I have also been interested in a Lady bug but
have decided against because they are not good
on painted wood surfaces (i.e. woodwork being
the one I'm particularly interested in.)

The Allergybuyers website sells Ladybugs
and they have a phone number. You will find it
on the link below. Perhaps they can help with some of
your questions.

Good luck.

(Standard Disclaimer: I have no association
with AllergyBuyers, financial or otherwise.
Nothing to gain if you choose to buy from them.)
AllergyBuyers Web

Thank you! I have been on the site and think that their information is good. But, I really wanted more input from someone who had one. I bought a Bissell Steam Mop to sort of try out the concept and really liked it. I am going to call Allergy Buyers and see if they can answer some questions.

Thanks... I will look into the Euro pro. Off the top of my head, I think that the difference might be the amount of moisture in the steam and the steam temp...maybe it isn't worth the difference.

I bought a bottom-of-the-line model from vaporcleanproducts dot com for $250. Love it. I've used it on my (oil-base) painted baseboards with great success--it's latex paint on drywall where you have to be careful. And nothing can beat it on shower glass--it's almost worth the money for that alone. And it can blast dirt out of crevices in an amazing manner. Aforementioned baseboards in our old house, and an alabaster lamp that I didn't even realize was so dirty, and something as silly as the grimy dispenser on the bathroom soap bottle--everything looks new.

I don't find that it's saved me a lot of time cleaning, but it's nice not having to use a lot of chemicals, and it's a more satisfying feeling, if that doesn't make me sound like a freak. It's like having gallons of boiling water to rinse everything with, except that there's no water to mop up afterwards.

Herkimer, I bought a tidyvap from allergybuyersclub.com.

The vapor machines are different than the Europro steam machines, in that the steam is much much hotter (there is not much "liquid", it is "dry steam")and the expensive vapor steam machines (like Ladybug) have continuous fill options so you don't have to stop using it when the water runs out. it doesn't mean Europro isn't a good tool, but it is different, so beware apples to apples comparison.

I agree with delmobile's post. For glass, tile, stone, metal, this will blow your socks off. Just try it on the inside of your oven once, or the shower alone will amaze you with the sparkle. Also I second the "feeling" part, I run my hands all over my counters and bathroom, lol!
But it's true does not save time, and the vapor machines are not for painted surfaces/wood. It depends on what your needs are to justify the price.
People on this forum got in home demos in CT from Ladybug. I don't know who to contact, but its a good idea before spending the money. I love my TidyVap, too.

It may not save a lot of time cleaning the first time but
I'm under the impression that because it cleans so well,
almost like new that one can go longer between cleaning.
Sort of like a new house that is much easier to clean than
an old house (usually).

I agree with AlicesR, I go longer inbetween cleaning than before, and the chemical free bathroom is a big PLUS. Although the darn floors are a different story...cat hair, sigh.

I own one and I'm still not sure. I wonder the danger of the germs in the steam we are breathing as we blast away. There is still much cleaning to do after steaming. I question, the temp of the steam must relate to how close the wand is cleaning. I do love it for hard to reach tracks, but for the money would rather vacation or hire help.

I don't have a LadyBug, but I have a VaporClean TR5, which is several hundreds of dollars less than the LadyBug but not cheap as it's still a few hundred dollars. (It's a vapour cleaner, meaning that it runs hotter than the less expensive steam cleaners, but I didn't want to spend the extra $ for a continuous fill).

I've only had it a few weeks but thus far I like it, but you need to consider what you want it for. I liked the idea of less chemicals for my allergies, but as mentioned by others before me, it doesn't save time, at least not initially. In fact, it's taken me more time to clean, but the results have been incredible. In particular, I got so much crud out around the glass shower doors that I'm somewhat disgusted that it was there in the first place, enough though I thought I had been doing a thorough job of cleaning it before. The nice thing about using it on floors is that the floors feel very clean, without any sticky residue (yes, I've also done the feeling thing too :-)). I also used it to (hopefully) kill the dust mites in bed -- I'll have to see how that works. I've also heard that this is amazing for bird cages (I don't have any birds, myself).

Bottom line is - what do you need it for, and how much are you willing to pay? Since it is such a big purchase, a demo is a good thing, but I would suggest that, if you haven't already, googling the various vapour cleaners.

