Late-night infomercials for the Shark Steam Mop promise users a trip to Sparkle City — clean grout without ruining your manicure!
Anyone who prefers to sleep during those hours when television programming drops all pretense of being entertaining and goes straight to plugging Time/Life collections and CD compilations can instead catch cheerleaders for the Shark Steam Mop at :
“I did consider myself pretty good at cleaning floors,” says one devotee, “but when I looked at the pad after cleaning with the Steam Mop, it was filthy, and I was surprised.”
The Shark is designed to replace a traditional mop and bucket, and it’s recommended for all floor surfaces: “Clean floors easier, faster, better!”
But oh, the reality. Dirt in grout, for instance, needs a scrubbing hand, not a juiced- up mop. And hard-to-reach spots, which often attract the most dirt, can be difficult to get to with the Shark’s steam- release feature.
That’s not the only reason to be skeptical. Do you hear the theme from “Jaws” subtly echoing in your head? That’s the Shark Steam Mop coming to take a bite out of your wallet. Its suggested retail price — about $80 — is steep. And when users consider the Shark’s flimsy, Swiffer- like build, the price just seems exorbitant.
But as a cleaning tool, the Shark doesn’t completely disappoint; in fact, it’s quite a good mop. For best results, pour about a cup of water into its reservoir, pump the handle for 30 seconds to initiate the steam release, then mop. The mopping motion will get steam to come through the Shark’s microfiber pads.
During testing for this review, the Shark easily devoured everything from wine stains to heavy-duty grime. It even eliminated soap scum when applied to shower walls.
Problem spots can be attacked by standing the mop on top of the stain and “steaming” it for 5 to 10 seconds, then mopping as usual. But for tough stains, users might end up repeating this practice even more times than they would if they were using a traditional sponge mop.
For instance, the Shark required a lot of back-and-forth work to get shoe scuffs off of linoleum, and didn’t get any scuffs at all off a vinyl bathroom floor.
But to be fair, all of the above was done with relatively little effort, no bending or kneeling, no annoying sloshes and no disgustingly dirty bucket water. The Shark’s steam vapors dry in seconds. So that makes this tool perfect for busy households, and its no-muss cleaning is great for finicky types.
Just remember that the microfiber pads cost $10 each to replace. And they can’t be put in a dryer, even though they pick up so much dirt that they frequently need washing or they’ll start to streak during cleaning. Also, this mop can’t be used on untreated hardwood or no-wax floors.
Sparkle City? Maybe. Then again, a cab might get you closer, but can you afford the fare?
Angela Clemmons: 303-954-1516 or aclemmons@denverpost.com
