There have been a great many innovations in the era of cleaning and domestic products; however, one of the most sought after products is the ever elusive steam mop. For years, cleaners of households have been trying to find an easier way to disinfect and clean hard to reach wooden, tile, and stone floors. It used to be, and for some still is, that a person would have to get on their hands and knees with a wet rag. This is where people encounter the upright steam mop which is a specific type of mop that discharges steam heated to above 130 degrees. The steam penetrates hard surfaces and allows for more disinfection for allergens and bacteria. With other cleaning tools the consumer has to buy multiple floor pad refills, steam mops come with re-washable, reusable, pads that simply hook to the bottom of the device. This tool makes it easier on time and money because you aren’t constantly struggling with changing multiple pads every few minutes.
Disinfecting a floor with a steam mop is a process, but it has become much simpler. The step-by-step directions go as follows:
1) Sweep all visible dirt from the floor and make sure there are no wet spots on the floor.
2) Wait for desired steam mop to warm up, normally five minutes.
3) Work with the grain of the desired floor using even and steady strokes with the mop.
4) Clean in two feet squares and then wipe all excess water droplets from floor grain.
There are some steam mops on the market that a consumer should just avoid altogether; these are listed below with a review of the reasons:
Bissell 1876 Steam Mop Stick Vacuum: This particular mop manufacturer pre-shrink their floor clothes so when a user re-washes them in the laundry, they no longer fit the product after one use. Extra clothes are also hard to come by once the first set is ruined and doing a lot of back and forth with the mop, something the product is made for makes the entire mop head fall off. There is also an issue with the trigger that is pressed to release the steam, the customer has to have their thumb on it constantly or it won’t work, leading to muscle strain in the wrist.
Hoover F7452900 SteamVac All Terrain: Unfortunately, this product just offers bad craftsmanship. The attachment for the hose is in poor condition and made of plastic when the price indicates the buyer should be getting something sturdier. The whole thing has been known to break in a year and a half and for a large price tag; it’s really not worth the money.
Lysol by Conair SM10L Steam Cleaning Mop: A mop that should come with a “refill often” warning, because there is no marking on the outside to indicate that the steam is done. This leads to lots of water just running out onto the floor while the product itself is flimsy and hard to control. The handle is un-sturdy and feels like it was made cheaply. The reservoir, missing a “fill” line, is hard to empty and clean. Overall, there is nothing to recommend this mop for purchase.
Steamfast SF-290 Multi-purpose Steam Cleaner: As far as steam mops go, this baby gives a tall order with a 4-in-1 ad campaign, but all it has is good advertising. The cord isn’t long enough to reach most places and it doesn’t clean as efficiently as it should, especially grout or any kind of groove in the floor. It moves the dirt around and pushes it further into the floor, cementing it with water that leaks into the grout. When mopping, you only get one disposable pad that can’t be of much use when the handle is too busy falling down so you can’t control which way the mop is going, overall poorly constructed.
Reliable SteamBoy TI Steam Floor Mop: This little ditty seems to have it all – in a poor product. The supposedly long-lasting tank doesn’t cover more than 10 minutes of mopping, just enough time to leak water all over the floor while the steam comes out the swivel head connection and not the actual mop. Once you have used the mop, the drying time is out of this world due to the flimsy pads that come with the product which wind up staining the floor. If complained about, the company offers no refunds or cannot be reached and their service time for delivery is up to three months, even though order time says one week. To top it off you’ll have time to spare once you get your long awaited mop in the mail, the time for steam to heat up is forty five minutes to an hour, enough time to do the whole floor by hand.
Though a steam mop in this era is easier and more efficient then getting down on your hands and knees, it’s always more efficient to check your sources before you purchase. These mops are all to be avoided but there are some pretty spectacular finds out there that don’t waste time or energy. Expect to pay more than average for a decent steam mop, but also expect it to have a great return policy and a good warranty. The bottom line is you get what you pay for, and in the eco-friendly world that’s emerging steam mops are hitting it big. Steam is light and contains no harmful chemical residue for pets and children, and it penetrates better then topical cleaners over a smaller amount of space because of smaller air molecules. Be wary of the market, industry is capitalizing on the expansions of safe products and they don’t always differentiate what’s safe between what’s cheap.
