I also read the reviews on Amazon and the ones Booby mentions get the best reviews. I am kind of opposed to Swiffer because they lock you into buying their overpriced refill products. Some of the better rated products are no more than the Shark.

so dcarch, what is the answer for our homes, not commercially cleaned? What do you do? Do you have a light? Or do you use chemicals? Which ones do you use? I use Lysol, but that's because the CDC uses it. That's what they spray down with when leaving a research area. At least, that's what I remember. I'm not as young as I used to be, so I could be remembering it incorrectly.

I don't like moving around dirt or adding germs, so relieve my tired puny mind and point me in a direction! I would love to do what needs to be done. Mostly, I just clean it in sections on my hands and knees. Seems best, but even then, it doesn't last for long.

:)

I want to be clear. A steam cleaner is a good appliance to have for cleaning, I just don't feel it is good for sanitizing.

However, I think it is a very good tool for minimizing dust mites, which is a bigger problem for most people. Dust mites can be killed at a lower temperature.

I don't believe in a germ free environment for most people, unless you have special conditions which require that.

I keep my kitchen clean, but not sterile. I sterilize my entire kitchen if I have to invite friends, because I want to make sure that I am not responsible for anything.

I have a 55 watt germicidal lamp that I turn on for a few hours after cleaning the kitchen. (with no one in the kitchen).

You can easily make your own UV germicide lamp. Go buy an (used) aquarium light fixture that uses power compact HO fluorescent bulbs. Find germicidal bulbs that would fit the aquarium light fixture. The UV bulbs will last 20,000 hours.

dcarch

Just a warning for everyone to stay out of my house. It has never been sterile even for one second. Clean, yes, sterile, no.

I'm with ya' Pam!

Eahdhl, I think they are all good, but I personally like the Slim and Light model because it is more maneuverable.

I don't think every surface of a home is supposed to be sanitary.... dishes and silverware yes.... but do I really care if the inside of my toilet bowl or trash can or floors are germ free? Not at all! You do have to go slow for any germ killing to take place.... there was vacuum that was made a few years ago called the Halo (later bought by Oreck) and they had a germ killing UV light on the bottom.... but it was found out that you'd have to hold the vacuum in one spot for like 20 seconds to kill germs, and nobody vacuums that slow..... they were fragile too and broke easily, so the whole germ killing thing seems to be more of a sales gimmick than anything else....

Thanks vacuumfreak, I am thinking it looks easier to clean floors and mop & bucket more than sterilizing. I think BB&B has the slim & light and I have a coupon.

Bobby, I knew you would come through. I'd rather read your opinion than Carmen's, LOL.

Well, I am sold. On which brand is yet to be determined, however. I'm going to have to go look at several different models, then re-read all the reviews and opinions.

Not terribly concerned about "germ free". Personally, I think we all need to be exposed to a number of germs in order to build immunity. But I may just be nuts, too.

Thanks for all the input! It will come in handy!

Linda

I knew Bobby would chime in on this one! Thanks for your sharing your insight.

I used a Shark steam mop a few years ago but it left streaks and drops of water on my floors. Had a few "go arounds" with the nice Shark people and they sent me a new one. That also left drops of water and streaks. so I gave both of them away.

When I'm mopping, I'm looking to clean the floor, not sanitize it. And I'm not sure if you could sterilize a kitchen. Can you?

I'm going to take Bobby's advice and get a Haan. I do not believe you can sterilize a kitchen, and even if you did, you would track more germs by walking on it.

Thanks for this thread! I a bit challenged in the cleaning department.

Lars

Hmmm, I'm considering ordering a Haan too. Funny thing is that I first saw them in middle of the night infomercials when I was in intensive care several years ago, it's surprising how you watch anything when you can't sleep at three AM. I just remember thinking that they couldn't be as good as the infomercial promised. Of course I trust your reviews, and whatever Bobby says about floor equipment far more than I would trust an infomercial.

Anyone else just get one?

Lee

Not yet, but I am torn between the Eureka that Cathy linked to and the Haan Slim & Light.

I like the fact that with the Eureka you can use old towels instead of having to buy expensive pads.

But the Haan got rave reviews, too.

Hmmmm....which one to buy....WHICH ONE?

