Any recommendations on a steam mop - is it even worth it?

[mrsduenes06]

Thinking about this as a Christmas gift for myself, but not sure if it's worth it - any suggestions?

[Skadi]

I have used the Eureka Enviro Steam Mop to clean houses part time for the past two years. It's still going strong, I've never had a problem with it. It is so superior to regular mopping that I'll never go back! I bought it over the Shark, etc. because it steams at a higher temperature and has a bit more weight on the head (vs. the handle) which helps it do a better job cleaning, I think. :)

[ktgrok]

I have used the Eureka Enviro Steam Mop to clean houses part time for the past two years. It's still going strong, I've never had a problem with it. It is so superior to regular mopping that I'll never go back! I bought it over the Shark, etc. because it steams at a higher temperature and has a bit more weight on the head (vs. the handle) which helps it do a better job cleaning, I think. :)

I have the same one and love it. However, it really shouldn't be used on laminate. So if you have only tile, go for it!

[Cosmos]

I have used the Eureka Enviro Steam Mop to clean houses part time for the past two years. It's still going strong, I've never had a problem with it. It is so superior to regular mopping that I'll never go back! I bought it over the Shark, etc. because it steams at a higher temperature and has a bit more weight on the head (vs. the handle) which helps it do a better job cleaning, I think. :)

 

That's the kind I have too. It seemed to have really great reviews, and it certainly is very easy and convenient to use. I'm just not sure it actually cleans very well. I think of the steam mop as "in between cleaning" but to really get my floor clean, I still need to get out a bucket and scrub it on my hands and knees.

 

Maybe we are just extra hard on our floors or something. They are all wood, except vinyl in the bathroom and laundry room. I use the steam mop on all of them.

[NotSoObvious]

I have one and I liked it for my linoleum because I felt like it got all the gunk out that regular cleaning didn't, but now that we have tile... I don't know. It doesn't make a difference on the grout and the tiles themselves are so easy to clean with anything else... The steam mop is kind of a pain to use and I'm not sure it's better than other options.

I wanted to like it.

[4kiddies]

Okay I LOVE the Shark Sonic Duo....Well worth the price.  If you are interested pm me and I can send you a link to where I review it. 

[Jaz]

I have used the Eureka Enviro Steam Mop to clean houses part time for the past two years. It's still going strong, I've never had a problem with it. It is so superior to regular mopping that I'll never go back! I bought it over the Shark, etc. because it steams at a higher temperature and has a bit more weight on the head (vs. the handle) which helps it do a better job cleaning, I think. :)

I had one and it didn't work very well on my tile. It seemed to push the dirt and dust around. I ended up with big clumps of dirt even when I swept the floors first.

[kitten18]

I have tile floors.

 

I bought a shark and I returned it. It left my floors streaky (I tried a bunch of tricks to get rid of the streaks) and it took about 3 times longer than my mop and bucket.

 

If you want to try one I would recommend Bed Bath and Beyond, they have a fantastic return policy.

[Amira]

I just got one last week and I LOVE it. Our entire house is white tile and it's truly awful to keep clean. I am constantly mopping and the steam mop makes it so much easier and faster. I also like that it leaves the floor nearly dry because our tile is so slippery when it's wet. And it gets footprints off the floor much better than my teenagers' sorry mopping attempts did.

 

Sometimes it looks streaky as I'm mopping in the right light, but it goes away quickly for me. I get the dirt clumping thing when I use a lot of steam in one spot and the mop gets too wet, but after moving it a bit it dries out and the dirt sticks to the cloth.

 

I got a Shark, but that's because it was the only steam mop that shipped in a box small enough for me to ship it here and they're not easy to find in Mexico.

[shanvan]

I have tile floors.

 

I bought a shark and I returned it. It left my floors streaky (I tried a bunch of tricks to get rid of the streaks) and it took about 3 times longer than my mop and bucket.

 

If you want to try one I would recommend Bed Bath and Beyond, they have a fantastic return policy.

This was my experience too.  Dc & Dh told me over and over that it wasn't actually getting the floors clean.  I knew they were right, but I really wanted to believe it was working.  If you think about it, though, it has a pad that absorbs the moisture and dirt and once that pad is full it has to be changed.  Unless you have an unlimited amount of pads, you are going to end up with one that is saturated and pushing dirt around.  Oh, and I had the streaks too.

[Brilliant]

... The steam mop is kind of a pain to use and I'm not sure it's better than other options.

I wanted to like it.

Me, too. I bought one after seeing a discussion here last year, and then returned it after a couple of uses.

[Miss Mousie]

I just had to say - I misread the title as "any recommendations on a step mom?"

 

More coffee, more coffee ...

