Steam cleaners for tile floors


  #1  
Old 03-17-08, 10:28 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Steam cleaners for tile floors

Has anyone used the Shark steam floor cleaner for their tile floors? I have been looking on the internet and this product seems to keep resurfacing.
 
  #2  
Old 03-17-08, 11:08 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 15,047
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
Do some research and compare apples to apples if purchasing a vapor steam cleaner. The cleaning concept is fantastic. Vapor steam cleaners are used in institutions to clean and disinfect large areas of tile in kitchens, bathrooms, and laboratories. These are commercial cleaners.

The following link provides some helpful info to determine what features you need to look at in steam cleaners. Although they would like for you to purchase their brand, the info is sound. Their product sounds good. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for.

Here's a link that mentions the Shark: http://www.consumersearch.com/www/ho...team-cleaners/
 
  #3  
Old 03-18-08, 07:37 AM
Docduck's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Western PA
Posts: 1,334
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I made a repy in another thread about this...they work great depending on the model. Twelvepole is right if you spend 5 bucks dont expect a miracle. The only thing i have heard about these are the productivity is low...meaning it works great but takes a long time to clean the average size kitchen or bathroom
 
  #4  
Old 03-18-08, 09:58 AM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,125
Received 1,263 Upvotes on 1,204 Posts
The concept is great, but I think the output from anything you see on TV would be frustratingly low.
 
  #5  
Old 03-19-08, 06:52 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Steam floor cleaners

I have gone on the internet but am more confused than ever. If anyone out there has purchased one that is particularly good (I don't care how much time it takes...I care about the results) please let me know the name of it. Thanks.
 
  #6  
Old 03-22-08, 07:26 PM
T
Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 15,047
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
Ladybug is a name that continues to pop up with popularity in the surveys. If you really want results and you have large areas of tile to clean, then you will want to go with something that can handle residential/commercial. That will mean some $$$$.

I have been laid up with pneumonia for the last 3+ weeks and have watched all those Shark TV ads. I simply would never subject any steam cleaner to hardwood floor finishes. Keep in mind that TV advertising tends to be irresponsible.

If you have large areas of tile to clean, then it may be worth the investment. If those large areas of tile are not cleaned on a regular basis and maintained in a residential setting, then such a cleaner may be necessary. If you run an institution and are in charge of cleaning tiled showers, kitchens, etc., then you will need to to purchase the best that your budget will allow and make sure there is a good warranty for replacement parts for your institution.

The issue is that most homeowners who maintain their homes on a weekly basis for cleaning, do not need to bite the late night cleaning products. The old adage of clean up as you go after using bathroom and kitchens on a daily basis and doing a thorough cleaning each week, then you never have to do 'deep' cleaning. If you gave me a steam cleaner, I'd do not know what I'd do with it.

My bathroom and kitchen are spotless. They were not when I moved into this rental. I could have cried. I had to remind myself to give the cleaning products time to work and repeat applications may be necessary. The rental is spotless (not beautiful). I run my vent/shower unit, and wipe down after each shower with squeegie, and clean weekly. I clean up stove and counters and vent after each use.

I damp mop all hard surface floors weekly. I have no need for steam cleaners. Make sure that you have not fallen victim to TV and other media advertising that insists that you need a steam cleaner. Reassess your cleaning challenges and your failures to meet them. There are no miracle cleaners, except those on the late night TV ads that want you to call in with your credit card. Unfortunately, we have no true confessions on the forums from those who got sucked in by those ads.

Please keep flipping the channels when you hear them screaming at you that you need to buy this and that. Remember, too, TV ads focus on lowering your self-esteem if you do not purchase what they plan to sell you to solve your problems--body odor, bad breath, incontinence, dirty floors, bad breath, home odor, sexual dysfunction, dirty homes, etc. It's time for us to think for ourselves. Don't watch TV ads.

Do you really need a steam cleaner and why?
 
  #7  
Old 04-12-08, 06:02 AM
P
Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Vx 5000

I own a VX 5000. It is a light commercial vapor cleaner. It holds almost a gallon of water and I can generally clean about an hour and a half before refilling. I only refilled when I moved into my new house....it was not maintained or cleaned regularly. I use it for lots of things. When we were painting, I cleaned the walls with the triangle attachment covered with a microfiber cloth, before painting. There was paint on my window panes and the steamer took it off with hardly a second thought...and left the glass gleaming.
I bought it because I no longer want to use chemicals to clean with. I started out with a microfiber mop that only uses water and grew from that. I find that my floors stay cleaner longer without chemical films attracting dirt to them. When I first used the steam cleaner on my bathroom floors, they actually squeaked when I walked across them. Squeaky clean. I use it to clean my refrigerator.....it gets spilled messes up quite rapidly. Keep in mind that using steam in close quarters will get hot. Picture opening up your dishwasher in mid cycle. For the most part though you're using a long wand with a microfiber cloth at the end and you won't see a huge amount of steam blasting you. My brother and I cleaned the tile floors in his restaurant that the previous tenants had painted the grout black. They look like new. He was doing it the old fashioned way, on his hands and knees, with harsh chemicals. We still brushed the chemicals onto the grout....but used the steel brushes and long wands to stand and clean them. So amazing that he bought one too. I agree with the poster that spoke of maintenance....that truly is the way to go. However if you inherit a mess....or live with one, or several I think the investment will be worth it. You mentioned you didn't care how long the job took as long as it got done. Please....be realistic. No one wants to clean for hours when fifteen minutes will do. Invest in a good one that will last you forever if you take care of it.
 
  #8  
Old 04-18-09, 11:45 AM
M
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 1
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
2000 square feet house of tile

Which machine would you recommend to do tile floors in a very large area. I prefer a machine which I do not have to bend down to use. Please keep in mind I am doing 2000 square feet each time.
 
  #9  
Old 04-20-09, 10:42 PM
Docduck's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Western PA
Posts: 1,334
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
As a few have stated above...the higher end quailty cleaners work well. BUT productivity will be low. I can not see cleaning 2000k sq ft with one practical. The trick behind them is a good schedule. You clean with it on a regular basis, depending on how often you need to clean, it will work fine. But again i can see that. If its a tile and grout floor...keep the loose dirt from getting ground in is key. Sweeping and entrance mats will help out. The only cleaning machines that come to mind that you wouldnt have to bend down to clean...wouldnt be steam vapor...and would be commercial grade so you can expect more $$$$
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: