Shark Steam mop~ How to deal with streaks/smears

kristine_2009

14 years ago

Hi all!

I bought a shark steam mop a couple of weeks ago. We recently installed cherry hardwood and porcelain tile throughout our lower levl. We don't have hard water, but on both surfaces, the steam mop leaves a streaky/smeary floor. Prior to purchasing this, I had only cleaned the wood floor with Bona a few times, so I don't think it has a build up of products on it. I of course don't use fabric softener either on the pads when I wash them. Not sure what to do. I really do like the steam mop, just not the streaks it leaves behind :(

Any suggestions?

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iamrose

12 years ago

I have a Shark Steam mop too and I never, ever used Bona on my floors ever! and my Shark mop leaves streak and smears behind. I clean the pads exactly how they say to clean them in the manual, but still I have streaking every where. What am I to do?

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Comments (8)

eteinne
14 years ago
It's the Bona! I own a residential cleaning service and when the client hands me Bona, I refuse to use it. I hate that stuff and Cherry wood floors are the worst for the hazing and streaking. 2 clients fired me and I had been with them for over 10 years. They called me back after 3 months and told me that I was right. I wouldn't take them back. I have 1 couple that built a new home and have over 4,000 sq feet of Cherrywood. I warned them not to use it and now they hate it. Everything shows and if you have a lot of natural sunlight, they get darker with time. You move a area rug or try and rearrange your furnitue it's the original color but where the floor is exposed to light, it's darker. The husband is so ticked that he is talking about carpet to cover it up. This is another Bona disaster! I used Vinegar. It took months and a more aggresive Mirco mop head. I have a $1,500 steamer from Italy. I tried it on the Cherry in a test spot and it made matters worse. It looked like dried milk in the test spot! Type Bona floor cleaner in the search box in this forum and you will find people with this problem. You are not alone.
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sarahtaylor_nz_yahoo_com
12 years ago
I have a shark steam mop and never used Bona on my floors or anything else and I get streaking everywhere, its like the steam mop is just smearing stuff around rather than cleaning. I'm a bit dissapointed considering a bucket and mop does a better job.
vacuumfreak
12 years ago
Take it back (or put it on Craig's List) and get a Hoover Floormate like I did! I don't know if your wood is sealed or not... my experience with the Shark steam mop is limited to the Shark Pocket steam mop, not the original. I have tile in my apartment, and wanted an easier way to clean it.... Someone told me they love their Shark steam mop, so I bought one, even though I despise Euro Pro products for their inferior quality... I was open minded enough to give the steam mop a chance. It left streaks all over, it took a long time to heat up, I couldn't control the steam, it hissed.... just to make sure it wasn't just my floor, I brought the sucker into work and tried to do our office. Streaks all over the tile, I even tried adding vinegar to the water... it no only didn't get the dirt, but ADDED streaks to the floor, leaving me worse off than I was to begin with. The people at "Shark" forgot to include that little detail in their infomercial! I thought it was because the pads were new, so I washed them per the instructions, and still, they left streaks. I took that sucker back after a week and got a refund.

I got a Hoover Floormate a few days ago, and it's been bliss ever since. It's a little more work to set up and break down, but I'm just using plain water and it's working great. I brought in into work last night after I got off and spent two hours doing our whole office! Wow, what a difference... dirt gone, and only shine left behind, no streaks!
amanda_moore_aya_yale_edu
12 years ago
I have the same problem with my Shark steam mop leaving streaks on my wood floor, but my streaks aren't dirt -- they are streaks left by the mop itself. It's as if the pad doesn't fully cover the plastic of the mop, and it leaves a pair of rubs/streaks everywhere it goes. It leaves the floors looking worse than they did when they were dirty!
HU-555511768
3 years ago
Molly’s Suds is the answer;). I too have a cleaning business. About a 1/2 tsp of Molly’s suds (yes, the “green” powdered laundry detergent, peppermint is my fav) and add water. This amount is for about 30-35 oz squirt bottle. It will last you for a long time and leaves your floors looking awesome AND clean! I usually dissolve the powder with a little water just to make sure it’s dissolved all the way. Good for wood floors, tile, laminate, marble, etc... give it a try.
HU-145804362
2 years ago
Do you put Molly's suds into the unit or do you just spray it from a squirt bottle and then use the steam mop over it??
danademick
last year
I have a brand new Shark steam mop, the S7001 two headed scrub and steam model. It’s awful. It’s my second attempt at a Shark product: fool me once and all that. It leaves a smeared fog all over my floors, and I’ve never once used anything other than vinegar and water to clean them. Never again. Wish I could find a steam mop that actually cleans and shines but doesn’t take 20 mins to clean out afterward.

Shark Steam mop~ How to deal with streaks/smears

iamrose

Comments (8)

eteinne

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