Thanks for all of the postings! I want to get a steam cleaner for my bathrooms, mostly. I like the idea of getting all the crud off surfaces without chemicals. In my soon to be new house, I have mostly hardwood and wall to wall carpet so the only floors I would be doing are my bathrooms, but I already have a bissell steam mop that works just fine for those. I am purchasing a commerical style range top and thought that the steam cleaner might be good for that too...I am really on the fence. I will keep up my research.

I'm trying to decide, too. I definitely want a vapor cleaner for my bird cages and general cleaning. I have severe asthma, and regular cleaning products wipe me out.

Currently, I'm debating between the White Wing and the Tidy Vap. Does anyone have any comments? Is the Tidy Vap worth twice the money? I wish Consumer Reports would do a report on them, but they haven't.

Help!!!

As far as I know steam is steam, from water boiling at 212 degree's which is about the max any machine that plugs into household current is going to generate. I think this "dry vapor" is a bit of advertising puffery in order to sell a machine at an exhorbitant cost. Continuous fill is certainly worth it and you get that with the $100 Euro Pro X Steam Blaster, Plus all the attachments for doing floors, brushes for crevices etc. Mine works like a charm and creates tremendous blasts of continuous steam.

Has anyone tried one of these on an engine or on brake dust??
True steam is excellent on grease and oil and soap scum, and on concrete..
But a real steam cleaner can cost $5 grand and is of course , overkill, around the house.

I didn't think the main feature of a vapor steam cleaner was 212 degrees output but the fact that the vapor steam almost dries immediately leaving no wetness behind. (Maybe the fact that it dries immediately indicates it has a higher temperature?) This means that it is very useful for upholstery (i.e. dust mites). Upholstery can be damaged with regular steam but not by vapor steam. Or in the case of a mattress, it may not dry soon enough to sleep on if using a regular steamer but the steam from a vapor steamer dries almost immediately.

That said, I do wonder if one wants a vapor steamer only for the bathroom, that the lower priced steamers would work just as well because there is no problem with the "wetness factor".

Of course, I think there is such a thing as steam at temperatures higher than 212 (i.e. super heated) and perhaps some bacteria/germs require the higher temperature before they can be eliminated. This is something I would want to know if I were buying one which I'm not because they don't work well with painted (i.e. latex painted) woodwork.

--Alice

I ordered a Tidy Vap and used it for the first time today on my kitchen and family room floors. I have four parrots who live in the family room, so the floor there gets kind of grungy.

It did a terrific job. My floor has never been this clean. You use a towel over the attachment, so the towel picks up the gook and it doesn't go into the air.

Bottom line for me -- I have severe asthma, and not using any kind of chemical or soap is wonderful. If I didn't, I'm not sure if I would spend this much money on a floor cleaner. It is perfect for me, though.

Sue

Hi,

I just got my Ladybug XL in and it is wonderful! I got so much gunk off the floors (we're in a rental while we build) and it was great on the walls too. I steamed my kitchen drains and sink and couldn't believe the stuff that came off the sides of the sink. I usually scrub them with Comet or Ajax, but obviously they weren't getting REALLY clean! I also used it on my tiled table top and it really sparkles now. Next, I'm going to attack my kitchen countertops and shower stall. It is expensive, but the steam really gets the surfaces clean and you don't have to rinse mop the floors. In fact, the steam does most the work meaning less work for me as I don't have to scrub the mop back in forth. Not having to use harsh chemicals is a big plus too as DH is sensitive to the smell of most cleaning products. THe XL came with lots of neat attachments to clean anything and everything imagineable. Bottom line, I love mine---and it's cute too!
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the Ladybug company other than as a satisfied buyer.

Tigerlily

For those of you chemical sensitive, another posted the magic of cornstarch and water (NOT in your Ladybugs) for cleaning glass, I tried today and couldn't stop. It really is fabulous, even for the refrigerator front.

