Every month Mingus and Dottie try out doggie products for your enjoyment and education. This month, they were called upon to do what they do best: get things dirty, and then watch me clean up the mess. How did the Black & Decker Steam Mop handle these eight dirty paws? Check out our review below!
[Disclosure: Black & Decker sent us a Deluxe Steam Mop to try out. All views and opinions are our own.]
Mopping floors ranks somewhere right around doing my taxes and playing Scrabble with toddlers as far as activities I enjoy. There’s the bucket and the soap, the scrubbing, the rinsing, the dumping of the dirty water and cleaning of the mop… and then the dogs manage to mess it all up again as I’m nursing my sore lower back, neck, and shoulders. I don’t do it often. Don’t tell anyone.
The Black & Decker Steam Mop is designed to make mopping effort- and hassle-free. It takes the grunting, sweat, and harsh chemicals out of cleaning floors, killing 99.9% of germs with steam alone.
The Black & Decker Steam Mop packs a lot of power in a lightweight, petite package. Assembling the Steam Mop was fairly easy, although the handle was a little hard to pop into place. (I had to be a total girl and get my husband to do it.) The Deluxe version we tested arrived with two full-size washable microfiber pads as well as two corner-shaped pads for getting into nooks and crannies. (There was also a Carpet Refresher attachment included in the box for steaming carpets, but since our only carpets are a few high-pile rugs, we decided to just leave that part in the box for now.)
To prepare the Steam Mop for use, simply fill the removable water reservoir and pop it back into place, and then attach a microfiber cleaning pad, held in place with Velcro, to the base of the mop.
Once you power up the Steam Mop, it will let you know the water is good and hot and ready to go by switching its indicator light from red to blue. (The picture doesn’t show it well, but it sort of lights up the whole water tank so that it glows. It’s pretty cool.) Once that light glows blue, get ready for the magic to happen.
I seriously can’t stress how easy the Steam Mop is to use. The handle is easy to control, and popping it forward and backward (using your foot as an anchor) controls the release of steam so that you can take breaks to move rugs, furniture, or dogs (ahem) as needed. The Steam Mop works best when moved slowly across the floor, and it’s incredibly lightweight, so there’s no strain on your arms, shoulders, or back. The hypnotic hissing sound of the steam being released is actually rather relaxing – if you close your eyes you can pretend you’re not cleaning your house but rather lounging in a Swedish spa. Or something like that.
The Steam Mop can be used on tile, vinyl, stone, marble, laminate, and sealed wood floors. The Smart Select button on the handle allows you to select the type of floor you’re cleaning so the mop will release the appropriate amount of steam. For extra-stubborn stains, the Steam Burst button provides a little extra oomph. The mop glides easily across the floor, and the handle pivots in multiple directions to make navigation easy.
The Steam Mop is easy to use, and, lo, it works. It works! It removes spills, stains, paw prints, and that gross grimy buildup with ease. I now mop my floors weekly. It’s just that easy (and, honestly, fun. Do I need to get out more?). And since it doesn’t use any chemicals or harsh cleaning agents (just beautiful, glorious steam), it’s an extra-safe option for homes with pets or small children. Dottie likes to lick the floor. Now it’s simply annoying rather than potentially dangerous.
See? Paw prints just disappear! And there’s no bucket and mop and suds to clean up afterwards.
Really, my only complaint about the Steam Mop is that the water reservoir is a little small (although its small size helps keep the mop lightweight). I typically have to refill the water reservoir before I finish a larger room, but I tend to move the mop very slowly to ensure a good, deep clean, which means more steam is released. I read some reviews online from a few people who had had trouble with the mop handle breaking, but I’ve been using my Steam Mop for a while now with no problems. (And Black & Decker offers a 30-day guarantee and two-year warranty, so that’s cool, right?) The Steam Mop is slim and compact, so it fits neatly in my broom closet. And, of course, once you’re finished mopping, the microfiber pads pull right off and are machine-washable, meaning the Steam Mop is waste-free.
(Oh, my gosh. Do not look at this picture. My floors were THAT dirty? Ew. Just ew. But hey, look at all the dirt the Steam Mop picks up!)
You can check out specs and video for the full line of Steam Mops over at Black & Decker.
