Oreck Steam-It Steam Mop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me start by saying that I am a huge Oreck fan. I think that they make quality products that do what they say they do. However, I can't say that this product measures up. They are on the right track but have several details to work out yet. I already own a Shark steam mop but find the handle to be a little short (I am tall) and it doesn't hold enough water to do my whole kitchen area with one fill. I was quite excited to hear that Oreck had a steam mop. I went to the Oreck store and got a demo. I commented then that the 'pad' was loose and coming off while he mopped, and that the head of the mop was being uncooperative during the carpet refresh demo. He made excuses for all so I bought the steam mop. The mop holds about a gallon of water, and has a very tall handle and a long cord. All good things. The quality and construction are excellent. However, the first thing you notice is that it weighs more than your vaccuum. The pad is actually a piece of cotton duck fabric about a foot square with a strip of terry cloth like fabric down the center. Picture a baby diaper from 20 years ago. You lay that on the floor and use those yellow tabs in the picture to pinch the loose ends of the cloth under the yellow tab. I began to mop and noticed right away that the steam production is fast and strong, good, but the mop is very very hard to push. It is heavy and awkward to move and now I know why the salesman spent so much time showing me the shoulder movement I should use to push the mop back and fowards. The forward motion caused everything I picked up with the mop to be pushed into a line of bits and fuzz on the floor so I tried to turn the mop and capture the fuzzy stuff. Immediately the pad came unclipped. I repositioned the pad and tried again. Again the pad came off. I tried to mop around the bathroom toilet, pulling it longways along the side of the toilet, the pad came off. Each time I pulled the mop towards myself, the head of the mop leaves the floor, tilting on its back edge and drags back to me. When I push forward, it flattens out again. The mop handle stores all the water and electronics and weighs close to 10 lbs, the mop head on the other hand is a lightweight hollow piece of plastic. The design of the head is bad because it can't compete with the weight of that handle and because it is like a box, not a flat pad holder. I could not mop under the water shut off valves behind the toilet because the head is too tall and boxxy, nor under the kitchen cupboard kickspace nor under the door backstops along the molding, all because of the height of the head. Each of these places had to be done separately without the steam mop. Lots of rework that day and lots of frustration. It has a snap on piece for the head that lets it glide on carpet so I tried that as well. Like what I saw in the store demo, each stroke out was great, each stroke back found the head flipping up on its back and bouncing back or dragging back towards me. I really can't imagine that the tester of this product actually tried mopping or steaming with it before it was release to market. And yes, I tried bending down lower, changing my angle, going faster, slower, none of it helped. It has 2 rocker switches on the handle covered by a rubbery plastic box. One controls power, the other steam. After leaving the mop for several hours, I came back to find that the power\preheat switch light was out, but that the mop was hot. The switch wasnt fully off, just looked like it. Because of the rubbery box around the switches, it is hard to tell if a switch is completely clicked in one direction or the other and obviously the led on the switch isn't so sure either. Thats a fire hazard in my book. I have boxed this Oreck back up, first thing I have ever returned to Oreck, but it is going back and when they come out with a new improved model, I will give that a try. For now, I really don't think this design is ready for public consumption, too many engineering issues to work out.
The good:
Great construction, holds nearly a gallon of water, produces really good steam really fast, long cord.
The bad:
The water weighs far to much, handle pushes down so hard it makes the head flip up on every backstroke
The power switches are difficult
It is too heavy and awkward to be used as a window washer or steam cleaner as shown in the commercials. Imagine hoisting your heavy full size vacuum up to your windows or stove to clean with it.
The pad is useless because nothing sticks to it, it just collects anything it finds and leaves it at the end of your stroke, it needs to be more like the shark pad, thick, soft and absorbant.
The design of the yellow pad pinchers is rediculous, they don't keep the pad in place if you turn the mop head even a little - the pad comes off immediately. They are similar to a chip clip and are trying to hold a wet cotton cloth under pressure while moving. Not happening.
The head to too tall, can't mop under anything normal, and it is too light to stay positioned on the floor when fighting with the weight of the handle.


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