Jane,
I bought one several weeks ago and had only used it for dry pickup on my vinyl tile kitchen and hall floor. Really liked the way it picked up everything. Yesterday I decided it was time to put it to the test. I did the scrub side of it. My floors really looked great when I finished with them. Can walk barefooted across them with no grit. The mops I've always used seems to never pick up everthing, you know a little something here and there. I had to hand clean right in the corners under the cabinets, but I've always done that anyway.
I'll leave you with this thought from me, I'm glad I bought mine.

I don't like mine. I think it was a waste of money. I have white tile and white grout. It doesn't do a very good job cleaning the grout and it leaves streaks on the floor. My husband can tell every time I use it just from the streaks it leaves. I also have LOTS of floor so I have to empty that small reservoir several times just to do my floors once. It takes a longer than a regular mop and doesn't do as good of a job.

I went ahead and got one on Sat. since the dept. store had it on sale. That should have told me something. We have a German Shepherd dog, and when it rains she makes tracks all over even though we have rugs outside and runners inside. I tried it out, and it took me longer than if I had washed the floor by hand or by mop. Our tile is brick in reds to browns with dark grout. The grout looks 'muddy' colored in some places and in others it did okay. The sales person said I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep it. I think it is going back. I might give it another try. I had to fill the soap container 3 times, and the 'pick-up' container twice. It is loud and my husband thought I was never going to turn it off. I think I probably tried to wash the floor faster than the machine could handle. I would probably, at this time, rate it 2 1/2 stars out of 5. I am not looking forward to trying to pack it back in the carton.
Thank you both for responding.
Jane
PS: I might try Murphy's Oil Soap since it is low sudsing, and I have used it on the ceremic tile since we had it installed.

I'm curious too, is it good for a smooth surface like vinyl or laminate but not for uneven, tile & grout?

I used the FloorMate again and I guess it does a good job on SMOOTH floors, but we have ceramic tile with grout and the brushes do not touch the grout spaces sufficiently to really scrub them. My FloorMate is going back. My husband timed me and it took me almost an hour to wash a kitchen area approx. 23' x 8'(just a section to compare). Our grout does need some extra work due to rainy weather and the dog walked on it with muddy paws, but I will either get down on hands and knees, or use my mop with two buckets (one to rinse the dirty mop). I use Murphy's Oil Soap. The machine is also noisey, and I have to refill the soap container often, and I had to dump the dirty water 3 times. I dump this in a bucket and later dump it outside since my DH said the dirty water should not be put down any drain because of possible sediment going in to the septic tank or wherever. It did seem to pick up the wash water very well, and it also picked up some dog hair I missed with the vacuum. It is easy to take apart and clean. And it has a long cord.

I saw some negative reviews as I did my searches, but I had to see for myself. Now I have the timely task of packing it back in its carton.

If your floors are completely smooth it should probably clean okay, but I can do it much faster with my mop for the same type of cleaning the FloorMate gives.

Just my 15900 cents worth. : )

Good luck. Jane

Our entire house is 12x12 light colored ceramic tile and I use a Floormate to clean it. I love this piece of equipment and cannot imagine having to go back to the old way of cleaning (vacuum, mop and dry). It does it all, and is easy to use and handle as well.

When I bought it, the sales person cautioned that it is designed for cleaning hard flooring, but NOT necessarily grout, unless your grout is high enough so as to be nearly level with the tile. According to her, as long as the grout is no more than a fingernail thickness from the surface of the tile it would get it, otherwise it would not. So my expectations were realistic to begin with.

What I like best is how well it cleans the tile and how dry it leaves it. For us there are zero marks or streaks, though this may be floor specific. I can imagine that anyone that has a shiny floor might get streaks no what they use to clean it.

I do prefer my stick vac for dry vacuuming, so that is what I use most often, but when the floor needs mopped, I get out the FloorMate. To do the kitchen takes about 15 minutes. The hall about 10, and the MBR another 10. The hardest part is getting all the junk off the floor and out of the way--that takes longer than the cleaning process.

I guess the only trouble free way to clean is to hire someone else to do it, but until that day comes, I will remain a satisfied FloorMate customer.

Lynne

I love my Hoover floormate! I have all laminate floors clear through my house, no carpet! I would die if I had to hand mop all 2000sqft! I whip it out to clean wet and dry spills, muddy tracks, and I love how clean it leaves my floor. I am curious as to whether its safe to use Murphy's oil soap in my floormate. Anyone know?