Maybe the $1000+ machines really work well. But after reading Aesop's review, I decided to go cheap and purchased the TR5 from Vapor Clean Products. It's supposedly a commercial grade machine. I paid $400 but it cleaned NOTHING. Plus, within a few weeks, the machine actually broke down. Then to top it all, the company would not honor their 30-day guarantee. Apparently, Vapor Clean Products has other complaints with the State Attorney Generals's Office of Florida for non-honoring of warranty on defective products.

I don't know if Aesop got lucky or if the company has changed hands. Whatever the reason, I guess you should think twice about buying from Vapor Clean Products. They can be a real nightmare.

As a side note, there's also a company called Vapor Clean which is supposedly more reliable and unaffiliated with Vapor Clean Products.

I am looking for something mainly to clean the grout in my tile and the tile itself. Someone suggested the EuroPro. What would you suggest for this purpose?

I thought this post was about a cute little orange and black insect.

I would like to know if anyone has used the Rocky 3000, VC3000 Vapor cleaning home unit and what your opinion of it is. Can anyone compare it to a Lady Bug as far as performance.

I have had the EuroPro for several years and love it. I found it online for around $200 and it is worth every dime. That first time you do your bathroom you will die at the crap you blow out of the shower tracks and don't even get me going on the yuck between the toilet tank and the seat! Gag! Ditto the oven - no more oven cleaner. Earthworm - my husband couldn't wait to get his hands on it for his truck engine and brake dust after he saw what it did to the bathroom. He was thrilled with how his vehicle sparkled - if he spent that much time on the house I'd never have to clean again - sigh... I agree, I don't know that it is a time saver, but once you go that clean you won't go back. It also removed a pen disaster from the inside of the dryer in seconds.

I would appreciate your experience and comments on this unit. Thank you

Hi!

I am not sold on the vapor steamers. Years ago I purchased a Steam Buggy in a weak moment at 4:00 in the morning. It cleaned nothing!!! What I was watching on the TV was total BS! The mold they were removing was Graphite pencil and the rest was not anything as shown. This thing does have it's uses. I have used it to defrost my in-laws chest freezer, taken carpet depressions out of the carpet when I move the furniture around, fluffed up the pile on the carpeting on the stairs, and steamed my sheers after I have hung them. This works great for all of this. When the Steam Buggy died I went to Tuesday Morning last Tuesday and purchased 2 Shark, Ultra Steam Blasters. They were $70 or something like that. They are still in the boxes and have yet to try them. They have Micro-Fiber pads and all of that. The Steam Buggy had fake wheels and you would have to carry the thing like a shoulder bag. That was way too hot to be next to your waist. This thing has working wheels and you pull it behind you like a canister vac. I will try it this week end and report back..

Im having some trouble deciding between the Ladybug XL2300 steam cleaner and the Reliable T730A. Both have the continuous refill feature, but the Ladybug can have the TANCS option for disinfection. Anybody have any experience with the TANCS option? It's a lot more money for the Ladybug, so I want to make sure it's worth it.

Well, they look to be about equal, except that the Ladybug costs much more and has a warranty on the boiler.

Reliable T730A - $599.00, 2 liter stainless steel boiler tank, heats to 302 degrees, Limited 1 Year Warranty

Ladybug XL2300 - $1449.00, 2 liter stainless steel boiler tank, heats to 298 degrees, Limited 1 Year Warranty, 3 Year Boiler Warranty

Are there other models made by these two companies that are not continuous fill? You can do a lot of steaming with a 2 liter tank, and the refill/reheat time for any of the steam cleaners isn't that long that you need the continuous fill.

I may be wrong, but I don't see where the LadyBug TANCS (TM) system is anything but the process of boiling water for the purpose of steam cleaning:

With Thermo Accelerated Nano Crystal Sanitation (TANCS®), the Ladybug XL2300 uses the naturally occurring minerals in tap water to form crystals. As these crystals pass through the boiler they gain energy from the heat. Then, when the water transforms into super-heated low-moisture steam, these energized crystals are accelerated along with the steam. This process helps disrupt the cell membrane, allowing lethal temperatures to quickly destroy the germs. This activity is confined to the surface being treated or cleaned and is lethal for germs and yet safe for you!

You're right, specification wise they do seem about equal. It looks like they're both made in Italy, too. From what I can tell from their comparison chart the Reliable brand only offers one steamer with continuous fill, the T730A, and all the Ladybug products come with a continuous fill feature. My only thought is that the Ladybug products are higher quality? I'm gonna give them a call on the TANCS stuff.

