Anyone own a steam cleaner for tile and grout?

[Manonash]

We have horrible problems with our shower and are looking for green options for cleaning it. Hydrogen peroxide won't budge our stains, and neither has vinegar and baking soda. I've heard good things about steam cleaning options and would like to look into buying one, but I imagine they are pricey and wouldn't know which ones to look at. Do you have one and do you like it?

Thanks!
Shonda

[Logan's Mom]

I had one and it does work great to get stuff clean. That being said it was such a pain to use that I gave it away. I wish I could provide you more details but this was like 6 years ago and I forgot what brand. I think it was difficult to keep filling it up, waiting for it to cool so I could fill it up, then waiting for it to steam up and then the fact it needs to be plugged in just like a vaccume which I found limiting personally.

[Adasmommy]

I also had one I got rid of. It didn't seem to clean grout well, and I'm not convinced it even made the dirt looser for my toothbrush scrubbing. I'm sorry I don't know the brand either, but I probably bought it for $40 and I imagine there could be a huge difference in different ones with a huge difference in prices too! I would read lots of reviews before buying.

[moonstruck]

I used to have a more expensive one -- got it for around 100 or 150 off ebay for a reconditioned used one, so it was a much more expensive one new. I forget the brand, but it was comparable to the Ladybug ones you'll see on allergybuyersclub and similar sites. It was AWESOME for cleaning SO many things. I was a steam cleaning addict. LOVED it. Now I killed this one, which is HARD to do, but I had an entire HUGE house with 100 years of old wallpaper which I used this thing to steam off. Worked great for that too, btw. The tank lasted plenty long like over half an hour, maybe an hour, can't remember? for cleaning for me, but for the HUGE needs of my wallpaper removal I kept abusing the poor thing and trying to force the safety valve rather than wait for it to cool . That and a few other abuses and I broke it. But, have to chime in and say that it is TOTALLY TOTALLY different experience than trying to 'steam' clean with 'the shark' or a comparable cheaper (affordable) one you can buy at a regular store. I have been thinkg about buying a Ladybug for years, sometime I'll break down and actually budget for it. In our former house, I sat there in the ancient shower and blasted the old tile and tub, and it did take a long time (like any scrubbing would on ancient grout yuck) but it made a HUGE difference, and WITHOUT ANY YICKY chemicals. That's why I loved it so much. PLUS< one thinkg I LOVED about using it instead of mopping was HOW fast the floors dry. SO much easier that trying to keep pets and toddlers off of a drying floor!

Ok, I'll stop prosteletizing (SP??) and rambling. But I may have been talking myself into lusting after a new one... LOL.

[Manonash]

Thanks so much. I'm thinking that I really would like one of the good ones. I've seen one online that you don't have to wait for it to cool off before adding water, so that may be good. I agree on the icky chemicals. The only thing that has worked on my shower so far is Zep (muriatic acid). The hydrogen peroxide cleaners have done zilcho. I got so desperate I tried bleach in one corner : and it didn't do squat either. bleck - I hate bleach! Sometimes I just want to get a hammer and go Fried Green Tomatoes on it -- just knock the sucker down. I really hope I can get one of these to try it. i wonder can I find one to rent to see if it will work before investing? Hmmm....

[moonstruck]

Only have a sec here, but have to say that rereading my post, it sounds like I used it for a month or so, then it broke. but that's not the case, we had it over a year or two in the old house and I used it to clean a TON, then when we moved I broke it after the kind of abuse stated above. I do think under normal use, and the way the instructions very clearly tell you to use, LOL, one of these very expensive machines have a very long lifespan. And if you were somewhere you could buy it locally or at least regionally, they probalby would service or repair for you. This was all more complicated in my case b/c I had moved to Canada, but bought used in the US via ebay, and it wasn't even certified that it met Canadian electrical standards, so anyone opening it up here would be liable or something...

anyhow, I really wouldn't worry about durability, despite my issues. If you want to test, I know when I was obsessively researching this stuff 5 or so years ago, I had read of people who were in the region of a Ladybug rep, they would come to your house and show you the thing. Because it is super expensive, lol! Anyhow, I think anyone who could get their hands on one of the good ones (vapor cleaner, not steam cleaner, I think is the distinguishing terminology) would be in LOVE. but the one I want costs about 1000 bucks! YIKES> I wish I could get into a cooperative group to own one--like a local group of co-owners, lol! Good luck, mama!

[ustasmom]

I love my handheld steam cleaner. I just wish that I knew where it is hiding. And it is great for floor trim and corners that get gunked up when the mop/broom doesn't reach well.