I love the convenience and easy handling of a steam mop. In fact, the scrub bucket has pretty much gotten the boot when it comes to routine cleaning of my hard surface floors. For that reason, I tend to gravitate to steam mops. The Enviro Steamer's design is rather appealing and its track record beckons testing.
Product Description:
- Eureka Enviro Steamer 313A
- For sealed hard surface floors: Marble, ceramic, stone, linoleum, sealed hard wood floors and parquet.
- Comes with 2 reusable Magic floor cloths and a measuring cup and funnel
- Chemical-free cleaning to sanitize hard surface floors
- Includes drip tray (reusable)
- Eco friendly cleaning - uses only water
- 6.5 Amp
- Adjustable height handle
- 20 Foot cord
- 12.5" Cleaning path
- Weighs 5.4 lbs
- Add water indicator light
- Learn more from the manufacturer
- MSRP: $79.99
How the Enviro Steamer Performed
August 3, 2011
Out of the box, the Enviro Steamer is easy to assemble, you can adjust the height of the handle, the manual is well detailed and the Magic cloth attaches easily and is held surprisingly more secure than I expected. So set-up is rather quick. It's fairly lightweight, so not much effort to push around, though the head is a little more bulky than some models. I like the fact that there's a drip tray for when you need to park it for a couple of minutes to remove/replace chairs and such, but you shouldn't leave it on and idle. There is an off/on foot-operated switch.
Just to clear up any misconceptions (online errors), the Enviro Steamer is a steam mop and not a vacuum, though it comes from Eureka's vacuum line. It has the same steam mop function as other steam mops - turns water into steam (without chemicals) to sanitize and steam clean floors. So you do need to vacuum first or at least sweep prior to using it, the same as you would with any steam mop, if you don't want to push or smear loose dirt around. It's also designed strictly for sealed hard floors.
I have to say that this was not a case of 'love at first use'. For some unknown reason, it took about three trials before steam was generated properly and water didn't flow too quickly, making the floor cloth too soggy to proceed. Even after changing over to the second floor cloth, the same thing happened. That meant that I had to rinse and dry out the cloths overnight and resume my test another day. But after doing this twice, it started to steam as expected, floors dried quickly and it did an excellent cleaning of floors. I extended my testing phase to ensure that performance was continuous. During testing when the humidity was extremely high, the floor took a little longer to dry, which is typical.
The type of material used in the Magic cloth helps tremendously when it comes to a streak-free cleaning - I prefer them over some other brands. The heavy cotton content is what gives them an edge over mostly synthetic cloths and why you should hang to dry and not use the dryer - they will most likely shrink. Since they are oversized, you might not notice some shrinkage, but I prefer to hang dry anyway after a gentle cold-water machine wash. You can take the cloth off and flip it over when soiled to finish your floor, to avoid steaming with that dirt. The way the cloth attaches, in a pinch you could probably use other cotton blend towels, but the Enviro Magic cloths are very absorbent and do a great job. You can buy a replacement Magic cloth (model 310) for $9.99.
As for ease of use, there's no pumping or button to release water - steam is constant. This is good, but it does continue to release water/steam even when you have to lift the mop over a section to reach another floor (sometimes inevitable). How often you have to refill depends on a few things such as cleaning area and whether you make several passes or not, so it may be different every time you use it. I tend to give high traffic areas more than one pass. Since the heavy part of the steamer is at floor level, it simply requires a push and no downward pressure making it an effortless floor cleaning. The steamer is very hot - more cleaning power. I love the cleaning it did on my laminate floors (no streaks), tiles and linoleum. Note that you shouldn't use it on adhesive-backed lino tiles; the heat could cause glue to loosen them.
The shape of the steamer head allows you to clean along cabinet bottoms (standard height kick plate), but it does limit reach under some low furniture. That said, the edge of the cloth gives you a closer reach along walls. When cleaning is done, you should empty the water reservoir immediately after it cools down, to reduce the risk of scale build-up. An alternative to avoid scale build-up is to use demineralized water.
Out of the box, the Enviro Steamer is easy to assemble, you can adjust the height of the handle, the manual is well detailed and the Magic cloth attaches easily and is held surprisingly more secure than I expected. So set-up is rather quick. It's fairly lightweight, so not much effort to push around, though the head is a little more bulky than some models. I like the fact that there's a drip tray for when you need to park it for a couple of minutes to remove/replace chairs and such, but you shouldn't leave it on and idle. There is an off/on foot-operated switch.
