I am wondering does anyone have a electric steam cleaner they use in their house.??? Interested in using it in the bathroom and on the floors.
All thoughts and info would be appreciated.
Lucky1 said:
I am wondering does anyone have a electric steam cleaner they use in their house.??? Interested in using it in the bathroom and on the floors.All thoughts and info would be appreciated.
Hi Lucky :)
I have two.. a steam mop and a hand-held steam cleaner. The mop.. well, I reckon it might be alright if you have a perfectly flat floor (like tiles) and there aren’t too many things in the way (i.e. cabinet legs etc). Doesn’t suit us too well as the floor is uneven and there are lots of legs in the way. We bought it when we had MiL’s dog to stay because the little #%*(@ kept pooping all over the kitchen floor, and it did work really work for cleaning this up and sterilising it.
The little handheld cleaner I use occasionally – it’s good for the loo, as when I go over the loo after cleaning it, I know the loo will go about twice as long before it needs cleaning again. I don’t use it for much else by way of cleaning, but that’s because we’re lazy. I use it mostly for steaming out the bokashi bucket between uses, as it cuts down on the amount of mould that will grow in the bucket.
Thanks Bon…… I’m thinking of getting one with the elf’s asthma.
Lucky1 said:
Thanks Bon…… I’m thinking of getting one with the elf’s asthma.
If you are already using chemical cleaners, it could definitely help to cut down on that. Back when I was doing more cleaning, I would wipe down the kitchen surfaces just with a wet cloth to get the visible grub off, and then go over them with the steamer.
If you decide to get a steam mop, my advice would be to try to find one that doesn’t weigh too much, and has a small, manouverable head – ours is big and clunky, and hard to use. Also bear in mind that most of them require you to use distilled water, not tap water.
Thinking more for the bathroom…… but I have taken on board the tips about the floor steamer.
Lucky1 said:
Thinking more for the bathroom…… but I have taken on board the tips about the floor steamer.
Can’t help so much there.. we don’t do a lot of bathroom cleaning grin
I would say that with things like an enamal bath and the loo.. just shooting steam at them won’t remove stains etc. Using the little mop attachment on the steam cleaner might lift off surface gunk, but to me the main difference seemed to be in disinfecting – I definitely noticed that the loo will go for longer between cleans if I use the steamer, and to me that means it must be killing off something invisible that causes mould/mess.
Thanks Bon:D Been a great help
No worries :)
I’ve got a Kenwood Steam Mop and it was a waste of money. A normal mop cleans better.
Bubba Louie said:
I’ve got a Kenwood Steam Mop and it was a waste of money. A normal mop cleans better.
I have visions of moving furniture to get the floor cleaned properly.
Lucky1 said:
Bubba Louie said:
I’ve got a Kenwood Steam Mop and it was a waste of money. A normal mop cleans better.
I have visions of moving furniture to get the floor cleaned properly.
What kind of floor covering, Lucky?
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:
Bubba Louie said:
I’ve got a Kenwood Steam Mop and it was a waste of money. A normal mop cleans better.
I have visions of moving furniture to get the floor cleaned properly.
What kind of floor covering, Lucky?
2 rooms of new carpet (on my blog) and tiles & lino.
I have major issues with the bathroom and feel it could be cleaner…hence thinking of a streamer for the tiles.
Lucky1 said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:I have visions of moving furniture to get the floor cleaned properly.
What kind of floor covering, Lucky?
2 rooms of new carpet (on my blog) and tiles & lino.
I have major issues with the bathroom and feel it could be cleaner…hence thinking of a streamer for the tiles.
OK, well with my steam mop – it works well on lino, but the lino needs to be pretty flat (ours is just bungled down on wonky floorboards, not flat at all). I imagine it would work well on tiles too, but we don’t have tiles so I don’t know.
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?
You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
Lucky1 said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:I have visions of moving furniture to get the floor cleaned properly.
What kind of floor covering, Lucky?
2 rooms of new carpet (on my blog) and tiles & lino.
I have major issues with the bathroom and feel it could be cleaner…hence thinking of a streamer for the tiles.
New carpet looks lovely Lucky. :)
Have you tried vinegar and bicarb soda in the bathroom? Adding a bit of lemon juice gives it a bit of bleaching capacity too.
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?
You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
—————————————————————————
Shower pisses me off…….
Lucky1 said:
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
—————————————————————————
Shower pisses me off…….
