Eureka Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer, 313A

by Eureka

• Hard-surface floor steamer cleans and sanitizes without the use of chemicals
• 6-1/2 amps of power; indicator light for water levels; preheating/cool-down tray for safety
• Adjustable-height handle; 12-1/2-inch cleaning head; lightweight design; cloth clip
• Measuring cup, funnel, and 2 steam pads included
• Measures 7 by 12-1/2 by 49 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Product Details

Owner's Manual [PDF]

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Video Manual [PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 12.5 x 49 inches ; 7.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Origin: China
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B001LYFBHG
• Item model number: 313A
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,485 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen)
  • #1 in Home & Kitchen > Vacuums & Floor Care > Steam Cleaners & Accessories > Steam Mops
  • #1 in Home & Kitchen > Vacuums & Floor Care > Floor Polishers
  • #2 in Home & Kitchen > Vacuums & Floor Care > Carpet Cleaners

Product Description

Sanitize Hard Floors with Steam

Designed for use on wood, granite, laminate, marble, and other hard, sealed surfaces, this sleek steamer quickly and effectively sanitizes floors to gleaming perfection. The compact unit's ingenious steaming technology requires no harsh chemicals. Instead harnessing the power of pure steam to loosen and remove even the toughest dirt and grime.

Cleans bare floors with a high degree of hygienic and degreasing power

The Eureka Hard Surface Floor Steamer achieves a high degree of hygienic and degreasing power on floors. It turns water into steam in just a few minutes, so when contact is made with surfaces dirt and grime is removed. Since the floor steamer uses the active power of steam without the use of detergents or soap, it is safe for the environment.

Furthermore, its generous 12-1/2-inch cleaning head maneuvers easily into corners and clean hard to reach areas. The length of the cleaning head helps reduce time to cover even large floor surfaces, while its 25-foot cord allows for hassle-free access all over a home, condo, or apartment. Another key feature of this vacuum is that the steamer weighs only 5-1/2 pounds when empty. The Eureka Enviro Hard Surface Steam Cleaner eliminates the need for lugging around cumbersome wet vacuums or mops and buckets around to get the job done.

Ideal for people who want eco-friendlier cleaning products

The floor steamer is a new way of cleaning that is effective and hygienic. Under normal conditions, the floor steamer does not allow calcium deposits to adhere to the boiler so tap water is acceptable for use. Areas with hard water should use distilled water for better performance. The floor steamer can kill dust mites and some types of bacteria, such as salmonella and E-coli when used properly.

Product Features

• Simple on and off switch

• 6-1/2 amps of power

• An indicator light for water levels

• An adjustable-height handle

• A preheating/cool-down tray for safety, and a cloth clip

• A measuring cup, funnel, and two magic cloth steam pads

• Additional replacement pads available separately

• The steamer measures 7 by 12.5 by 49 inches

• Carries a one-year limited warranty.

Steam goes through the magic cloth which clips easily to the base and is machine-washable

Cleaning head maneuvers easily into corners and cleans hard to reach areas

Yellow and green indication lights on the base let you know when the product is heating up and ready to use

This hard floor steamer comes with a measuring cup, a funnel and two magic cloth steam pads

Getting the Best Results

• To disinfect a specific area, position the steamer over the area for a minimum of eight seconds. This allows the floor under the steamer to reach approximately 170°F. Use this procedure to disinfect floors near: bathroom stools, food preparation areas (not on kitchen counters), pet sleeping quarters, etc.

• On surfaces that have been treated with wax or on some no wax floors, the sheen may be removed by the heat and steam action. Do not use on unsealed wood floors or let unit stand on any wood floor for an extended period of time. This could cause the wood grain to rise. It is therefore recommended that a sample cleansing be carried out on an isolated area of the floor.

• In order to guarantee perfect functioning over a long period of time, the tank needs to be rinsed out with water once a month to eliminate any accumulated calcium deposits. Do not use vinegar or other decalcifying substances. Put in two measures of water, replace the safety cap and shake to loosen deposits. Remove safety cap and immediately empty water into a sink.

