If you're anything like me, your floors seem to get dirty all over again only a few days after cleaning them. It's frustrating and for a while (I'm ashamed to admit), I just didn't bother to clean my floors because it was futile! It's probably worse for me because I have two little dogs running around - they're cute but their paw prints trail all over the floors especially after they were just out on a rainy day. To make matters worse, one of them is not as house trained as I would like and still has accidents! I needed to come up with something better than using those Swiffer pads all the time because at $8 a box or so, they can really add up and to be honest, I was starting to feel that they weren't working as well as I once thought!

One day at work, someone was talking about a steam mop and how that is all she uses to clean her floors, that she loves how it cleans with just the power of steam and that she doesn't have to use more chemicals in her house. It seemed like a good idea to me and I'd remembered seeing them advertised on TV before but just assumed that it was another gimmick.

So one day not too long ago, I went out and bought my first steam mop by SteamTek. It was $79.99 and let me tell you, it's been well worth every penny!

With the SteamTek, there's a small amount of assembly required but nothing that even the least hands-on person such as myself can't handle. You basically just screw in one small screw and one large one and there you go - ready to use! First thing first is to fill the removeable water holder with regular tap water up to the fill line. Put one of the mop pads (it comes with two) over the base of the SteamTek and pull the draw string tight to secure it. Plug it in and wait for the LED light located along the shaft to turn green. It only takes a minute or so to heat up which I thought was pretty amazing.

There's a trigger on the handle that you squeeze down to release steam out of the bottom of the mop. Just start mopping over your floor the way you would with any mop! The steam (which is at 100 degrees Celcius) is what does all the cleaning and according to the insert from the box, it takes 8 seconds for it to sanitize your floor. Also according to the insert, do not leave the mop on your floor for more than 15 seconds at a time because it can become too hot and damage your floor. I haven't had a problem with this though and for a couple of tough stains that I had on my kitchen floors, I let the mop sit on them for more than 15 seconds to dissolve whatever it was. It really works pretty great and feels to me like I am using a magic eraser on my floors. Oh yeah, and the head of the mop is triangular and can easily swivel into corners and along the edges of your floors. I love how it does that!

The SteamTek is designed for all floor types (tile, hardwood, linoleum, carpet) and comes with a triangular adapter to put over your mop pad if you want to use it on carpet. The adapter just allows the mop to glide over the carpet. I've used it on my carpet to dissolved some pesky dog stains that I thought were set in. It did a pretty good job! I just had to vacuum afterwards with my regular vacuum because there is no suction on the SteamTek, just the output of steam.

When you're finished steam mopping (each fill of water will give you about 20 minutes worth of steam), just take the resusable pad off the bottom of the mop and wash it in the washing machine. You don't even have to wash it in the washing machine - I've just been rinsing mine out in the sink and then just let them air dry.

Overall, I'm really enjoying using the SteamTek. I think there are other types of steam mops on the market and I can't speak for them because I haven't tried them. The only disadvantage I can think of with the SteamTek is that the electrical cord is on the short side. I had to plug mine into an extension cord in order to reach the far corners of my living room.

I really like that I'm cleaning my floors with just the power of steam. I don't have to pay for cleaners anymore (or those Swiffer pads - at least I won't use them as much!) so it's saving me money and plus it feels like I'm helping out the environment.