Oh, now I can relate to you.. used to have to clean shower tiles when I lived with my parents – bloody awful. Hmm.. well, I imagine a steamer (but you’d probably need a handheld one for the walls) would help kill off the mould pretty well. BUT I haven’t tried so I don’t really know.
I ended up using an orange-based chemical cleaner at mum’s, with a very particular kind of scrubbing brush. It did work pretty well, but took a lot of elbow grease.
Mum has since pulled out the tiles and had a moulded plastic shower put in, and that is so, so much easier to clean – no gaps for the bad stuff to lodge in to.
Have you tried vinegar and bicarb soda in the bathroom? Adding a bit of lemon juice gives it a bit of bleaching capacity too.
—————————————————————-
How do you mix this and use it???? Need step by step instructions…… sad I know….LOL
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
—————————————————————————
Shower pisses me off…….
Oh, now I can relate to you.. used to have to clean shower tiles when I lived with my parents – bloody awful. Hmm.. well, I imagine a steamer (but you’d probably need a handheld one for the walls) would help kill off the mould pretty well. BUT I haven’t tried so I don’t really know.
I ended up using an orange-based chemical cleaner at mum’s, with a very particular kind of scrubbing brush. It did work pretty well, but took a lot of elbow grease.
Mum has since pulled out the tiles and had a moulded plastic shower put in, and that is so, so much easier to clean – no gaps for the bad stuff to lodge in to.
When I gave up work I was cleaning 28 unisex bathrooms everyday over 4 hours…. 2 loos, 2 showers or 1 shower and 1 bath in 23 of those bathrooms….plus bedrooms.
I nearly jumped from the 4th floor…gave up work instead and put on happy pills. Even all these years later….. shower recess pisses me off
Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
Lucky1 said:
Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
If they don’t work or you can’t find them, I would try one of the more clothey microfibre clothes – Enjo if you can get it, but they are pricey and hard to come by – the supermarket ones might be just as good.
But but but..
There is an enormous irony about me giving cleaning advice to anyone (my mum and my MiL would be rolling in the aisles laughing if they knew) so.. take with a grain of salt :D
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
—————————————————————————
Shower pisses me off…….
Oh, now I can relate to you.. used to have to clean shower tiles when I lived with my parents – bloody awful. Hmm.. well, I imagine a steamer (but you’d probably need a handheld one for the walls) would help kill off the mould pretty well. BUT I haven’t tried so I don’t really know.
I ended up using an orange-based chemical cleaner at mum’s, with a very particular kind of scrubbing brush. It did work pretty well, but took a lot of elbow grease.
Mum has since pulled out the tiles and had a moulded plastic shower put in, and that is so, so much easier to clean – no gaps for the bad stuff to lodge in to.
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
If they don’t work or you can’t find them, I would try one of the more clothey microfibre clothes – Enjo if you can get it, but they are pricey and hard to come by – the supermarket ones might be just as good.
But but but..
There is an enormous irony about me giving cleaning advice to anyone (my mum and my MiL would be rolling in the aisles laughing if they knew) so.. take with a grain of salt :D
Tried bleach, worked but smelt awful.
Shower cleaners, ditto. Shower power smelt good but i blame it for my cat nearly dieing.
Tried Enjo, OK but not worth the price.
Have now reverted to a nylon scourer and Gumpion Paste.
That’s when I bother of course, both showers are revolting at the moment.
Bubba Louie said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
If they don’t work or you can’t find them, I would try one of the more clothey microfibre clothes – Enjo if you can get it, but they are pricey and hard to come by – the supermarket ones might be just as good.
But but but..
There is an enormous irony about me giving cleaning advice to anyone (my mum and my MiL would be rolling in the aisles laughing if they knew) so.. take with a grain of salt :D
Tried bleach, worked but smelt awful.
Shower cleaners, ditto. Shower power smelt good but i blame it for my cat nearly dieing.
Tried Enjo, OK but not worth the price.Have now reverted to a nylon scourer and Gumpion Paste.
That’s when I bother of course, both showers are revolting at the moment.
I am SUCH a dag.
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
If they don’t work or you can’t find them, I would try one of the more clothey microfibre clothes – Enjo if you can get it, but they are pricey and hard to come by – the supermarket ones might be just as good.
But but but..
There is an enormous irony about me giving cleaning advice to anyone (my mum and my MiL would be rolling in the aisles laughing if they knew) so.. take with a grain of salt :D
Oh thanks Bon….. glad you mum & MIL would have a chuckle.
