Halleluia! When my Bissell Steam Mop finally ''died'' and I found out they didn''t make them anymore I was devastated. The only place I found to buy them was ebay at a whopping $250! Anyway, I searched online for other models and read all their reviews. None of the reviews for other products sounded any where near the quality and hard work of my old Bissell. I saw this model (The Steamboy) and it looked similar to the Bissell, however nobody had written a review, so I was a little skeptical.I''m here to tell ya this product is as good or, dare I say, even better than the Bissell for several reasons: 1. it is lighter weight (but not flimsy) so my arms don''t get tired 2. the head pivots easier and it is triangular in shape so it gets into the nasty corners under my kitchen counters and behind my toilets even better 3. the pads are easier to put on than the Bissell and the draw string to tighten them on is longer and therefore easier to work with and lastly 4. it has a carry handle and doesn''t fall over when standing upright as my old Bissell did. Cons are 1. you have to make sure that the tank is all the way in or it is a little drippy 2. the cord could be longer, but I can''t remember the Bissell''s being any longer than this one.
So, if you want to replace your Bissell or give one as a gift this is definately an affordable option. If you''ve never used a steam mop, you will be amazed and disgusted by how clean your floors get and realize how dirty they REALLY were all those years when you used the ol'' mop and bucket. This is faster too and requires no chemicals to clean!
I live in a neighborhood where EVERY home is "green built certified" this means that, to have that certification, the builder built no homes with carpet. All the main floors are polished concrete and the upper floors wood. The bathrooms all have tile and/or slate in every home.
Because of this, as you could imagine, steam mops are quite the neccessity...not only because they get the hard surfaces better than anything else, but because they are also "green" and clean chemical free. I''ll be honest, for us...that''s a bonus but we weren''t cleaning chemical free before. We like chemical free for our pet''s paws but I''ll confess I was mopping with chemicals before I got my steamer and just kept the pets out of the room while doing it because, up until then, I couldn''t get it clean any other way.
Okay, so that said...we decided to have a steamer show down to compare 7 different steamers because my friends and I knew as long as we are in these homes we are gonna have to have a steamer to get all these hard floors clean...we may as well figure out which one to buy next go round. Because my own home is graced with 2 cats, 3 dogs, and two gregarious cooks, my kitchen floor (which had not ever been cleaned by a steamer since my steamer had just arrived) was the testing spot.
Mind you, I vaccuum twice per week and do a mega mop twice a week. I THOUGHT I had pretty clean floors in spite of my pet capacity.
I thought wrong. These picked up dirt so well it''s scary
So here''s the results:
1. steam mops are the mac daddys of clean floors. What these things picked up was tremendous and no comparison to my vigorous prior constant major mopping.
2. So now I''ll break down the elements of each mop we used and then go into more detail about each at the end.
We tried out:
"S": The shark by Europro
"E" The Envirosteamer by Eureka
"H" the haan steamer
"M" the Monster
"B" The Bissell Green Tea
"SF" The SteamFast SF-140 by SteamFast
"SB" The SteamBoy T1
CORD LENGTH: so you don''t have to stop and unplug and replug in somewhere else:
Shark ( will be referred to as S):20 feet
Envirosteamer (will be referred to as E): 25 feet
Haan: (will be referred to as H)19''8"
Monster (will be referred to as M): 25 feet
Bissell (will be referred to as B) 17 feet
SteamFast (will be referred to as SF): 18.7 ft.
SteamBoy (will be referred to as SB): 16 ft.
STEAM TEMPERATURE: this is a primary element. The hotter the steam, the more dirt picked up and hot steam will also kill parasites, mold and mildew and loosen more dirt:
S 110 degrees. lame
E 220 degrees. very hot
H 212 degrees. very hot
M 266 degrees. hottest...although the envirosteamer and haan seemed plenty hot enough. The shark didn''t clean nearly as well and this was one reason. 110 degrees just isn''t going to melt off stuck on grime.
B 125 degrees. Note that, because of this low steam temperature the manual said that if I wanted to sanitize the floor or pick up caked on spills, I had to hold the steamer on the spot for 15 seconds but no more than 20 because that could damage some floors. Now I don''t know about you, but if I can sanitize with one swipe of the other steamers because of their sanitizing temps my floor will be done WAY faster but I don''t have a timer to worry about the extra 5 secons where my wood floors could get damaged. My sink water is hotter than this so it would take less time to use a regular mop if I have to hold the steamer on every spot of my floor for 15 seconds to santize. Just sayin
SF: 137 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize.
SB: 120 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize
BUILD:
We found how it was made corresponded with issues with the steamer. The Shark, for example, was quite flimsy and they actually sell replacement handle kits because so many people have issues with the handle breaking! We know this because my neighbor''s shark broke and the store had a replacement handle kit on the shelf because he said "it happens often". That''s an extra cost.
Envirosteamer: Was 5.4 lbs which made it lightweight but strong enough that you didn''t have to press down to clean. Very well made and strong parts
Haan: not made as well as the envirosteamer but it''s more expensive so this was a surprise. A bit flimsy and you need to press down on it more to clean at 3.15 lbs.
