After much research, I decided to purchase this floor cleaner and am SO happy with my selection. The Hann arrived very quickly, packaged in it's original box. It was packed well enough in that, that an additional shipping box was unnecessary. The item description doesn't tell you everything that is in the box. Mine came with the cleaner (love the red!), 2 microfiber pads, the carpet glide, the resting floor pad (which is NOT a tray as specified in the descriptions for the other colors of Haan SI-25), and 12 packets of Fresh Rinse Lime and Scale Remover (a 1-yr supply).
I opened the box this morning and put the Haan together - very easy and very light weight, even with the tank full of water! In total, it took me 1.5 tanks of water to wash my kitchen, dining room, bathroom, 1 bedroom, the entryway and hallway. They say a tank of water lasts ~ 20 mins - I think it lasted longer. As the directions specified, there was a clicking sound after I first turned on the Haan - that was the water moving into the pump. This sound quickly stopped, and the cleaner was as quiet as a church mouse during use. I found the cleaner very easy to push around our hardwood floor and tile bathroom. It even fit in between the toilet and wall! As directed for stuck on stuff, I allowed the steam to be on the area for a few moments, then wiped back and forth a few times. Everything came right up.
The floor looks fantastic!!! Do read the instructions regarding floor pad cleaning - I decided to hand wash mine because I'm not going to throw it in the delicate cycle with my work clothes. Washing it that way, I really saw all the dirt that was cleaned from my floor!! Based on other recommendations I read, I also bought 4 extra floor pads. While Haan recommends changing the floor pad every 10 mins, I didn't. After ~ 40 mins of cleaning, the pad did not dry the floor because it was saturated (as expected) - the floor did dry within moments so I was still happy. Also, where the floor was not vacuumed well and with the floor pad saturated, I did in the very end push some cat hair around that didn't stick to the floor pad during cleaning. Again, I can't complain because I chose not to follow the instructions, and was still happy with the cleaning results.
The Fresh Rinse Lime and Scale Remover is recommended to be used monthly to keep the inside of the cleaner clean. I didn't see anywhere in my research that this was an issue, and will likely follow the instructions on this one.
Overall Summary:
Pros:
- cleaned the floors REALLY well!!!
- fit between toilet and wall in bathroom (big plus!!)
- light weight
- easy to use
- was safe to use around my cats and 4 children (1.5 - 2.5 yrs old)
- floor pad was easy to attach, detach, wash & hang dry
- the low profile allowed me to clean under the cabinets and front of refrigerator (and everywhere else I wanted to)
Cons:
- Personally, I'd like the tank to be a little bigger
- I had to unplug and replug the cord in a total of 3 times to hit all the areas that I did.
- The floor pad is a bit larger than the head of the cleaner, which means that the steam and cleaning really don't get to the edge of the pad. I.e. the absolute corners and wall below wall boards are not perfectly clean.
All in all, none of the cons will stop me from using the cleaner or make me regret my purchase. Yes, I would recommend this to my best friend!
Note: I did not use the carpet glide today, but am looking forward to using it to 'freshen and sanitize' my carpet (cats, baby formula, etc). I'll update my review to provide feedback on that performance as well.
UPDATE: I finally used the carpet glide on all the area rugs in the house: one is very thick, 2 are very thin, and 1 is of average pile. The steam killed all odors and seemed to 'brighten' the colors in the rugs, which I didn't expect and was likely caused by the moisture on the rug. The rugs dried relatively quickly since they weren't saturated by a typical steam cleaner. So, no worries about mold forming under the rugs for me. I like having a way to kill the dust mites since that is one of my allergies, not to mention increasing the general sanitary conditions for my children. I have also used the steamer with floor pad attached on the interlocking anti-fatigue foam floor mats that are in the children's play area and was happy with the results. All-in-all, I'm still happy and recommend. The only thing I am going to change is to use 2 floor mats instead of 1 when doing the first floor of the house - I am seeing some streaking when I try to make the soaked floor pad stretch instead of following the Haan recommendation of changing the pad when it gets soaked.