As the interest in steam cleaners starts to take off, these hot appliances could soon be in vogue. Have you bought into this home cleaning product, and if so, just what are you cleaning?
Steam cleaner popularity is on the rise, whether they’re handheld steam cleaners from Karcher or steam cleaning mops from Vax.
According to research by Experian Hitwise, there’s been a 125% increase in ‘steam cleaner’ searchers over the past three years. And as if by magic, our first batch of cylinder steam cleaners has just been shipped to one of our test labs.
But before we put them through their paces, I want to know more about your steamy habits.
Steam cleaners – the Swiss Army Knife of cleaning?
Generally quite adaptable, cylinder steam cleaners tend to come armed with an array of tools and attachments that make them suitable for cleaning many surfaces. Tiles, hard floors, windows, carpets, upholstery and ovens – cylinder steam cleaners can tackle them all.
With so much cleaning potential from just one device, are you using your steam cleaner for everything you can or do you save it for tackling a particular task?
However, so much versatility could cause problems. From our previous tests of steam mops and handheld steam cleaners, we’ve found that reliability can be an issue.
Are steam cleaners built to last?
Quite a few people have fed back on our steam cleaner reviews that they’re having some trouble with them. One of the most common problems is that the device has simply stopped producing steam, as Alan explains:
‘After just a handful of uses it would not heat the water, [and therefore would] not produce steam.’
Another handheld steam cleaner owner said they tried to clean an oven and ‘after an hours use it broke down’.
The other most-voiced complaints include the cloth cleaning pads either falling off the mop when in use or shrinking in the wash. And then there are the handles breaking, or even the bush attachments melting during use, as Simon shares:
‘Very poor results and the attachment brush was ruined after the first go.’
We’ve now built in durability tests into our future steam cleaner reviews, but what problems have you encountered when using your steam cleaner, whether it be mop, handheld or cylinder? And if you haven’t yet bought into the steam cleaner craze (if we can call it that), are you tempted?
Have you bought a steam cleaner?
No, and I have no interest in buying one (32%, 82 Votes)
No, but I'm interested in buying one (31%, 78 Votes)
Yes, but it hasn't lived up to my expectations (21%, 54 Votes)
Yes, and it's lived up to my expectations (15%, 39 Votes)
Total Voters: 253
