| Euro-Pro Shark S3101 Electric Steam Mop |
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Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $99.99 |
| Amazon Price: $49.99 |
First, let’s look at how the three pound Shark steamer works…
As with traditional mopping, the floor should be swept or vacuumed first, to pick up dirt particles and other dust bunnies.
Next, the mop comes packaged with two microfiber cleaning pads. Before cleaning, one of these triple layer microfiber pads must be placed on the bottom of the mop. The pads are used to loosen, lift and lock in dirt from hard flooring surfaces. They are also machine washable. Although they can be thrown in the wash, there are a couple of rules to keep them in tip top working condition:
- Wash separately or place in a garment bag if cleaning with other items. The microfiber pads will pick up lint and particles from other fabrics.
- Do not use bleach. Using bleach will damage the microfiber fabric.
- Do not use fabric softener. Fabric softener will put a coating on the fabric, preventing it from cleaning effectively.
- Use a mild liquid detergent. Dry detergent granules can become trapped in the cleaning pads, subsequently scratching flooring surfaces during the cleaning process.
- Air drying is the preferred method for drying the microfiber pads. If it is not possible to air dry, place in the dryer on a low heat setting, because high heat may shrink the pads or cause their fibers to break down.
Prior to using the Shark Steam Mop, the eight ounce water tank will need to be filled using the funnel and flask packaged with the steamer. Tap water may be used, unless it is hard. In that case, use distilled water instead. Do not operate the unit unless the water tank is filled and a microfiber cleaning pad is attached.
Plug in the machine. The green power light will turn on. The mop will need approximately thirty seconds to heat the water. Once the water is heated, pump the handle a few times to dampen the mop head. Use a forward and backward motion for cleaning. This automotically pumps steam to the mop head, without the need for further priming. When steam is no longer emitted, this means that the mop needs a water refill.
When finished, unplug the mop, empty the water tank, and remove the microfiber pad.
Now that you know how it works, you probably want to know the good, the bad, and the in between. So, here goes…
Our Shark Steam Mop Review
Let’s tackle the positive points first:
- The mop is easy to assemble and to use, quicker and much less back breaking than the traditional mopping.
- It cleans and deodorizes without using chemical detergents.
- Even though it is powered by electricity, it is quiet.
- The microfiber pads are decent quality. They also have colored tabs so that different pads can be assigned to different tasks or rooms in the house.
- The mop is lightweight, weighing only three pounds.
- Floors cleaned using the Shark Steam Mop dry quickly.
- Replacement microfiber mop heads are affordable – a 3-pack retails for approximately $23.00.
Now, for the improvements…
First up, the mop handle is flimsy. Although we did not experience any issues during our review, there are several reports of it breaking during use. Considering the suggested retail price of approximately $100.00 for the Shark Steam Mop, we think Euro-PRO, the manufacturer of this product, could provide better quality construction. A replacement handle can be purchased for an additional $19.95.
Also, you will not want to throw out your bucket just yet. The mop head does not swivel, so you will still need a bucket of soapy water to clean hard to reach areas and crevices.
Some people have complained of streaking floors. We did not experience this problem, but it is important to note that the Shark, as well as other steam mop models, should not be used on no-wax flooring, nor on unsealed hardwood floors.
Finished Reading the Shark Steam Mop Review? Return to Steam Cleaners Home
I have a Shark Steam Mop & since I have tile throughout my house, this is an excellent way to clean my floors. It is easy to use & does a good job of cleaning the tiles. The only drawback is that I wish the electrical cord were longer so I wouldn’t have to keep unplugging it & replugging it in a different outlet. This is one of the best household cleaning products I could have bought. And I purchased it for less than the $100 you listed here….at Target.
I think that Shark makes a cheap produce . I bought their cannister steam cleaner & used it about 36 times, then the on & off switch failed. It did leave streaks on my ceramic floors. The worst part of it all is to try & reach someone in Customer care .. Go Luck . I would avoid this product & company !
