Steam cleaner - worth the money?

the_skint_minx

Anyone own a steam cleaner? Are they all they're cracked up to be? (the ads just sound too good to be true).

I am thinking along the lines of the £40 ones rather than the £300 ones, needless to say!

tru

I've got one, I love it ;D Mine came from Woolies, I paid about £35 2 years ago. It's not as powerful as the ones I've seen on TV though, but still does the job.

Magentasue

Mine is very underused as I knew it would be. Good for 'bigger'cleaning jobs like the oven. It does work, but not as well as the ads would have you believe in my experience. Maybe I'm lazy (well, no maybe about it) but it's too much trouble to get it out, fill, wait to heat up and empty and put away for a quick cleaning job.

Mine does a good job of getting black mould off the rubber door seals on the freezer door and defrosting.

rushnowt

I have one of each, and to be honest when i first got the polti one i did use it quite alot, for getting in those hard to reach places, however i cleaned the microwave with it and it brought of the paint inside  >:(

i haven't used to smaller one hardly, because as Magentasue as said it's a bit of a pain to set up and wait to heat, i can have it done before it's heated .lol. i guess it's all down to personal choice and others may get loads of use out of theirs.

If you only want to do those smaller round the house jobs, i'm sure the smaller ones are quicker and less cumbersome.

MATH

I've got a cheapy Earlex that I bought as a wallpaper stripper and it did a great job. Use it now to defrost the freezer and clean the oven/extractor. Also good for getting inbedded cat hair out of carpets and killing and fleas/eggs hiding in there. It brings the pile up on the carpet and freshens them but for a real good clean I would use my Vax. we have a flot of solid wood floors and if I'm going to mop a number of rooms at the same time it's worth plugging it in and use it as a mop.

lucky_steve_3

I ve got a polti and I don't think it was worth the money. It is the second one I have had as the first was faulty. I dont know if I have been unlucky but the one I have now is difficult to fill up with water and as a result takes ages to set up and use. If you decide to buy a steam cleaner I would go for a cheap one They do clean but they are not as good as they are shown on tv.
hope this helps.

mando_2

Mines consigned to the back of the cupboard. I thought it was rubbish and didn't clean a thing - could be mind is a cheap rubbish version. Mine cost around £40 and I think it is an electrulux make but not sure.

cattie

I've had a Morphy Richards steam cleaner, which is very similar to the Polti, for about 3yrs now, & I wouldn't be without it. I think it's available in Argos for around £200.

The carpets in my house are all a light colour & it's marvelous for shifting any marks & stains from them. Also if you have a pet, as I do, it's great for shifting pet hair from all surfaces including wood & laminate flooring & giving everything a good clean & sanitize.

It's excellent in the bathroom, epecially for cleaning the toilet, along with bath & basin, plus sink, bath & basin plugholes & around taps.

As I bought an iron attachment to go with mine, it turns it into a steam generator iron too.

raeble

Those earlex steam cleaning kits that are about £40, are probably the best value for money. They have to have pretty powerful wattage and tanks to get the wallpaper off. Some of the other low end steam cleaners have much lower wattage and smaller tanks. The bigger the tank, the longer the cleaner can go without a refill.

MATH

I agree earlex is probably the cheapest option if you are unsure if you will use it long term. Quite a powerful machine and much better than those hand held 'penquin' jobbies. I bought one on home approval and it was rubbish, had to refil it three times to clean my kitchen. needless to say it went back and I stick with my earlex now

PTLD

yep me too