Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Like many of you, I saw this and said "wow! it's cheap! let's buy it!" The first thing I did upon receiving it (btw I paid for mine with no freebie or discount) is tossing aside the manual, filling it up to the brim with water and attaching some stuff. As I waited only a short time for light to go off, I immediately disconnected the unit and proceeded to my car to steam clean my leather seats that my kids dirtied over the years. After barely steaming just 1 seat before losing pressure, I thought "This is going to laborious having to go back and forth to add more water and wait to heat up." I ended up making 4 trips to sink and connecting to outlet to heat up before finishing the car. The steamer did work but boy, did I have some problems. 1) pressure gone in 1 min 2) lots of water on my sink while heating up the water 3) lots of hot water spurting out with the steam while using it, getting all over my leather seats Then it hit me. I'm stupid and totally forgot about laws of physics, thermodynamics, and engineering (basically should have read the manual but it's poorly written) To get the best use out of this steamer, you need to do the following: 1) DON'T OVERFILL THE STEAMER!!! This causes problem #2 and #3 above. Basically you need to fill 1 1/3 of the measuring cup provided (175ml + 75ml). If you overfill the unit like I did, when the unit heats up, hot water will leak out from top from the pressure release valve. You'll also get spurting hot water with initial steam due to the built up pressure and the excess water wanting to spit out (visualize overfilling a water kettle and the water bubbling out when boiling). If you don't overfill, you won't see either of these 2 problems. If you overfilled the steamer, just release the pressure valve until the spurting water stops coming out and you only get steam. Wait and let the pressure build up again and you should only get steam from that point. That way, you won't get hot water all over the place that you did not intend. Basically you need to purge the excess hot water if overfilled. 2) ALWAYS LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN. This causes problem #1 above. When the water heats up, it creates pressure within the steamer. When you depress the button to use the steamer, pressurized steam will come out but the internal pressure will drop until the water heats up again to build up pressure again. When cleaning the car seats, if I had used an extension cord to leave the unit plugged in, it would constantly turn on and off to reheat more water to build up the pressure again. It works best to work in short bursts, wipe down the heated area with a towel and let the unit heat up again til next use. I thought I was running out of water but what I really was running out of was built up pressure. If you fill it as instructed, you can easily have a good amount of steam to finish a sizable job. However, you can use it unplugged like I did initially if there is no outlet nearby. Just realize you only have a short time to steam before pressure runs out and you need to reheat to rebuild pressure. Best use mantra: steam/wipe/reheat/repeat. 3) NO PRESSURE USING IT FOR FIRST TIME. As explained in previous section, you need to build up pressure within the steamer. The likely problem of having no steam after heating it up is that the cap is not tightly closed. If you noticed the cap, it has a rubber washer to provide a tight seal when you close it. You have to press down the cap while tightening the cap so that you can get a tight seal. Don't get gung ho and tighten it too much. All you need to do is get it tight enough to let the rubber washer get a nice seal. You won't build pressure if the cap is loose. 4) WON'T OPEN AFTER USING IT. The problem is that the unit is still pressurized and that makes it a bit harder to loosen the cap (also creates hazard of hot steam coming out!). To resolve this issue, unplug the unit, depress the button to release all the built up steam, and then press down on the cap while loosening the cap. Think of the cap working exactly like a medicine bottle where you have to press down on the cap to loosen it. 5) STEAM IS NOT HOT. Actually, it is hot, but only at the very point of where the steam exits. The steam will cool rapidly as it departs from the nozzle. The optimal working distance is less than 1/4" right where it leaves the steam nozzles. Basically, work as close to the steam nozzle as possible for the various attachments and you'll get good, hot steam. 6) DO I NEED TO USE DISTILLED WATER? Long term yes but I'm too lazy to go out and buy distilled water. Reasoning is same for cloth irons which also recommend distilled water. The problem is the hard minerals in the tap water. As the water steams, it leaves the hard minerals to build up inside the unit. Over time, it can also clog up the steamer nozzles. Using distilled water prevents this mineral build up. Why won't I use distilled water? The $29 I paid for the steamer, it will take a long time for the minerals to build up to where it degrades in performance and I would have paid a lot for distilled water. Basically, I'll buy a new cheap steamer and stick with tap water. If you have a water softener at home, you're all set and don't need distilled water. DO NOT FILL ANYTHING BUT WATER IN THE STEAMER! I would explain why but too lazy to write any more. I'm surprised you're still reading this In short, don't be lazy and not read the manual. But if you read this, I've covered the key points that you need to know. The reason you have having issues with the steamer is likely due to one of the explanations above. Congrats for reading this epic of a review and learning from my mistakes.