Clean Home Steam Mop

Review by Sara Collins Carlson : So awesome to clean up after a toddler!

I love this machine! It is so worth it! We just moved recently and we have sealed hardwood floors on the whole main level of our house so it has been a challenge to try to keep clean with my 21 month old running around and throwing food! My swiffer wasn't keeping the floors clean enough (and I am not a "neat freak" but just like decently clean floors)so I went looking for something better to clean the floors with and after much research I found this one. It is hard to find this product online or in the stores as it is so popular. It is easy to manueuver, lightweight as I am petite and easy to pull out for a quick clean up after meals. I like that it is chemical free and it is uses only tap water. However, I do use distilled water with it and it seems to work just fine. It really doesn't use that much water to clean/steam. I like that it also can sweep or steam seperately or at the same time.

Review by M. Nance : Works but may not give you what you're looking for

I HATE MOPPING. Mopping is definitely my least favorite job. It really isn't all that much trouble to sweep the floor, then grab a mop, run some hot water into the sink and mop the floor; however, I just hate doing it. So when I saw this, I thought this would be a device that would take all that work and put it into one unit and everything would just be gravy. Not so much. First off, it does work. It does everything that it says it will do, and I suppose does it well, but there are some things I wish I had known before buying it. 1. The unit has a sweeper (not a vacuum, but a sweeper). If you've got stuff on the floor (i.e. crumbs, dog hair, etc.) the unit will scoop it up and deposit it into a little tray, however, since there's no sucking action, it won't pick up everything so you may still need to do a traditional sweeping of the floor first. 2. You really can't use the sweeper and steamer features at the same time. The unit steams the floor and, although it dries quickly, still gets the pad all moist as well as the broom brushes. Before long you just have a mess of wet dirt and dog hair. You should first go over the floor with just the sweeper, then go back over the whole thing again with the steamer. Two steps instead of one. 3. It really starts to hurt your hand. It has a small tank to store water (distilled is recommended). Despite the size of the tank, it was enough water to cover about 600 square feet; however, I had to take several breaks throughout because my hand was cramping up. The handle shape coupled with having to keep the trigger pressed down while steaming really made it uncomfortable to use for more than a few minutes. 4. You can't steam in corners. Because of the head design with the sweeper out front and the steam pad behind you can't steam in corners. Unfortunately, the corners are usually where you have the most funk. 5. It streaks and leaves a dull finish. This is not a big deal for me, but I have seen other reviewers mention it and I did notice the same thing. If you're used to a nice Spic-N-Span shiny finish when you're done mopping, you're not going to get it from this (because it's just using water). Also, I would recommend you do some additional research if you have a waxed floor (like VCT). I would think the hot steam after several uses would melt that wax away. 6. The tank leaks. It was not bad while I was using it; however, during each break I had to take with the hand cramping issues, I noticed afterward that the tank was leaking water. Since you're cleaning the floor and it's just water, that doesn't seem like a big deal, but what it means in the grander sense is you can't store the unit with water in it. So, again, you have another step to fill it each time and then empty it when you're done instead of just leaving it ready to go for next time. 7. It comes with two removable/washable pads. These are pretty great. I haven't priced replacements yet, but I did read that another reviewer used a towel instead of the pads that worked. I will be trying that when the time comes. 8. It is not very maneuverable. On a big open space like a dining room it's fine, but it was difficult to use in the bathroom. To recap...it works. However, if you are wanting a spotlessly clean and shiny floor, first get out the unit, fill the water tank with distilled water, use the unit to sweep the floor, possibly stop to empty the small debris tray, start steaming the floor, take breaks to let your hand rest, wipe up the leaked water, continue steaming, take break, wipe up leaks, finish steaming, go over surface with towel to eliminate streaks, spot clean the corners, remove soiled pad and toss in dirty clothes pile, empty water tank and sweeper tray, store the unit, go back and mop the floor with polish if you want it to shine.

