Customer Reviews

McCulloch MC1235 1300-Watt Handheld Steam Cleaner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased my McCulloch MC1235 1300-Watt Handheld Steam Cleaner last year from [...], and I have loved it ever since! I use this great tool to clean automotive door / wall panels, engines, carpet, upholstery, and also household items such as microwaves, toaster ovens, vacuums and such. I have owned other steam cleaners in the past and gotten mixed results (from exploding boilers to no steam out of the box), but I am finally satisfied with the reliable performance and great customer service of McCulloch and SteamFast (manufacturer). When un-boxed, the vibrant yellow steam cleaner has grey accents and a high grade feel to the plastics used in its manufacture. I really like the refillable water tank, and also the eight minutes of steam you get with that container. Other brands of steam cleaners hold enough water to make less than five minutes of steam, and call for you to allow the unit to cool before refilling. With the McCulloch steam cleaner, you don't need to let it cool; just pour 8 oz of tap water into the reservoir and go!

There are some pros and cons with the cleaner I should mention:

Pros:
quick-refilling reservoir
high-powered steam
lots of useful tools
adjustable steam output
quick warm-up time
compact size

Cons:
loud water pump (as indicated by other reviews)
poor quality switches / reservoir cap
unit gets hot after extended use

As you can see, the pros outnumber the cons. The water pump is loud, but that is the trade off for having the amazing variable steam output switch... Speaking of that switch, you have to play with it to get the steam to come out "full power" as the quality of that particular switch is sub-par. This problem doesn't seem to extend to the steam switch, but I will update if anything happens. The reservoir cap is held on with two minute tabs less than 5mm long. I had to call the manufacturer to get a new one out of warranty (it broke 1 year 3 months of course ;D) but they were very helpful in sending me the correct part for a low price of less than ten dollars. The unit DOES get hot on the top and near both ends after long uses, but I always have it plugged in for at least 45 minutes when I clean so that may be part of it... Overall, I love it for what I use it for, and it beats purchasing chemicals all the time to clean everything. I hope my review will help make the decision to choose this steam cleaner over the inferior "infomercial" models... Thanks, and enjoy your new steam cleaner!

Alec

I am a perfectionist and you know what that means. Having said that, I drive people nuts with my standards for measuring a clean home. I have used every cleaning agent available on earth. I've even considered acid and thank God my reason prevailed.

Now to the amazement of my family and friends, I use my steamer exclusively (and white vinegar)--no, you can't put white vinegar in the machine. You only need water, but I use bottled water because of the level of minerals in our water. I use my machine everywhere: bathrooms, kitchen, wood crevices, floors, vents, window blinds, mirrors, garbage cans, white residue on rocks (!), appliances, especially appliances. I also use it for my car, especially to clean the wheels. Most of the time, I take it to the car wash, but it is never quite right so I use my machine to finish the job. I call it completed staff work.

Everybody is so grateful because when they visit me they are not bombarded with the odors of cleaning chemicals. I was wondering what made me sneeze so much. And I don't have to wear those special gloves.

I hope this is helpful. I guess I have gone Green without knowing it. Cheers!

I love my steam cleaner gun! It's fantastic for cleaning off grease and grime from engine bays, suspension parts, undercarriages, tractor pins and just about anything with caked on nasty yuck. I've never had a problem with mine and I use it regularly in the garage or barn. No more nasty, harsh, hazardous chemicals for me when it comes to removing grease makes this one of my favorite cleaning tools. Works fairly well on hardened cosmoline even.

I've only had my steamer for 2 days, but I love it. You'll never know how dirty your house truly is until you use this thing! All of a sudden, I see dirt, grime and dust everywhere.

It is pretty powerful - more so than I expected from reading reviews of handheld steamers.
If you use it in a sink, be prepared to not be able to see the bottom of the sink because of all the steam.

A few cautions:
- the tips can get really hot (obviously), so you'll probably want to unplug the unit and let it cool for a bit before changing the tips.
- it CAN take paint off wood - whoops.
- make sure you have plenty of paper towels around, because even though it comes out as steam, it quickly turns to water and you'll have a puddle to deal with. (a dirty puddle, that is). Maybe I should buy a sham-wow....

