That's a great price for that unit! Isn't Costco wonderful? The canister units like the Wagner are more versatile than the steam mops. Happy cleaning!

Yes, I LOVE Costco! I really am happy with this unit, and especially the $54 price! I guess we'll see how it does for the long haul.

So far, the only thing I would fault with it is I would like to see a medium size brush for the unit. I may have a work-around for that...if I am correct about it, I'll come back and post my idea in a few days for anyone who is interested.

Thanks for the review! I have been going back and forth about purchasing a steam cleaner. I just can't decide on the wagner or the shark. I guess the only thing that the shark has that the wagner doesn't have is the cloth attachments. How do you clean with the wagner? Do you hold the steamer with one hand and then wipe the mess up with a cloth in the other hand?

Thanks!
Necia

Hi Necia,

The floor attachment has large clips on the side of the head which hold cloths. At first I used strips of old towels. Yesterday I bought a bag of microfiber cloths at Costco that I'm going to try to incorporate.

I mentioned that the Wagner unit does not come with a medium size brush for some reason. I discovered that the McCulloh 1275 steamer parts fit this unit perfectly. I purchased two medium size triangle-shaped brushes. When using those, I have simply placed a cloth under the brush and steamed along. I haven't seen exactly how other brands accomplish this.

This is an old thread, but I wanted to say thanks for all the advice. This was very helpful (along with the other steamer threads on GardenWeb) as I researched which steam cleaner to buy.

I decided to get a Wagner 915 canister steam cleaner. I like it a lot! Mine was about $90 from Amazon; I was too impatient to wait for a sale or find a friend with a Costco membership.

I bought the steamer to clean mildewed grout without chemicals (I can't tolerate bleach or Tilex). It's not a miracle cure - it doesn't remove the dark stains on my white grout - but it DOES kill the mildew.

I've also used it to clean decades of horrible gunk from around my sink (that alone was worth the purchase price), sterilize cupboards after removing a pantry moth infestation (the moths had been hiding in the cracks and repeatedly coming back), and to "soften" the mildewed paint that I'm scraping from my bathroom walls. I haven't tried cleaning floors yet. I've just used the "short nozzle" with the little round brush, which is already wearing out.

Much as I like this steamer, it's definitely a "starter" machine. If I had lots of cleaning to do (for example, if I was a professional housecleaner or an apartment custodian), I'd spring for an expensive high-end steamer with a level indicator, continuous fill, variable settings, and true (dry) vapor.

Tips I've learned:

- Wear heavy gloves! I keep forgetting to point the nozzle AWAY from my other hand when I'm scrubbing grout or mopping up liquid. My old leather gardening gloves have saved me from burns several times.

- I wear safety glasses, just in case I bump the handle when the nozzle is pointing at my face. That's probably overkill, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. (I once got a 2nd degree burn from boiling coffee, so I'm kinda paranoid about burns.)

- Have lots of rags for mopping up. The steam is really watery (it's not pure vapor, until the reservoir is almost empty). You don't need fancy pads; dollar-store microfiber towels are fine, as are old bath towels, diapers, or t-shirts.

- Keep checking the indicator lights. It becomes "unready" very quickly (the red light comes on after a few seconds of steam use), especially when the reservoir is full. The instant the steam peters out when the indicator lights say ready (i.e., green is on, red is out), TURN THE MACHINE OFF! It's empty, and you have to wait 20-30 minutes before you can open and refill it. I found a helpful table of how long the water should last, depending on what you're doing:
2 cups (16 oz) = 15 minutes of steam
3 cups (32 oz) = 30 minutes of steam
4 cups (48 oz) = 45 minutes of steam