[debj]

hi
i do a number of tenancy cleans and have finally brought a steam cleaner in a bid to cut down on some of the elbow grease. have never used one before and my house is far to clean to practice on  so i'm off to clean the gents loos in my local pub !! i'm just wondering if anyone has any useful tips/advice. i understand how the machine works and am going to use it on the tiles and toilets but wondered how best to tackle the tiled floor. Theres the big attachment for carpets but i dont really want to use that on a dirty toilet floor. Should I use old towels/flannels/? or just do it slowly using the jet of steam.   
thanks
debbie

[debj]

just had another thought ... any surfaces i really shouldn't use it on ?? the booklet that came with it isn't very helpful.

[garyj]

Hate to cheese you off, but steam cleaners are hard work. I paid £2000 for one a few years ago and it was a huge disappointment.

I used it on a gents tiled floor and used the metel brush attachment, it still took forever  . Urinals and loo's didn't  come up like new as I thought they would.

Believe it or not, it's easier using a squirty bottle and  cloth.

[debj]

oh bugger  thankfully i didnt spend loads on it and dont usually have to clean pub toilets ! so i'll see how it goes.

[Bertie Boo]

Debj

I am with Gary (not literally).

I had a crappy £50 steamie thing years ago from a catalouge. It worked 'ok' but annoyed me as there was no steam off/on control, rather you just had to turn off at the mains switch and wait for the heater to stop. Right pain that was.

I kept it as now and then there was the odd job it came in handy for (like defrosting the freezer). Anyway, when it came to buying a pressure washer i opted for a cheap Power Devil thing which was no where near as good as i was expecting and when it broke i took it back, spent a bit more, and came away with a Karcher which was far, far, superior.

So, it made me wonder if the average perfomance of my steamer was due to it being a no-brand crappy make. Well i never wanted to spend the £250 to find out and never did find out UNTIL January 2006 when i stumbled across an almost new Karcher steamer (complete with steam iron) in a charity shop. I gave £60 for it.

Excited to the point i thought i'd wet myself, i set about cleaning anything and everything.........and what a dissapointment  Although it was sturdier to use than my 'old' cheap steamer (and the steam could be stopped), the performance was no better. I still use it now and then (for certain jobs like cleaning solid-wood kitchen cabinet doors its really good) but i find that a spray over the dirty area with a product is often needed first AND i find it splatter the sh#t that you've loosened ALL over the place (and the floor, oh and the user...) plus you cant always see where you are cleaning as the clouds of steam are not unlike that seen on 'Stars In Your Eyes' (Tonight Matthew, i'm going to be sterilised) which is a bit of a handicapp.

I am not sure that steam cleaning a gents toilet is going to be the best way forward.....

BUT......! Martin from Brighton has bought a steamer recently and from what he's said he has managed to get along with it just fine, so i think its the usual case of something working for one person and not for another.

Cheers

Stephen

[debj]

hi Stephen

thanks for the reply. its the Vax that i went for as i've read lots of the comments on this site/reviews on the net and as you say that guy Martin raved about it. I'll flog it to him 2nd hand if i dont get on with it..lol

i was sooo looking forward to trying it out, but having read about your experiences, will try to control my excitment and not expect too much 

i'm not that fussed about the pub, i know the landlord so am not under any pressure to totally transform the toilets but i'm more hoping it'll come in handy for my usual end of tenancy cleans which although are pretty bad, shouldn't be as bad as the gents loo in a pub   

[The Great One]

Hi

yep, the vax steam cleaner is great, really saves time on the EOT cleans, tiles, fridges, cupboards. works a treat.

Use it on EOT and then make a decision.

I can get a room done (UPVC windows, rad, skirting) in about 20 mins on my own using the machine. By hand can take 30-40 mins and when you are doing a 6 bed student that can really save you time.

depending how this gents is, you will still need solutions to break down limescale, urine stains, and others that us guys leave behind.

i have just started a pub and am having fantastic results with Selden odour neutralizer, smells of pears, and on a sat night they turn over 1000 people.

Regards

Martin

[Cleaning Resource]

I have got an ospsray doman steam cleaner and the only prob i`ve found is that the heat can crack the glaze on tiles, I don`t know if this will affect you as your machines are more domestic and therefore a lot less powerful but it is worth thinking about before you go near any glazed tiles with a steamer

[debj]

Hi
Thanks for the comments.
Thats what i was worried about as i've read other places that the steam could crack tiles, was also wondering about plastic sinks (would they melt) skirting boards (would it take the paint off) that sort of thing. Thankfully this steamer has variable steam so i suppose i can just start off low and see what happens.
The owner of the pub is actually an ex so figured if im going to have any accidents would rather them happen there...i owe him !! I went and had a look at the floor today and its really grotty, so im hoping anything will make it look better.
Thanks again for your advice.