP: £99.99) for yourself then please share on this thread where in your house could really benefit from a deep steam clean? Is there a task or area you always avoid? Where would you most like to put it to use?

Testers: We'll be asking you to add feedback twice - we'd like your first impressions now and once you've had a bit of time to test out your Steam Stick, we will add some more questions.

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

• Where have you used the Steam Stick?
• What cleaning chore have you been most pleased with the results from using the Steam Stick?
• What were your impressions from the first few uses?

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Tester here again.

It was fab on the gas hob - the underneath part where you take the round things off - really blitzed them.

Have also used on quarry/Minton tiled floor but like other testers I found it left the floor quite wet and the cloth was a bit floppy, especially as it only clips at the sides. I'm reluctant to try it on the carpet yet in case I'm left with a soggy mess - has anyone else tried it on carpet?

It's great for nooks and crannies with the hose attachment on it - this is my favourite attachment.

Thanks for the tip about pressing switch then lock for continuous steam - stopped my thumb from dropping off!

Have any testers heard anything about the next part yet?

I am coming back to post some more feedback as a tester. I have now also used this all over my kitchen. I got a bit giddy and was trying to figure out what else I could steam.

I am impressed. It did a good job of the oven. It was brave as my oven was appalling! I have to say that it cleaned it pretty well in a small amount of time. I did still need to use the oven type cleaning stuff to clean up the trays etc. That's fair enough though I think. I don't think that I would rely on the steamer alone although it might be okay if I actually cleaned my oven more often so it did not have such a hard job to tackle in the first place.

I also used it on the hob, splashback and cooker hood. All good there with pretty instant results. I also used it on my window sills and UPVC frames in the kitchen. That was great and I now have white frames rather than off white/dust coloured frames.

DH used it on the floors and found it worked well. The only issue he commented on was the fact that it sprays out water for the first minute. This meant a puddle on the floor before getting it clean. One of those things that you learn.

I have also now mastered the lock button so I don't need to constantly press the button down whilst steaming. Thanks for those who mentioned this. I would never have realised otherwise and this would have been a pain.

I HATE cleaning the bathroom… all the chemicals give me a headache… I;m pretty sure with this I could do it faster with less chemicals and less headaches… win win win!

Non tester

A couple of stand out options here-
We have inherited an ancient range type cooker from the previous owner of our house. They clearly had a cleaning aversion issue as there are decades of burnt on grime to deal with. Even oven pride has failed.
Am sure it would help with mountain bike grime. Mud plus grease = disgusting
Kids room and toys -my kids have eczema and allergies so I have to be quite careful what I clean with. A good de grime with just simple water would be amazing
Can it do much for hearths? A night at the fireside is lovely hut I hate hate hate the clearing up next morning

Non-Testers: If you’re not an official tester but you’d like another chance to be in with a chance of getting a Steam Stick (RRP: £99.99) for yourself then please share on this thread where in your house could really benefit from a deep steam clean? Is there a task or area you always avoid? Where would you most like to put it to use.

I would really love this steam stick
For the worktops, the bathroom, the floor
With two messy kids, a dog and a hubby
Cleaning this house is a chore
So please let me win this steam stick
And without a doubt I will find
That my house is sparkly and shiny
And I'll have much more time to unwind

Ren1974 :)

I have just read reviews for dozens of different steamers online and so far these mumsnet ones for the Karcher stick seem the most positive-

However, I can't seem to find this product online to buy??? Is this because this is a test of a new product which is not yet out in shops yet? If so, MNHQ, could you ask Karcher when it will be abvailable to buy please? My crusted pit of despair by the u-bend needs something ASAP

Non-tester: I would love to have a go at our bathroom (one bathroom, 4 young kids, so is in constant use and never really seems clean!) - the bath always seems to have a greasy ring of dirt around it, the floor is a pale textured lino which is an absolute dirt trap and the tiles/walls could do with a good going over too.

As well as the bathroom, I would say that basically every room in the house could benefit from a deep clean! Is it ok to use on painted walls? Do you have to be dead careful around plug sockets and light switches in case you bugger up the electrics? Sorry if that's a silly question - I'm a steam-cleaning virgin!