Monster: hefty and well made at 9 lbs but a bit too heavy unless you want a good workout. (Note: They have changed the Monster handles on the mops now and they are all plastic and people are having breakage issues)
Bissell: It''s 8.4 pounds but that includes a water filter that you have to get for this one (see notes below)
SteamFast: very flimsy plastic all over, but it''s also more affordable than the other mops so it''s a bit of a trade off. 7 lbs.
SteamBoy: They didn''t even ship this preassembled like the other mops. We had to assemble it! Pretty flimsy plastic. 9 lbs but that includes the water filter you have to get with this one (see notes below) This is the only mop I''ve ever seen that only has ONE jet.
WATER CAPACITY: Very important because having to stop and add more water just adds on to the time you have to spend cleaning, especially if you are cleaning a hallway or livingroom or some other area that has no sink:
S: only holds 10 oz of water. Lasted for 10 miinutes of cleaning
E: holds 20 oz. of water. Lasted for over 20 minutes of cleaning (we stopped at 20 and it was still going)
H: holds 11.83 oz of water. Lasted for 13 minutes of cleaning
M: holds 17 oz. of water. Lasted for 15 minutes of cleaning
B: holds 13 oz of water, lasted for 12.5 minutes of cleaning AND you have to undo and remove the tank from the machine every time you fill it up then hook it back on and the steam tank is on the handle rather than the base so the steam doesn''t flow directly out after heating up which may explain why it''s not as hot once it leaves the machine. The way this mop is made the water flows past heating elements which can, according to Bissell, develop calcium deposits on it so this is the only mop where, because of this, you also have to use a water filter with it and replace the water filter when there is build up which means and extra 12 bucks every few months. The better mops are made to heat the water in a metal tank so this is not an issue and you pour the water directly into the tank.
SF: Holds the least amount of water and I had to stop and fill up and get the water reheated often in trying to clean the floor. Only holds 8 oz of water and if you use 8 oz it gets your floor too wet so we wound up filling it with just 7.5 oz of water for best results and it only lasted 7 minutes when we did that before we had to refill again.
SB: 24 oz BUT it only lasted for 12 minutes of cleaning. I think because of the build. This one also is made so that the water has to flow past heating elements down the handle, rather than flowing directly from a hot tank to the floor at the base. Because of this it can develop calcium deposits inside the mop so you have to also buy a water filter for this mop and replace it every few months when there is build up which means extra cost and, quite possibly, more repairs. Because this does not flow directly out of a hot tank it cools on the way down and possibly with this one evaporates somehow because we tried it twice and the steam simply didn''t last as long as it should.
STEAM HOLES: We found a difference although you''d think they''d all be the same. The shark and the SteamBoy only had one hole that the steam came out of so it wasn''t cleaning things on the edges, just in ONE small spot in spite of the size of the mop head! All the others had steam coming from all over the bottom and sides. (the others has approx 12 steam jets.)
SIZE: The taller it is the less stooping, the wider the mop head, the more it covers
S: 40"Hx12"Wx7"D
E: 50"Hx13.25"Wx6.75"D (the fact that this depth was smaller made it reach under applicances better...it fit better under things)
H: 50.5x11.5x7.5
M: 48x12.7.5
B: 45.25H (this was uncomfortably short) x11 x8.4 (even though this didn''t fit under cabinets because of the depth it did swivel the best)
SF:49x11.8x7
SB: 28.2x6.9x7.9
Conclusion of comparison: First it must be pointed out that, in order to use the shark and the Bissell and the SteamBoy, you had to keep pumping the water. This was the most annoying feature of anything...the others just steamed on their own and didn''t wear out your fingers. Hated this feature of the shark and Bissell and SteamBoy. We liked that the Monster, the Shark, the Envirosteamer, the SteamFast and the Bissell came with 2 cleaning pads rather than one. The Haan only came with one at the time of the review (I double checked since when she bought hers it was also only one and as of today, that hasn''t changed) so that ups the price even more because I can''t imagine only wanting one to clean. All worked well on sanitizing mattresses and showers. too.
But the winner picked by all of us unanimously as the mop we want to have for our next steam mop order?
The Eureka Envirosteamer. It picked up the most dirt, was made as well as the Monster but was less expensive, held the most water, emitted the most very hot steam so it sanitized as well, lasted 3 times as long with one water resevor fillup as the others, and had a cord as long as the monster. BUT if you have carpets than I would recommend the Monster because it has a carpet attachment that allows you to steam clean your carpets and it picked up pretty close to the same amount of dirt as the Eureka Envirosteamer, and had close to the same features...a bit heavier though but that may make it last even longer. It is costlier, but to clean 2 surfaces I would think that might make it worth it. It should be noted that the SteamBoy took almost twice as long to heat up initially compared to the other mops.
UPDATE: The Haan just started including 2 pads with the mop according to the product description page. Not that this changes our opinion since it didn''t work as well and the parts were flimsier, but it should be noted that this issue of not having enough cleaning pads has now been resolved and is equal to the other mops.