Bubba Louie said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:
Do bathroom tiles really need much cleaning?? I mean.. it’s not like the kitchen where you might spill food on them.. does a wet cloth or a normal wet mop not do the trick?You could try a microfibre cloth or mop before investing in a steam mop, maybe..
—————————————————————————
Shower pisses me off…….
Oh, now I can relate to you.. used to have to clean shower tiles when I lived with my parents – bloody awful. Hmm.. well, I imagine a steamer (but you’d probably need a handheld one for the walls) would help kill off the mould pretty well. BUT I haven’t tried so I don’t really know.
I ended up using an orange-based chemical cleaner at mum’s, with a very particular kind of scrubbing brush. It did work pretty well, but took a lot of elbow grease.
Mum has since pulled out the tiles and had a moulded plastic shower put in, and that is so, so much easier to clean – no gaps for the bad stuff to lodge in to.
Makes mental note to clean moldy shower if lucky ever comes to Bris.
Oh you don’t have too….I like baths more so;)
Bubba Louie said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
If they don’t work or you can’t find them, I would try one of the more clothey microfibre clothes – Enjo if you can get it, but they are pricey and hard to come by – the supermarket ones might be just as good.
But but but..
There is an enormous irony about me giving cleaning advice to anyone (my mum and my MiL would be rolling in the aisles laughing if they knew) so.. take with a grain of salt :D
Tried bleach, worked but smelt awful.
Shower cleaners, ditto. Shower power smelt good but i blame it for my cat nearly dieing.
Tried Enjo, OK but not worth the price.Have now reverted to a nylon scourer and Gumpion Paste.
That’s when I bother of course, both showers are revolting at the moment.
Can’t use bleach or fuming stuff…… almost kills the elf:(
He can’t get into the bathroom. or the hallway.
I am SUCH a dag.
————————————————
And your our dag……hugs……………
Lucky1 said:
Have you tried vinegar and bicarb soda in the bathroom? Adding a bit of lemon juice gives it a bit of bleaching capacity too.
—————————————————————-
How do you mix this and use it???? Need step by step instructions…… sad I know….LOL
Oops, sorry. Phone call. (yep, a really really long one!)
Well I just have a spray bottle that lives in the shower with a 10:1 water vinegar mix in it, and if you spray the shower it reduces mould growth, then every so often make up a paste of bicarb and water and a little lemon juice to scrub/wipe down the shower with. Just add a little water to bicarb until you have a thickish paste. I squeeze a bit of lemon juice in place of some water if I have a lemon handy at the time.
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
I know them, they are called ‘magic (something)’. (sorry I threw away the packet so I can’t recall the rest of the name but they are by Chux. An inch of white spongey material with a thin blue sponge on one side. Be careful with them because they are slightly abrasive so don’t use on paint unless you want a paler bit where you’ve been scrubbing off a difficult mark. I speak from experience. :(
hortfurball said:
Lucky1 said:
Have you tried vinegar and bicarb soda in the bathroom? Adding a bit of lemon juice gives it a bit of bleaching capacity too.
—————————————————————-
How do you mix this and use it???? Need step by step instructions…… sad I know….LOL
Oops, sorry. Phone call. (yep, a really really long one!)
Well I just have a spray bottle that lives in the shower with a 10:1 water vinegar mix in it, and if you spray the shower it reduces mould growth, then every so often make up a paste of bicarb and water and a little lemon juice to scrub/wipe down the shower with. Just add a little water to bicarb until you have a thickish paste. I squeeze a bit of lemon juice in place of some water if I have a lemon handy at the time.
Thanks Horty, I’ll give this a try…. stay tuned….. mind you I may need to wait until I’m not so dead feeling…LOL
hortfurball said:
bon008 said:
Lucky1 said:Looking for a user friendly chemical free way of cleaning the bathroom with the elf.
I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
I know them, they are called ‘magic (something)’. (sorry I threw away the packet so I can’t recall the rest of the name but they are by Chux. An inch of white spongey material with a thin blue sponge on one side. Be careful with them because they are slightly abrasive so don’t use on paint unless you want a paler bit where you’ve been scrubbing off a difficult mark. I speak from experience. :(
Nope, that’s not it – no blue on the one I’m talking about.
