I have a secret passion to start a blog that only reviews infomercial items. However after some research, I already found a site online like this, so I will leave it to them.
The Shark Steam Mop entered my curiosity awhile ago. I have a constant love/hate relationship with my dark wood floors. I love dark wood, but keeping them looking pristine with 3 children is a near impossibility for me. I have tried many so-called “easy” products and found that none work and many leave horrible looking filmy streaks on my wood. When I first saw the Shark Steam Mop it was no different. I had to try it.
My sweet husband bought it and the Shark Vacuum for me for Christmas. (Yes, I wanted these things.) The vacuum I will review for you at a later date. But for today, the steam mop.
The Shark Steam Mop promises to “Loosen, Lift and Lock-in every piece of dirt”. It takes about 30 seconds and a few priming pumps to get working. It is super easy to assemble and prep. It requires no charging or batteries. It simply plugs into the wall and starts heating the water up. After that, I experienced pure disappointment.
First off it is slightly difficult to push along the floor. It is as if the handle is not nearly strong enough and actually feels flimsy. The best way to use the steam mop is to use slow strokes back and forth. I covered every square inch of our floor and the result was absolutely disappointing. STREAKS! FILM! It was terrible. I know will have to get on my hands and knees and use the only thing I have found to lift up that level of film. WINDEX!
I was truly disappointed with the steam mop. It was not as if I was using it on severly dirty floors that needed several applications of mopping. I obsess on my floors so they don’t go long without a good cleaning.
In the mops favor… For those with lighter floors, tile, or linoleum this still may be a good product. Let me know if you have tried it and what your own experience was.
10 Comments, Comment or Ping
i have this also and even with tile floors it still leaves streaks and it does not clean the floors very well. i thought also that this would be great but turned out to be a big disappointment.
December 30th, 2008
not me – i love my shark steam mop! i agree that it can leave streaks, but the fact that no harsh chemicals or bucket of dirty water is required, plus the machine-washable pads, far outweigh this. i have found that, to improve cleaning and minimize streaking, it is actually best to use short quick strokes – the key, IMO, is to keep the mop primed and make sure that it is actively gurgling and steaming during every stroke. if it is not actively steaming, then you are effectively just pushing a wet rag around, so streaks are hard to avoid.
December 30th, 2008
I just bought this last week at Costco (also a Christmas present for me) It works great on my tile floors. I have had the hardest time finding something to work well for my tiled kitchen floor. The Shark was great! I love being able to just throw the pads in the washing machine. It worked well on my hardwood foyer too – it’s a cherry-ish color. I love that it doesn’t use any chemicals and it’s pretty inexpensive. And for me it’s so much easier than a mop and bucket or a Swiffer (which IMO is a joke!
I have heard negative things about the vacuum so I look forward to hearing how you feel about yours.
Thanks for the review!
December 30th, 2008
My 85 year old mom has a Shark vacuum and thinks it’s wonderful. I think its a cheaply made piece of junk. For my house and office, both of which have nothing but hardwoods, I use the Roomba Scoob and I love it. You don’t have to attend it. It does great work. There are a number of different solvents you can use after you run out of the ridiculously expensive proprietary solvent provided. It seems any low foaming, ph balanced, free rinsing cleaner will do. I use Mirage Neutral Floor Cleaner and Finisher purchased from a local industrial janitorial supply.
January 17th, 2009
I also say don’t bother if you have dark floors. I too have dark floors and found it to be disappointing. If I just had tile, it works great, although the tile in my bathrooms is not enough reason to keep it. I will be returning mine.
January 27th, 2009
I’m 12, but my Grandmother saw this on TV and said she woul get it for her floor.I looked it up. This was the first site and it is certainly the best. Thank you for thinking of the people and especially for taking the time to try these items!
June 14th, 2009
Just came across this when trying to figure out how to clean my steam mop cause it wasn’t steaming, which by the way running vinegar through it totally does the trick. Anyway I wanted to comment about the streaking, if you mix some vinegar in with the water you use (which btw you should use distilled water over tap so it doesn’t build up like mine did, now i know) anyway vinegar and water mixd doesn’t leave the streaks even close to as bad as just water and the vinegar is great on your floors.
November 13th, 2009
I finally got the the shark steam mop and all I can say is I have mixed feelings…….. I have used the mop 3x and all 3x it has left streaks and film all over my floor. The first time I used it I just used it with regular tap water. The second time I bought distilled water and the third time I used part vinegar and part water. They all resulted in streaks and film. I bought this mop simply because I didn’t want to have to use chemicals but now I have to find something else. This just doesn’t cut it and will be going back to the store!
April 6th, 2010
I’m with Joyce. I too have 2 kids – both in diapers. “Drippy” cups, food, footprints, you name it. My Ceramic and hardwood floors get nightmarish. If I didn’t have my shark I don’t know what I’d do. And I’m one of those moms that follows the kids around with the vacuum because I don’t like a speck of dirt anywhere for more than 2 minutes…
For deeper cleaning I get down and scrub and polish on my hands and knees about once a month and in between this mop makes my life so much easier.
So here’s some tips and tricks I’ve learned through experimenting:
Try adding a little vinegar to the water- about a teaspoon white- to help with the streaking. But mostly, the pads streak if you don’t wash them properly or enough. I find hand washing them with oxyclean works best. After I have the dingy mostly gone I toss the unrinsed mophead into the wash- oxyclean and all.
It did take me some experimenting to make it the perfect tool, but I’ve loved and raved about mine since DAY 1!!!
April 30th, 2010
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