Take a look at the Vapor Clean line. I have the TR5, but they also have a lower priced model, the Vapor Clean 2. I bought the TR5 used on Ebay. It does a good job, but there are some things that bug me about it. They are made in Italy, but the price is less than the Ladybug.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vapor Clean

I'm a little worried about the vapor clean people because of a thread I found in a forum. It seems people have been saying terrible things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Purchasing experience

I can see how you would have concerns. I can't vouch for the company. The unit I originally chose was on backorder, but it was indicated as such on the website. I ended up buying a used one on E-bay and cancelling my order with Vapor Clean.

I like my machine, the TR5, except that you have to press and hold a button to make the steam come out. I called Vapor Clean about how annoying it is, and they agreed, saying that you could replace the handle for $80 or jerry-rig something together that kept it spraying without continuously pressing the button. I did ajerry-rig with a rubber band and it's working fine.

If the units interest you, maybe you could call them with a bunch of questions and see what kind of response you get.

Found a link to this unit on the link you posted - possibly another for your consideration?

Here is a link that might be useful: VC-3000

Does anyone have the VX 5000 from vapor systems? I am very close to purchasing one but am hoping someone has first hand experience with this machine. TIA

I don't have experience with the VX5000, but the website's write up of the machine is impressive. The tank capacity is twice the size of my TR-5, and the boiler temp is 14 degrees hotter.

The VX5000 is heavier than the TR-5. Both have wheels so it's not a big issue, but I often carry mine around the house rather than rolling it. They may have miscalculated the weight of the VX5000. If it weights 18 pounds empty and holds 3.5 liters of water, then it would weigh 25.7 pounds filled with water (18 + 7.7), not the 24 pounds stated on the website.

I watched the video and can't determine whether the VX5000 spray handle requires you to hold down a button to get steam. I realize the safety reasons for this, but it is tiring to have to hold pressure with your thumb against a button for any length of time. I would call and ask if there is a way to lock the steam in an ON position. When you are cleaning ceramic floors, you pretty much have the steam on continuously.

Wow graywings thanks for taking the time to watch the video and check out the website. I really appreciate your thoughts and you have a good point about holding the button down as I will be cleaning alot of grout and tile. I will check further on that point. Thanks!

reeny, that guy has a nice website - and I learned something. When I experimented with cleaning my grout, I only used the steam. He points out that it is the combination of steam and the brush that cleans the grout. I will be going in search of some dirty grout to try out his method.

Graywings let me know how it works out on the dirty grout - BTW if you can't find any dirty grout in your house you are welcome to experiment on mine!

I confess to being a bit of a clean freak. Our home is really clean and generally we don't wear shoes in the house. t he primary living area in the first floor is tile which I have carefully mopped (generally on hands and knees) for years. The floor is in average shape. The grout is supposed to be a biscuit color and is more like almond after several years.

So I bought the steamer to keep the floor clean and also to use around the house. I admit I hadn't planned to to use it to clean toilets or sinks but was definitely interested in trying it on the stove top and backspash and maybe the patio door.

So I ordered an open box which gained me a couple hundred off. Shipping was each and customer service for the order good. I told the guy what I was planning to use it for and asked him if I needed any other accessories and he said I should be good to go.

Product arrived in a couple of days and included a video which I watched in its entirety before unpacking the unit. Everything was in the box and the unit itself cute

Then I started putting it through the paces. The video stressed using the lowest setting possible because the steam will be hotter and dryer. I tried everything -- I tried it on the stove, the sink the patioi door etc... Really didn't see anything getting clean and did see a lot of water. It is also bulky and ackward to use.

Since my primary reason was cleaning my grout and floor this is where I went to work. I tried every tool. In generally, using regular pressure and maximize steam it did nothing. The towel came back clean. It wasn't penetrating.

It was not until I went downstairs and got the tile/grout cleaner and sprayed it on the floor and let it site for 5 minutes in each section before using the triangle brush with no towel that I started seeing results. The grout was getting whiter and the tile looked cleaner. The towel still wasn't black but it did show a bit gray.

