LIGHT ‘N’ EASY Multi-Functional steam mop Steamer for Cleaning Hardwood Floor Cleaner for Tile Grout Laminate Ceramic, 7688ANW, White

3 reviews for LIGHT ‘N’ EASY Multi-Functional steam mop Steamer for Cleaning Hardwood Floor Cleaner for Tile Grout Laminate Ceramic, 7688ANW, White

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Alexandra Prince – September 13, 2024

   I waited to write this so I could give a long-term review. I’ve had this mop for almost 2 years now, and I’m still very happy with it. It’s basically a steam iron reconfigured into a mop, emitting steam onto the floor to loosen dirt and sanitize it. The damp pad picks up the loose dirt with no chemicals. Works great.

   That said, here are a few issues to be aware of:

   1. First and most importantly, the cord is WAY too short. My advice: Use an extension cord AND place the unit’s back against a wall when you pause cleaning. The mop is very light but top-heavy and will fall over backwards at the slightest tug, potentially damaging the internal components.

   I think this happened to a lot of people who say the unit stopped working, because it happened to me. The first mop I bought fell over several times and started emitting steam intermittently, so I emailed the company at the address listed in the manual. Some people said they had problems contacting customer service but for me they responded quickly. They asked for a short video showing the problem (which didn’t seem an unreasonable request), and then immediately sent out a new unit at no cost. This was a month before the warranty expired, so A+ on customer service.

   2. The owner’s manual is hilariously unhelpful. It was clearly written or translated by someone whose first language is not English. For the most part you can figure it all out, but it also doesn’t help that the pages are printed in the wrong order (maybe they’ve fixed this by now).

   3. You need to vacuum first. The mop doesn’t pick up anything, it just removes dirt.

   4. Buy lots of extra pads. Our house has around 1,500 sq. ft. of tile and I use 8 pads. Of course this depends on your situation, but if you don’t replace a dirty pad with a clean one you end up just streaking dirt across the floor. If you have dogs, like us, you’ll definitely need those extra pads.

   5. I fill the reservoir 4 or 5 times for 1,500 sq. ft., so I get roughly 300-400 sq. ft. of cleaning per fill.

   6. It’s helpful to dampen the pad with warm water first. This isn’t a must, but otherwise the steam has to saturate the pad before it will work properly.

   7. If you live in an area with hard water, best to use distilled water.

   8. You shouldn’t need to use any other cleaning solutions, the steam alone does a great job. But if you do want a little extra cleaning power it’s probably safe to spray a light solution onto the floor and mop it. Only water should go in the reservoir.

   9. As I mentioned, we have dogs. Because the mop uses only steam and there’s no fragrance added, the house smells a little “doggy” for a few hours after mopping. Not a big deal, just something to be aware of.

   10. Lastly, a minor ergonomic annoyance: the oval handle is just awkward. There seems to be no right place to grasp it, which is unsettling when you know dropping it can damage the unit.

   I don’t use the handheld attachment or carpet guide, so I can’t comment on those.

   All in all, in my experience this is a great little mop and well worth the $100.

   Hope this is helpful. Happy cleaning.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Alexandra Prince – September 17, 2024

   I own a Pilates & Fitness studio that is 2100 sq. ft. of nearly all wood flooring. Mopping the floor is a major undertaking and must be done frequently due to the foot traffic -AND- the high volume of bare foot/hand contact and sweat from daily fitness/Pilates classes. I only wish I had found this device sooner! Here’s what I experienced:

   THE FLOOR MUST BE PROPERLY PREPARED
   I started with a thorough sweeping followed by running a vacuum cleaner along the edges, corners, and tough-to-reach spots. Same routine I do before mopping with my twist mop. If you are not going to take this step, you will not have good results. The steam mop is not a broom or vacuum, and does not pick up sediment or debris.

