Though I appreciate the two previous reviewers giving so much detail, I truly believe they exaggerate the difficulties of using this product.
Overall, this is a "great" product. You will pay a little more because it is an Oreck, but quality construction, reliability, and the fact Oreck stands behind their products make the extra few dollars worth it.
My reason for purchasing a steam cleaner was to clean stone and tile floors, "especially" the grout. Frankly, this unit does such an amazing job with this, if it did nothing else well, I would still be happy. I will no longer have to waste time and money on "very" expensive grout cleaners and sealers that do not work. Trust me, the Oreck get''s grout and tile as clean as the day you had them installed. I have used it on shower glass, the marble in the shower, and a stovetop with great success. My hardwood floors look great, and like my stone and tile, I will never have to buy expensive floor cleaners again.
The two micro-fiber cloths provided could definitely be larger, not sure what Oreck was thinking there. However, the cleaner is designed to use any micro-fiber cloth, so you can replace them anytime you like without having to buy them from Oreck. The clip system with the smaller cloths can be a bit of a challenge, but not so bad once you get the hang of it. Again, you can buy larger cloths at the local Walmart if they bother you that much.
When fully filled with water, the unit can be heavy for some if trying to do a job above the head, or at the shoulders, (yes you can put it above your head without it leaking). However, the easy solution is don''t fill it all the way when doing these type of jobs.
PROS:
Great construction. Large tank, and comes to steam quick.
No expensive cleaners. No chemicals.
Cleans tile and grout making it look like new. Hardwood floors shine!
CONS:
Supplied cloths small, and don''t work "great" with clips.
Let me start by saying that I am a huge Oreck fan. I think that they make quality products that do what they say they do. However, I can''t say that this product measures up. They are on the right track but have several details to work out yet. I already own a Shark steam mop but find the handle to be a little short (I am tall) and it doesn''t hold enough water to do my whole kitchen area with one fill. I was quite excited to hear that Oreck had a steam mop. I went to the Oreck store and got a demo. I commented then that the ''pad'' was loose and coming off while he mopped, and that the head of the mop was being uncooperative during the carpet refresh demo. He made excuses for all so I bought the steam mop. The mop holds about a gallon of water, and has a very tall handle and a long cord. All good things. The quality and construction are excellent. However, the first thing you notice is that it weighs more than your vaccuum. The pad is actually a piece of cotton duck fabric about a foot square with a strip of terry cloth like fabric down the center. Picture a baby diaper from 20 years ago. You lay that on the floor and use those yellow tabs in the picture to pinch the loose ends of the cloth under the yellow tab. I began to mop and noticed right away that the steam production is fast and strong, good, but the mop is very very hard to push. It is heavy and awkward to move and now I know why the salesman spent so much time showing me the shoulder movement I should use to push the mop back and fowards. The forward motion caused everything I picked up with the mop to be pushed into a line of bits and fuzz on the floor so I tried to turn the mop and capture the fuzzy stuff. Immediately the pad came unclipped. I repositioned the pad and tried again. Again the pad came off. I tried to mop around the bathroom toilet, pulling it longways along the side of the toilet, the pad came off. Each time I pulled the mop towards myself, the head of the mop leaves the floor, tilting on its back edge and drags back to me. When I push forward, it flattens out again. The mop handle stores all the water and electronics and weighs close to 10 lbs, the mop head on the other hand is a lightweight hollow piece of plastic. The design of the head is bad because it can''t compete with the weight of that handle and because it is like a box, not a flat pad holder. I could not mop under the water shut off valves behind the toilet because the head is too tall and boxxy, nor under the kitchen cupboard kickspace nor under the door backstops along the molding, all because of the height of the head. Each of these places had to be done separately without the steam mop. Lots of rework that day and lots of frustration. It has a snap on piece for the head that lets it glide on carpet so I tried that as well. Like what I saw in the store demo, each stroke out was great, each stroke back found the head flipping up on its back and bouncing back or dragging back towards me. I really can''t imagine that the tester of this product actually tried mopping or steaming with it before it was release to market. And yes, I tried bending down lower, changing my angle, going faster, slower, none of it helped. It has 2 rocker switches on the handle covered by a rubbery plastic box. One controls power, the other steam. After leaving the mop for several hours, I came back to find that the power\preheat switch light was out, but that the mop was hot. The switch wasnt fully off, just looked like it. Because of the rubbery box around the switches, it is hard to tell if a switch is completely clicked in one direction or the other and obviously the led on the switch isn''t so sure either. Thats a fire hazard in my book. I have boxed this Oreck back up, first thing I have ever returned to Oreck, but it is going back and when they come out with a new improved model, I will give that a try. For now, I really don''t think this design is ready for public consumption, too many engineering issues to work out.
The good:
Great construction, holds nearly a gallon of water, produces really good steam really fast, long cord.
The bad:
The water weighs far to much, handle pushes down so hard it makes the head flip up on every backstroke
The power switches are difficult
It is too heavy and awkward to be used as a window washer or steam cleaner as shown in the commercials. Imagine hoisting your heavy full size vacuum up to your windows or stove to clean with it.