So we have about 700-800 sq feet of tile and it took me 12 hours to clean my floor in this way. When I was done I put on three coats of tile and grout sealer to keep it clean.

After all that hard work and still I had to use chemicals I admit to being very disappointed. Again, my floor wasn't filty or black. We are talking a shade off of the original color. Judging by the website, the video and the reviews this should have been easy!

I wrote an email to the company telling them of my experience. I received no reply. And, because it was open box it is not returnable -- so beware if you are offered open box you will not be able to return it. I didn't know this. Had I known at the time of order I probably would not have ordered open box.

I won't recommend the product because frankly it just doesn't do as promised and more importantly there is no customer support after purchase. I am left with a $1300 mop that is bulky to use.

Stephsti,
If you wrote to customer service or some other similar generic department, I would re-send the letter - indicating you received NO response - to the attention of the CEO or President of the company. I find that persistence pays off when being an unhappy consumer.

Then I started putting it through the paces. The video stressed using the lowest setting possible because the steam will be hotter and dryer. I tried everything -- I tried it on the stove, the sink the patioi door etc... Really didn't see anything getting clean and did see a lot of water.

If you are using it on ceramic tile, I would turn that thing on high - you want hot, hot, hot steam.

Stephsti,
Sorry to hear you had a so-so experience with your Ladybug. I have just spent 4 days renting a LadyBug XL2300 TANCS vapor steam cleaner and have experienced the opposite. I have ceramic tile floors in my office, laundry room, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room and living room and have used traditional cleaning methods for the past 15 years and watched the grout get grungier each year. The amount of chemicals used to try to get my tile clean was rather obscene. The 1st day with the Ladybug was working on the tile floors in the office, laundry room and first bathroom. Although the vapor steam worked well on the tiles and the towels picked up a lot of grime, the pinkish beige colored grout was still dingy looking. It was obvious the vapor steam was making headway on the grout (no other cleaning method had in years) but something else was needed. So I purchased some heavy duty brass brushes and got to work steaming each grout line several times, then scrubbing the grout with the brush and then steaming it again. the dirt just kept coming off. Experiment with the steam volume. Some grout lines needed higher volume to loosen the grime. It took two days & four brass brushes to hand scrub all the grout lines in my house but it was worth it!! The grout and tiles look as new. The shine is incredible and no chemicals were used - just plain old tap water!! I'm in love with my floors again, instead of hiding them under area rugs.
I also used the Ladybug to clean my gas cooktop and vent hood. It worked magic on the stainless steel and the greasy grime hiding in the corners is all gone. I steamed my toilets, bathtub, shower, sinks, heat vents, kitchen cabinets, windows, sink drains and the washer & dryer. All look fantastic and feel great to the touch. I found the Ladybug rental place via Yelp and the web. There is no comparison between this vapor steam cleaner and appliances called steam mops or the Shark. I tried both and they were useless on my floors and cooktop.
I am 67 years old and although my knees and back are pretty sore right now, I am so pleased with the cleaning ability of this Ladybug, I will probably buy one. I have a rental unit that I would like to unleash this on.

67 years old? Gotta tell you, I am a 50 year old woman in pretty good shape. My husband is same age and works out. Yet both of us had experienced much difficulty unlinking the pieces. My husband almost resorted to getting the tool box out. So, you must be in very very very good shape indeed.

I hate to be rude but I question your review. In fact, I would almost bet you are hired by the manufacturer to go around and post follow-up messages to a bad review. Your post does indeed sound more like a commercial.

Trust me, over 12 hours of using this machine to clean our floors and we did a lot of experiencing with the steam levels.

So, if there is anyone on this forum who believes Ms. Holt's post, I have a lightly used (one time for 12 hours) Ladybug that I paid $1390 for. I will happily sell it to you for $700.

I am a 62 year old woman who also sings the praises of the high end steam cleaners. I don't have a Ladybug, I have a Vapor Clean 5. But they all use the same science of heating water and shooting it out a hose.

Stephstl, maybe your machine is defective and there should be a way to test it and find out. When I got mine (I bought it used) I called the company that sells it asking about the heat and steam levels, and they said not to worry about that, just put it on the max settings for most cleaning.