   THE FLOOR WILL HAVE AN INITIAL LAYER OF GRIME THAT MUST BE DEALT WITH
   A standard twist mop and bucket of water will only accomplish so much and, after years of cleaning this way, the floor had a reasonable layer of mop residue that had to come up in addition to the surface simply needing to be cleaned. I only mop with a mixture of water, tea tree oil, isopropyl alcohol, and vinegar I make myself. If I had been using a detergent or soap based cleaner, I expect the mop residue would have been substantially worse. I also mop regularly, so the dirtiness of the floor is not from neglect but rather general every-day-use. If you don’t mop regularly, it’s going to take more than one pass with the steam mop to deal with what’s sitting on top of your floor.

   COMPLAINTS OF THE STEAM MOP “PUSHING DIRT AROUND”
   I noticed in areas of heavy foot traffic the steam mop head did leave a small amount of dirt/dust that would trail in a neat line across the floor as I mopped. I could also feel resistance in the sliding of the mop across the floor increase in these areas, which required a little more strength to push through and, after a few passes, would give way to normal sliding of the steam mop. This leads me to believe that the dirt/dust that was trailed by the steam mop was actually dirt/dust that became adhered to the floor surface over time which the steam mop efficiently loosened. Additionally, the dirt/dust that was left behind was easily picked up by the vacuum and, upon another pass over the floor with the steam mop, did not present a second time.

   EASE OF USE: AVERAGE PHYSICAL FITNESS REQUIRED
   The steam mop was out of the box, assembled, and put to work in a matter of five minutes. The fabric piece that attaches to the mop head to clean the floor takes about 30 seconds to become wet enough to move freely across the floor. At this point, it does take some physical effort to move the steam mop across the floor; it is essentially a wet rag on a stick being pushed across the floor so there is some resistance that requires average physical fitness. Comparatively, I found that it was the same physical effort required by my twist mop when factoring in wringing out the twist mop repetitively. MAJOR SCORE IN FAVOR OF THE STEAM MOP: I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could effectively and efficiently operate and maneuver the steam mop ambidextrously… this is something I can not do with the twist mop which leads to repetitive single-sided body movement that always leaves my back sore and aching.

   INITIAL OVERALL PERFORMANCE: FIVE STARS
   I used the steam mop in two back-to-back passes of the entire floor. The first pass I really took my time to work through the initial residue I knew was on the floor and used four of the fabric mop head attachments in doing so. The second pass I moved briskly over the entire floor (the same pace I would use if I was vacuuming the floor) and only used one fabric mop head cleaner. (See picture for comparison of what the steam mop picked up both times.) The steam mop ran for a solid four hours without incident and I used just under a gallon of water for the entire cleaning. The fabric mop head attachments did not bunch or fail. THE MOST INCONVENIENT ASPECT OF USING THE STEAM MOP was navigating the cord and can be compared to the same inconvenience of navigating a vacuum cord when vacuuming… so, not a substantial inconvenience. Second to that was stopping periodically to refill the water reservoir. The refill cup that comes with the mop makes this super easy so, again, not a substantial inconvenience.

   FINAL STEAM MOP VS. TWIST MOP CONCLUSION: STEAM MOP CRUSHED IT!
   After using the steam mop, the floor is ridiculously clean; it has likely never been cleaner. It is literally “squeaky clean”… my shoes squeak as I walk across the floor. The steam mop did not leave water stains on the floor (like the twist mop did) so the final finish is amazingly bright and shiny as seen in the photos I’ve included. I will likely only ever use my twist mop again for dealing with large water spills (from dropping a bottle of water or the occasional plumbing issue).

   WORD OF ADVICE:
   Definitely get extra fabric mop head attachments. The steam mop comes with only one. After reading reviews before purchasing, I decided to buy an extra two packs of fabric mop head attachments which turned out to be the perfect amount for this initial cleaning. I will likely only need two-to-three for future cleanings but glad to have the extras on hand just-in-case.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   SEP – October 1, 2024

   I use this appliance basically for daily cleaning of kitchen and bathrooms for a good disinfection. I’d like that cleaning pads were a little thicker and
   It could be adjusted better to the device.