My first introduction to the Polti Vaparetto was at Downtown Superstore, Grantham. Lincs.
I was having a browse around and came across a demonstration of this steam cleaner.
This machine cleaned everything imaginable and it was all done by steam with no addition of detergents and chemicals , thus sterilising as you go.
When the lady demonstrator got to the ironing part she was suddenly enveloped in clouds of billowing steam and when it came to ironing shirts, she just hung them on a hanger and pointed the iron at them and, viola, creases dropped out as if by magic.
I am a demonstrator's dream as I only have to look and I see, I lust, I crave and if cash permits, I buy.
As this machine cost £349.99, I didn't have enough loose change in my pocket (OK, truth be told, I didn't even have it in my bank account) buying it there and then was out of the question but the fact that it had a free iron attachment during the promotion, which would normally bump the price up to well over £400 made it even more enticing. Such savings are not to be ignored so I had to resort to plan B which entailed going home and harping on to hubby continually about how wonderful this vaparetto was, my house would be transformed into a pleasant sterile environment, etc. etc. So, sick of hearing me, he eventually gave me the money to shut me up and off I went a couple of days later, to Downtown again with the money tightly clasped in my hot little hand.
When I got inside the lady demonstrator was still there, still surrounded by piles of ironing.
I was so pleased to see her, I could have hugged her. After all I'd banged on about her and her lovely machine for so long, I felt on friendly terms with her. So I quickly went to the EPOS (yes, I've done my homework, electronic point of sale, till, call it what you will). I was expecting a fanfare of trumpets to accompany this momumental purchase, but no. I was given a slip of paper and pointed to the warehouse behind the shop, where I was very unceremoniously handed my rather huge box in return for the slip of paper.
I broke the speed limit on my return home, so eager was I go get cracking with this beauty, but after ripping open the packaging I found that not only was the machine Italian made, mine also came with Italian connections and no amount of poking could force the plug into my three pin socket. Oh, the frustration. I rang Downtown and explained the problem and a cheery man said "no problem", bring it back and we will replace it with an English version.
As the round trip is approximately 35 miles, and I'd already done it twice, I didn't feel particularly inclined to repeat the process a third time and asked them to bring one to me and take the old one back. I must have had my assertive head on as the man agreed and later that day a rather disgruntled man appeared at my doorstep with Vaparetto mark two.
Tore open packaging again and lo and behold, this time I had actually got the right machine.
So you know what to look out for should you need to find one of these, it's bright red and at a quick glance resembles a cylinder vacuum cleaner and is approximately 15" long and 12" wide at its fattest point.
On the top of the machine is a carrying handle. It's not particularly heavy and with this you can lug it from room to room instead of the more cruel way of getting hold of the hose and dragging the poor thing by its neck.
Also located onthe top is the "patented safety cap" which prevents opening whilst there is any steam left in the machine so you wont get boiled alive by mistake, a pressure gauge, a steam regulation control and on and off switch for the main generator and on and off switch for the accessories. At the front of the machine is the central connector block which is where you fit the tools.
Underneath are two large wheels at the back and two small castors at the front, which makes it very manouvreable.
As standard with the machine are the following accessories, sorry, a boring list but suppose you need to know what you're getting:
Two extension tubes A flexible hose 120 degree nozzle Small round brush for the above nozzle Large brush (for carpets) Small brush (for tiles, walls etc) Two cotton cloths (these fit over the brushes to polish walls afterwards and remove excess moisture from carpets) Steam gun which is attached to flexible hose Window squeegee tool Small blade for above tool Large blade for above tool Spare washers Filler bottle Video
Although I had a rough idea of how the thing worked I thought I would humour it and watch the video first. This showed a very elegant Italian woman cleaning her villa from top to bottom with the aid of the vaparetto. She even gave the leaves of the pot plants a blast. I thought cleaning plants was above and beyond the call of duty myself, but each to their own. Walls, floors, furniture, ceilings, windows. You name it and she cleaned it. Unfortunately she took a nonspeaking role in the film. Probably guessed rightly that my Italian wasn't fluent so she smiled a lot and got on with it.