I purchased this yesterday. I am returning it today. There is no off on switch. You push forward and the wand/handle depresses so you get steam, (nothing like the picture on the box) on the forward motion, not on the return, so it takes twice as long to clean my floor because you don’t get steam on the return. I have a bad back so I usually mop side to side and not that forward pushing motion so it does not work for me. I would not recommend this.
It says it can’t be used on no-wax flooring. Isn’t most vinyl flooring these days no-wax?? That would make its use rather limited.
I would like to reach the Shark company with a question on how to use the purple pads but no answer on the phone and My e mails have been ignored???
did you ever find out about the purple pads. there is not info other than a picture which shows you use them on wood floors.
After reading the comments, I don’t think I’ll be buying this steam mop. Thanks for posting!
I WOULD NOT RECOMMAND THE SHARK STEAMER WE BROKE TWO HANDLES IE (TWO DIFFERANT STEAMERS) AND DID NOT KNOW A REPLACMENT HANDLE COULD BE BOUGHT
The purple pads are for a different and more expensive model of the Shark steam cleaner. I bought the one listed here for $59.00. The purple pad one was selling for something more like $110.00 or so.
thanks will not be purchasing the shark.
i LOVE the shark mop, i use it instead of a reg mop!! just know know what the purple pad is for, other than that i love it,u can smell the difference in my house when u use it. def recommend if u have boys in the house
We’ve had this mop for almost a year now. We have hardwood and vinyl floors. I use to clean them on hand & knee. After a while they both seemed to lose their shine. My girlfriend purchased the Shark mop. OMG what a difference – after about two uses the beautiful shine was back. We have had no problems with the handle, and our model ($100.00) has a head that swivels. As a matter of fact, our 14 & 13 year old boys use the Shark to clean the floors in their bathrooms and we all know how tough they can be on equipment. This is great tool, it cleans really well and ya just wash the pads. Oh and ah, the purple one works great on the floors too!
Jan. You could always keep an extension cord permanently attached.
locopwr The boys each have thei own bathroom? Wow!
Two levels of my house are hardwood floors. The first level is brand new hardwood. My obsession to keeping the floors look brand new and shinning with a sparkle was by crawling around with a bucket of vinegar water and two rags…one to wash, one to dry/shine.
My friend bought the Shark Steamer for me for Christmas to help make my life more simple. That was the BEST gift I’ve ever received. I Love the Shark Steamer! It’s wonderful, and I’ve never had a problem with it…mine actually has a very long cord and several pads. Additional pads can be purchased at Kohls and Target. I completely 100% agree with Christy and Locopwr, the Shark is definitely worth buying. For those of you with handle issues, maybe you are just pushing too hard on the handle, or maybe they have improved the handle stability since your purchase.
Now, the Shark garment steamer, I was not impressed. It drips hot steam water…which soaks the floor, plus stings a little.
My Shark has started leaking. As fast as I pour water in the top it runs out the bottom on the floor.
I am very happy with my shark. It is a very efficient way to clean large areas (and small) of ceramic tile floors. I found that if I moisten the pad first in hot water and wring out by hand before attaching to the unit, it cleans so much better. The pads pick up so much ground-in dirt that they are hard to get white again, and they can be damaged by bleach. So don’t know how to get them looking white again. For replacement pads, I looked on eBay and ordered a half dozen at a time. Exactly same as the expensive store-bought ones, but I bid $.99 for a bundle of six,(40X cheaper than at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and won! They come from Hong Kong so takes three weeks to get here, but worth waiting for. No difference in looks or function that I can see, and now I have 10 pads, so can refresh often when doing all my floors.
I LOVE my SHARK! So glad I purchased it. I have the one that sells for approximately $100.00 at Sam’s and it does have a swivel head and it’s not hard to push. I recommend it wholeheartedly! I do have about 900 square of vinyl plank and it works great and have used it in the foyer on tile.
Does it work on Pergo??
