Steam Mop.....yay or nay???

[lukenick1]

Are they really as good as they sound? Hardwood and ceramic tile floors here are looking to get cleaned!

 

[mhsjax]

Are they really as good as they sound? Hardwood and ceramic tile floors here are looking to get cleaned!

I can't give an opinion on hard wood, I have heard it both ways. I have quite a bit of tile and I love them. I hate waling on a floor that has just been mopped and the sticky feeling it leaves. With a steamer it just feels smooth and clean. It is so easy to use.

 

[mrsheppo]

I have a Shark steam mop. I love it. I use it on my laminate floors. I had used a Swiffer Wet Jet previously and all that did was leave build up on the floor. The steam mop cleans so well and no residue.

 

[Pakey]

My entire house is tile and I have a Whitewing Steam cleaner. I love it. Not only for the way the tile feels but also because it has a grout attachment and it really pulls all of the filth out of the grout.

 

[We_Love_Disney]

Absolutely depends on the model you buy. I have the cheap-o one, and I wouldn't call the floor clean unless you stand there and allow the steam to permeate the area for at least 15 seconds. There is quite a bit of steam build up, reminds me of a steam room. But, it is easy to use, and I feel better about the floors, especially after the Christmas traffic in my house.

 

[managerdreamer]

I have the Shark Steam Mop and I LOVE it. Works great but when I see how gross my floors WoW I thought we were better than that. I like to use mine at least once a week it is easy to use and works so well why not! Good Luck.

 

[phillmolly]

I say "yea"! I have a shark steam mop and love it!! The only thing is I wish I would have gotten the steam mop/vac combo.

 

[Tinkmom75]

Yay love shark stem mop!

 

[HelenePA]

YAY! I got mine on black friday it does a wonderful job in my kitchen with 4 kids, dh, 3 cats and a dog... they get icky FAST! Takes me all of 3 minutes to do the entire floor...

 

[HsvTeacher]

My DH cleans the floors in our house, and when he mentioned wanting to buy a Shark steam mop, I was completely against it. I didn't think it would get the floor clean.

Now that we've had one for a month, it has to be the best purchase he's ever made! It takes no time at all to clean the floors, and they are dry almost immediately. He also likes being able to do quick clean-ups without dragging out a mop and bucket.

 

[Buckalew11]

That's it. I'm buying one!

 

[mickeyboat]

I got one for Christmas and used it on Christmas Day. I really like it so far.

 

[maslex]

I bought a Shark Steam Mop about 2-3 years ago and I liked it well enough, but it doesn't work anymore. I used to use it about once a week on my ceramic tile floors in my kitchen and bathroom. I went to use it last week, plugged it in and nothing. It doesn't work anymore So now I'm in the market of getting something else for my floors.

Actually I had just started a thread asking about floor scrubbers right before I read this thread. LOL I'm actually looking for one that has moving scrubbers instead of the steam.

But I will say that the Shark Steam Mop did work well when I did have it.

 

[Sammy]

I've also been looking at getting a steam mop, but what made you decide on the Shark vs. any other brand? And which Shark did you end up getting...I saw several different models when I researched them.

Any info would be appreciated!

 

[NMAmy]

Another vote for the steam mop. They're so easy to use which is really handy with everyone tracking snow in at this time of year.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I have to agree with the previous posters about the Shark!

And now, with a new puppy in the house, I will be using it more & more!

TC

 

[lukenick1]

I did some research after I posted and I am going to get the Eureka Envirosteamer. Seems to be the best rated one based on reviews. It's also cheaper than the shark mop. Has a longer cord, hotter steam, larger water tank and it swivels. Check out this review....

I live in a neighborhood where EVERY home is "green built certified" this means that, to have that certification, the builder built no homes with carpet. All the main floors are polished concrete and the upper floors wood. The bathrooms all have tile and/or slate in every home.

Because of this, as you could imagine, steam mops are quite the neccessity...not only because they get the hard surfaces better than anything else, but because they are also "green" and clean chemical free. I'll be honest, for us...that's a bonus but we weren't cleaning chemical free before. We like chemical free for our pet's paws but I'll confess I was mopping with chemicals before I got my steamer and just kept the pets out of the room while doing it because, up until then, I couldn't get it clean any other way.

Okay, so that said...we decided to have a steamer show down to compare 7 different steamers because my friends and I knew as long as we are in these homes we are gonna have to have a steamer to get all these hard floors clean...we may as well figure out which one to buy next go round. Because my own home is graced with 2 cats, 3 dogs, and two gregarious cooks, my kitchen floor (which had not ever been cleaned by a steamer since my steamer had just arrived) was the testing spot.

Mind you, I vaccuum twice per week and do a mega mop twice a week. I THOUGHT I had pretty clean floors in spite of my pet capacity.

I thought wrong. These picked up dirt so well it's scary

So here's the results:

1. steam mops are the mac daddys of clean floors. What these things picked up was tremendous and no comparison to my vigorous prior constant major mopping.