Linda

Well I got the Hann Slim & Light and tried it out on my wood kitchen floor. It was certainly easier than mop & bucket and fear of too much water. I didn't think it looked a lot different than white vinegar/H2O sponge job BUT I walked on it bare foot and it certainly felt different. Cleaner and smoother. I am pleased. FYI if you order from BB&B don't get the extra pads on their site, they are the wrong ones.

For today only, home.Woot! has a new Haan FS30 on sale for $45 with shipping.

Wooters posted that this is $99 at Amazon. Retired model.

(Today's T-shirt is funny too, it shows a tree that fell down, calling out to see if anyone heard it. Typical twisted Woot! humor)

Here is a link that might be useful: Woot!

Thanks, Jessy.

I went and read the reviews on Amazon and they were mostly good, so I just ordeed one.

Linda

I'm going to order one, too. I just wish it would magically arrive today because my kitchen floor is badly in need of a cleaning.

Thanks, Jessy.

The one at Woot was sold out when I checked there, and so I ordered this one from amazon today during my lunch break at home. I'm having it shipped to my work address, however. Kevin and I had looked at steam mops at BB&B, but they were more expensive and were not the right brand. I'm grateful to Bobby for his recommendation and to Linda and the rest for comments on this thread!

Lars

Lars, that slim & light model is the one I was going to get until Jessy found the geat deal on Woot.

Linda

Linda, you were lucky to get one on Woot, as they went very quickly. I felt okay with the price on the one I ordered, but I also ordered extra cleaning pads because reviewers on Amazon said that they needed to change the pads several times during one use. Afterwards, they washed and reused the pads, but they said it was handy to have several clean pads ready at once instead of waiting for one to get clean and/or dry.

I'm going to try to use mine on carpet stains to see if it has any effect. If not, I may soon get the the point that I am ready to get rid of the carpet in my bedroom. I dread having to move everything out, but that might be a good experience, and I might find some things.

Lars

Glad some were able to snag the woot! deal. Today they have a George Forman grill for $15 + $5 shipping.

What about for cleaning kitchen cabinets? Mine seem to have developed a layer of grime that doesn't come off. I don't want to ruin the finish, but this greasy grime is really bugging me, it makes the kitchen look tired. Are there steam cleaning models that will work for cabinets and moldings. I also can't seem to get my window molding and baseboards really clean anymore, they are painted. Same with some parts of the painted plaster walls. Water and a sponge and some spic and span just doesn't do it for all dirt.

Glad some were able to snag the woot! deal. Today they have a George Forman grill for $15 + $5 shipping.

Checking back to see if any of you who ordered a steam mop recently, Lars, Linda, Pam, have received it. Are you happy with it?

Since the red Haan went back up in price in the last week or so (from $87. to $94.) on Amazon and Haan has now introduced a red swivel head cleaner at $97. on Amazon, I don't know which is the better choice. Yes, I keep telling myself - just do it - it's not like ordering a car!

Do you think a swivel head is a big advantage or not?

Thanks,

Lee

Yes, I did receive the steam mop this week, and I plan to use it in the kitchen tomorrow and will let you know. I ordered extra pads for it and discovered after I received them that the two pink ones are for a different model, even though Amazon said that people normally order those together. The package of four blue ones is the correct model number, but if you choose to order extra pads, make sure that they are the correct ones. I think I will be able to use the wrong ones that I got, but the velcro does not line up properly, and the overhang quite a bit. They were only $11 and allowed me to get free shipping for the pads and so may have been worth it, although I could have ordered more of the correct ones.

I'll make a point to post tomorrow and let you know how the mop operates, but I have to say that I do not get excited about cleaning floors - and neither does Kevin, but we hope it will be easier now. The bad part is that we have to sweep or vacuum before mopping. I think I'll just vacuum instead of sweep.

Lars

I got my Haan earlier this week and put it together and used it right away. I was impressed! The floors even "felt" cleaner! And it's really nice to not have to wait for wet floors to dry! I love that!

Only gripe I have is thet it does not get all the way under the cabinets. So I'll probably have to use a sponge to get next to the toe kick areas, but my kitchen's small so that's not a real big deal.

So far so good and well worth the $39 plus $5 S/H!!

