A very disappointing purchase (Earlex Combisteam Cleaning Kit SC165)

Member Name: fickledame

Product:	Earlex Combisteam Cleaning Kit SC165
Date:	29/06/09 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to put together, steady stream of steam

Disadvantages: Gets too hot to hold, the floor cleaner almost impossible to use

So far I have found the Earlex SC165 steam cleaner very disappointing. I was expecting it to make cleaning immensely easier, but so far while it certainly helps, it's not a miracle worker. While it does lift dirt and grime, it then still needs quite a bit of scrubbing to get it off. Perhaps this was a mistake of mine, in that I thought that a steam cleaner actually cleaned, rather than just made it easier to clean with other equipment.

There are a number of attachments that come with the Earlex, such as a nozzle, a floor cleaner, an upholstery cleaner, a scraper and a window and tile cleaner. The most useful of which I have found to be the nozzle, but it does get dirty quickly. It is very easy to put together, and only takes a couple of minutes.

I have two main issues with the cleaner, first that the plastic pipe casing gets very hot, so much so I can no longer touch it and have to wrap a towel around it, which makes things difficult. I have had a number of burns also from the steam which escapes from the top of the plastic piping.

The second issue is that the material that goes around the bottom of the floor cleaner doesn't hold properly, and the second I start to use it, the material comes off. This is a huge flaw in the design, one I feel could have easily been prevented with a different way of attaching the cloth.

It takes quite awhile to heat up (around fifteen-twenty minutes), but it does keep a good steady flow of steam once it starts, which the manufacturer suggests would last two hours, but I have yet to put that to the test as it gets too hot to continue with after about fifteen minutes. Another good point is the once the machine is turned off, the steam stops very quickly, which is good from a safety aspect.

All in all, I would not recommend the Earlex to anyone, and has been a very unsatisfactory purchase.

Summary: Save your money

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