2. So now I'll break down the elements of each mop we used and then go into more detail about each at the end.

We tried out:
"S": The shark by Europro
"E" The Envirosteamer by Eureka
"H" the haan steamer
"M" the Monster
"B" The Bissell Green Tea
"SF" The SteamFast SF-140 by SteamFast
"SB" The SteamBoy T1

CORD LENGTH: so you don't have to stop and unplug and replug in somewhere else:
Shark ( will be referred to as S):20 feet
Envirosteamer (will be referred to as E): 25 feet *Note* The Envirosteamer has a clip at the top of the handle to keep the cord out of the way. When it's plugged in and you need more cord length, a light tug undoes this cord on the clip so that you have the full 25' of cord. Otherwise it's only around 20 feet. It's made to do this.
Haan: (will be referred to as H)19'8"
Monster (will be referred to as M): 25 feet
Bissell (will be referred to as B) 17 feet
SteamFast (will be referred to as SF): 18.7 ft.
SteamBoy (will be referred to as SB): 16 ft.

STEAM TEMPERATURE: this is a primary element. The hotter the steam, the more dirt picked up and hot steam will also kill parasites, mold and mildew and loosen more dirt:
S 110 degrees. lame
E 220 degrees. very hot
H 212 degrees. very hot
M 266 degrees. hottest...although the envirosteamer and haan seemed plenty hot enough. The shark didn't clean nearly as well and this was one reason. 110 degrees just isn't going to melt off stuck on grime.
B 125 degrees. Note that, because of this low steam temperature the manual said that if I wanted to sanitize the floor or pick up caked on spills, I had to hold the steamer on the spot for 15 seconds but no more than 20 because that could damage some floors. Now I don't know about you, but if I can sanitize with one swipe of the other steamers because of their sanitizing temps my floor will be done WAY faster but I don't have a timer to worry about the extra 5 secons where my wood floors could get damaged. My sink water is hotter than this so it would take less time to use a regular mop if I have to hold the steamer on every spot of my floor for 15 seconds to santize. Just sayin
SF: 137 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize.
SB: 120 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize

BUILD:
We found how it was made corresponded with issues with the steamer. The Shark, for example, was quite flimsy and they actually sell replacement handle kits because so many people have issues with the handle breaking! We know this because my neighbor's shark broke and the store had a replacement handle kit on the shelf because he said "it happens often". That's an extra cost.
Envirosteamer: Was 5.4 lbs which made it lightweight but strong enough that you didn't have to press down to clean. Very well made and strong parts
Haan: not made as well as the envirosteamer but it's more expensive so this was a surprise. A bit flimsy and you need to press down on it more to clean at 3.15 lbs.
Monster: hefty and well made at 9 lbs but a bit too heavy unless you want a good workout. (Note: They have changed the Monster handles on the mops now and they are all plastic and people are having breakage issues)
Bissell: It's 8.4 pounds but that includes a water filter that you have to get for this one (see notes below)
SteamFast: very flimsy plastic all over, but it's also more affordable than the other mops so it's a bit of a trade off. 7 lbs.
SteamBoy: They didn't even ship this preassembled like the other mops. We had to assemble it! Pretty flimsy plastic. 9 lbs but that includes the water filter you have to get with this one (see notes below)

WATER CAPACITY: Very important because having to stop and add more water just adds on to the time you have to spend cleaning, especially if you are cleaning a hallway or livingroom or some other area that has no sink:
S: only holds up to 10 oz of water. Lasted for 10 miinutes of cleaning
E: holds up to 20 oz. of water. Lasted for over 20 minutes of cleaning (we stopped at 20 and it was still going)
H: holds up to 11.83 oz of water. Lasted for 13 minutes of cleaning
M: holds up to 17 oz. of water. Lasted for 15 minutes of cleaning
B: holds up to 13 oz of water, lasted for 12.5 minutes of cleaning AND you have to undo and remove the tank from the machine every time you fill it up then hook it back on and the steam tank is on the handle rather than the base so the steam doesn't flow directly out after heating up which may explain why it's not as hot once it leaves the machine. The way this mop is made the water flows past heating elements which can, according to Bissell, develop calcium deposits on it so this is the only mop where, because of this, you also have to use a water filter with it and replace the water filter when there is build up which means and extra 12 bucks every few months. The better mops are made to heat the water in a metal tank so this is not an issue and you pour the water directly into the tank.
SF: Holds the least amount of water and I had to stop and fill up and get the water reheated often in trying to clean the floor. Only holds 8 oz of water and if you use 8 oz it gets your floor too wet so we wound up filling it with just up to 7.5 oz of water for best results and it only lasted 7 minutes when we did that before we had to refill again.
SB: up to 24 oz BUT it only lasted for 12 minutes of cleaning. I think because of the build. This one also is made so that the water has to flow past heating elements down the handle, rather than flowing directly from a hot tank to the floor at the base. Because of this it can develop calcium deposits inside the mop so you have to also buy a water filter for this mop and replace it every few months when there is build up which means extra cost and, quite possibly, more repairs. Because this does not flow directly out of a hot tank it cools on the way down and possibly with this one evaporates somehow because we tried it twice and the steam simply didn't last as long as it should.