• Ideally designed to thoroughly clean floor surfaces such as marble, ceramic, stone, linoleum, sealed hard wood floors and parquet.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5,701 of 5,741 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The top steam mops: Results of steam mop first hand comparisons & studying of comps August 7, 2009

By Chandler #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Amazon Verified Purchase

Note: I have updated this review in March of 2013 comparing this mop to Eureka's new mop called "Two in One" I do not like Eureka's new steam mop model 150A as much as this one (I actually don't like Eureka's model 150 at all) but I"ve added the notes to my review as well as a few other new mops we've gotten to try out. We have a second home now and I'm in the market for a new steam mop. In trying out new ones, even the new Eureka one, I still like this old model 313A the best.

Know going in If you get the Envirosteamer, know that, though it cleans the best, the first two times you use it the water goes through holes faster than it will in subsequent uses, so it will go through steam faster and your floors will be wetter than normal. Enough people wrote me to know this happened the first one or two times as it did my first time of use, then after that the mop was normal, our floors are great and it lasts waaaah longer. We don't know why. Just know that going in. After the first two initializing uses it steams perfect! Also obviously the steam lasts longest if you don't hold the mop above the floor to walk to another area since the steam pours out as it will with any steam mop if you do.

Also note: the reason some mops aren't 212 degrees is the tank is on the handle rather than the base so the steam cools prior to it reaching the floor. It becomes steam at 212. But doesn't stay there.

Note: This review has been updated a few times through the years as I got to try out new mops.

Original review:

I live in a neighborhood where EVERY home is "green built certified" this means that, to have that certification, the builder built no homes with carpet. All the main floors are polished concrete and the upper floors wood.... The bathrooms all have tile and/or slate in every home.

Because of this, as you could imagine, steam mops are quite the neccessity...not only because they get the hard surfaces better than anything else, but because they are also "green" and clean chemical free. I'll be honest, for us...that's a bonus but we weren't cleaning chemical free before. We like chemical free for our pet's paws but I'll confess I was mopping with chemicals before I got my steamer and just kept the pets out of the room while doing it because, up until then, I couldn't get it clean any other way.

Okay, so that said...we decided to have a steamer show down to compare 7 different steamers because my friends and I knew as long as we are in these homes we are gonna have to have a steamer to get all these hard floors clean...we may as well figure out which one to buy next go round. Because my own home is graced with 2 cats, 3 dogs, and two gregarious cooks, my kitchen floor (which had not ever been cleaned by a steamer since my steamer had just arrived) was the testing spot.

Mind you, I vaccuum twice per week and do a mega mop twice a week. I THOUGHT I had pretty clean floors in spite of my pet capacity.

I thought wrong. These picked up dirt so well it's scary

So here's the results:

1. steam mops are the mac daddys of clean floors. What these things picked up was tremendous and no comparison to my vigorous prior constant major mopping.

2. So now I'll break down the elements of each mop we used and then go into more detail about each at the end.

We tried out:
"S": The shark by Europro
"E" The Envirosteamer 313A by Eureka
"H" the haan steamer
"M" the Monster
"B" The Bissell Green Tea
"SF" The SteamFast SF-140 by SteamFast
"SB" The SteamBoy T1
E2 Eureka's new 2013 mop called "Two In One" or the 150 Series
"BD" Bissell Steam Mop Deluxe 2013 Model

CORD LENGTH: so you don't have to stop and unplug and replug in somewhere else:
Shark ( will be referred to as S):20 feet
Envirosteamer (will be referred to as E): 25 feet *Note* The Envirosteamer has a clip at the top of the handle to keep the cord out of the way. When it's plugged in and you need more cord length, a light tug undoes this cord on the clip so that you have the full 25' of cord. Otherwise it's only around 20 feet. It's made to do this.
Haan: (will be referred to as H)19'8"
Monster (will be referred to as M): 25 feet
Bissell (will be referred to as B) 17 feet
SteamFast (will be referred to as SF): 18.7 ft.
SteamBoy (will be referred to as SB): 16 ft.
Eureka Model 150 Two In One; 20 feet
Bissell Steam Mop Deluxe (Will be referred to as BD) 20 feet