Non Tester. I'd love to know if this would work upside down. The inside glass of our conservatory roof is very difficult to reach and clean.

we moving homes very often and the toughest job was to clean small surfaces, corners, Karcher stick will help a lot with tackling bathroom cleaning

Non Tester: I would use this on my oven and kitchen floor. A toddler, a 10 month old and a horse mean that keeping the floor clean is always a battle, especially when the baby wants to eat everything off the floor!

Non tester: I think my cooker's splashback tiles could do with a deep steam clean!

Non tester

Oooh my bathroom and kitchen would really appreciate a deep steam.clean :)

Non-tester: my kitchen floor could do with a steam clean. It's a nice grey sludgy colour which doesn't show the dirt and I can't remember the last time I cleaned it

Where can you buy these? Can't find on-line.

Non-tester: we have a mildly unsavoury older cat who makes mess both in the litter tray and on he floor of the utikity room. I'd love to find out of a steam cleaner used every day can keep the smell out of the floor so I dont have to resort to scrubbing it with bio washing powder quite so often.

I'd love to try it on the pvc windows and doors. My external doors have a pvc wood grain effect and I usually clean them with a nail brush but it takes hours. I'm positive that the Karcher SC1 steam stick would help me out considerably!!!!

I'm finding the need for three hands to be a bit frustrating. I can't get the steamer into small spaces and awkward spaces, like the oven, so I really need a trigger at the business end of the hose.

Also just don't see the point of cleaning the floor with it. No cleaner than washing with cloth, certainly wetter, and I really don't need to sterilise the floor.

That said, it's more convenient and user-friendly (apart from the 3 hands thing) than the Polti beast I used before, and really comes into it's own for cleaning greasy things like the stove.

non tester

id love to use it on my toys......im a childminder, so have a few!

Tester

I'm liking it but not entirely convinced it's proving to be the domestic super-tool I was expecting - although I'm known to be hard to please. It still requires a fair amount of elbow grease IMHO and DH who had a go at cleaning the cooker said the same thing today.

It might just be because we're domestic slobs in this house though, so things rarely get super-duper deep cleans but I'm finding that even getting rid of the limescale on the shower hose is not as quick/easy as one might think.

I think in less dirty household it would work wonders keeping build up of grime at bay though...

I do applaud its multi-functionality and it's compactness.

Perhaps someone could advise me as to what 'end' to use for trying out on soft furnishings??? And does it actually get rid of ingrained muck/stains??? I have a yellow settee cover that won't get dry if I wash it at this time of the year, but it's got a couple of small stains on it that really offend my eye...

DH suggested that a nozzle with a scraping attachment would work miracles on cleaning caked-on grime, particularly in the cooker).

I think, now that I've been tipped off about the 'steam on' button one could have a larger 'water barrel'. I found as I was persevering with cleaning off the limescale on the shower hose yesterday that I literally kept running out of steam!!! Which seemed to disturb my flow (excuse the puns!)...

non tester - In would love to try this in my bathroom

Tester - I have tried it on a stain on the carpet - I can't tell whether it has spread the stain or just made that part of the carpet cleaner than the rest . Am considering trying it on the sofa at some point although not sure quite which attachment to use.

I agree that three hands are needed at some points...

Non-tester

I would love to use this multi-purpose steamer in both my kitchen and bathroom areas!

Tester reporting back again.

I've blitzed the bathroom today. Although it didn't do a perfect job, we live in a hideously hard water area and I'm a bit of a slattern. The tiles in the shower area are cleaner and the bathroom floor is gleaming.

The shower screen is much improved, but I think it's going to take a few more goes to undo the years of neglect.

I'm going to try scrubbing down the tiles and glass with vinegar before the next clean to see if I can restore them a bit further.

Although not a perfect job it's a lot better than cleaning fluid alone.

I'm a non tester but would love to try it out. The places I'd most like to give a good clean are the oven (it's such a daunting thing to clean!) and my bathroom as even though its the room we all use to get clean I think it's looking a bit grubby!

Tester reporting back again. I'd love more instruction as to what this can be used on.....I have no idea as I've never had a cleaner like this before. I've used it on tiles and the shower door, floors, etc but really need some ideas! I've seen people mention their ovens....how, which attachment etc?