[extendedforecast]

I have used the Eureka Enviro Steam Mop to clean houses part time for the past two years. It's still going strong, I've never had a problem with it. It is so superior to regular mopping that I'll never go back! I bought it over the Shark, etc. because it steams at a higher temperature and has a bit more weight on the head (vs. the handle) which helps it do a better job cleaning, I think. :)

This is the mop I have. I have no complaints and the only thing I would recommend is getting more cleaning pads. Because I change them out frequently, only being able to mop one to two rooms at a time is frustrating for me because I have a whole day dedicated to floors in my schedule. What I've done to compensate until I order more is use the steam mop for the bathrooms only and use a regular mop with water and ammonia for the living areas and kitchen. My other suggestion, though it's not required, is to use distilled water. I tend to get streaks when I use tap or bottled water.

[Suzanne115]

I have a Haan steam mop and I love it.  I use it on tile floors.  I love how clean it makes them look and feel.  I also love that I don't have to use chemicals with it.  I use it every now and then on laminate floors, but I wouldn't recommend using it on them very often.

 

Suzanne

[Guest]

I have a shark. I go against the instructions and get the cloth/head damp first. This has eliminated streaking for me and cleans the floor better. I bought about four of the cloths and change them out as they get dirty. (My entire downstairs is tile.) My last cloth is pretty white when I'm done. Maybe overkill but it works for me. My ONLY complaint is that it doesn't clean grout, and that's a whole 'nother issue.

[Samiam]

What I am not understanding...these are reusable cloth pads right?  So you have to wash them after use, when they are all gross and nasty?  So do you run a whole wash cycle with that dirty cloth pad, or do you wash it with other things?  That's a major hurdle my mind can't wrap around.

[Cosmos]

What I am not understanding...these are reusable cloth pads right?  So you have to wash them after use, when they are all gross and nasty?  So do you run a whole wash cycle with that dirty cloth pad, or do you wash it with other things?  That's a major hurdle my mind can't wrap around.

 

I wash them with my whites -- hot water and bleach. Same as all my cleaning rags. Mine aren't really very gross, though. After I mop, the cloths are only a very light gray at most.

 

That's what I'm not getting. Everyone says how clean the steam mop gets their floors, but it just doesn't seem to get the ground-in dirt for me. If I rub on the floor with a damp paper towel after steam-mopping, the paper towel looks grimy. :confused1:

[trinchick]

I love love love my Shark for my tile floors in the kitchen and entry way. Like a PP, I find that they work best when the pads are a bit damp. I also hold a spray bottle of vinegar while I mop. If I come to any spots that don't come right up, I shoot them with vinegar, wait a few seconds, and then run it over with the Shark. Works great.

 

I also had a heavily soiled area in our entry hall (textured tile where the dirt gets stuck in the crevices). Using the Shark alone did nothing to clean the tiles there. I coated the tiles with Scrubbing Bubbles and waited five minutes then went over them with the steam mop. Looks soooo much better. Not as good as if I'd gotten down on my hands and knees and used the Mr Clean Magic Eraser - there were still a few dirt marks in the deepest of the crevices, but completely acceptable to me, especially considering the substantially less effort that went into the project.

[athomeontheprairie]

I had a shark. I loved it until it stopped working. I just bought this:

http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html#70319

 

I found it on sale at many places for 35. until the end of December they are have a $15 rebate on the website.

[mrsduenes06]

Thanks for the suggestions/thoughts - I didn't know about the Eureka mop, and am going to throw it into my consideration. My husband thinks it's a "wait" item, so I'm going to give it a little thought, but if I had the money I think I would have gotten it yesterday. I am not convinced yet that it sanitizes the floors better, because most steam mops say they work "with 15 seconds of exposure" which makes it sound like I'd have to stand there for awhile steaming, which is not what I want to do, but it certainly makes it feel easier to clean the floors . . ,

[katilac]

That's the kind I have too. It seemed to have really great reviews, and it certainly is very easy and convenient to use. I'm just not sure it actually cleans very well. I think of the steam mop as "in between cleaning" but to really get my floor clean, I still need to get out a bucket and scrub it on my hands and knees.

 

Maybe we are just extra hard on our floors or something. They are all wood, except vinyl in the bathroom and laundry room. I use the steam mop on all of them.

 

I know those are all English words, but I cannot comprehend that sentence  :tongue_smilie:

[extendedforecast]

I know those are all English words, but I cannot comprehend that sentence :tongue_smilie:

I have a hunch that you can but you choose not to. :P

[diplomum]

Amara, do you use/charge your mop on a transformer? Any issues? I'm going to go *gasp* housekeeper free at our next post. I really want a steam mop!

[Amira]

Amara, do you use/charge your mop on a transformer? Any issues? I'm going to go *gasp* housekeeper free at our next post. I really want a steam mop!

One of the many great things about Mexico is that you don't need transformers since the electricity and outlets are the same as the US. I definitely plan to keep using it no matter where we are, because it seems like something that would be okay on a transformer.

 

I feel like an alien among certain friends here for not having a housekeeper ;)

[ktgrok]

Ok, to clarify, it cleans better than say, a swiffer wet, or a sponge mop. It does not clean as well as scrubbing on hands and knees. But, as I am never ever ever going to do that, it does fine. It also leaves them feeling really clean, no sticky residue from cleaners.