STEAM TEMPERATURE: this is a primary element. The hotter the steam, the more dirt picked up and hot steam will also kill parasites, mold and mildew and loosen more dirt:
S 110 degrees. lame
E 220 degrees. very hot
H 212 degrees. very hot
M 266 degrees. hottest...although the envirosteamer and haan seemed plenty hot enough. The shark didn't clean nearly as well and this was one reason. 110 degrees just isn't going to melt off stuck on grime.
B 125 degrees. Note that, because of this low steam temperature the manual said that if I wanted to sanitize the floor or pick up caked on spills, I had to hold the steamer on the spot for 15 seconds but no more than 20 because that could damage some floors. Now I don't know about you, but if I can sanitize with one swipe of the other steamers because of their sanitizing temps my floor will be done WAY faster but I don't have a timer to worry about the extra 5 secons where my wood floors could get damaged. My sink water is hotter than this so it would take less time to use a regular mop if I have to hold the steamer on every spot of my floor for 15 seconds to santize. Just sayin
SF: 137 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize.
SB: 120 degrees. Not hot enough to clean well nor sanitize
E2: 208 degrees. Very hot but this one allows you to adjust the steam for low or high steam, unlike the 313A.
BD: 136 degrees

BUILD:
We found how it was made corresponded with issues with the steamer. The Shark, for example, was quite flimsy and they actually sell replacement handle kits because so many people have issues with the handle breaking! We know this because my neighbor's shark broke and the store had a replacement handle kit on the shelf because he said "it happens often". That's an extra cost.
Envirosteamer: Was 5.4 lbs which made it lightweight but strong enough that you didn't have to press down to clean. Very well made and strong parts
Haan: not made as well as the envirosteamer but it's more expensive so this was a surprise. A bit flimsy and you need to press down on it more to clean at 3.15 lbs.
Monster: hefty and well made at 9 lbs but a bit too heavy unless you want a good workout. (Note: They have changed the Monster handles on the mops now and they are all plastic and people are having breakage issues)
Bissell: It's 8.4 pounds but that includes a water filter that you have to get for this one (see notes below)
SteamFast: very flimsy plastic all over, but it's also more affordable than the other mops so it's a bit of a trade off. 7 lbs.
SteamBoy: They didn't even ship this preassembled like the other mops. We had to assemble it! Pretty flimsy plastic. 9 lbs but that includes the water filter you have to get with this one (see notes below)
Eureka's New mop Model 150 Two In One: They went cheap on the new mop. The metal is gone and it's as flimsy as can be. Their new mop is just like the Shark.Cheap.
BD: 7 lbs. comfortable but too many plastic parts.

WATER CAPACITY: Very important because having to stop and add more water just adds on to the time you have to spend cleaning, especially if you are cleaning a hallway or livingroom or some other area that has no sink:
S: only holds up to 10 oz of water. Lasted for 10 miinutes of cleaning
E: holds up to 20 oz. of water. Lasted for over 20 minutes of cleaning (we stopped at 20 and it was still going)
H: holds up to 11.83 oz of water. Lasted for 13 minutes of cleaning
M: holds up to 17 oz. of water. Lasted for 15 minutes of cleaning
B: holds up to 13 oz of water, lasted for 12.5 minutes of cleaning AND you have to undo and remove the tank from the machine every time you fill it up then hook it back on and the steam tank is on the handle rather than the base so the steam doesn't flow directly out after heating up which may explain why it's not as hot once it leaves the machine. The way this mop is made the water flows past heating elements which can, according to Bissell, develop calcium deposits on it so this is the only mop where, because of this, you also have to use a water filter with it and replace the water filter when there is build up which means and extra 12 bucks every few months. The better mops are made to heat the water in a metal tank so this is not an issue and you pour the water directly into the tank.
SF: Holds the least amount of water and I had to stop and fill up and get the water reheated often in trying to clean the floor. Only holds 8 oz of water and if you use 8 oz it gets your floor too wet so we wound up filling it with just up to 7.5 oz of water for best results and it only lasted 7 minutes when we did that before we had to refill again.
SB: up to 24 oz BUT it only lasted for 12 minutes of cleaning. I think because of the build. This one also is made so that the water has to flow past heating elements down the handle, rather than flowing directly from a hot tank to the floor at the base. Because of this it can develop calcium deposits inside the mop so you have to also buy a water filter for this mop and replace it every few months when there is build up which means extra cost and, quite possibly, more repairs. Because this does not flow directly out of a hot tank it cools on the way down and possibly with this one evaporates somehow because we tried it twice and the steam simply didn't last as long as it should.
E2: Holds 16 oz of water and lasted for 12 minutes of cleaning on high setting. I know Eureka says it holds 10 oz of water and lasts 15 minutes but I measured the water to the fill line and my results were different.
BD: Holds 17 oz of water but it's VERY difficult and slow to pump and sometimes no steam seemed to be coming out. Therefore, I'm not rating how long it lasted because it kept lasting but not based on working well.