Mine has never caused damage to any surface either.
bon008 said:
hortfurball said:
bon008 said:I know the feeling – I always prefer to clean without chemicals, but when living at mum’s, none of the “natural” vinegar and bicarb type things worked – something about three grown men and one bathroom.. ugh.
If I were you, I’d buy a fancy microfibre cloth before spending a lot of money on a steamer. We’ve got some microfibre clothes we got from MiL, which work really, really well – they’re more spongey than cloth like, and they’re not in the “wash and keep forever” category. I think the brand is White Knight, and they’re about an inch thick, white sponge – and as you use them they wear away until you need a new one. In my experience – what took heaps of elbow grease before, comes off in a simple wipe with these.
I know them, they are called ‘magic (something)’. (sorry I threw away the packet so I can’t recall the rest of the name but they are by Chux. An inch of white spongey material with a thin blue sponge on one side. Be careful with them because they are slightly abrasive so don’t use on paint unless you want a paler bit where you’ve been scrubbing off a difficult mark. I speak from experience. :(
Nope, that’s not it – no blue on the one I’m talking about.
Mine has never caused damage to any surface either.
I’ve seen something in those aisles I tend to whizz through because I use few chemicals, that it a white block that claims to be some sort of super eraser that will clean anything. I think this might be what you are talking about? So they really work?
I have some of those white pad things in the cupboard—but have ripped the back off so I don’t have a name for them—are those the ones that will get a stubborn mark off a wall—haven’t tried them in the shower just that I had a small mark on a wall and it worked great
bluegreen said:
I’ve seen something in those aisles I tend to whizz through because I use few chemicals, that it a white block that claims to be some sort of super eraser that will clean anything. I think this might be what you are talking about? So they really work?
I think it could be one of these:
http://www.whitemagic.biz/white_magic.html
The “original” one, not the two sided one. Not 100% sure though.
Anyway, whatever it is – I really like them. They work really well on the kitchen bench – a gentle wipe with no effort is equivalent to scrubbing with another kind of sponge. We also used one to clean the bath, and it did work on the really old, ingrained stains – but it did require a lot of effort and it wore the sponge down really quick.
Worth a try I reckon.
MiL was so impressed that we all got some for Christmas :)
I’ve seen something in those aisles I tend to whizz through because I use few chemicals, that it a white block that claims to be some sort of super eraser that will clean anything. I think this might be what you are talking about? So they really work?
———————————————————————————-
Oh I saw that being demoed once….. could have used that when Bimbo wrote her name, address and phone number on her bedroom wall and tried to blame it on JimBob who I might add was in nappies…….
I picked up these today….. I’ll get back to you…. when I have the energy to use it….
http://www.chux.com.au/images/library/Image/thumbs/advance_fibres_magiceraser_bathroom.jpg
try again
Cool.. I’ll be interested to know how well it works :)
Lucky1 said:
I picked up these today….. I’ll get back to you…. when I have the energy to use it….http://www.chux.com.au/images/library/Image/thumbs/advance_fibres_magiceraser_bathroom.jpg
SNAP.
Lucky1 said:
try again
or nearly SNAP, mine only has one.
Lucky1 said:
try again
now I have also bought something like this, but a different brand.
but my question is what happens to the stuff when it wears away? I am assuming it is a synthetic product and as it wears away we are releasing tiny particles of whatever it is made of into the environment, particularly the water systems. So does it remain an inert and harmless particle? or does it break down harmlessly? or is it a potential contaminate to the environment? Its use by not needing detergents etc is positive, but in the end is it a potential for harm?
bluegreen said:
Lucky1 said:
try again
now I have also bought something like this, but a different brand.
but my question is what happens to the stuff when it wears away? I am assuming it is a synthetic product and as it wears away we are releasing tiny particles of whatever it is made of into the environment, particularly the water systems. So does it remain an inert and harmless particle? or does it break down harmlessly? or is it a potential contaminate to the environment? Its use by not needing detergents etc is positive, but in the end is it a potential for harm?
Very good question =/
bluegreen said:
Lucky1 said:
try again
now I have also bought something like this, but a different brand.
but my question is what happens to the stuff when it wears away? I am assuming it is a synthetic product and as it wears away we are releasing tiny particles of whatever it is made of into the environment, particularly the water systems. So does it remain an inert and harmless particle? or does it break down harmlessly? or is it a potential contaminate to the environment? Its use by not needing detergents etc is positive, but in the end is it a potential for harm?
My brain hurts.:(