If you have sealed hard floors in your home, brushing them is not enough, they also need a good clean. Whilst a mop and bucket, or in my case a microfibre spray mop, do wonders for day to day cleanliness, giving them a good steam clean once a week will keep them at their best and stop dirt getting ground in. For this, I have been using the Vax Steam Glide, an electric steam mop for hard floors and carpets which also converts into a handheld steamer.
Whilst I use a spray mop for day to day cleaning of my hard floor surfaces, I use an electric stream mop once a week. This helps keep my floors spotlessly clean, especially during the winter months that have seen snow and lots of rain.
The Vax Steam Glide is a basic multifunctional steam mop with a 6-piece accessory set which just uses water and the power of steam to hygienically clean surfaces and refresh carpets.
In the box:
- Steam Unit
- Handle
- Angular Floorhead
- Carpet Glider
- Microfibre Pad
- Measuring Jug
- Concentration Nozzle
- Small Round Brush
- Grout Brush
- Instruction Manual
The Vax Steam Glide is an easy to use, lightweight (only 2.1kg) electric steam mop that not only cleans floors but converts to a handheld steamer to clean bathroom tiles, cooker hobs, sinks and other surfaces. It features variable steam control to allow you to steam clean a whole variety of surfaces. And as it only uses water to clean, there are no harsh chemicals being used.
The Vax Steam Cleaner is perfect for cleaning sealed hard floors and is so easy to use. It comes with a very generous 5 metre cord, giving enough leeway to clean even the largest of rooms without having to unplug it. It has a 15 minute run time, which I find is plenty of time to clean all the hard floors in my home.
As a floor cleaner, it does need to be assembled before use. The handle slots into the steam unit and then the floorhead slotted onto the main unit. Assembly is no more complicated than slotting the 3 pieces together.
To use as a handheld steamer, you just release the handle and floorhead with the push of the buttons.
Let’s start with the floors. With the mop assembled, all that is required is that it is filled with cold water (you can’t use hot water or add detergent), left for about 30 seconds to heat up and then glide it over your floor surfaces for a good clean. Filling with water is easy, the water tank cap twists off and 330ml of water is poured in – a handy 165ml measuring jug is supplied, so fill the jug twice. Twist the cap back on and turn the dial to the ON position (a red indicator light will come on). Leave for 30 seconds or so before using. Adjust the dial to the required steam level (steam should be activated automatically). To clean the floors, glide the mop back and forth over the surface and the angular floorhead with twist and turn to get into corners, around the toilet etc. It can also be used on carpets to give them a refresh rather than a deep clean – just attach the carpet glider and off you go.
As for the handheld steamer, this is my favourite – even though I only wanted a steam mop for the floors. The mop easily converts into a handheld steamer by pressing the buttons to release the floorhead and the handle. Attach the tool (brush, grout brush etc.) that you want to use. Fill with water and leave for the required 30 seconds. Unlike in floor mode, the steam is not activated automatically, you need to press the trigger on the handle to generate steam.
Both functions work extremely well and for a basic steamer I was very impressed.
Overall, I originally wanted a steam mop just to clean my floors, especially with all the winter dirt and grime being dragged in on my shoes. I wasn’t thinking of any other uses. With the Steam Glide, I probably use it more as a handheld steamer than I do on the floors as it is just so versatile.
It does a fantastic job of cleaning my floors, you can see how well it does by the amount of dirt it brings up on the white microfibre cloth. Thankfully, the microfibre cloth is machine washable at 40°C. And it even leaves everything smelling fresh and clean.
As for the handheld mode, I have used it on the grout on my bathroom tiles and they have come up great. Hard to reach and scrub places around taps have come up spotless but I was very impressed at how it got a stain off around the vent on my cooker – a stain that I constantly scrub with different brushes and degreasers to no avail. The stain has all but disappeared and I could even get into the tiny joins and crevice’s and watch any grime come out. I’m very impressed.
With winter nearly behind us, March is fast approaching, and it will soon be time for that all-important Spring Cleaning. The Vax Steam Glide is definitely going to be a regular part of my cleaning arsenal, and not just for the floors.
The Vax Steam Glide exceeded my expectations. It does a super job of cleaning and is simple to use and maintain.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £49.99
For more information or to buy, visit www.vax.co.uk.