Among the most affordable household steam cleaners is the Karcher SC1030 mop. User reviews emphasize its undoubted functionality and obvious usefulness in the household.
A few words about the manufacturer
The history of the German company "Karcher" began in the pre-war period and has more than 80 years. Initially, its products were heating equipment and heat electric heaters (TENy). The logical development of this direction was the release from the mid-70s of the last century of electro-hydraulic devices designed for cleaning and cleaning industrial premises and equipment, as well as motor vehicles (everyone knows the famous Karcher mini-washers). Twenty years after this, in 1995, the first industrial and household steam cleaners of the company went on sale. Since then, she has been continuously improving their design and supplementing the lineup with ever more advanced products.
How the Karcher steam mop works
User reviews about these products, which are mostly positive, still cannot, due to their brevity, explain to the interested reader the main advantages of this type of household appliances. We will try to fill this gap.
Outwardly, the Karcher steam cleaner resembles a conventional vacuum cleaner. It also has a floor container with wheels and a handle for carrying, a flexible hose attached to it, ending with a “gun” - a handle with controls, a pair of connecting tubes for lengthening the “gun” and, finally, a set of brushes and nozzles for cleaning various surfaces.
What is the difference between a steam cleaner and a vacuum cleaner? The fact is that inside the floor container there is a container with a heating element, which heats the water poured into it to a boil. The steam generated in this case accumulates in a closed volume, its pressure rises (a kind of mini steam boiler), and when the user opens the passage through the “gun” handle, the steam rushes under pressure through the hose, handle, connecting tubes and brush to the surface being cleaned.
Steam cleaning principle
Steam is an all-pervading substance, for it there are no barriers. He is able to get to particles of dirt inside the pile of the floor carpet, in the cracks of the wooden floor and in the covers of auto seats. It penetrates into all inaccessible places: along the plinths of the floor, under the window sills, between sections of radiators, etc. At the same time, it heats and destroys particles of dirt, which become easily separable from the surfaces and are carried out by a microfiber cloth worn on the brush, or by the bristles of the brush head.
At the same time, no buckets or basins with water, as well as periodic rinsing of floor rags, are needed. All dirt is collected on a microfiber cloth worn on a brush. Then it can simply be rinsed and used again. Of course, no matter how much the microfiber absorbs dirt into itself, but if the floors are very dirty, then it will have to be rinsed during washing.
The main thing when washing with a steam mop is that the minimum amount of moisture gets on the floor. Therefore, it is very useful when washing a laminate floor or parquet, which is generally criminal to wash with a rag.
Disinfection and deodorization of surfaces to be cleaned
Steam also kills bacteria and therefore disinfects cleaned surfaces. Plus, steam almost completely removes unpleasant odors from traces of cat urine. According to the opinions of many pet lovers, cleaning the rooms with a steam allows you to completely get rid of unpleasant odors. In addition, after it, none of the residents are guaranteed to have any allergic reactions.
After all, such a cleaning method does not need any detergents. Therefore, one of the most hygienic and environmentally friendly devices for cleaning floors, tiles, kitchen surfaces, taps and much more without the use of household chemicals is the Karcher steam mop. User reviews, however, force to make a reservation. The fact is that steam is a high-temperature product, and not every surface can withstand its effect. Therefore, boldly cleaning the carpet, painted wooden floor and porcelain tiles with steam, be careful with the tiles, as it is prone to microcracks due to steam.
Steam mop "Karcher sc1030"
User reviews about this steam cleaner emphasize its lightness and compactness, its weight is only 3.2 kg. It comes complete with a 3.2 bar steam generator per 1 liter of water with a 1.5 kW heating element. The hose has a length of 2 m, which is quite enough to work in a not very large room, and the electric cable is five meters. The ergonomic valve of the handle “pistol” with the function of child protection makes it easy to adjust the flow of steam.
The highlight of this model is a complete set with its steam iron. The fact is that this option usually includes more expensive Karcher steam mops. The prices of such models from the SC5 series reach almost 30,000 rubles, which is much higher than the models of the SC1 series, like the SC1030 steam cleaner, which costs a little less than 6,000 rubles. So for a consumer who wants to get the maximum functionality for a minimum of funds, he will be the best choice.
Features of a complete set
What cleaning equipment is supplied with the Karcher SC1030 steam mop? Customer reviews point out the reasonableness of a set of devices for cleaning floors. It necessarily includes a basic floor brush with special clips for fabric cloths. This is the basic wet cleaning tool . For mechanical cleaning of surfaces while simultaneously treating them with steam, a brush with a powerful bristle is intended, for which a fabric cloth is also provided if brushing is undesirable.