Linda

Yes, mine arrived but is still in the box. My son was visiting and there was no time for floor cleaning. Wish it had arrived before his visit -- I washed the floor with a big sponge. I am hoping the Haan does a good job on the hated grout. I'll report back once I give it a try.

LOL Lars - I don't get excited about doing floors either, and for the most part Max does them. I'm just hoping this will be a quick and easy clean up tool for dirty paw and footprints. I'm not thrilled with with the wet Swiffer type of cleaners and it's too extreme to use a mop and bucket for a quick cleanup. Thanks for the warning about the extra pads.

I'll be interested to hear your opinions on whether a swivel mop end would be much of an advantage. Although for the great deal you got Linda, I certainly wouldn't care.

Pam. I don't have high expectations for what it will do on grout. I'd love to be wrong about that but I would think you would have to have a high powered steamer with a nozzle to blast dirt out of grout, not just steam dispersed through a pad. Let me know how it does on your tile and grout please.

Lee

I have to wait for the floor to get dirty again. Without dogs or children around, it takes a little longer. Every couple of years, I get down on my knees and scrub the grout with Oxyclean. It does a good job but is an onerous chore. I hate that tile floor and would rip it out if there was any way I could rationalize spending the money.

I did the kitchen floor this afternoon, and it went very well. I don't know whether the head swivels or not, but I like it the way it is. I have dark grout, and so dirt does not show there, but I did have some caked-on dirt spots that did not come off easily. They were so thick that they had to be chiseled off, but the steam did soften them enough to make that easy. If you do not have caked-on dirt, it works like a dream, and so for new dirt, it works fine. We tend to wait until the dirt has been compacted a bit, and then it is difficult no matter what you do. If you have aged dirt like us, you can soak that with Oxyclean first to make it easier to remove.

I found the pad very easy to wash by hand - most of the dirt just rinsed off, but then I sprayed it with Fantastik and then it washed off. The instructions recommend that you wash the pads by hand, wring them out, and then hang them to dry. This is easy enough, and easier than cleaning a regular mop. After 10 minutes of use, you are supposed to put another pad on, but after 10 minutes, we had had enough and stopped cleaning at that point. We had already pre-vacuumed and swept, and so the floor seemed clean enough. If you want to do a lot of floor area, then you might really need the extra pads, which I think are good to have anyway. I'm very happy that the floor was dry after steam mopping, and so I think it was worth it for that.

Lars

I did my bathroom floor yesterday, which has white tile and white grout, and the Haan did not remove discolorations from the grout. I guess I'll have to clean that with Oxyclean, and I'm almost out of that. I would like to change all the tile in my bathroom, but I cannot justify the expense, since it is functional. At least I have a border near the top of the tub surround that is a wave relief.

Lars

LOL Lars, 10 minutes would be about all I would want to do also. I'm not surprised that it didn't do more on the grout - too bad though. I think one of the best features is that you have an almost dry floor immediately. I've never tried oxyclean on my grout but I will now.

I appreciate all your comments, thanks for the detailed report.

Lee

The Cleaning Tips forum has several threads that reference 'white grout'. LindaC correctly mentioned re-sealing the grout after it has been restored to your satisfaction.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cleaning Tips, 'White grout'

I finally ordered the Haan Slim and Light from Amazon. It should arrive on Tuesday. I didn't order extra pads yet - I'll see how far we get with the two it comes with.

Jessy, thanks for grout cleaning search link. It seems that Grout 66 gets the best comments. I can't find it locally and shipping is pretty high. I have two more tile stores to call.

Lee

After I do a major grout scrubbing, I reseal it. Eventually it gets dirty again. A scrub brush, Oxyclean (kind of make a paste of it and let it sit awhile) and elbow grease really do get it clean, but what a job.

My Haan arrived last Tuesday, I've used it and I like it. Thanks for everyone's input here.

Pam, I haven't tried Oxyclean on the grout yet but I did use spray Oxyclean prewash on a really stubborn old stain on carpet. I let it dry in the carpet overnight and then used a wet and wrung out towel to work at the stain and blot it out - AMAZING! I thought I had already tried everything but the Oxyclean got it out completely. Today I'm going over the area with plain water in a little green machine to get most of the residue from the Oxyclean out. Thank you.