STEAM HOLES: We found a difference although you'd think they'd all be the same. The shark only had one hole that the steam came out of so it wasn't cleaning things on the edges, just in one spot. All the others had steam coming from bottom and sides. Steamboy also didn't have holes near the edge. Update: I hate the holes on the new Eureka called Eureka Two In One. It has a triangle at the bottom that holds the now cheap pads on and the steam only comes out the middle. Just like the Shark I hated. Stick with the Eureka 313A.

SIZE: The taller it is the less stooping, the wider the mop head, the more it covers
S: 40"Hx12"Wx7"D
E: 50"Hx13.25"Wx6.75"D (the fact that this depth was smaller made it reach under applicances better...it fit better under things)
H: 50.5x11.5x7.5
M: 48x12.7.5
B: 45.25H (this was uncomfortably short) x11 x8.4 (even though this didn't fit under cabinets because of the depth it did swivel the best)
SF:49x11.8x7
SB: 28.2x6.9x7.9
E2:47.5x11x6.5
BD: 45x10x7

Conclusion of comparison: First it must be pointed out that, in order to use the shark and the Bissell and the SteamBoy, you had to keep pumping the water. This was the most annoying feature of anything...the others just steamed on their own and didn't wear out your fingers. Hated this feature of the shark and Bissell and SteamBoy. We liked that the Monster, the Shark, the Envirosteamer, the SteamFast and the Bissell came with 2 cleaning pads rather than one. The Haan only came with one at the time of the review (I double checked since when she bought hers it was also only one and as of today, that hasn't changed) so that ups the price even more because I can't imagine only wanting one to clean. All worked well on sanitizing mattresses and showers. too.

But the winner picked by all of us unanimously as the mop we want to have for our next steam mop order?
The Eureka Envirosteamer 313A. It picked up the most dirt, was made as well as the Monster but was less expensive, held the most water, emitted the most very hot steam so it sanitized as well, lasted 3 times as long with one water resevor fillup as the others, and had a cord as long as the monster. BUT if you have carpets than I would recommend the Monster because it has a carpet attachment that allows you to steam clean your carpets and it picked up pretty close to the same amount of dirt as the Eureka Envirosteamer, and had close to the same features...a bit heavier though but that may make it last even longer. It is costlier, but to clean 2 surfaces I would think that might make it worth it.

UPDATE: The Haan just started including 2 pads with the mop according to the product description page. Not that this changes our opinion since it didn't work as well and the parts were flimsier, but it should be noted that this issue of not having enough cleaning pads has now been resolved and is equal to the other mops.

ANOTHER UPDATE: 1. The Shark came out with a new machine that holds more water and has a longer cord BUT it still only heats the water to 110 degrees so it won't sanitize or get rid of trapped grime at this "bathwater" temperature.

Also: Don't spend money buying extra pads for the Eureka. I was in a pinch and used a kitchen dish towel...the rectangular kind...just clip on both ends. It worked just as good or better...because they are thinner so the steam penetrates faster and therefore reaches the floor hotter. However, I would recommend still only using the thick pads that come with it for your wood floors just to be safe. But the super hot steam penetrating the dish towel worked excellent on tile and hard floors. Also, you can flip both the towel and the pads that come with it on the Eureka to double the usage...when it gets dirty, just flip it over and use the other side. I use several old dish towels with this but I like best the kind that just have a bit of texture but no squares sewn on them...but they all work great. So do the pads.

Also we noticed that a reviewer above us on the page flattered us by adding all of our information you read in our review about cord length, all the mops, steam temperatures we measured etc into her older review that is first on the page that originally contained none of this information. However, now that she edited her review to include our 6 hrs of research we apologize that it makes reading these two reviews very redundant. We promise when we first posted this review that no other review on this page contained any of the information on temperatures etc in our review until we posted our findings and they were copied into an older review higher on the page via editing. It's pretty boring now for the reader to read the same thing twice. But we are flattered someone felt it good enough research to want to copy into their review so we hold no grudge...I just didn't want anyone to think we were being redundant. :-) )

