hallo
i’ve seen on here that a few of you swear by steam cleaners, and i thought the ideal cleaner would be a hand-held model which converted into an upright mop-type cleaner - turns out they exist! (i’ll never make it onto dragons’ den )

so, dh has seen one advertised on tv, the H2O X5 by Thane Direct which seems all-singing, all-dancing, but it’s quite expensive - £100ish - and he wants me to get one, but i just wondered if anyone had any advice? my tiled floors don’t get cleaned anywhere near as often as i’d like cos i hate the hassle of getting the buckets out, having soggy mop heads around drying for ages and the floor being wet for ages (poor excuses i know, i’m just housework-shy!).
also, we have really hard water and i wonder how well a steam cleaner works on limescaley taps, sinks, and shower cubicles?

can you tell my thoughts are turning towards spring cleaning?! 
any input gratefully received
x

Initially it will be hard work if your taps, sinks and shower cubicle are very limescaled, but after that the steam cleaner will make it nice and easy.  Do remember tho, the steamer just steams, it doesn’t clean unless it has cloths on the end of the attachements to pick up the steam and dirt… so you will need clothes to wipe up as you go.

For the price though I would go for a well known name.  I have a Karacher steamer, this one in fact:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Karcher-SC1020-Steam-Cleaner-KARSC1020/dp/B003Q8V64W/ref=pd_cp_kh_0  although I paid a bit less than this.  Honestly if you’re prepared to spend that sort of money I’d go for the Karacher, it is a very good system.  It doesn’t come with window cleaner you can buy it seperately, but honestly I’e not bothered, I used the small brush with a cloth over it, steam the windows with that, and then use a window blade to wipe the water away (like window cleaners use) which leaves my windows streak free.  You buy extra of the small brushes which are great for cleaning ovens etc.  The instructions tell you not to clean the oven with it etc, but that’s because is you use the steamer near the seals on the door you can damage them. 

Oh and your floors will still be damp after steaming, but should dry quickly.. if you are getting lots of water then you’ve held onto the steam button for too long.

I love mine, it makes life so much easier.  My only criticism of the Karacher is I wish it had a retracting power cord.  Oh and I have hard water too, to stop the valve from getting scaled up I wipe it with a little cooking oil now and again, otherwise it can get quit difficult to put the valve back on after filling up.

Jx

Hi Joxy,

I am looking into these steam cleaners too, and I am just wondering if it is worth it to buy the next model up which has two tanks so that one tank heats up while you are using the other tank. It means continuous cleaning, instead of having to wait for the one tank to heat up after refilling.

How long do you find that your tank lasts, on average? I read somewhere that a 1.2L tank lasts about 25 minutes, but the 1020 model (like yours) has a 1L tank I believe. Do you find that you have to refill the tank quite often while you are cleaning?

Therese

I’d say it depends on the size of your home.  I have small home and the tank I have allows me to steam the:

Hob
kitchen cupboards
Kitchen sink and drainer
kitchen floor
lounge floor
windows
leather sofa (amazing how muc dirt comes off it, makes me feel really scrummy at times!)

and usually the tank still has water in it.  But it does depend on how dirty thing are and how much steam power I need (i.e. how often I need to press te steam button)

The other thing you might need to bare in mind is you cannot refill the karacher immediately because of the safety valve.  It is there to prevent the user getting a face full of hot pressurised steam, and will only release once the pressure has gone down sufficiently.  Heating up wise, it doesn’t take long, I usually pop mine on to be heating up while I sweep the floors ready for steaming.

I bought extra cloths for mine, but seriously there’s no need, old terries or and towels work just as well, and for the smaller brush attachment I just use an elastic band to hold the towel in place.
For the very small nozzle I usually put a brush on it, and then scrub with it (usually the hob or oven) and then just wipe over with a cloth.  I do use a lot of cloths, so it’s handy to start keeping old t’towels, hand towels etc.

Excellent advice! Thank you:-)
It sounds like a single tank should be fine. After cleaning everything you listed it would probably be time for a tea break anyway:-D
Now I know what I’ll put on my birthday wish list.

Therese - 03 March 2012 01:27 PM

After cleaning everything you listed it would probably be time for a tea break anyway:-D

After?! Before, during….. it’s no wonder i never get on top of my housework!

Joxy - thankyou - a mine of information! my limescale isn’t so bad that it’s crusted on, just get watermarks really quickly, the shower cubicle is the worst, glass looks nice for about 5 minutes after cleaning.

i had a look on MSE forums too, and they all seem to have their favourites - i had no idea there were so many of these things, i’m hopeless at making a decision when it comes to spending money!
the main reasons i wanted one are - limited storage space for wet buckets and mops, quick and easy cleaning without the use of substances (i tend to use bicarb and vinegar for most things but never feel that’s ‘deep’ clean iykwim) and because i thought it would ‘freshen’ up my wool carpets - am i on the right track with a steam cleaner?

also, we have ordinary wooden floorboards in two rooms, one painted and varnished, the other osmo’d - does that count as sealed wood?

thank you loads!
x

Ooh hun I don’t think you can use a steam cleaner with wool carperts.. it might shrink them, the steam is incredibly hot… not sure but you might end up with felted carpets!
I’m not sure if your floors are sealed.  If there’s no cracks or anything I think it should be ok.

haha, i’ve been wanting to learn how to felt! was thinking of starting smaller though!

x