The Hoover Enhanced Clean Disinfecting Steam Mop works on glazed ceramic tile, sealed hardwood and linoleum flooring. It also "freshens" carpeting, although I'm am unaware of the benefit of steaming carpeting between cleanings, but I guess it would freshen it. Included is a carpet slider to facilitate this action. Reading the instructions is a necessity - particularly whenever mixing liquids and electricity. The Owner's manual is written clearly and is fourteen pages long, including the warranty page.
The flooring needs to be well swept and all "gross filth", their words, not mine, must be removed. Sweeping is essential because the small steam vents on the head may become clogged which will affect performance and life expectancy of the unit.
The steam mop is lightweight, which is a clear advantage over larger units. It is neatly positioned between a nearly disposable Swifter cleaner and a heavier full size steam cleaner. I tested the unit out on four rooms of glazed ceramic tile - approximately 450 square feet. I vacuumed the tile before beginning and some of the areas, primarily the two entrances into the house, had more ground-in dirt than others.
Assembly involved no more than snapping the handle into the base. The unit has two tanks - the solutions tank holds approximately eight ounces of either Hoover's disinfectant or multi-floor cleaning solution while the water tank holds sixteen ounces. There is a replaceable filter for the water side of the device (should last twelve months) but the instructions recommend using distilled water to avoid hard water build-up and to extend the filter life. At the time of this review the unit is new to the market and I couldn't find pricing on the website for the replacement filter.
The included eight ounce bottle of Disinfectant solution filled the solutions tank and in cleaning the four rooms, I used virtually the entire bottle. The water tank required one extra filling to do all four rooms -- a pleasant surprise considering the small size of the tank.
Two hard surface microfiber pads are included along with one with cut-outs to be used when disinfecting. Select the appropriate pad, lay it on the floor and place the unit on top of it, and a hook and loop (Velcro) system securely attaches the pad. While in use, I tried everything to accidentally disengage the pad and failed.
After use, the microfiber pads may be thrown in the washer. It is recommended they be washed in hot water and dried flat. The idea of throwing the pad in the washer didn't appeal to me because at that point it was quite dirty and I couldn't figure out what I would want to wash with it and it is entirely too small to justify running an entire washer load alone. So, I thoroughly washed it in the kitchen sink with the hottest possible water and detergent (then I disinfected the sink.) I plan to order a couple extra pads. They are on the website for around twenty dollars.
The steam cleaning process is usually step one and begins almost instantly (within thirty seconds) of pressing the power button. Squeeze the trigger on the handle and steam is released. When finished steam cleaning, and disinfecting is desired, switch the dial on the front from the middle position to high which engages the solutions tank. The time involved in the steam cleaning process will vary based on the condition of the floors.
While cleaning, I found the more heavily soiled areas of the tile required going over them up to six times to completely remove all ground in dirt, but the remainder of the floor was done with one or two passes. The power cord is long, approximately 28 feet, so there was no need to repeatedly plug and unplug the cleaner within a large area.
The disinfecting step is optional, and if chosen, is the final action - just a couple of quick passes and then the floor needs to air dry to activate the disinfectant. If a moment is needed to stop while cleaning, the unit should not sit, unmoving, on the floor or damage may occur. A tray is included so the unit may rest off the floor.
The disinfectant is a food grade cleaner but in addition to its steep price, it contains so many chemicals that in the future, I will use it only occasionally. My main interest in the unit is its steam cleaning capability, so that will be my primary use.
On the Hoover website, a thirty-two ounce bottle of disinfectant solution (four fills) is around fifteen dollars and a sixty-four ounce bottle of the multi-floor cleaner(eight fills) is around twenty dollars. The two different cleaning solutions should not be mixed together, and other cleaners are not to be used.
Under Storage in the owner's manual, when finished cleaning, the water tank should always be emptied and air dried. The solutions tank does not need to be emptied, but there was so little disinfectant remaining, I emptied and rinsed it. In the past, I had problems with a small carpet cleaning device that also noted that the cleaning solution could be left in the unit, so I probably will never leave any liquid in either tank.
While using the unit, the lack of weight permitted quick and easy movement and I could work for an extended amount of time without the least bit of fatigue. I finished cleaning all four areas in about thirty minutes and that was stopping once to refill the water container with the included measuring cup.
The lightweight construction does leave the machine feeling a little flimsy, but I don't know how that can be remedied given the significant advantage of its portability. The triangular shaped head is mounted on a ball joint which permits great flexibility in movement, so the unit worked perfectly on the floors in each room - with the point getting into every corner and the flat edges following the baseboards.
The steam mop did a beautiful job on my tile floors - they look spotless and the effort involved was minimal. Overall I am delighted with the machine, but there are a couple of minor complaints. It isn't convenient to move the tray from room to room. It is a necessity because it isn't easy to predict when the work may need to stop for a minute or two so the tray should always be handy.
Also, the water and solutions tanks have lots of nooks and crannies, and are designed in a way that doesn't permit them to readily dry. The fill opening is small so after rinsing, air doesn't easily circulate within the tanks. After a full day of drying, and a few attempts to shake out any remaining drops of water, both tanks still contain a small amount of water. Although this isn't a fatal design flaw, avoiding mold formation is always a concern with units like this.
Hoover provides a limited two year warranty on this machine, which given the proliferation of ninety day warranties, is reassuring. The positives far outweigh the negatives and I am delighted with the unit's performance. As I continue to use the unit, I will update this review.