WHY YOU WANT THE TANK ON THE BOTTOM/MOP HEAD: All steam starts out at 212 degrees. Some mops increase the heat from there. Some mops heat the water up, then it has to travel down tubes and get to the base, and then leave the holes, which results in a cooling process. This can also result in calcium deposits along that piping which eventually clogs the waterflow or makes you buy and store filtered water to use in the mop. On mops like the Envirosteamer, the water is heated in a stainless steel tank at the base of the mop and flows directly out onto the floor instantly with no traveling through the mop so it leaves the mop steaming hot. Put your hand over a cup of coffee directly at the top of the coffee. That's hot steam. Now move your hand waaaay up above the coffee cup where there is still steam but it is further from the heat source due to traveling. It's cooler steam. The mops are no different. Plus putting the weight at the head of the mop puts the preasure on the pad, not the handle you have to push.

CLOTHS: I like 100 percent cotton better than microfiber. Microfiber streaks. Although some complain about the Envirosteamer's pads shrinking they are meant to. I wash em in hot water. They'll fit perfect after they shrink so don't even be concerned. (they are cotton and quite absorbant.) The new Envirosteamer model 150 has horrible pads, This model 313A has great ones. Read more ›

1,249 of 1,273 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Virtual Hands-On Demo of this Great Steam Mop December 30, 2009

By Timothy B. Riley HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Length: 2:59 Mins

I cook often and my kitchen floor seems to collect it's own share of whatever I'm making. I always mop but conventional mops and buckets just never made much sense to me as the water and detergent gets dirty in no time and then you have to keep using it or change the water every 5 minutes. However, I had never heard of a steam mop until I read a review from Amazon's #1 Reviewer who had gone to the trouble of testing over a half a dozen different brands. I took her recommendation (thanks Alana!) and added the Eureka to my Amazon wish list. Luckily for me, my downstairs neighbor (and friend) bought it for me for Christmas.

I decided to do a video review because I thought that it would be helpful for other folks to see what it looks like and how it works. A couple of things that I forgot to mention:

* My mop came with two cleaning pads
* The instructions warn that if you machine wash and dry the pads they might shrink a little (they were right)
* If you have very hard water you might want to use distilled water (which I do)
* You should not use any cleaner or detergent inside of the steamer
* Next to the green power light is a red light that warns you when the water tanks needs refilling

I thought that my video review was going pretty well until the steamer scared my neighbor's toy Yorkie (she had brought the dog along with her) and the puppy started to bark at it. Oh well... I hope that it is helpful to you anyway.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I want to mention that the first time that I used the Enviro Steamer it didn't work correctly. The water came out quickly (it was empty in 5 minutes) and wasn't very hot. It got my floors really wet and not very clean.... I refilled it, let it warm up longer than before (8 minutes) and the steam just poured out. I was able to get my floor really clean and the water lasted for about 20 minutes. I have now heard from several people that had the same experience so I thought that I would add this note. If you are having this problem you might want to give your unit a couple of tries before sending it back. Read more ›

552 of 559 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Throw away your mop. December 23, 2008

By Pomeranian Lover

Very happy to see the Enviro Steamer return !!! I have had the 311A enviro steamer for 2 years. I had to pay an arm & a leg for it on ebay because Eureka discontinued this product several years ago. Mopping was my least favorite chore, it almost brought me to tears I hated it so much. I have over 1200 sq.ft. of tile in my house & keeping it clean used to be a daunting task. UNTIL........the enviro steamer.

One of the best purchases I have ever made. No more bucket & mop, no more over perfumed wet jet that leaves you with a sticky floor & expensive replacement pads & fluids. Now it is just water, the enviro steamer, a washable & reusable magic pad & me. I actually consider cleaning my floors FUN now. By the way.....men love using the enviro steamer, you may even find your husband cleaning the floors more often.

Hint: Get a few extra Magic pads, 1 or 2 is not enough unless you have only 1 small area to clean. After I finish with 1 room, I just slap a new pad on, refill the water, give the enviro steamer a few minutes to heat back up & I'm on to the next room. The first room is dry in minutes & clean.

