Mr. Happy HAAN does a fine, fine job. Makes me a happy WOMAAN.
OK, this relationship with my steam cleaner has gotten weird.
- I’ve lived here for 2 years and 8 months
- The very furry dog has lived here for 2 years 5 months
- I sweep on average, 5 days a week. I mean, the whole house.
- I’ve washed the floor five times. And I’ll be the first one to say what’s on your mind… that’s nasty.
This isn’t a sponsored post of any kind, in fact, my new HAANMulti Steam Cleaner is something that I asked (begged/pleaded) for at Christmastime. Thanks to Pete for pulling through and buying a woman what she really needs: Cleaning gadgets. Maybe it’s fair to say that dadand.com sponsored this post.
Anyways, yeah, the floors needs more love and care, and they deserve it since I spent hours upon back-breaking hours refinishing them to their glorious state when I moved in.
Enter, HAAN. He moves, he glides, he steams, and he sterilizes. Things are good again.
I don’t know why I thought that steam cleaning would be a pain in the butt (like, a process, the same way scrubbing floors with Murphy Oil Soap can be), but I blasted through that myth in 1.5 seconds.
1) Sweep the floors of loose grains and piles of dog fur (not noted as a step by the manufacturer, but seemed like a good idea)
2) Load the tank with water (or half-fill, just not below the “refill” line)
2) Plug in the cleaner, turn it on, wait 20 seconds for it to heat up.
3) And push it around. Like a Swiffer, but less gunky, sturdier, and steamier. Actually, not as steamy as I thought it’d be, but as I already implied, my expectations were based on nothing. I was thinking it’d be as blazingly steamy as when you open the dishwasher right after it finishes. HAAN left hot little streaks in its path, and they dried instantaneously, so I take it that it worked.
Although, Pete did say when he arrived home that he couldn’t tell it had been cleaned, so be it. The microfiber cloth was dirty (photographed after only having done the living room), so I expect that it did something. In fact, I bet after cleaning it, I sort of bet that it’s cleaner than most of my dinnerware. Future guests, let’s just eat off the floor.
My question for you, already steam-cleanin’ people, is this: Should I prepare the floors with anything prior to steam cleaning them? Maybe a cleaning spray? Something that smells pretty? A polishing treatment of some kind?
Looking forward to hearing how others are making the best use of steam cleaner.
P.S. Friendly shout-out to Apartment Therapy, who last week featured my living room before + after right here, and then included it in a weekly hot post recap (among other great links). And also to Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle, who categorized me as a productive millennial in a changing economy, here. Woot!
8 Comments
I have had my Shark Pocket Mop for well over a year. I LOVE it to pieces. Because of the 2 dogs and muddy paw prints, I like to use a vinegar and water spray to spritz on the floor just before I steam mop it. I do this for the kitchen linoleum as well as the wood floors. I especially like to us it in the bathroom as it rends to get up more gunk. I have also noticed that when I do this, my mop head come a little cleaner in the wash :) Enjoy!
Very good! I have heard that vinegar helps, so maybe I’ll give that a try! Thanks Sheri!
I have the canister HAAN steam cleaner. I also have a dog so I’m right there with you on the daily sweeping/mopping. I steam clean with just water. Instead of waiting for the floor to dry on their own I go over it with an old towel because I use a head with a brush on it than the microfiber pad to get into grout, etc.
I don’t use an extra cleaner and my floors look cleaner and better than when I did. Besides, if I use extra smelly cleaners my dog lets me know his displeasure with them by cuddling up to me and giving a big wet sneeze in the face. Lesson learned.
Do you find that the towel picks up extra dirt post-mop, or is it just to prevent water from sitting on the floors for too long?
This is horrible to admit but after reading you sweep 5 days a week, I basically didn’t comprehend anything else you wrote!! Hopefully this will cut down on your cleaning time!
Haha, it’s the dog fur! I’m really not a clean freak, but every day I have to clean up the little snowdrift-like piles in the corners, under the chairs, and on the steps!
Hate cleaning, LOVE my HAAN steam cleaner. Seriously. I can’t believe I didn’t own one a long time ago.
Having 3 cats, a dog and his many friends coming over regularly – I am the cool doggy Mom on the block ;-) — I have been considering getting a steamer for a while but I was still wondering if it would be worth it. After reading your blog, I am going to give it another thought…