Review by Joanne "Gotta Eat, Gotta Cook" : This gave me more of what I was looking for

I wanted a hardfloor cleaning unit that vacuumed and steam cleaned, mostly for my kitchen. It was between this one or the "Shark Vac then Steam" unit (notice it is Vac THEN Steam--not Vac AND Steam); The Shark allowed only the vac OR the continuous steam to be used one at a time, I didn't like that. The Bissell allows me to vacuum some debris on my kitchen floor but if I see something stuck on the floor as I'm vacuuming, I can pull the trigger for a quick burst of hot steam when I need it on the spot, literally and figuratively, to clean it off with steam--and then continue dry sweeping only if I choose. (The brushes continue spinning for the vac even if I push the trigger for the steam, so I don't skip a beat. This 'perk' may sound minor until you're in the process of cleaning). Yet, if I do want to sweep and vacuum simultaneously, I can do that too. Some complain that the trigger hurts your finger, but that would be only if you are doing a very large area or do all your floors at one time perhaps. My LR and DR floors and hall are covered in many areas with rugs, so the exposed flooring isn't monumental even if I did get ambitious and decide to do all my floors at once. Therefore, the trigger isn't going to kill my finger. One other thing--I understand that the Shark water reservoir cannot be brought to sink for filling--you have to use a funnel and bring the water to the unit...I don't like that at all. So in short, with this unit, you can do both sweeping and steaming in one pass in half the time, OR do one task, one at a time; but with the Shark, you can ONLY do one at a time...to me that was a big disadvantage. I use the vac more often than the steam b/c the kitchen floor always catches debris daily. If however you want a thorough steaming daily b/c of crawling babies on the floor, you may want a DEDICATED steamer only--they give off hotter steam and sanitize instantaneously. Dual units (like Shark and this one) take 15 secs on one spot to sanitize; read the fine print carefully if sanitizing is your main objective!. This one vacuums really well, I have heard many complaints on the shark that the steam is ok but the suction is bad for sweeping. I like this unit very much for my overall needs. The only thing that would improve it is, even tho' the cord is ample, it would be easier to use w/o a cord--when they invent that, I'll be first on line.

Review by Domestic Slacker : So Far, So GREAT!

I have been researching mops, steam mops, wood floor sweepers, etc. for about two months. I have read every pro and con of pretty much everything out there. I have a ton of wood floor and tile in my house and I absolutely cannot stand to clean it. I hate sweeping the wood floor, I hate the debris that flies in the air, I hate bending over with the dust pan, I hate the sticky feeling my swiffer leaves behind, I just overall have hated my floors for 5 years because they never ever feel clean. I had a friend sing the praises of the Shark steam mop the other day, so I finally decided to break down and buy SOMETHING. I didn't even care if it did an excellent job, I just wanted something. But- my one qualification was that it be a combo steamer and sweeper. I just had to solve the sweeping issue at the same time. Which leaves you with pretty much the Bissell or the Shark. I looked at the Shark at Wal-mart and the bottom of it made me laugh. The vacuum hole is like 3 inches wide and has no brush or anything. I was not impressed with that. So I went to Target and picked up the Bissell. And now I want to marry it and become Mrs. Bissell because it is so fantastic. A few things about this machine you might want to know: It has an awesome, LONG strong cord. It has a really cool "dyson-like" ball joint that makes it super easy to manuever. The steam works great, the water tank looks tiny, but it lasts a really long time, it comes with two pads that are thick and strong, it lays completely flat when going under furniture, it fits under the counters in the kitchen, it doesn't leave very much water on the floor (I read other complaints of other manchines that leave a ton of water), it dries really fast, it heats up and is ready in 15 seconds or less, it has a clear compartment on top so you can see what debris it is picking up. One caveat- the suction is not super strong, but then again I like my vacuums to sound like a jet engine and suck my skin off if they had the chance, so maybe I am picky. But the brush feature does pick up a lot of stuff. And having the cleaning pad right behind it helps to trap stuff too. So for instance it picked up small leaves, not a band-aid wrapper. It picked up cracker crumbs and bugs, but not a tag to a shirt. The machine is meant to be used with the vacuum and the steamer going simultaneously to save time, however, I like to use just the vacuum and dry cloth to dust mop/vacuum my floors and then activate the steam and do it seperately. But I did use it together and it did okay. Another nice feature is that it is a light and easy machine so you really enjoy using it and don't feel like you are lugging out a Volkswagen to do your chores. I have had it two days and I have been using the vacuum constantly. I love that thing! And once you do an initial clean- the follow-up cleanings are a snap! I finally feel like my floors are clean. It has changed my whole feeling about my house. As far as anything I don't like, you do have to squeeze a trigger for when you want steam and if you are steaming your whole floor then your finger hurts by the end and that is a little annoying. It does also take some upmh! to push it when you are steam cleaning at first. I am sure it gets easier as the floor is cleaner :) Anyway, this machine is one of the best purchases I have made in a long time. I highly recommend it!

