Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer,313A
by Electrolux Home Products (floorcare)
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List Price: Our Price: $36.95 You Save: $43.04 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer,313A
Customer Review: Overall a good choice
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been researching steam mops for many months now and finally decided on the Eureka based on the reviews. I used it yesterday to clean my linoleum, laminate and tile flooring. It was very easy to use and appears sturdy with no flimsy parts. I also like that the pads that come with it are thick and durable...and there are two of them.
As far as the cleaning goes, it worked like magic on my tile and laminate. Very easy, no scrubbing required and it dried in minutes. However, I would say that it was a bit more of a challange on the linoleum...which we all know is a challenge no matter what! It did require alot of elbow grease and many times I had to leave the steamer on one area for 10 seconds to loosen alot of the tough dirt and scuff marks. I also found that it did not get into the deep grooves of the linoleum and I ended up using a Magic Eraser to scrub the areas where there was alot of buildup. I would actually use the steamer and let it sit over those areas for 10 seconds and then use the Magic Eraser to scrub the dirt out of the grooves. It was a nice little system I had going and compared to scrubbing the entire floor on my hands and knees...this was the better choice! I have to say that once I got done, my floor did look alot cleaner. I could really tell that it cleaned all of the surface dirt off the floor and it was very bright to look at..well worth the time I put into it. So I'm definately keeping it and it was worth the $68 that I spent. I've been looking for years to find an easier way to clean my floors as I hate the constant scrubbing. So it looks like I've found my answer! I hope to have tile in my kitchen someday and when that happens, it will be a breeze to clean my floors!
One mention about the laminate because I wasn't really sure if I could use it on that floor given that the directions said to only use it on sealed wood floors. I had wondered if the steam was actually going to loosen the glue that holds the floor together, but really once I got started I could see that wasn't going to be an issue. The main reason was because I didn't have to scrub anything because the dirt just comes right off. Therefore the steam doesn't really have any time to get in between the boards. Honestly, I was done with the entire room in less than five minutes. That and the fact that there is very little water left on the floor and it was dry in a few short minutes. So all in all, I'm very happy with my purchase.
Customer Review: Not as in love as I was hoping
Summary: 4 Stars
I could not WAIT to receive this mop! I had borrowed my mom's Shark steamer and thought it was the livin' end. Then I came to Amazon, did a little research and discovered the Shark left a LOT to be desired. I landed on the extremely thorough review from A. Chandler "ArtistAlana" (THANK YOU Artista Alana for the work you put into your review) and decided this was it. Add to that a local news segment regarding Consumer Reports' review of TEN different steam mops. Their conclusion, you're cheapest and best bet is a bucket of hot water and a $15 mop (I disagree). However, they said that of the ten steamers they tested, the Eureka Enviro Steamer was the best. My product had not arrived yet but by this point, I was 100% confident with my decision.
I used the mop on my textured porcelain tile this evening and unfortunately, was not in love. Bottom line is that if you have a scuff mark on your tile (i.e. from a pair of shoes), a steam mop is not going to remove it. And the little tiny nooks in my tile that have some built up dirt did not come clean. For shoe scuffs and these small divits in my tile, it's just going to boil down to hands and knees and some kind of stiff brush - no two ways about it. But is the tile clean? Can I walk on it in white socks and still have white socks? YES. As an extra test, I took advantage of the virgin state of the second pad and decided to go BACK OVER what I had previously cleaned. While it wasn't snow white when I was done, it only got SLIGHTLY dirty. I felt that was a great test and the mop passed. It's important to note that since we don't have children or pets, all we do is vacuum the tile. It almost never gets scrubbed (I'm embarrassed to admit). The tile LOOKED clean, but we all know it wasn't. So if tile like mine that is essentially never scrubbed got so clean with the first pass of the mop that the brand new extra pad is only barely dirty with a second pass, that's pretty good.
If it weren't for the scuff mark issue and my textured tile, I would have given this mop a 5, no doubt about it. Everything else is great - the design, the quality, etc. If anyone has any suggestions on how else I could have handled the scuff marks with the mop, please let me know. I did in fact let the mop sit on the scuff for at least 10 seconds and still no go. I went back and forth over it (thinking I needed to "scrub" more) and still no go. Afraid that will require good ol' fashioned scrubbing.