Now ready to transform my house into hygenic heaven I set to work.
Firstly you have to fill the tank with the filler bottle. This looks alarming like the bottles they give bedridden men to wee in. But what do I know. This must just be the ideal shape for the job and would also double up for another purpose if ever hubby took to his bed.
It has markings along the side up to the 2 litre maximum and you fill it up, turn it on its side and fill her up.
Once switched on you can see the needle on the bars of the pressure gauge start to move. First bars are yellow (feeble pressure), green (getting a steam up) then red (maximum steam). When it reaches red I'm ready to shout "there she blows" (I know, I watch too much television) but it can't actually blow up as it cuts out when it reaches danger level.
You attach the flexible hose to the front of the machine, pull the trigger and the steam pours out and the idea is to get sufficient steam to blast all the dirt away and sterilising as it goes.
It is fitted with a very long flex and together with the flexible hose and attachments I think you could manage to reach most areas of a fair sized room with it if you stretched it to it's limit. No, ignore that, I dont recommend you stretch the poor things neck.
I went round like a thing possessed and cleaned everything that was still long enough for me to get at it. Most things I cleaned I was quite impressed with the result, with the exception of the windows and mine, unlike the signora's, were streaky afterwards.
Exhausted, I put it back in its box and sent it to bed in the airing cupboard.
The next time I fished it out to give the carpets a once over, one of the clips that held the cloth in place, snapped off. Following time the other clip fell off which meant you had to secure the cloth with rubber bands (well I did, not being able to think of anything better).
Gradually, over time, some bit of plastic or other has snapped off every time I've used it and it seems very flimsy.
Being Mrs Ideal Home has worn off a bit now and it only ever seems to get used for ironing. This is still does excellently and either it is cutting my ironing time in half or I'm getting more slipshod and doing it quicker. I would like to believe it's the first instance but more than likely it's the second!
I've just consulted the instruction book, which I forgot to mention comes with the video, and the technical data is as follows:
Power supply 230/240 50 hz Resistance (generator) 1500w Resistance of iron 750w Generator capacity 2l
First three mean nothing to me.
The steam pressure is controlled by a pressostat and can be varied with fingertip control from 0-70 gr/min. I always have it on the highest (+) setting as the steam is too feeble at lower setting.
The unit conforms with EC-directives.
That's about all I can think of. No doubt I've missed something vital out which will come to me at a later date.
I wouldn't buy another one I think as it works out as an expensive iron.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Handheld - Water Capacity:-1 - Max Boiler Wattage:1500 - Steam Pressure in Bars:-1 - without Vacuum Function - without Steam Iron Function - without Variable Steam Regulation
Don't think I'll be bothering with this then (not that I could afford it). Suzy x
sparkydog 04.12.2003 15:02
This really is an exceptional op because you've covered absolutely everything you could want to know about the product with humour and good writing. I want a steam cleaner too but was confused about all the different models available and I assumed Polti, being specialists in steam-cleaners and the most expensive, would be the best but I'm very surprised at the flimsy build quality- for that sort of money I'd want better! Excellent op.
raeisthehippychick 18.11.2003 16:27
I have often hankered after one of these - but having read your op and seenthe price... don't think so amymore!!
POLTI VAPORETTO 2400 STEAM CLEANER**GREAT FOR PET OWNERS&ALLERGY SUFFERERS**Also Includes ... more
a POLTI 2 YEAR WarrantyMachine Specification:Ecological System With Exclusive NO VOLT Polti Patent230 V - 1500W - 3.3 Litre Boiler Volume - 2.2 Litre Use Capacity...
Postage & Packaging: £10.00 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
POLTI VAPORETTO 2400 STEAM CLEANER**Comes Complete With Pro Per Vaporetto Steam Iron ... more
Attachment**GREAT FOR PET OWNERS&ALLERGY SUFFERERSINCLUDES POLTI 2 YEAR WARRANTYSPECIFICATIONEcological System With Exclusive NO VOLT Polti Patent - 230 V - 1500W3.3 L...
Postage & Packaging: £3.91 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Aug 29th, 2003
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