After reading all the feedback about the product, there are more negatives feedback than the positives. Ideally, it sounds like it’s perfect for the people who mop the floor every day. It doesn’t look like it will clean the stain or oil on the kitchen floor. I decided not to buy it. Thanks to all those people who posted.
I know someone else who loves the Shark steamer but does it work for bamboo flooring as well?
I love how it cleans but I get streaks. I have used distilled water but does not seem to help. I saw somewhere there is an additive that is made for the shark to stop streaking?
What are the purple pads for? Also I used it on my wood floors and the shine seems to be gone. They are factory sealed. Works excellent on my tile. Please let me know what the purple pads are for. Thank you
i’ve been a shark user for 14 years and have gone thru 4 of them. the deluxe model is very poorly made and didn’t even last me a year. Now i have all these extra pieces and no cleaner, very unhappy with the workman ship of this model. i have to say i purchased a replacement and it was not a Shark. I am a true believer in the steam cleaners but, “for now”…….not the Shark products.
Where can I buy a replacement handle for $19.99? Cant find that price.
Wow!…I guess I don’t need a shark after all. so…I have hard wood floors, what other steam cleaner do you recomend?…Thanks
I clean houses for a living and I used the product Glo Orange on one of my clients HW floor, BAD idea!!!! The first time using it the floors looked great. Then next time it left a flake film of the floor and I can’t get it up!!! I was thinking about using a Shark,but after viewing all your post I am still not sure if this is the right thing to do. If they were my floors I would give it a try but they are my client’s HW floors and don’t want to take to chance on ruining them. Any suggestions????
It would be helpful if you created a secured clip on the handle to keep the screw top for the water tank while the tank is drying out. Right now I keep the screw top in a zip lock container and put it in the wrapped cord. Thank you
Purple pads are they for hardwood floors or rugs and furniture?
Have had 2 of these and they both stopped working after a few weeks…Can not get anyone to respond to my e-mails or calls..this is not a good product that lasts…
My understanding is that the purple pad is for dust mopping. I’m not sure why one wouldn’t just use the regular mophead, but okay. That’s what the instructions say it is for.
I recently bought & then returned a Shark steam mop to Costco. My friend raved about hers so I was excited to try but on my ceramic tile. I am constantly cleaning my floors since I have 2 little girls. After using both sides of the big mop head and doing a Lysol wipe test afterwards, I found that it hadn’t really cleaned the floors. My girls like to play in the kitchen while I’m cooking. I had high hopes for this steam mop but it didn’t live up to the hype.
My husband purchased me a Shark Steam Mop on black Friday. I was so excite to try to use it on my ceramic tile, however it leaves such a film. I called Shark, they said to keep using it the film is caused by the shark removing a build up by another cleaner on my floor. Okay, so try it more often. Let me tell you after using it about a dozen times in one small section, I still have streaks and a film. I have three dogs in my home and instead of them leaving dirty footprints behind, they are taking the film off the floor with their paws. Any suggestions on a better steam mop or use the mop without getting streaks/film?
I saw an InfoMercial about the new, enhanced Sharp Steam Pocket Mop and was ready to order it. I looked up Euro-Pro (the company that distributes the Shark products) on the Better Business Bureau website (www.bbb.org). They are not a member of the Better Business Bureau and they have an “F” rating. I would not do business with this company. I have read a lot of reviews about the new enhanced Shark Steam Pocket Mops on-line. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unhappy people that are regretting the purchase of this new “enhanced” product. As for me, I will conduct further research to be sure that I buy a steam mop from a reputable company.
I have had the Shark steam cleaner for about 3 years now. Last week, it worked….today, there is no steam and the light(s) do not come on. I gried plugging into different outlets and made sure the switch was on. ….nothing. Thankfully, I always have a mop handy just in case. Nothing like going back to the basics of life that you can depend upon. The Shark is heading for the garbage can today. Only did a so-so job anyway.
I purchased my steam cleaner after Christmas and I love it. My tile floors shine after using it and it cleans my grout real good. No chemicals on my floors now and I love it. No problem as of yet, but I would recommend it to anyone.
