Alright, let's talk about this vacuum cleaner that also steams. I'd been seeing these things around and honestly, the idea of doing two jobs at once sounded pretty good. My floors get messy, kids, dog, you know the drill. Mopping after vacuuming just felt like too much hassle most days.

Getting Started

So, I finally decided to get one. The box arrived, pretty standard stuff. Pulled it out, wasn't too heavy which was nice. Had to click a few pieces together, like the handle and the main body. Didn't even need the instructions for that part, pretty straightforward. Then I actually did look at the manual, mostly to figure out where the water and cleaning solution go. Found two separate tanks, one for clean water, one for the dirty stuff it picks up. Seemed simple enough.

First Run

I filled the clean water tank up to the line. Added a tiny bit of the cleaning solution that came with it, just like the little booklet said. Plugged it in. Okay, time to see what this thing can do. I decided to tackle the kitchen floor first, it always gets the worst of it.

Pressed the power button. It made a noise, sort of a mix between a regular vacuum and a hissing sound from the steam. Not crazy loud, but definitely noticeable. There was a trigger on the handle. You hold it down for steam and vacuuming, let it go just for vacuuming. I held it down and started moving it across the tiles.

• It glided okay, not super smooth like a dry vac, but the steam was definitely coming out.
• You could see the wet trail behind it, but it dried pretty fast.
• It picked up crumbs and some mystery sticky spot that's been there for days. That was impressive.

I did the whole kitchen. It took maybe 10 minutes. Definitely faster than vacuuming then getting the mop out.

The Aftermath

After I finished, I turned it off and looked at the dirty water tank. Man, that water was gross. Kinda satisfying though, seeing all the gunk it pulled up. Emptying it was easy, just unclip it, pour the nasty water down the toilet, and give it a quick rinse. The instructions said to clean the roller brush too. Popped that out, pulled off some hair and fuzz, rinsed it under the tap, and set it aside to dry. A bit more work than just emptying a vacuum canister, but less work than cleaning a mop head, I guess.

Thoughts So Far

Used it a few times now. It's pretty decent. It really does vacuum and wash at the same time. Saves me a step, which is the main thing I wanted. It's not perfect, mind you. It's a bit bulky to get into tight corners, and I probably wouldn't use it on my really plush rugs, feels more like a hard floor and low-pile rug kind of machine. But for the main traffic areas, kitchen, hallway? Yeah, it's doing the job. Cleaning it afterwards is key, gotta do that every time or I imagine it'd get smelly fast. Overall, glad I got it. Makes keeping the floors reasonably clean a bit less of a chore.