Lee

My Haan is still in the box! At least I opened it and looked at it. Life has been a bit crazy with the cataract surgery, visiting son and Christmas, so floor washing beyond sweeping and wiping up big spots has not happened.

I like Oxyclean because you really can't hurt anything with it. I have to say I would NEVER get a porcelain tile floor in the kitchen again. When I hit the lottery and have money to throw away, I will have mine replaced.

I was totally clueless about steam mops until my neighbor showed me the Shark she got for Christmas. I was intrigued, but fortunately found this thread before buying. Just ordered the Haan on sale.

We have tile porcelain tile in our bathrooms and hardwood on all of the first floor, so I'm excited. Well, as excited as I can get about a cleaning device.

Sue

After googling Oxiclean for grout, I decided to try 2 T mixed into a cup of very hot water (190F from my InstaHot faucet)as a test on some of my worst floor grout. Just poured it on from the measuring cup and set a timer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I used a scrub brush lightly on the grout and was amazed at how easily all of the black dirt came off. In five minutes I had done an area that took over an hour with Comet and a tooth brush when I last tried to clean it. In fact the hardest part was moping off the excess Oxiclean, but Max did that with a regular sponge mop. There is no reason for us to have the hated dirty grout again and we'll b doing the rest of the kitchen this week. I have decided that the solution will go a lot farther if I put it in a squirt bottle and run it along the grout lines instead of pouring from a measure. This is only important because it will mean for the same amount of mop cleanup we will have done a much larger floor area.

We have both used the Haan since the grout cleanup and I'm very glad I got it. For us, it does just what we wanted, cleans up dog paws and our shoe prints and the small spill drops that just happen in a kitchen with very little effort, and dries instantly before the dog walks through again.

So once again, thanks for all the reviews here and for the Oxiclean suggestion.

Hey, I finally pulled my Haan steam mop out of the box and took it for a trial run. It's pretty good. It did a good job of cleaning the bathroom floor and I tried it on the wood floors, too. I was surprised that there is no way to adjust the amount of steam for different types of floors. I'd rather have less for wood and more for tile. It also doesn't get down into the grout, dammit. You do have to vacuum or sweep the floor thoroughly first, of course.

I think it will be handy and sure beats lugging the sponge mop and bucket around. I am please that it is so light.

I just bought an Oreck Steam On or Steam and Glide today and it worked great for a 1/2 hour then died. It won't produce steam any more, even after letting it cool down for a couple of hours. It goes back tomorrow. I think it overheated.

It did a really good job at first at getting up the dirt. I couldn't believe, even after washing the tile floor, how much was still there. I guess I will look at other brands. I would love to get a Haan, just can't justify the price.
Just an FYI.
Clare

Clare, thanks to a tip from JessyF, I got mine for $50! Great bargain. I'm happy with it. I can't believe yours croaked in half an hour!

My mistake, I didn't line up the water bottle on the bottom. The water wasn't going in and being turned into steam. I have to hold up the steam mop to eye level, good thing it is light weight, to see where to line it up. You can't just plop it on. It now works fine and really does a great job of cleaning the floors. It dries really fast too and leaves no streaks or puddles.
Clare

UPDATE:
My Haan that I got on sale 16 months ago is dead. About 3 months ago the on/off light stopped working but the steam still worked. Last week the darn thing stopped working all together. Glad I only paid $45 for it and not the regular price of $90!

Back to mop and bucket for me...at least until I figure out if I want to buy another steam mop or not.

Linda

Bummer, Linda.

We just got one of those "all in one" Haan's after the flood and are loving it so far. It cleans the entire house now that we have cork floors throughout. I want it to last more than a year though!

/tricia

I still have my Haan and I am still loving it. Last week I steamed the hardwood floor in the living room. The secret is to keep it moving and move it quickly. It's all I ever use on my (hated) porcelain tile kitchen floor. On the hardwood, it seems as if the dust gathers less quickly after a steaming, I don't know why. I live in the world's dustiest house.

I have two of the removable pads and wish I had some more. Sucks that yours broke, Linda. Maybe you are too clean!

Pam, I'll send you the two pads from mine if you'd like them. They're used, but freshly washed.

Linda

Wow -- that would be great! Do you still have my address from our swap? Of course, I want to pay for them and the postage. That's so nice of you to offer!

Pam, I sent you an e-mail.

Linda