Review by Paul B. : Steam good, vacuum...not so much

After careful reading thru the reviews on various steamers, I had made up my mind that the Bissell was much better quality than the Shark. When I went to my local Target to buy the steamer, I noticed this Steam and Sweep next to it. I hemmed and hawed between which to get. I have all hardwood floors and linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom. I already have 3 vacuum cleaners: an old Electrolux by parents gave me that works great, a Dirt Devil power broom and a Roomba Discovery which has worked superbly for 5 years now. With a $30~ish price difference, I thought I would go with this product.First, a bit about my home: I have 3 short haired cats and on occasion, they dump their wet food bits on the floor, throw up, etc...the usual pet fun. Its just me and sometimes I track the great outdoors into the kitchen. My real battle is with the pet hair. The Roomba does a great job getting a majority of it. The Power Broom merely has a single 2 inch intake and pushes more dirt than vacuum...despite having the loudest motor I have ever heard. It also blasts so much air out the side that everything you wanted to vacuum is now airborne.I used to use the Swiffer but all that did was leave the floor sticky, stinking and just pushes clumps of now-wet-and-sticky-cat hair wads around.So what i was hoping for was something that could pick up the pet hair, dry cat food crumbs, debris and steam clean the floor.I got about 75% of that.The machine itself is quick to put together and setup. You have a ton of cord available, so I was able to get everywhere without wondering when I would run out. It takes about 45 seconds for the little light to come on that steam is ready.The brushes, to their credit, spin fine...if there was just more suction power, it would be perfect. I kept running over the same dry cat food crumb hoping the machine would suck it up. It didn't, so I wound up using the Electrolux to vacuum the floor free of crumbs, debris and pet hair.The steam worked very, very nicely. You really have to tug the trigger back all the way, then you hear the sizzle and hissing of it working.If you aren't too concerned about the vacuum being on the low side and more about the steamer, its a great product. I just cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors and seeing steam rise from the floors assures me they are deep down clean.The vacuum empties into a little tray, not a canister...its about as powerful as the Swiffer vacuum, now that I think about it.If the vacuum has some real power, it would be a 5 star review. However with the steamer and swivel head working so well and setup/cleanup being a breeze, I gave it 4.For me and my pets, its not a bad product. I can live with the vacuum being what it is. For those wishing to use this chasing kids and other messes around, read the other reviews..

Review by Mercedes L. Johnmeyer "The Most Happy" : Almost Perfect...