ANOTHER UPDATE: 1. The Shark came out with a new machine that holds more water and has a longer cord BUT it still only heats the water to 110 degrees so it won''t sanitize or get rid of trapped grime at this "bathwater" temperature.
Another update: I haven''t tried it yet but was told about an even better mop than the Eureka Envirosteamer but I can''t personally afford it...still, it''s worth mentioning in case you can. It''s called the Ladybug XL2300 and is a canister steam mop. It heats the water to 298 degrees (woah!) so it''s a super sanitizer but it''s over a thousand bucks. It also comes with 6 towels. I didn''t include it in my review because I haven''t ever tried it and I wanted to only include mops I personally tried but it''s got great enough stats that, even though it''s out of my price range, I thought I''d pass it on as a super sanitizer.
Also: Don''t spend money buying extra pads for the Eureka. I was in a pinch and used a kitchen dish towel...the rectangular kind...just clip on both ends. It worked just as good or better...because they are thinner so the steam penetrates faster and therefore reaches the floor hotter. However, I would recommend still only using the thick pads that come with it for your wood floors just to be safe. But the super hot steam penetrating the dish towel worked excellent on tile and hard floors. Also, you can flip both the towel and the pads that come with it on the Eureka to double the usage...when it gets dirty, just flip it over and use the other side. I use several old dish towels with this but I like best the kind that just have a bit of texture but no squares sewn on them...but they all work great. So do the pads.
Buy Reliable Steamboy T1 Steam Floor Mop Now
I had very high hopes for this product and I have been very disapointed.I could achieve similar results by pouring out a bucket of hot water on my floor and wrapping towels around my feet to move the water around. I can only assume that something is not functioning correctly and there is too much water too fast. The "tank" is supposed to last 20 minutes (according to the instruction book 30 min according to the Reliable website) mine was empty within 10. In addition, there was more steam coming out of the swivel head connection than the bottom of the mop.
I read the assembly instructions carefully and I am confident that it was assembled properly (even let my husband double check! ;-))
The short troubleshooting guide mentions nothing about my two issues 1) too much water on the floor 2) steam coming from the swivel head more than the floor
I contacted Reliables technical support group and received a call back telling me that I should not be holding down the trigger continuously but just hold it until the steam starts and then stop and hit it again when I need more steam. While this definitely cut down on the water I fail to see how this can be classified as a steam cleaning of the floor. As soon as I release the trigger the steam stops. So, instead of steam cleaning my floor, I get a burst of steam followed by wiping the floor with a damp, hot cloth. I hit the trigger again, burst of steam, let go, steam immediately stops, push the floor mop around hoping that the damp, hot cloth is actually doing anything to effectively clean my kitchen floor let alone "Sanitizing"
The description on the website says " 30 minutes CONTINUOUS steam"
The instruction manual mentions nothing about clicking the trigger on until steam starts and then letting go. It says to hold down the trigger over the area you want clean I assume this means continuously as I would like my entire kitchen floor clean!
I contacted the technical support again explaining that I was still unhappy and either wanted verification that my unit is defective and be sent a replacement or if it is working properly to send me instructions on how to get a refund. It has been almost two weeks and have not heard back anything. I just resent the email to their customer service department and hope to get an acceptable solution to this.
I noticed in the forums that there have been other customers who also had "leak" issues. I THINK mine is defective but I cannot recommend this product in any way given how it has performed as well as the lack of quality, fast customer service and resolution to product problems.
If I am told by Reliable that my unit is defective and I am sent one that performs better, I would gladly update this review.
This is the first time I have ever written a product review I must be pretty "steamed" ;-)
Read Best Reviews of Reliable Steamboy T1 Steam Floor Mop Here
I am very pleased with the Reliable Steam Mop: it leaves the floor immaculate, it gets up hardened messes that would have required scraping before, it gets in small, convoluted spaces, it is very light-weight, the water reservoir is big enough to do a lot of floor, the mop-head cover is very easy to use and to wash, it uses tap water or distilled water. Now my suggestions for improvement: first and foremost, there should be an on-off switch in the handle; and second, the cord could definitely use another ten feet. Also, not really a complaint, but good to know, it does leave quite a bit of water on the floor, so it takes a while to dry. I turn on the ceiling fans, and that helps a lot. I would recommend this product!Want Reliable Steamboy T1 Steam Floor Mop Discount?
The Steamboy Floor Mop did not disappoint. I have a high gloss, white tile floor in the kitchen, dining room, and hallway. When cooking, the tiniest of greasy splatters would smudge-track everywhere. I used to get down on my hands and knees with a spray cleaner rather than drag out a mope and bucket or my Swiffer Wet Jet that always over-sprays and stains my stainless (more work). The mop heats up in minutes and the floor is back to squeaky clean in no time. One hint: after filling the water tank and plugging it in, pull the trigger for a minute to gurgle the water down into the the lines. I didn''t and wasn''t getting any steam. This company''s customer service dept. via Chris took the time to open up a Steamboy, assemble and trouble shoot my issue. Incredible!( I know it says to empty the tank, but I keep water in mine and just whip it out of the closet for a quick clean-up.) Enjoy yours.Save 10% Off
