Recommendation for a Mop/vacuum/cleaner for LOTS of Tile

Updated on October 14, 2011
C.B. asks from Reedsburg, WI
11 answers

We just moved into a new house with LOTS of tile, the entry way, dining room, mud room, bathroom, kitchen...basically the entire main floor is tile. It's wonderful to have, especially since now I see all the dirt that used to go into the carpet in our old house! But, I'm at a loss for what to get to clean it. After being here a week I can see that it's something I will need to clean pretty much daily with all the traffic through that area of the house, and my vacuum (or broom) and mop combo just aren't cutting it with this large of an area. So am looking for something that is lightweight, easy-to-use and maneuver, hopefully an all-in-one vacuum and mop type system. Anybody have any recommendations on what works well for this large of a tile area?

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K.P.

answers from Seattle on

I have heard great things about the Shark vacuum. It is a vacuum, mop, steamer etc. It's lightweight and sounds perfect for all that tile. It kills 99 of germs too.

2 moms found this helpful

More Answers

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I have runners on my hardwood floors to help a little.

I use the Swiffer Wet Jet and also have the Rubbermaid Reveal...both I really like...

I don't have any idea for an all-in-one...i've not used the Swiffer one and don't know anyone who has...

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T.F.

answers from San Francisco on

I have a Hoover Floormate. The only problem is it doesn't get into the grout as well as I'd like. So I mop paying attention to the grout and then use the Floormate. I have a steamer and it's good for the spills that are stuck on the floor, but again, doesn't really do much for the grout. I'm curious to see what others do. Maybe if I cleaned it more often it would be easier ;-). Have to admit, that may be where I'm going wrong.

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L.A.

answers from Lincoln on

I have the "Shark 2 and 1 vac then steam mop." I've had it for over a year and really love it. It was on sale at Kohl's and then I used a Kohl's coupon on top of that and got it for around $120. The vacuum works really well and picks up all debris (leaves, pebbles, dirt, sand, dust bunnies) as one of the areas I use it on is a tile entry and large room that we use the most and it gets super high traffic. It picks up all kitty litter in my tile laundry room better than my regular upright vac does when in floor mode which has a tendency to send some of it bouncing away. The steam mop uses no chemicals and has washable pads and leaves my floors spanking clean! Besides a lot of tile, I also have 2 old vinyl floors and it pulled the engrained dirt out of the texture of them completely. The 2 and 1 pushes way easier on vinyl than the regular Shark mop I use to have (too flimsy). I also use it on a laminate wood floor entry. Advantages: simple, quick, and convenient to use (no exta equipment hassels), pretty long cord, heats to steam quickly, vacuums and mops great, even does edges good. Disadvantages: Some on-line reviews complain of the vac being too loud, it's a little whiny but it doesn't bother me a bit. The water in the mop may only do one large floor, so you may have to stop and refill the water before going to another floor, but it doesn't take long to do it and heat again. It would be nice to have a larger tank, but then you would end up leaving more water sitting in it to possibly lime. I still have to get my upright vac with attachments out to vacumm the crooks and crannies (i.e behind the toilet) that the Shark can't get into. To mop those areas then, I tie a wet microfiber cloth on the handle of my Shark and wash those along the way as I am mopping. The only thing that would make it more perfect would be if it had an attachment hose to vacuum the nooks and crannies.

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C.S.

answers from Cedar Rapids on

We had lots of tile in our old house, and our new house has lots of wood floors, so I feel your pain. I use a Swiffer dry sweeper first to pick up all the loose stuff and then use my Eureka steamer. A friend of mine just got me one of those Robo sweepers, and I have to admit, it does a pretty decent job! It's something I never would have gotten for myself, but my DS (4 years old) thinks it's great fun to watch!

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C.U.

answers from Omaha on

I love love love my dirt devil hard floor vacuum!!! I recommend it, then I use the shark floor steamer. Floors are supper clean and sanitized. You will feel the difference on your feet when you walk on them floors feel so different when you don't use any kind of cleaning solution.

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C.D.

answers from Milwaukee on

My house is completely hard floors, so I have struggled with this as well. I use a Dyson cordless stick vaccuum to get all the dog hair, etc and the Hoover Floormate to thoroughly clean. I highly recommend the Floormate, I use it in all our bathrooms and even on the hardwood. Easily clean the sticky hairspray residue and anything else, also leaves the floors fairly dry afterward which is a plus in an active household.

I do agree with Stitch, every once in a while I still get down on my hands and knees to clean the grout lines (maybe once a year though). Might depend on your grout lines (color, deptch, etc).

C.P.

answers from Columbia on

I'm looking at getting this one. The reviews seem to be good, though some don't like it at all. It looks good for my purposes (hardwoods and linoleum). Unfortunately, my little house is too old for tile (settling causes cracks in the mortar).

Best!

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T.L.

answers from Rochester on

My entire main floor, entryway, basement hallways and bathroom are all ceramic tile. I had an old hoover floormate that did an awesome job on the tile but not so much on the grout. The grout has always been a thorn in my side! I wore out the hoover floormate and bought the Shark 2in1 vac and steam. I like the vac and steam but I honestly liked the floormate better. It got all the dirt up much better than the shark - and when you scrubbed the floor, it was still vacuuming too - so if you missed something or worked up a chunk of something, you have a built in second chance of vacuuming it up. I often feel like I have to go back and re-vacuum with the shark after I've steamed.

Also, since I've used the steamer, it seems like my grout is dirtier and the floor gets dirtier faster too. I'm not sure why that is. If I could do it over again, I would buy another Hoover Floormate - the one that has rotating brushes that scrub the floor.

J.P.

answers from Lakeland on

I have a shark vacuum and a shark steamer. The vacuum is light weight about 15 lbs and I find it works very well for the price. I got it for about $150.00. I like the steam mop because I don't need add a cleaner. I do see that some companies make a steamer and sweeper combo now, but I don’t know how well they work.

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S.T.

answers from New York on

I'd use a dustmop first and then the shark. I love my shark - it's amazing - but not sure how the shark-vacuum would do as those small vacuums really don't pick up much. I'd suggest the dust mop over the swiffer dustmop becuase you can throw the regula dustmop head in the wash and don't have to buy refills. The swiffer refills get expensive. But the sharp is awesome. Best housecleaning tool I've ever had. (I got mine at Costco - extra cleaning heads for the same price as WalMart/Target.)

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