I bought a steamer about a year ago for our old house which had tons of tile. I bought the Eureka Enviro and, while I really liked it, it wasn't quite what I needed for the new house we just moved into. My kitchen here is a very high traffic area and has two doors in it...one to the garage, one to the back porch. This produces lots of dirt/sand, leaves, and whatever else to collect on the floor. I have a shark sweeper that I use to pick up dirt, then my Swiffer to clean the floors (which still manage to feel dirty afterwards). Well, I recently saw the commercial for this product and when I saw it was a sweeper AND a steamer, I knew I needed to own it. I went to Target that very day and bought one. Now, after using it a bunch of times, I must say I absolutely love this little guy. It's so small and light, and it does a GREAT job steaming the floors. Scuff marks that have been there since we moved in were gone in just a couple passes. So...why 4 stars you ask? Well, the are only two small issues I have with this which is keeping me from giving 5 stars. They're not a huge deal to me, but they may be to someone else. The main problem I have is that you have to hold the trigger down the entire time your steaming. I read this in the previous review and thought 'Awwww, that's no so bad. How hard can it be?'...yeeeeah, it really does start to get a bit bothersome by the end of cleaning. That little trigger is kind of tough to keep held in, especially if you're cleaning a large area! The second issue is...once you start steaming, even if you let go of the trigger to stop the steam, the pad is still wet (obviously), which means if you run it backward (pulling the machine towards you) over a dry section of floor that hasn't yet been vacuumed, then the dirt will just stick to the floor or get pushed around instead of getting sucked up into the sweeper cause it's now wet...make sense? So, that said, I recommend using the sweeper setting FIRST on the entire area you wish to clean, THEN go ahead and steam it. Overall though, this is a GREAT steam/sweeper for the price (which happens to be cheaper at both Walmart and Target). I still use my shark sweeper everyday for quick cleanups, but I am so glad that when I do go to steam my floors, I have the vacuum option up front to pick up little bits of dirt before I start steaming. OH...and do NOT be fooled by the small little water tank that's on this thing, it actually steams quite a large area. I filled it up and steamed my whole kitchen, dinning room, and foyer...only used HALF the water in the tank! So that's not an issue at all. Anyway, I absolutely recommend this if you're interested and it's definitely been a fabulous addition to my cleaning arsenal!.

Review by L. Thomas "Mendin' Fences" : Very good cleaner for laminate - vacuum only so-so

Like several others, I also did a tremendous amount of research. A good friend steered me away from the Shark cleaner so I concentrated on other brands. The Bissell started standing out. My plan was to get the version without the sweeper but Kohl's (I had a discount coupon that made it about the same as Amazon price and I could have it the same day) only had the sweeper one in stock. Bottom line: Steam worked VERY well cleaning my laminate floors. NO streaking and not too much water!!! The trigger function was easily overcome by wrapping a strong rubber band around the trigger and handle. Now, it steams all the time. (I see no need to not be steaming.) The vacuum portion is really not helpful as it does not pick up much -- just not enough suction. I tried cleaning with it and without. I believe that using it simultaneously probably helps pick up any of the lint/pet hair/dust that can accumulate but I'm not positive of that. I considered returning it and exchanging for the steam-only version but I didn't know if that version would steam as well and, for the price and hassle, figured it was worth to just keep. A few words about laminate floors ... in the past, I've been concerned with steam cleaners that were clearly going to put too much water into the process. This is the first cleaner that I felt confident would clean and not potentially damage the floors. I did a "deep cleaning" the first time out -- meaning I cleaned the floors about 3 times before I felt I had really gotten old gunk off (had used special floor cleaner for laminate floors and microfiber stick mops) as well as the wood stove dust, etc. Excellent job! The best part is no streaking, no streaking, no streaking. Other floors ... I used this on tiles in the bathroom and mud room. Very good job there!! The swivel head does work well in most areas but, of course, there are going to be inevitable tight spots where it can't just slide into. The pads: Two came with it. I will likely order more just for convenience but the first times around, I just rinsed them out really well by hand and let air dry a little and then put them back in use. After all, they were going to be "wet" again from the steam. Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. Easy machine to put together and steams well. As another person said, if the vacuum really had any decent suction, it would be the perfect cleaner..