Steam Mop Vax S86-SF-P Steam Fresh Pet

•  Steam Mop Vax S86-SF-P Steam Fresh Pet

Nice and light, works on carpets too.
By Amazon Customer
The Vax S86-SF-P Pet Mop is a competent and fairly light, easy to use steam mop, which leaves both your carpets refreshed and your hard flooring cleaned.

Setting it up is fairly straightforward--simply click the handle and base onto the unit. The instruction booklet is nicely illustrated and has thorough descriptions of all the features and functions. It is worth reading through properly at least once (and isn't too long). It also has details on how to register for a free 2 year warranty and on all the various cleaning pads and detergents available through their website.

To operate it is very simple. There are two compartments in the tank (water/detergent), a dial with four floor types (carpet, wood, tiles and vinyl--you can't use any steam mop on laminates), an on/off switch, steam trigger; and a booster button on the base.

Putting it to work, I tried it on our vinyl kitchen flooring, using it with the supplied (250ml) pet detergent. It made short work of the accumulated grime and food stains, leaving the floor looking very clean and with a faint smell of spring. Sweeping it around was fairly effortless-though I did need to use two hands to do firmer "concentrated" rubs where the grime was heaviest. Steam control is easy with the trigger underneath the handle, and the boost button gives a nice increase of steam for very dirty areas.

Using it on the carpet was also generally good (though it advises not to use the detergent). Once the supplied microfiber pad is attached, there is a triangular plastic "glider" that clips around it. You will require both hands to move it on carpets, but I didn't find it at all strenuous to use--probably about the same force required as using a manual carpet sweeper. I managed to "refresh" the downstairs carpets in around 5-10 minutes. It does work fairly well, too (though obviously not as effective as a proper carpet cleaner): we had a paper bin made of metal underneath the breakfast bar, which had started to rust and left the carpet discoloured below, and after a couple of runs over with this the discoloration has noticeably started to recede.

"Pet"-wise, it comes with the detergent and a "super-absorbent" micro-fibre pad. The detergent doesn't seem to do anything pet-orientated that the other detergents in Vax's range do, but the pad is supposed to be better at picking up hairs and mopping up accidents. Both items can be re-ordered online.

All in all I recommend this mop, though probably not at the full RRP--at the current price (eighty) this is about right. We've also got a far heavier steam mop, which has a detachable hand steamer with it. After using this Vax, our old one has now been relegated to a hand steamer only, as this one is so much lighter to use. If you need both then I'd highly recommend getting a dedicated hand cleaner separately, your triceps will thank you in the long run.

Box contents:

The steam cleaner.
250ml Vax Pet Detergent.
2x Standard microfiber cleaning pads.
1x Microfiber pet pad.
1x Carpet glider.
1x Hard water filter.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect, vax seem to have really thought about design this time
By T. Burbridge
Bought to replace the Bare Floor Pro S2S that we have had for less than a year and has fallen apart. We can't cope with out a steam mop while the old one being repaired or replaced.. Huge improvement in so many ways:

Cleaning head is more flexible and articulates really well getting into corners much better.
New design carpet glider actually clips onto cleaning head in three places, so stays put during use.

Scrubbing brush on nano head. I can see this being useful in the kitchen and hallway to tackle the grot and grim left behind by our various beasties.

The whole unit balances better and is a lot more stable.

Very intuitive to use..... dont think the other half will be able skive out of using it by saying " I don't know whst to do"..... clear and easy to use dial to select floor type and simple slide on off switch.

Steam boost selection is a push button on the cleaning head so easy to tap with foot. We boyh have disabilities and find it no trouble.

Purple coloured flex makes it easy to spot, less of a trip hazard than the standard grey

Long cable

Great cord storage and plug fits into a socketon the back for storage; this all adds to the stability of the machine.

Easy all in one twin chambered water tank. Easy to remove fill and replace

Has sturdy build quality.
Made short and easy work of the kitchen (vinyl) and the hall (bare concrete). Both of these get really grubby with two dogs, three cats and various humans constantly trudging about from outside. Since its easier to use than the old one I can see it getting used every day, if not twice a day.

The mop pads wash brilliantlyand we find it useful to have several ...they get dirty really quickly so we tend to use one per area. Come out clean and ready to go after a 20 min wash. I think I may buy a replacement pack of the purple pet pad... much better than the coral pad we already have as it stays on with velcro action rather than the ineffectual draw string arrangement on the old on (never stayed in place).

All types of vax pads fit.
The only thing it doesnt come with is a cooling plate, but we have two of those already from our S2S and S6

Great price from amazon half the price of the manufacturers website.
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Our second Vax, and much better.
By S. D. Spicer
This is our second Vax. The first one a S2 that is half the price was brought about 15 months ago. While we liked that one it suffered from a couple of issues that have since then become major irritations. This mop solves both and is a far, far better product.

Firstly on this mop the pads are stuck on using velcro. That means they are easy to attach, stay put and are equally easy to remove. Cheaper models like the first Vax we had have cloth covers held on with a pull string. These fall of easily when they get wet. Secondly the build quality here seems to be better, getting the tank off on the cheaper one is a fight, whereas this is easy.

Performance-wise this is a classy act. It uses nice-smelling detergent to really get the floor clean and it traps tiny cat hairs effortlessly in the big pads. As noted the pads are easy to put on and off and equally clean simply. Incidentally, the detergent seems to last for ages. Steaming up time is quick, and although the machine is solid, it is reasonably agile. You can adjust the cleaner for different surfaces and there some alternative pads for different surfaces, - although to save yourself grief, make sure they are the genuine ones.

You can also use this machine to 'freshen' carpets. It's not at the end of the day a carpet cleaner, but it makes a heroic attempt and will remove surface dirt and hairs and the steam burst does remove odours.

All in all, we are pretty pleased with this. We were pleased with the first one, but this mop proved you pretty much do get what you pay for. Recommended.
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