1,767 of 1,813 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I've summed up product comparisons for you! June 9, 2009

By K. Stankovich

Amazon Verified Purchase

I spent days and days reading reviews for the perfect steam mop and I felt that the Eureka Enviro Steamer was the best choice. I'll sum up what I LOVE about my Eureka Enviro Steam Mop.
Eureka Euro Features:
1. Swivel head (a must, can get around objects)
2. tall and removable handle (yes you can take the handle off and steam your counters to sterilize them)
3. Eureka has been making steam mops for over a decade and this is the 2nd version of their VERY POPULAR steam mop.
4. Long cord.
5.Weight is on the floor where the water tank is, this makes it easier to use and makes for less scrubbing (tanks on the handle make you scrub and push down more to remove grim)
6. NO PUSH TRIGGER! This means CONSTANT steam. Who wants to hold down a button the whole time you're mopping?
7. The steam vents are from SIDE to SIDE..not one hole in the middle like some.
8. THICK and tough waffle cone pads. Picks up plenty.
9. HIGH heat (220 degrees)
10. About 3 minutes to heat water.
11. Leaves very little water on floor, dries quickly.
12. TOTALLY GREEN! Okay, I'm not a green fanatic (I don't recycle, sorry guys) but this product makes me feel like I'm making a difference! No wasteful trash (i.e. disposable pads) and it uses JUSTS water. No chemicals!
OKAY NOW SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD HEAR OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT OTHER MOST POPULAR MODELS:

MONSTER STEAM MOP:
1. BAD HANDLE (complaint after complaint about flimsy handle and it breaks when pushing too hard).
2. takes 5+ min to heat up.
3. does not have a swivel head.
(compared to Eureka: does heat up more- 266 degrees and does have extra burst of steam in front, more expensive)
SHARK STEAM MOP:
1. very flimsy handle and plastic tank (both break easily)
2.... you have to "pump' the handle to get steam.
3. hard to push because the weight of the water is half way up the handle on the tank)
4. tends to "sleep" in the middle of the job as it takes a break to re-heat the water for the next pumping action.
5. heats to about 110 degrees.
BISSELL STEAM MOP:
1. Again, top/plastic water tank-very flimsy.
2. leaves very wet floors.
3. uses a "trigger" again to get steam.
4. thin pads, get soaked easily.
5. not hot enough (110 degrees)heats pad, but not more than hot water from your sink.
6. One steam hole in the middle, not all the way across like Monster or Euro or HAAN.
HAAN STEAM MOP:
1. cost more money
2. handle breaks again and not tall enough
3. does have attachments and removable handle
4. water has leaked from tank and burns hands when lifting up to steam object (like counters, beds, etc).
H20 steam mop:
1. 130 degrees temp
2. tends to leak from the tank and the tank is flimsy.
OKAY THESE ARE THE IMPORTANT THINS TO CONSIDER FOR ALL STEAM MOPS.
1. They aren't going to clean your grout. If you steam it and then get in there with a brush or rag I'm sure it will come up, but ALL fiber pads don't have "fingers" deep enought to get in the grout (neither will any product likely except a good ole fashioned brush) But they will be sterilized!
2. You need to take in consideration what type of water you have. All hard water will clog up your steamer over time. Use soft/distilled water (we installed a water softener in our house because we had VERY hard water)You could clean it with a de-calcification product (like CLR) or vinager occasionally.
3. You should NOT use a steam mop on unsealed wood or waxed floors. We are talking HIGH HEAT here and you're going to ruin wood if it isn't sealed, or melt that wax and make a mess.
4. Water should be at least 155 up to 212 degrees to kill germs (depending on the type of bateria). Steam is nice, but not if it isn't hot enough to kill bateria.
5. These are not ALL IN ONE floor cleaners. You are STILL going to have to vacuum. Heck-do what I did-invest in a Iroomba robot vacuum (HSN has Flex Pays) AND a steam mop. You'll have floors you can eat off of every day for very little effort.
6. My opinion is that ANYTHING that is rechargeable ins't going to last as long as something with a cord. Batteries have weird electronic memory to them (yeah I'm obviously not a tech pro) and they are luckly to last 6m! Don't waste ANY money on those rechareable products. They are a waste.
All in all this is the BEST product I've found for the cost, unless you want to invest a fortune in commercial grade steamers. I'm THRILLED with this purchase!!!

Update: After 10 months, I'm still thrilled. However, many complain that the first couple of uses the mop tends to leak a lot and leave the floors very wet. Although I never did experience this, many have and the solution they have found is that it requires a couple of uses to "season" the product and then the appropriate amount of steam and heat becomes reliable. Read more ›