Just to clear up any misconceptions (online errors), the Enviro Steamer is a steam mop and not a vacuum, though it comes from Eureka's vacuum line. It has the same steam mop function as other steam mops - turns water into steam (without chemicals) to sanitize and steam clean floors. So you do need to vacuum first or at least sweep prior to using it, the same as you would with any steam mop, if you don't want to push or smear loose dirt around. It's also designed strictly for sealed hard floors.
I have to say that this was not a case of 'love at first use'. For some unknown reason, it took about three trials before steam was generated properly and water didn't flow too quickly, making the floor cloth too soggy to proceed. Even after changing over to the second floor cloth, the same thing happened. That meant that I had to rinse and dry out the cloths overnight and resume my test another day. But after doing this twice, it started to steam as expected, floors dried quickly and it did an excellent cleaning of floors. I extended my testing phase to ensure that performance was continuous. During testing when the humidity was extremely high, the floor took a little longer to dry, which is typical.
The type of material used in the Magic cloth helps tremendously when it comes to a streak-free cleaning - I prefer them over some other brands. The heavy cotton content is what gives them an edge over mostly synthetic cloths and why you should hang to dry and not use the dryer - they will most likely shrink. Since they are oversized, you might not notice some shrinkage, but I prefer to hang dry anyway after a gentle cold-water machine wash. You can take the cloth off and flip it over when soiled to finish your floor, to avoid steaming with that dirt. The way the cloth attaches, in a pinch you could probably use other cotton blend towels, but the Enviro Magic cloths are very absorbent and do a great job. You can buy a replacement Magic cloth (model 310) for $9.99.
As for ease of use, there's no pumping or button to release water - steam is constant. This is good, but it does continue to release water/steam even when you have to lift the mop over a section to reach another floor (sometimes inevitable). How often you have to refill depends on a few things such as cleaning area and whether you make several passes or not, so it may be different every time you use it. I tend to give high traffic areas more than one pass. Since the heavy part of the steamer is at floor level, it simply requires a push and no downward pressure making it an effortless floor cleaning. The steamer is very hot - more cleaning power. I love the cleaning it did on my laminate floors (no streaks), tiles and linoleum. Note that you shouldn't use it on adhesive-backed lino tiles; the heat could cause glue to loosen them.
The shape of the steamer head allows you to clean along cabinet bottoms (standard height kick plate), but it does limit reach under some low furniture. That said, the edge of the cloth gives you a closer reach along walls. When cleaning is done, you should empty the water reservoir immediately after it cools down, to reduce the risk of scale build-up. An alternative to avoid scale build-up is to use demineralized water.
Overall Impression
Though the initial start was not the greatest, the Enviro Steamer does an excellent steam cleaning once it gets going and the steam is very hot. The method of attaching the floor cloth turned out to be the easiest and quickest, and it stayed secure. The material of the cloths is ideal for the job.
With a price tag below $100, a better-than-average cleaning performance and cloths that help to deliver a streak-free clean floor, the Enviro Steamer is a great buy. If you've used other steam mops, you might find it a little bulkier to maneuver around bathroom fixtures - I found the swivel harder to control in those areas. And you may have to refill it if you have to lift it off the floor often, but that's a trade-off I could live with given the good cleaning performance.
With a price tag below $100, a better-than-average cleaning performance and cloths that help to deliver a streak-free clean floor, the Enviro Steamer is a great buy. If you've used other steam mops, you might find it a little bulkier to maneuver around bathroom fixtures - I found the swivel harder to control in those areas. And you may have to refill it if you have to lift it off the floor often, but that's a trade-off I could live with given the good cleaning performance.
Related Resources
Compare Prices of Eureka Products
Compare Prices of Steam Mops
Steam Mop Buying Tips
What NOT to do With a Steam Mop
Home Steamers - How Each Type Differs
Vacuums 101 - From Buying to Caring
Go to Main Vacuums and Floor Care Page
Go to Home Page
Compare Prices of Steam Mops
Steam Mop Buying Tips
What NOT to do With a Steam Mop
Home Steamers - How Each Type Differs
Vacuums 101 - From Buying to Caring
Go to Main Vacuums and Floor Care Page
Go to Home Page
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
