Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Housework Tuesday - Shark Steam Mop

So as many of you already know from various complaints and comments over the past months – I HATE cleaning my hardwood floors. We have hardwoods throughout our entire house, and while they are beautiful, they are a pain to keep clean. Sweeping and moping the entire house can take anywhere from 2-3 hours depending on how dirty the floors are.


When we first moved into our house I completed the entire process the old fashioned way: sweeping with a broom and shining the floors wood cleaner & a mop. It was exhausting. Less than half an hour in, my back would begin to ache. By the time I was finished, my entire body was covered in sweat, my head was pounding & my every muscle in my back twitched with throbbing pain.
I will never forget the day I was introduced to the Shark Steam Mop. I was on the treadmill banging out a quick run when an infomercial flashed across my personal TV. Billy Mays promised that the Shark Steam Mop would change the way I felt about cleaning my floors – it would save me time and pain. I’m a thrifty spender so the price tag sent up a red flag - $100 for a mop!?!? I wrote off the infomercial and decided I would rather spend the $100 on something better and I would just deal with the hassle of cleaning my hardwood floors.

Midway through my next weekly (okay – back then I hated it so much it was sometimes more like biweekly) flooring cleaning ritual, I broke down. I was beyond my breaking point – I couldn’t do it anymore! Covered in dust and dog hair from sweeping, with my hair all a mess and reeking of floor cleaner I grabbed my nearest 20% off coupon to Bed, Bath & Beyond and sprinted out the door. As I walked through the doors of BB&B I was approached by a salesman, “Can I help you ma’am?” “No – I know exactly what I’m here for.” Fifteen minutes later I walked out the door with my $80 steam mop in hand (gotta love those coupons!)

My husband was more than shocked when he came home that evening. “I spent $80 on a mop today. If you get to spend money on tools and equipment for the yard then I can spend money to make my chores in the house a little easier.” The blank stare on Steven’s face was answer enough…whatever you say sweetie…whatever you say…..

The first time I used the steam mop I was beyond amazed. It really does clean anything – Billy Mays did not tell a lie! I love how easily the mop glides across my floors. It makes cleaning so much easier and less tiresome. Recently I picked up Pledge Hard Wood Floor cleaner. I spray a gentle mist over the floors before I mop with the steam cleaner and it adds an extra shine that I love – plus it makes the house smell great!

I’m not going to lie – I still hate cleaning my floors. I especially hate how quickly they become dirty again (dogs will do that I guess!) But I will say that the Shark Steam Mop has saved my back and quite possibly my marriage. You see, if I had to spend one more grueling minute cleaning my floors while my husband sat on the couch asking me “Why are you pushing so hard?? Just calm down” someone was going to get hurt – and considering that I was the worked up one with a long, metal object in my hand, chances are it would have been Steven.

For anyone who has hard wood or tile floors, I would strongly recommend the Shark Steam Mop. In my opinion it is well worth the money – and I truly do not say that often! What about you? Have you made any “splurges” on an appliance that has saved your cleaning life? Have you ever wasted a lot of money on something that was supposed to be the best but turned out to be a dud?

11 comments:

Kate said...

I watched a whole informercial on this mop this weekend, and was basically drooling over it, but was worried it would not work. Now that I know it does, I need it ASAP. Thanks for sharing!

Stephanie Hartman said...

I Love that thing I personally don't have one but my friend does and everytime she needs her floors clean I'm always like me I want to do it I love that thing..

Amber said...

I will have to tell my friends about this one. They are exhausted by trying to keep their floors clean, especially with their two fur children and they have been trying to find something that would actually work on their floors. Thanks for the info!

Mrs. Pick said...

I laughed out load when I read your post! My friend and I were just talking about the Shark! Like you, we both have a lot of hardwood floor area to clean. I am going to have to consider putting money into this one! I hate how long it takes and how bad my back hurts! We just had our hardwoods replaced in Nov. so this would be a great way to keep them looking new!

Thank you so much for the recommendation b/c I don't think I would have been gutsy enough to try it based on the infomerical alone!

Alissa said...

Oh Amber you crack me up! Hey I'll try anything I need to look into that mop.

d.a.r. said...

Ugh I may have to get one!! I hate trying to keep up with my hardwood floors!

~*~Lilly~*~ said...

Omg...i am RIGHT THERE with ya girlie on the wood floor issue. You see in NYC nothing or no place has carpet (although that is fabulous & would be a whole new bitch session..lol) But i hate, hate, HATE cleaning our hard wood floors. Love the look & the detail in the floors...but it seems they attract more dusty and dusty bunnies at times are even bigger then Slut (the cat).
Thank you for the super cute post & advice on that mop! I might have to ask for that as a belated vday gift. lmao

& poor steven! If they only knew how many times our husbands come so close to meeting their maker! ;) lmao

agalandherdog said...

I have the Bissell steam mop and I love it. I pay my youngest sister (who is still in college and desperate for spending money) to come help me clean for a couple of hours every weekend, so she usually gets stuck doing the floors. She's weird and loves doing floors though. Anyway, I'll have to pick up some of the the Pledge cleaner to try bc I wish our hardwood floors were shinier when we finish. Thanks!

Unknown said...

I own it! and I love it!!! I am not one to be mopping consistently, my job keeps me away and I prefer to be watching tv, the mop is AMAZING, I used the BB&B coupon too!

Tyly said...

We are moving into our new home next weekend, and to get ready I bought a bunch of cleaning supplies. When I saw you were writing about the Shark mop, I was hoping and praying you'd say good things since I just spent the money for one - I'm SO glad it is everything I was hoping it would be!!! I also purchased the Shark vacuum, because of course my cleaning stuff needs to match! :) Thanks for the review!!

Kathy said...

My sister-in-law, Jane, and I have been using Shark Steam Mop. She's the one who introduced to me the product. Our conversation about it started when she told me that their bathroom flooring is made of tiles while the laundry area is ceramic tiles in light color. She'd been benefited by the Clearwater, flooring products and floor stores for so long and it definitely wowed me. Thanks for sharing about Shark Steam Mop, Amber! It's very informative.



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