Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 Sep 08, 2010 8:14 am Hi There I am in need of some ideas in regards to cleaning tiles. How are the steam mops? Ive heard both positive and negatives in regards to these, due to having so many tiles I am in need of some ideas other than the 'mop and bucket' which will take me forever to do. Thanks Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 2Sep 08, 2010 8:18 am We have a kenwood steammop and I find it more annoying than useful It does clean beautifully but its tedious having to stop unplug and move to other rooms I only use every few months I have floorboards everywhere except bathrooms though ************* First time renovator VIC Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 3Sep 08, 2010 8:20 am Might be good to get the tiles sealed so that they clean easily. Then just use a squeegee mop to run over them. Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 4Sep 08, 2010 10:28 am I have to second the steam mop being annoying to use.... if you had a super long extension cord on it would be okay, but realistically I find it easier to mop thru the old fashioned way... and perhaps use the steam mop once in a while... Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 5Sep 08, 2010 10:43 am Moogles I have to second the steam mop being annoying to use.... if you had a super long extension cord on it would be okay, but realistically I find it easier to mop thru the old fashioned way... and perhaps use the steam mop once in a while... I'll third that one ... I chucked our steam mop out as it took me ages to mop our house, between moving the plug and then refilling/waiting for it to reheat it was quicker to mop with the good old mop and bucket. I also found the old fashioned way cleaned better on the tiles I had at the time too. ~ trying to build our dream home by the sea ~ Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 7Sep 08, 2010 11:43 am I vacuum my tiles and then use a microfibre mop. I haven't sealed my grout and none of my grout is stained with dirt. I've also heard steam mops turn any dirt left on the tiles into mud and it sticks on the grout as it passes over and gets caught. 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 8Sep 08, 2010 12:22 pm [quote="lisanne"]I vacuum my tiles and then use a microfibre mop. ME TOO!!! Great way to go those microfibre mops! Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 11Sep 09, 2010 10:05 pm MrsGreen I have a iRobot scooba. Couldn't live without it. How do you use it? As in do you run it overnight? What sort of sized area does one charge cover? I'd happily vacuum if I had a little helper that mopped for me ~ trying to build our dream home by the sea ~ Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 13Sep 13, 2010 6:56 pm My tiles show streak marks as they're shiny white. We have an iRobot that we vacuum the tiles with first .. or run the normal vacuum or broom to pick up big lots of dust. We've got a steam mop right now and it does a great job. We bought a Bissell. Used to have a different brand and it was terrible. Looking at getting an iRobot Scooba..just waiting for a friend to bring their's around for a trail run. Built Liberty 42 - Handover 26th Feb 2010 forum thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17243 Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 14Sep 13, 2010 11:01 pm I can't believe no one swears by steam mops.... I LOVE mine!! It's 5 years old and still going strong - Sunbeam Ecomop which unfortunately is discontinued now. Never had a problem, have cleaned everything from tiles, hardwood floors & timber laminate with it. Also has shower, glass & fabric cleaning attachments. Doesn't leave marks or lots of water on the floor. Short lead but I just use a huge extension cord. So much easier & much less effort than manual mopping. Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 15Sep 14, 2010 10:15 am Another vote for the scooba. As it is random, i do less area at a time than it can do theoretically. You can get a damp paper towel after it's done, wipe the floor and it's completely clean! I think i could mop the old way for a whole day & never get the floor clean enough to eat off. Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 16Oct 04, 2010 4:19 pm Oops I forgot all about this thread, sorry I never followed up with a reply (silly not having auto subscribe when you post!). It sometimes leaves occassional streak marks, or at least on shiny floors when the light hits it... but I find if you use the vinegar opposed to imported clorox solution it is so much better. For me, to know it is using clean water only and not spreading dirty water around is the biggest selling point. You don't HAVE to vacuum first, it vacuums as it goes, but it does tend to blow the dust around a bit. I've got an elextrolux vacuum robot as well (much more intelligent than the irobot vacuums). I tend to run the vacuum in carpet areas whilst scooba does the tiled areas. I plan on having polished conrete in the new house... perfect for the scooba to clean lol. Even if I only had bathrooms to do, with 3 kids and many accidents, i'd still invest in one. I must admit though, I'm onto my 3rd in 5 years. Breaking the 2nd one was hubbys fault though. The first one probably could have been salvaged but I bought it direct from the US so warranty wasn't valid. I bought my most recent one in Australia. I only do one room at a time, I have the better model that can do 2.5 cycles, which allows me to do 2 full rooms and then I only have fill it to do a bathroom/toilet/laundry sized room. It only takes a few hours to charge, so essentially I can do the entire house (bedrooms are carpet) in 1 day, but I tend to turn it on when we head out to the shops so it is dry when we get home then I just plug it in to charge to turn on next time we go out. The BEST part about it is the kids love to just sit and watch it Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 17Oct 04, 2010 4:25 pm I looooove my steam mop.. Cheap from godfreys and workes well. I use an extension cord and probably chaNge it once. Love it Re: Steam Mops ? Cleaning a house with so many tiles 18Oct 04, 2010 5:03 pm I also use the steam mop and love it. My polished porcelain tiles are white and really show streaks with just mopping..( had them for 5 years) ...using vinegar was even worse for some reason. I was at my wits end for something to clean them and keep them shiny. You can't use 'soap' ajax or any floor cleaner unless it's ph neutral without leaving streaks either. You also have to dry them. I vaccum first with the ducted vaccuum with the bristle head down then steam mop ( the H2O one from the telly) and it's is fantastic..and actually dries them too with the coral mop head. Agree about the pain of having to unplug etc...but it's way better than buckets and water and squeezing out mops. 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