Call customer service and tell them that you are not getting the cleaning results that others are getting. Just to clarify, you are placing a cloth on the bottom attachment where the steam comes out, right? That bottom attachment usually has brushes on it, and you are covering the brushes with the cloth, and the cloth is held on with the alligator clips. The steam goes through the cloth, softens the dirt and the cloth picks up the dirt. You should be able to remove the cloth and have a black rectangle (triangle, etc) of dirt on the cloth.

Edited to add: I went back and read your earlier post. You were using the cloth. Did you go back and retry it at max steam? When I am cleaning, the cloth ends up wet from the steam. The more steam, the better. With the grout lines you would probably need the small brass cleaning tool, used without the cloth. I guess you wipe up the crud as you go.

As far as unlinking the plastic pieces, yes, I know what you are talking about. I have problems with stuff like that as well. My Dyson vacuum cleaner has plastic accessories and sometimes I have difficulty with them.

I tend to agree with you, though, that we may have a spammer in our midst.

This post was edited by graywings on Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 10:56

Stephstl, read the following amazon review of a Ladybug. Someone from Advanced Vapor Technologies responds and gives his e-mail address to contact him about the problem they are having. It might be worth your while to contact him and tell him about your experience. Maybe the heating unit on yours isn't working well enough.

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon review

Dear Stephstl and Graywings,
My husband and I had to chuckle when we read your postings. Please be assured I am not a spammer and IâÂÂm sad that you thought my enthusiastic review sounded fake. I am the pessimist in my family and rarely wax enthusiastically about anything so to be called a potential shill for Ladybug was quite unexpected. I have no connections to Ladybug or other steam cleaners or anyone who sells them. I have not purchased one to date. This was our first time to use a vapor steam cleaner and I was prepared to be disappointed. But I stand by my review as does my husband (who worked just as hard as I did) and we are still in awe of the grout and tile two months later.

Graywings - I agree with you regarding use of the cloth. Our grout was way too dirty for that process to work. We first used the cloth wrapped floor tool, but it didnâÂÂt do much. We then tried the small brass tool but soon found that using the small hand wand with no tool did the best job. I used the highest stem level and passed the tip over the grout line 3 to 4 times. I then scrubbed the grout with the brass brushes we had purchased and re-steamed. I used our own work towels to wipe up the water and grime as the ones provided by the rental agency were rather thin.
So it was very labor intensive and I doubt my husband and I could have finished our project without the aid of a bottle of Aleve (our daily companion during this event). IâÂÂm most definitely 67 years old (68 in August) and I was the lucky one to do the grout as my husband has had three knee replacement surgeries in the last 15 years.
We plan on renting the Ladybug this summer to finish areas we didnâÂÂt get to in February. So, Stephstl, I might take you up on your offer.

Best regards,

Bob and Leslie Holt

We've a steam cleaner of some sort. Don't know the brand. It has a wand attachment that is most handy for washing the leaves of houseplants. Keep the end of the wand about 10-14 inches from the plant and just whisk all the dust away,

Leslie - my apologies. First time posters who wax poetic over any product are suspected of being spammers. But I remember being very excited when I first used my steamer.

Just bought the vapor clean II, not very happy with it, the pressure goes down very quickly and when that happens it does not clean. What is wrong???

I have a Sargent Steam vapor cleaner. It all started when my old steam pressure iron got knocked onto the concrete floor one too many times. So I ended up with the cleaner and the iron attachment. The thing builds up pressure that is too high for many jobs if one uses it full blast, but on the second-highest pressure setting, the steam plus a little elbow grease on some of the worst stuff, like burned on food in the oven, gets things impressively clean and grease free. I rarely use the brushes and gadgets that came with it, preferring to use the steam wand in one hand and a cleaning pad or whatever is appropriate in the other. I think they make the steam wand long so people don't burn their hands, but this also makes it awkward to get into tight spots sometimes.

There is a procedure that allows refilling while the machine is still hot, but I have only had to use it once, because the water tank is sufficiently large to cover all the cleaning I want to do at one shot.

Love the iron! Steam pressure irons do the job so fast because you only have to take one swipe at an area and it irons double thicknesses of sleeves and pantlegs.