Shark Steam Mop

I admit it. I got sucked into one of those info-mercials about Steam mops. I admit that I picked up the phone and bought it after watching about 10 minutes of the demonstration. Brian shook his head and laughed. I kept dialing and I ordered. I needed this mop.

Before you all start laughing at me - let me back-track to how I became a victim buyer of a product on an informercial.

Our house has Brazillian Cherry hardwood floors. They are beautiful. I love them. It was one of the reasons that I HAD to have the house. They are warm, dark, inviting, and they span the entire downstairs (except for the 1/2 bath and mudroom).

Quickly after we moved in, it didn't take long for me to start disliking the floors. I soon realized that they showed EVERYTHING! Lint, footprints, shoe prints, dog hair, anything. I realized that the Brazillian floors and I were going to have to go to war. So - I started researching the best way to clean these floors. Everything I read said NOT to put Murphy's Hardwood Oil on them. They said that it would cause a severe waxy build up. (In fact for those of you who have any hardwood floors - Murphy's is the worst for them). Just an FYI.

Anyway -it appears that the best way to clean the floors is using mild dish detergent with hot water. Mmmm. Easy enough. So - I got out my trusty mop and starting mopping using the dish detergent and hot water. It appeared to be working. Working that is - until the floor dried. Then I noticed it was totally streaky. You could actually see where the mop had gone back and forth.

Mmmm. This did not make me happy. So - I figured it must be the type of mop I was using. So - I went and bought a different mop. I tried again. The same thing happened. This streaky thing was making me nuts. After a few weeks of experimenting, researching, and trying to figure out what to do with these damn floors (that I used to love), I came to the conclusion that I was going to have to get on my hands and knees. That's right folks. I had one old dishcloth in one hand and another one in the other hand. The one dishcloth was wet with the detergent and water and the other was for drying. I slowly worked my way across the floor. Kind of like Ralph Maccio in the Karate Kid. "Wax on. Wax off." Except I wasn't using wax.

Anyway - this was a good method. The floors looked clean. Everyone was happy and I had finally won the war with the floor.
But- not really.

I discovered that I didn't want to get on my hands and knees. This was NOT a small area that I was cleaning. This was the entire downstairs of my house. Family room, dining area, kitchen, foyer, hallway. Way too much square footage to be on my hands and knees. And let's not forget about the fact that the belly isn't getting any smaller. Bending down will no longer be an option in a few weeks.

So -I saw the infomerical on the steam mop. It can be used on any floor - even hardwood - as long as it is sealed. I had seen commercials on steam mops before. I had researched them. This informerical clinched the deal. I was ordering it. And since I was the one who cleaned the floor - Brian really had no say. Sure - he vacuums and sweeps. But - I have never seen him ONE TIME get on his hands and knees to clean the way I did.

So - this was last Sunday. They told me it would arrive on the 28th. What? An entire week. Oh well. I would wait. I would win the war. The Brazillian floors were not going to know what hit them.

To my surprise - the mop arrived today. I was so excited. 3 days early! I couldn't wait to get mopping and steaming. I put it together with ease. I read the instructions. I put the micro-fiber pad on it. (It came with 7 pads that can be washed.) I plugged it in. It warmed up in 30 seconds. I was mopping away and the floor was clean and there are no streaks and it makes me happy that it is just plain water. There are no chemicals.

The Shark Steam mop gets a tumb's up. My floors will always be spotless. I have won the war.