JML Handheld Steam Cleaner > Reviews (5)

For years I had always said that one day I would buy a steam cleaner. Living in a house with five animals plus two messy children takes its toll on the carpets, and despite instilling into the children that they must take their shoes off before coming inside, there is the occasional bout of forgetfulness.

A few weeks ago I set off shopping with the intention to buy a steamcleaner at long last. We went to Focus and after vague instructions from an assistant on where to locate the cleaners, we found them at the end of an aisle.

The steam cleaner we chose was a JMLhand held model, which retails at £59.99 but at present Focus have a promotion whereby we received ten pounds off the R.R.P.

The steam cleaner looks very similar to a hand held vacuum cleaner, in that it is a long chunky shape, and I must admit I was intending to use this for surfaces and walls rather than carpets when I purchased it, as due to its size I did not think it would be possible to clean carpets, apart from those in the car.

The cleaner is an off white colour and has a moulded handle on the top, on which there are two buttons. The first button is a simple flickable on/off switch and is covered by a piece of plastic, so as not to cause any danger if water escapes from the device. The second is a circular button that can be pressed to emit steam from the cleaner when in use.

Tools are included with the cleaner, which are interchangeable dependant upon the surface to be cleaned. A dark green rubber nozzle, two small circular brushes and a larger triangular brush are enclosed in the box, and can be fitted to the cleaner simply by sliding into the hole at its end, and twisting until the tool snaps into place. It is important to select the tool suitable for the job in question before the machine is turned on, as otherwise the steam escapes from the nozzle, and can cause burning.

At the back end of the cleaner is a large dark green plastic receptacle, in which the water is placed to create the steam from the cleaner. This can be removed from the cleaner by simply unscrewing, and removing the filtering instrument and lid from the top.

I was slightly mystified when I realised that plain tap water was to be used for the cleaner, as I expected to have to buy some sort of cleaning fluid for it. There is a measuring line on the water chamber and of course it must not be overfilled. Cold water must be used, and once full, the filter mechanism is simply slotted back into the receptacle and the whole thing screwed back onto the cleaner.

Once the water receptacle is filled, the device can be plugged in and switched on. An orange LED light will now be lit on the top of the machine, and within seconds the water is hot enough to use. The hot steam is passed through the hole and through the tool at the end of the machine in order to clean. The day that I bought the machine I went mad. I cleaned all the tiled walls in our bathrooms, as well as the cooker, fridge and the worktop surfaces and doors. I was amazed at the difference to all of the surfaces after I had used the cleaner.

The tiles in the bathrooms positively gleamed, and all the little hard to get to places at the rear of the toilet and behind the sink, were free of dusty bits and muck. The cleaner is superbly powerful and using the nozzle tool, blasts any ingrained dirt, mould or other debris from grouting spaces between tiles. The nozzle is also useful for cleaning the tops of skirting boards, and although the machine is quite heavy and did make my arms and fingers ache after a while, due to the continual pressing of the steam button, I was so impressed with the results, it seemed of little importance.

The steam cleaner is ideal for use on cookers and other appliances that have small crevices and ridges that are really difficult to access. Either using the nozzle or the small brushes, you will find that any appliance will positive sparkle and look like new. I have used the cleaner on our CannonGas Cooker which has some irritating little gaps on the control panel, and the results were brilliant. The jet of steamed water simply blasts any dirt or ingrained grease away, leaving a shiny clean finish, and my cooker looks as though it is new instead of over seven years old.

The biggest surprise of all was when I decided to use the machine on our front room carpet. We have a very large room, about 25 feet long, and I cleaned the entire carpet with the triangular brush in less than an hour. I have used large steam cleaners in the past and they have taken just as long, so I was really impressed with the versatility of a hand held device. The pile of the carpet has been rejuvenated and any drink spills or ingrained mud from shoes have been eliminated from the carpet. Although the carpet was damp after use, it was very quick to dry out and was completely finished within a couple of hours of cleaning.

The instruction leaflet with the machine is very easy to follow, and my thirteen year old son has cleaned his room by referring to the directions.

There are a couple of rules that need to be observed when using the machine. When changing the tool, it is important that the machine is turned off, as steam can still be emitted from the hole, even though the steam button is not being pressed. Also, when removing the tools, care must be taken to ensure that they are cool enough to do so, as they do remain hot for a while after use.

There is a sachet of citric acid enclosed with the cleaner, and this can be used should the steam jets on the machine become blocked. Despite using the cleaner for the past four weeks on a regular basis, I have had no trouble so far, and I would say that it was well worth the forty pounds we paid.

The one negative aspect of the machine is its weight, and although it is hand held, it does become heavy after a while, and does tend to make the arms ache. I would be happier if the steam button did not have to be continually pressed to emit the steam, but this is a small price to pay for a machine which has totally transformed the way I look at housework. The grotty jobs that I abhor doing are now almost a pleasure, and even the children comment on how clean various surfaces and hard to reach places are in our house since I’ve been using this.

JML do have a website at www.jmldirect.com but unfortunately the steam cleaner is not listed, although there are some larger models. There is however a list of stockists on the web site, and I would imagine that it is fairly easy to get hold of as I have seen it for sale in several DIY stores since my purchase.