Black & Decker BDH1720SM SmartSelect Steam Mop

Cleans well, but I doubt the claims that it sterilizes
I've had bad luck with Black and Decker in the past (toaster oven, hand vacuum, cordless drill) so I almost didn't order this item. I hoped with the $79 price tag it would be better quality than the other items I had that lasted a year.

I used this steam mop on my tile kitchen floor yesterday (and a small patch of sealed hardwood in our entryway) and while it did clean up dried food spills and muddy tracks, I'm not convinced that the amount of steam applied to the floor actually killed 99.9% of germs. My opinion of the pros and cons of this mop are listed below.

Pros:

- Nice long cord - it's 23 feet so I didn't have to unplug and move it
- Attractive design
- Re-useable microfiber pads save money
- No chemicals, for those who are sensitive to them
- Heats up in 15 seconds
- Height of handle is just right for me (5-4)
- Handle clicks into upright position so it can stand by itself while I move furniture
- Clicking...

Average performer
I was curious about what the new design from Black and Decker brings to the field of steam mopping - and this is one of those perfectly average products that leaves me unimpressed overall. There is nothing really to hate about the product - but its misses are kind of frustrating. First, the steam temperature is way lower than what my Eureka puts out. I don't need to have a thermometer confirm this, because I can immediately sense a difference in the floor temperature between whet this steamer and the other ones. Also, there is a good amount of water being left behind. On the Eureka the combination of high temperature and lower amounts of water makes the floor dry up quickly. With the Black and Decker, it has not been 20 minutes and I still have patches of wet floor. I have also found that the microfiber pad does not have the scrubbing ability of the good ole' fashioned cotton pads used by the Eureka steamer. It could be a combination of the microfiber and the lower temperature, but if...

Good Mop But I'm Still Prefer My Hoover
I have this and a Hoover TwinTank Disinfecting Steam Mop. This works pretty well and delivers hot steam pretty quickly. But I just think that my Hoover produces a little more steam alittle more consistently. I also like the triangle head of my Hoover better thant the straight head of this one. Maybe I just prefer the Hoover beacue I've used it longer and am already used to it. I don't know if other reviewers like the straight head but this is just my preference. Other than those two points, the two mops I'm comparing are very similar. This one might be a little lighter thant the Hoover but neither are burdensome. I'm 6 months pregnant and still have no trouble steam mopping my floors.

I do have one bit of money saving advice, I use microfiber towels after the mop pads wore out. The towles work great! They're the yellow ones that are sold for washing/drying cars. You can get a huge pack here on Amazon for bucks. I use them in the kitchen, on my cars, and I have some reserved...

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