Steam Mops - Gimmick?

[Iggle Piggle]

My wife wants a steam mop, one of those X5 things.
The adverts are slick and the salespeople are glib but I think they are gimmick rubbish.
Surely if you shove steam down a pipe into a cold cloth at the end of it you end up with a hot cloth?
If so I'll stick with my bucket of hot water and a capful of bleach for the tiled floors in the house and save myself 80 quid !

[naomi24]

I don't know about the one you mention, but I have a steam mop - brilliant.

[Hopkirk]

For the sake of marital harmony, get her a steam mop.

[FrogNog]

They rock. Get her a steam mop. If you get her one with a detachable bit it does the windows, the sofa, the oven...
Don't be tight. Get her a steam mop.

[mazie]

I have one and love it.. It didn't cost 80 quid though

[douglas9401]

If you do intend giving in to the boss don't forget to check that there's space in the cupboard beside the V Slicer, the Nutri Bullet, the cutting gathering hedge trimmer, the juicer and the everlasting drill bits. :-)

[Hopkirk]

The Amazon reviews seem to have a tie between those that praise it, and those that say it is a badly made worthless piece of tat.

I suspect it is the latter.

[FrogNog]

You have erred on the wrong side of right there Hopkirk. Steam mops are very good

[naomi24]

... but you do get what you pay for. Cheap is cheap.

[Hopkirk]

Cheap? It's eighty quid!

[hc4361]

How often do you have to change the sopping, filthy cloth during one mopping session?

[naomi24]

Hopkirk, I didn't mean that. You can buy them very cheaply, but those ones aren't worth buying.

[Hopkirk]

Gotcha

[Jennykenny]

Please folks, those that are happy with your steam mop, mention them by name.
I bought one and had to take it back, as it didn't seem capable of shifting any dirt whatever.
Would love some recommendations.

[FrogNog]

hc, same as you wring out any other minging cloth, except if you mop regularly it's easier and the cloths become less minging.
Jenny I was lucky and got mine at Aldi. Cheap as chips but effortless window cleaning and I have floor to ceiling windows.

[woofgang]

H20. excellent for a quick whizz round and it made a good job of cleaning the filthy oven and microwave...but if your wife NEVER cleans the floors because YOU ALWAYS do it then she doesn't need one.....
for windows I prefer my karcher window vac.

[bhg481]

We also have the H20 - very good.

[murraymints]

I love my steam mop and also have the window steam karcher....

[Prudie]

I have the H20 X5 and it's totally brilliant, makes everything so much easier and it doesn't leave wet floors like a bucket and mop does. Plus I feel that it kills off germs etc without the stink of bleach that you must get.

[ivor4781]

from a web site....
We don’t recommend the use of steam cleaners on hardwood. The number one rule of hardwood maintenance is never to use water. The use of a steam cleaner would clearly violate that rule. Here’s why: over time, the moisture generated from the steam would be absorbed by the floor boards. Eventually, it would cause these boards to swell in place which results in buckling. Once the board swells, it has nowhere to go and will begin to “pop up” over time. Excessive moisture could also have a detrimental impact on the finish of your hardwood floor. Keep in mind that it makes no difference whether your hardwood is of a solid or engineered construction in relation to steam cleaner use. Each structure would still be negatively impacted when excessive moisture is generated on its surface, especially after several uses. Steam cleaners are very bad for wood block flooring especially that fitted with bitumen (black) adhesive– avoid at all costs.

[woofgang]

that's interesting ivor. I have got solid wood (plank) floors with an oiled finish and the makers recommend a specialist wet cleaning solution diluted with hot water and applied with a mop. You don't soak the floor, but the floor is definitely wetted. I don't know how else I could keep my floors clean. I do use a steam mop on it too for quick wizz overs. I have been doing this for seven years now and the floors still look like new apart from the colour change caused by wear. I have got a friend who lives in Denmark where wood floors are very common, there the standard method of cleaning is to use hot water with traditional soap flakes.

I know that where the wood is engineered or faux and where floors are secured with glue, there is an issue about the glue being softened by heat or wet.