My steam mop is suddenly leaving a film on my tile floors! Don’t know why! I loved it until now!
i have the shark steam mop, the one where you have to pump the handle to produce steam. i have pets and all dark hardwood floors and thought it was just great at first. It cleans great and dries quickly and not having to get out a bucket of cleaning liquid to mop with is great. The only problem i have is that it leaves a film on the floor and also streaks, why i have no idea all it is is water. so even though it is easier to use than a bucket and mop i would rather use them than the steam mop because when im finished with the steam mop i have to remop with my trust mop and bucket just to remove the film the steam mop leaves behind.
A house hold with three cats and two healthy adults. The mop looks like a toy and works in the same manner. It was to be used exclusively in the kitchen (white tile). I wasn’t impressed with the steam, punny amount of it. The care for the microfiber pad is ridiculous! Can’t bleach it, can’t use regular detergent, shouldn’t be place in the dryer! Really! I used two brand new pads to clean my kitchen floor that had previously been sweped and vacuumed. Both pads came out dirty and then I used a damp white towel and the floor was still not clean. I gave it away as I couldn’t return it. Now I have a really good steamer that uses terry cloth pads. It does a stellar job and the terry cloth pads can be bleached and put in the dryer! Please do not waste you money on the shark steam mop.
DON’T BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!! I bought this product at a Big Lots. I was so excited to get it, thinking how much easier it would be to clean my ceramic tile floors. Well, I couldn’t get it to heat up! I followed all the directions THREE TIMES, and it wouldn’t get hot. I called customer service. They have the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I have ever called. They are in another country, usual nowadays I guess, but the man was actually very rude. He told me to unplug it, then do this and do that, all the things I had already done. He told me to do it again. I did it again, after all, he was customer service. It still didn’t work. He got impatient with me, like it was MY fault it wasn’t working, couldn’t possibly be their product. He told me to try it again and call back. So I did. Guess what? Didn’t work. I called him back, and he got nastier. The next day I took it back to Big Lots. I told them EVERYTHING I did and what the customer service guy said. They took it back, to their credit. I will never ever buy anything that has the name EroPro on it. You might say, don’t buy things at Big Lots, but if a company has bad customer service people, it doesn’t matter where you buy a product. You’ll still talk to the same nasty people and get no satisfaction.
I purchased the Shark Steam Pocket Pro Mop from the commercial on TV. Bad move! After receiving, I found out that the only difference between this model and the older Deluxe model (which is available in stores for much less money), was the thickness of the cleaning pads. I returned the Pro model and they gave me a really hard time about returning it…so not like the commercial says. They received it back several months ago, and I STILL have not seen my money back. I happened to call a different number today and was told they don’t refund money but that they would refund me. I still have not seen confirmation of that over 6 hours later.
While it may clean well folks, save yourselves the trouble and purchase in store, never from the TV!
Moved into a new house in Dec. Loved the dark hardwood floors for about 2 days and then realize they show EVERYTHING! I wasn’t too worried because I had my deluxe shark. Unfortunately you can see every single swipe the mop makes and the areas near windows and doors are horrific thankd to the sun shining in and revealing what the shark leaves behind. The purple mop head is advertised as the “hard wood floor” mop head and it is awful. I will not buy another one of these and now I’m stuck looking for something that will actually make my floors look beautiful again. Not even going to waste my time trying to return after reading the reviews about the cust ser. VERY, VERY disappointed.
I LOVE my Shark and have had it for about 1 1/2 years. When I had linoleum, my stepdaughter spilled water on the floor and use a papertowel to get it up…there was no dirty discoloration on the papertowel–only a wet spot. (She looked!!!!) I was so proud when she made a little smirk!
I washed the mopheads in the wash with my towels and they do collect the fibers and will streak my ceramic tile. So now they are washed separate. I would recommend the Shark to anyone.
I bought and returned this product in one day
So disapointing. I looked into it because years of using cleaners on my tile floors was starting to leave a film that was nearly impossible to get off, and I have a HUGE area of tile. I was also interested in the no-chemical aspect and liked the idea that it could clean all my floors (wood, laminate, and tile).