But this is not all the amenities that characterize the Karcher SC1030 steam mop. User reviews emphasize the undoubted usefulness of a point nozzle for supplying a steam jet to hard-to-reach places, especially in heating and plumbing structures, as well as a small round brush. It allows you to simultaneously use bristles and steam for cleaning on a small area, which increases its effectiveness.
Cleaning various surfaces
Karcher SC1030 will work on most surfaces, including floors, walls, including chrome taps in bathtubs, showers and kitchens. His pair is also subject to double-glazed windows and plastic, glass windows, ovens and stoves, as well as mattresses, carpets and furniture upholstery.
What else can this steam mop do? The user manual recommends using it on ceramic tile floors, painted and laminated wooden floors, parquet, carpets and carpet. If you want to use it on unprotected wooden surfaces, you may need to double the microfiber cloth on the brush to reduce direct steam exposure.
Why steam mop iron
Indeed, with a huge selection of completely autonomous steam irons, what is the use of connecting these two devices? Meanwhile, many users note it in their reviews.
The steam iron complete with Karcher SC1030 is completely electrically safe - because it does not have a heater and it does not need power supply. Such an iron is extremely light - because it does not contain water. An iron from the Karcher company can work for a very long time without a break, and it does not overheat at all. This is also a consequence of the lack of electric heating and boiling of the liquid inside it. There is no heating element, which means there is no scale on it, which means that one of the main reasons for the failure of steam electric irons is excluded.
With this continuous steam iron, you can smooth out hanging curtains without removing them, bedding and outerwear right on your shoulders. The convenience of such technology has already been felt by many housewives. All this together allows us to state with confidence that the Karcher SC1030 is the best steam mop in its price segment.
About Chinese Steam Mops
A Chinese-made H2O mop appeared on the market. Its design and construction are very unlike the familiar look of the Karcher steam cleaners. She does not have a flexible hose, and the steam generator is located directly in the lower part of the handle near the nozzle. Is it convenient or not? If you wash a large free floor area, it is quite convenient - you do not need to constantly move the floor container. If you try to wash the walls, you will have to keep on weight a fairly massive mop with the weight of water, and this is an inconvenience and even a difficulty. The H2O steam mop has a “dry” weight of either 5 kg (red, 1.5 kW) or 3 kg (green, 1.3 kW). Add to this another kilogram of water in the container, and you will realize that working with such a device is not for weak female hands. The mop is also not suitable for processing hard-to-reach places - a nozzle with a hose in this case is much more convenient.
The pluses of this brand include a considerable number of plastic and fabric nozzles in the kit, which provide, among other things, an ironing mode (probably on weight or on the floor), as well as a low price, as always with the “Chinese”. Reviews about this steam cleaner are very controversial. There are both enthusiastic and indignant. However, this applies to most Chinese-made household appliances.
Washing vacuum cleaner or steam mop: general reviews
It would seem that just recently, washing vacuum cleaners appeared on the market. Their prices are characterized by a wide range. Some models of famous European brands can cost up to a thousand dollars. At the same time, all washing vacuum cleaners differ in solid dimensions and weight. You can try to look for cheaper cleaning vacuum cleaners. Prices for Chinese products will be at least 25 percent lower, however, their reliability will drop accordingly.
Many users of washing vacuum cleaners, especially housewives, prefer the latter when comparing them with steam mops. What plays the main role here, price? Customer reviews highlight the lack of the need to use detergents and the elimination of pungent odors from them when cleaning with steam. In terms of ease of use, many prefer, compared to vacuum cleaners, namely H2O steam cleaners as more compact, rather than products from Karcher, closer to vacuum cleaners in appearance.
As for the steam mops proper, among their advantages, first of all, users note the simplification of the floor cleaning process itself, in which it is not often necessary to squeeze and rinse the floor rag, as Microfiber cloth can absorb dirt dissolved in steam for a very long time. Plus, if your floor is covered with a laminate or parquet board, a steam mop becomes simply irreplaceable. An undoubted advantage of it is its high functionality - you can wash almost everything: from the floor and walls to plumbing and a car.
Steam Mop + Electric Broom
In conclusion, let us say a few words about the latest innovation in the field of household appliances for cleaning. If you want to not only wash the floor or carpet, but also to remove small debris from it, then the steam mop-brush will help you. This combination of a steam cleaner with an electric broom in the form of a rotating electric brush, located in the same housing with a floor brush and throwing particles of garbage into the collection container. Of course, it is not possible to get a thick carpet out of dust with such a brush, but it is quite possible to remove bread crumbs from the sofa and at the same time clean it with steam.