STEAM HOLES: We found a difference although you'd think they'd all be the same. The shark only had one hole that the steam came out of so it wasn't cleaning things on the edges, just in one spot. All the others had steam coming from bottom and sides. Steamboy also didn't have holes near the edge

SIZE: The taller it is the less stooping, the wider the mop head, the more it covers
S: 40"Hx12"Wx7"D
E: 50"Hx13.25"Wx6.75"D (the fact that this depth was smaller made it reach under applicances better...it fit better under things)
H: 50.5x11.5x7.5
M: 48x12.7.5
B: 45.25H (this was uncomfortably short) x11 x8.4 (even though this didn't fit under cabinets because of the depth it did swivel the best)
SF:49x11.8x7
SB: 28.2x6.9x7.9

Conclusion of comparison: First it must be pointed out that, in order to use the shark and the Bissell and the SteamBoy, you had to keep pumping the water. This was the most annoying feature of anything...the others just steamed on their own and didn't wear out your fingers. Hated this feature of the shark and Bissell and SteamBoy. We liked that the Monster, the Shark, the Envirosteamer, the SteamFast and the Bissell came with 2 cleaning pads rather than one. The Haan only came with one at the time of the review (I double checked since when she bought hers it was also only one and as of today, that hasn't changed) so that ups the price even more because I can't imagine only wanting one to clean. All worked well on sanitizing mattresses and showers. too.

But the winner picked by all of us unanimously as the mop we want to have for our next steam mop order?
The Eureka Envirosteamer. It picked up the most dirt, was made as well as the Monster but was less expensive, held the most water, emitted the most very hot steam so it sanitized as well, lasted 3 times as long with one water resevor fillup as the others, and had a cord as long as the monster. BUT if you have carpets than I would recommend the Monster because it has a carpet attachment that allows you to steam clean your carpets and it picked up pretty close to the same amount of dirt as the Eureka Envirosteamer, and had close to the same features...a bit heavier though but that may make it last even longer. It is costlier, but to clean 2 surfaces I would think that might make it worth it.

UPDATE: The Haan just started including 2 pads with the mop according to the product description page. Not that this changes our opinion since it didn't work as well and the parts were flimsier, but it should be noted that this issue of not having enough cleaning pads has now been resolved and is equal to the other mops.

ANOTHER UPDATE: 1. The Shark came out with a new machine that holds more water and has a longer cord BUT it still only heats the water to 110 degrees so it won't sanitize or get rid of trapped grime at this "bathwater" temperature.

Another update: Since this review, we tried out canister mops. They work great for tight areas, but not on floor cleaning because the steam has to travel from the canister, down a long tube, then out the base so the steam is even cooler than the shark by the time it reaches the floor, even on the most expensive models. However, if you are looking at something just to steam tight areas like grout, and don't need it for your floor, the Vapamore performed the best out of the canister mops we played with when using the short cords for cleaning so the steam left the tank hot.

Also: Don't spend money buying extra pads for the Eureka. I was in a pinch and used a kitchen dish towel...the rectangular kind...just clip on both ends. It worked just as good or better...because they are thinner so the steam penetrates faster and therefore reaches the floor hotter. However, I would recommend still only using the thick pads that come with it for your wood floors just to be safe. But the super hot steam penetrating the dish towel worked excellent on tile and hard floors. Also, you can flip both the towel and the pads that come with it on the Eureka to double the usage...when it gets dirty, just flip it over and use the other side. I use several old dish towels with this but I like best the kind that just have a bit of texture but no squares sewn on them...but they all work great. So do the pads.

 

[emma'smom]

We have a Bissell and I've loved it for a few years. I clean all my tile with it. It's the only mop I use and it does get it clean and they stay clean longer because there isn't any chemical residue to attract dirt.

As for hardwood, I usually don't use it on the hardwood because I'm afraid of damaging it. It's unfounded danger...not because of experience. I just never think its smart to mix water/wood regularly.

However, I have used it on the hardwood to get up sticky messes (ie. crayons, popsicle drippings, and even that waxy stuff around baby bel cheese that dd5 managed to grind into it once)....

 

[Mommee]

That review is quite old and is evaluating older shark steam mops. We bought the Eureka one based on that review and it was the biggest waste of money ever. For one, it was really heavy and awkward to use. It also took forever to heat up. And then it quit working after about 10 uses!

This time I bought the newest shark steam mop with the swivel head that lets you use both sides of the pad. The whole family loves to mop with it It's light, heats up in seconds, and holds plenty of water.

 

[lukenick1]

That review is quite old and is evaluating older shark steam mops. We bought the Eureka one based on that review and it was the biggest waste of money ever. For one, it was really heavy and awkward to use. It also took forever to heat up. And then it quit working after about 10 uses!

This time I bought the newest shark steam mop with the swivel head that lets you use both sides of the pad. The whole family loves to mop with it It's light, heats up in seconds, and holds plenty of water.

How hot does it heat the water???? If it's not hotter than my tap water what's the point of a steam mop?