I like the variety of attachments. The most useful, for me, is the angled tip.
I've also used the squeegee on a window covered with dog snot, and that worked pretty well - just had to take my time. Much easier than scrubbing away with windex and paper towels. Of course the whole door steamed up and I had to soak up all the water dripping down the door, but... it's clean! And no chemical smell!
The brush tip is very stiff - I think it would definitely scratch up something "delicate" so I plan to reserve it for the thickest grime and for tile grout.

It's kind of loud, but you are right next to the thing. It makes a sort of pulsing sound when in use.

I chose this model over the pot-style ones since it had a little more wattage and could hold more water. It's not a big deal to have to refill every 10 minutes or so - the unit only takes 30 seconds to warm up once you plug it in.
The packaging makes it look like you would find it in the drill aisle of a home improvement store. Definitely marketed toward men, with images of engine compartments, wheels and grills, with the slogan "Perfect for automobiles, boats workshops and more." But I figure that's all for the better - maybe it will inspire the guys to use it too :)

Overall, I really like it! I would definitely buy it again.

Bought this on Amazon, after seeing it demonstrated and sold out on a "premier shopping channel" on t.v. I primarily got it to assist with cleaning window sills, bathroom faucets (we live in the Pacific Northwest where mold can creep up very quickly) and the like. I also liked the idea of not using harsh chemicals to clean and liked the benefit of reduced allergens. So far, I've used it to clean bathrooms and LOVE it (although it doesn't clean toilets as well as I'd like). Just be aware that it works like a mini pressure washer and that you need to move slower than anticipated and close to the grime (I put the cleaner in one hand and wiped up with a towel in the other). My only complaint is that the water reserve is small which necessitates filling often (and no, you do not need to use distilled water--tap water works fine). For the price, it will pay for itself because I don't have to purchase as many cleaning products. I am anxious to try on the refrigerator, and to steam wrinkles out of clothes. A good buy in my book!

I read all sorts of reviews about steamers and just about all of them have a mixutre of excellent and poor reviews as seen with this product. I was trying to be optimistic and ordered it anyway hoping it would work well for me. This unit was not a good buy for but luckily I bought it at Home Depot so I can return it easily. The steam comes out with a lot of water even if you let it heat up for several minutes before using it. It's just to much of a mess. I tried this on my stove (sort of worked), my sink (decent), my shower tiles and floor (didn't do anything), and my countertops (sort of worked). The steam is powerful enough or hot enough and like I said it is a mess. You have to have a towel ready to go because you will be covering things with lots of spray and water. I wouldn't even suggest using it on clothes or fabric.

I wanted a hand held steamer, and I think I made the right choice buying this one. I've been using it for a couple months now, which I think is long enough to review it.

The good:

-Portable
-Variety of nozzles
-Effective
-Long power cord

The Bad:

-Maximum steam setting sputters a little. If I set it a little lower I get constant steam.
-The top of the handle can get quite warm. Not a big deal, I usually hold it lower.
-At higher steam settings the tank needs to be refilled often. The bigger the tank, the less portable it is, however.

This is one of those items that my husband and I can't imagine our lives without. He steams his dress shirts everyday. I've also used it to get the wrinkles out of a wedding dress, curtains, and bedskirts. I've never used it for cleaning, so I don't have an opinion on that, but for knocking the wrinkles out of fabrics, I would buy this item over and over again. We've had ours for about 3 years now and have had zero problems out of it. Just make sure you use the lowest steam setting or it will get your clothes wet.

I had a Scunci brand steamer before this one and it broke in under a year, it was heavy, it didn't work at odd angles, and the directions said to allow it to cool before refilling. With this steamer you can refill the water at any time, plus you can see how much is left. I suppose if I had to make one complaint about this item, it would be the sound it makes, but that's really petty.

This is the second steam cleaner I have tried and found it the best in most respects, and would highly recommend it. The only negatives is that it does not stand up on its own when I want to use both hands for wiping, etc. and had to figure out a container to put it into to hold it during such times. The other small negative is that the top to the water reservoir is tricky to put on and takes extra time to get it just right. It did a great cleaning job and eliminated any use of chemicals.

I bought this to clean the grout in my kitchen and it works like a charm. It's really powerful. I've found others uses for it like cleaning my shower and my sliding door crevices. It's great and cheaper than my local hardware store even with the shipping costs

Great Job Amazon!