The pad is useless because nothing sticks to it, it just collects anything it finds and leaves it at the end of your stroke, it needs to be more like the shark pad, thick, soft and absorbant.
The design of the yellow pad pinchers is rediculous, they don''t keep the pad in place if you turn the mop head even a little the pad comes off immediately. They are similar to a chip clip and are trying to hold a wet cotton cloth under pressure while moving. Not happening.
The head to too tall, can''t mop under anything normal, and it is too light to stay positioned on the floor when fighting with the weight of the handle.
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I''ve had this product a few days and used it on the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor, the bathroom sinks, the shower stall, the toilet, and a plastic step stool in the kitchen. So far, so good. I read all the negative comments and was sort of afraid to try this product. However, with a 30-day return policy, I figured I might as well give it a try.
The Steam-It holds a good amount of water, produces the appropriate amount of steam, and is not too heavy when lifting the item above your head.
It could use a longer and lighter cord. (This heavy cord makes me wonder how much electricity this mop really uses--must be a lot!) This item needs more pads included. When cleaning dirty surfaces, or expecting to do more than one item or room a day, two pads will not last any amount of time. I bought some microfiber cloths at another retailer to have enough for my cleaning projects. They worked okay, but I''d rather have more pads. The pads also shrink significantly, even when washed according to the directions. This makes the pads hard to clip onto the mop head.
When I cleaned the shower track in the bathroom, (as did a previous poster), I found the Steam-It effectively loosened the grime and all I had to do was wipe it away. I think the other poster was disappointed that the dirt didn''t disappear without wiping. That is not what a steam mop will do. The same applies with a kitchen floor. I am not sure what "line of dirt" people are getting. Do they sweep or vacuum the floor prior to steam mopping? That should take care of most dirt particles and "fuzzies" on the floor. Steam mopping should occur after that.
Cleaning the interior of the shower stall doors was a challenge. This is a small space so getting the angle of the steam mop inside the shower took some time. I still wasn''t happy with the angles I ended up getting, but I will give it another try.
Oreck should make a smaller, hand-held complementary product that is more portable for countertop use and use where the steam mop won''t fit.
Like I said, I''m only a few days and a few projects in so far...but, so far, so good. Yes, there are improvements that need to be made, but it''s an okay product for now.
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I don''t know what users expect but you first need to understand the premise of a "Steam Mop." It creates steam and the pad picks up the dirt that the steam breaks down. The steam is the cleaning agent and the pad is ONLY designed to pick up the grime. If you are looking for a Steam Floor Cleaner, this works much better than the Shark since you can do a concentrated grout cleaning first and then mop the floor. I have used both and in my opinion, this is worth the extra $100 dollars. It IS that much better.
As far as the comments about being unable to push it or the pad falling off-I have not had either issue. I like a lot of steam which leaves the floor slightly wet however with the ceiling fan on, the floor dries in under 1 minute. A higher steam setting makes it easier to push too.
What this is NOT:
1. It is not a vacuum so the floors need to be free of loose dirt therefore you need to vacuum first
2. It is not a standard mop or spray cleaner mop. This does not use soap/chemical based cleaners which make them easier to push.
What makes this better than other steam mops:
1. ADJUSTABLE STEAM KNOB: You can control the amount of steam. The steam control knob really adjust the steam from a little to a LOT. When mopping the floor, if you put it low, you will almost see no moisture but put it high and you will see wetness on the floor when done (but it dries very fast in my opinion-faster than traditional mopping).
2. VERSATILITY: You can hold it upside down and steam clean your grout in the bath tub or shower--this is a BIG PLUS to me.
3. GROUT CLEANING: The grout attachment REALLY works. Using the Oreck Tile/Grout concentrated spray, I cleaned my floor tile grout first and then switched to the mop attachment and my floor looks EXCELLENT.
4. You can clean counters, etc... but it is NOT light when filled. You need to be strong enough to use it for those applications. It is not "ideal" for counters but it will work. A cannister type steam cleaner would be better for that.
If you are on the fence, buy it and use it. If you don''t like it, Oreck will take it back and give you 100% refund so what do you have to lose. That was the reason I tried it but now I am definitely keeping mine. I love it!!!
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When my original Shark steam mop died after about 2 years, I purchased the Oreck. (I already had both one of their vacuums and the orbiter both of which I love). The Steam-It definitely does a better job on my floors than the shark did. I have a lot of ceramic tile. In the kitchen if there were any dried spills, I would need to go over them several times with the Shark and pump the handle for more steam. The Oreck does it in one pass. The steam appears to be much hotter. I also like the fact that I can use my own microfiber cloths. I have a big bag of them from Sam''s so I''ll never run out. It also holds a lot of water I only fill it halfway now which is still enough to do all my floors. I have also tried it on the granite countertops and though I won''t say it''s not awkward, it did do a nice job. As far as hard to push, I have not had any problems and I''m neither young nor particularly strong
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