On my first cleaning, I was really bummed out that it did not loosen the film at all. Over and over I went, and maybe a tiny bit came off the heaviest areas, but only if I pushed hard, and like others said, the handle is flimsy. Then as it dried, it looked terrible–completely streaked and as if I had washed the floor with something other than water. i got online and did a live chat on the shark website, where I was informed that I should be using distilled water and that the shark was not for use on unsealed tile. Yes, it says this in the manual but I wasn’t really sure what “unsealed” tile was…isn’t all tile unsealed????????? I returned it and got the bissel steam mop (after confirming it was appropriate for all tile types!!) and it immediately loosened and removed the heaviest film.
Not one of our floors are the same, so you can’t judge ones bad experience and take it for fact. My home was built in 1941 with all original wood floors. My wife and I purchased the Shark Vac/Mop, and it has worked wonders for our home! Our floors are cleaner Vs the Bona Hardwood Floor Kit. All I can say is try it out for yourself, I’m glad I did.
I purchased the Shark steam mop in Lowe’s about a year ago. At frst I liked it. It was easy to use.
I only used one or twice as my husband is doing the steam cleaning on my kitchen floors. Today,I used it, and had a hard time pushing it across the floor. The steam wouldn’t come out unless I pushed and moved it back and force. It was extremely hard to do this. Don’t remember it being this hard the time before. Well , about 2-3 hours after I used it, my right hand started aching and I am thinking about getting it checked at the doctors. It is extremely painful, cannot get a comfortable position to rest my hand. I soaked it in Epsom salt and wrapped it. Don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I am 69 years old, and I believe there should be a warning on the use for older people. Has anybody ever encountered a similar injury?
By the way, my husband typed this for me as it was too painful for me to do so Don’t believe I will ever use it again..
I also work out at the gym 3-4 times a week but still got hurt by this product.
I bought my Shark Steam mop 7 months ago. Yesterday the steam would not come out so I turned it off to let it cool down so I could take off the mop head. It won’t come off! It’s like super glued on. I called Euro Pro and was told I had to send it back and pay $9.95 for shipping and $17.95 to repair.
I am not sure how I will mail it back since the mop head will not come off. I found it to work well on my wooden floors if I use a regular white mop head (not the purple). Worked well on my tiles. You do have to pump it a lot to get a good burst of steam. I think whenever you pay over a $100 for a product it should not break in less then a year and then be expected to pay for the repair.
Euro Pros phone # is 800-798-7398
I have hardwood floors throughout my house and I love my steam mop.. My daughter just bought me a new on the white one LOVEEEEEEE!!! Then I am watching tv today and see another new shark mop the tank comes off and you can steam other things and I cannot find it anywere !!!!
I love my shark, I do house cleaning for a living and its made all the difference. It was my understanding that the purple cover was for hard wood floors. I have original 100 year old floors that were covered with carpet, we sanded and sanded and sanded, the same with sealer. Lately Im noticeing milky spots……….Help
I bought the Shark today to replace a Bissell I had for 3 years. Thought this would be lighter and easier to handle. Wrong! It doesn’t produce steam without pumping it repeatedly. Plus, it doesn’t remove dirt without several swipes. I’m returning it tomorrow. I can do better with my old sponge mop.
Brenda:
“Yesterday the steam would not come out so I turned it off to let it cool down so I could take off the mop head. It won’t come off! It’s like super glued on. ”
I own the product and can tell you why the steam output decreases after about 10 minutes: A vacuum phenomenon occurs in the steam chamber. To remedy it, just twist open the filler cap of the water chamber and lift it off slightly. It will resist a little due to the vacuum. But then you’ll hear it suck in a little air. Then tighten it on again and you can keep going.
If you do this every 10 minutes or so, you can go all day. It’s a design flaw, but these things happen with new designs. And it’s the only problem I’ve had with this great product. Hope this helps.