Customer Review: A Clean Answer to Messy Mops
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for an cleaner alternative to lugging around a mop and bucket. Sure, the old tried and true mop and bucket does the job. But there comes a time when the old fashioned way has to give to modern conveniences. I reviewed all the steam floor cleaners from Consumer Reports and people who had hands on experience with the vast array of products on the market. The one that kept standing out was the Eureka 313A. It has the washable replacement pads, large tank and long cord. The swivel handle makes getting into tight corners a breeze. I have hard ceramic tile, not flat, has "ripple" wavy surface through out the house. This steam mop gets the entire surface clean. Even the recessed grout comes clean. I found if you go across the surface at a slow even pace, allowing the steam to penetrate the dirty surface, the floor comes out clean and shiny. Unlike the mop, this Steamer has the ability to clean the floor from edge to edge. Up against the molding where dirt likes to get pushed and hide, this steamer has the ability to clean the hard to reach nooks and crannies. My pet peeve with any floor cleaner weather it is a vacuum, broom or mop is the dirty junk left up against the toe molding. After vacuuming the floor thoroughly, I had no problem cleaning the floor as verified by the dirty cloth pad. Speaking of which, they provide two in the box with the steamer. I did not realize, or overlooked the fact and purchased an extra pad at $14. So now I have 3, which is fine. Always having a spare is a good thing. I have used the Swifter and it was a messing ordeal. Leaving the sticky, wet cleaning solvent all over the floor. Not to mention the dirty pads which never soaked up the water or really removed the dirt. The swifter seemed to push the dirt from one corner to the other, always leaving a mess. This steamer cleans up all the mess, NEVER leaving a residue on the floor. Eureka has always had excellent floor cleaning products, this is without any doubt true with their Hard Floor Steamer. The pad is easy to change, two large "paddles" is all you have to depress to release the pad from the unit and you do not really have to touch the dirty underside, just grab by the side of the pad and throw into the laundry with your other dirty rags. No Fuss No Muss. Get this product and all your "mystery" stains will vanish without any hard scrubbing, making washing the floor no big deal. The unit is light weight and telescoping handle, allowing everybody to use the product.Customer Review: I think my cotton string mop does just as well, in a tenth the time.
Summary: 3 Stars
My 313A arrived today. It assembled easily and I vacuumed our ceramic tile kitchen floor as it heated up. It was ready to go when I was ready for it. The manual says to make slow passes. I found that to clean effectively it means very slow and repeated passes. I worked the area in front of the stove and the sink heavily. The tile has some texture, and as well the grout lines are recessed. I didn't find a way to angle the head into these areas, as I can my cotton string mop. I spent maybe 20 minutes on the floor (plus prep time), compared to two or three with the cotton string mop. I don't think it did as well as the cotton string mop on the grout lines, and I had to touch up these by hand.
My wife did another pass, just to try it out. She spent as much time again, however she would leave the unit stationary for a while, and then move. This took forever and left the floor very wet, but maybe did clean the texture a bit better.
The instructions say that to sanitize you must leave the unit stationary for 8 seconds. There is simply no way that is practical for general cleaning of an entire floor. I suppose it might be useful after wiping up a leaky diaper, but you could wet a rag with bleach and water and be done before you had even filled the 313A up with water. Ultimately, I bought it for general cleaning and don't view general sanitizing as an appropriate goal anyway, but so many reviews here comment on it, I just thought maybe I should mention that the unit is completely impractical for the purpose.
It's called "enviro" and is marketed as a green product. As an environmental chemist I suppose I ought to comment. My best guess after using it is that it does reduce hot water usage vs. my cotton string mop, and probably saves some energy. Maybe not much though as boiling off 12 oz of water is significant. 6 amps for 20 minutes vs a bucket of hot water? Who can say. No chemicals? All I use on my mop is a tiny sprinkle of laundry powder. Sure, I'll give the enviro steamer the edge here, but I guess the question is if such a slight edge is worth turning a quick mop job into a 30 minute project?
All in all, I would say the 313A does a reasonable job of cleaning but is very, very slow to use. Now i need to deal with a wet dirty mop pad, find a place to store the unit, the pads, and the cup and the funnel. I would rather just get out the cotton string mop and be done already.
Customer Review: Tried a few
Summary: 3 Stars
Hi, all,
Since I have been searching for a steam mop since my Shark quit and have read all the reviews, just thought another opinion might help.
I have osteo, so, it is very important to me to have clean floors at a very minimal effort.
I first tried the Eureka Enviro Steamer Steamer on a ship to store feature at you know where....
I couldn't wait to get it, but, although it cleaned my kitchen tiles very well, it was very hard to push on our sealed wood floors even for my husband, so, returned.
Then tried the Hoover FloorMate. Although it cleaned the tile very well, it was loud and I wanted something I could use at anytime of day or night without waking anybody up. Was concerned about using the brushes on our wood floor and the mess of emptying it turned me off. This wasn't it..
Next was the Deluxe Shark Steam Mop with all the heads. I will admit it is beautiful to look at...but, ours didn't develop much steam. I tried it at different times and different days and it just wouldn't work. Plus, upon consideration, they recommend the pads be washed separately and then air-dried to prevent picking up lint from the washer/dryer. And, they are white! They recommend you change pads every 3 months...could get expensive. I wanted something like my old Shark.
Well, I found it. It is like my old Shark in that I can just put the pad on the bottom and go. No attaching a separate head with it's own pad. With the Deluxe each head has its own pad and was a little hard to push for me, also.
What I like about my new one is I found the pads on ebay super cheap that I can use, just put on the bottom and it is ready. Plus, the pads are like nothing I have seen for the wood floor and it makes it so easy to push. Looks almost like the shag rugs of the past. It comes with the rug glider that is supposed to freshen carpets. I haven't tried it yet, but even if it does nothing, I still think it is great for me to use on a regular basis.
They provided a small spray on scent that they say you can spray on the top of the pad (not that touches the floor) to give off a nice clean scent. And,I assume I can use any scent when that runs out. The cord is 25 ft.
All in all I think it's great.
Called the Shark Light & Easy...and, it is.
I hope this helps someone who has health problems like I do. If I did this wrong, sorry, first time doing this..Just thought it could help.