Every week is Shark week at my house!

My husband bought this under the influence of insomnia and infomercials, and I think he should shop that way more often, since it's a wonderful product. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the best cleaning tool I've ever owned.

The Basics

I don't know why the product title says this is a vacuum, since it only blows air out.

The Shark Super Steamer model SC710 measures about 10.8 x 9.4 x 8.8 inches and weighs about 6 pounds. There's a lot of stuff in the box, too. It comes with a measuring cup and funnel for pouring water in, plus the following attachments:

- a basic nozzle for concentrated spray
- a steam diffuser with a cloth cover for cleaning upholstery, curtains, etc.
- a window squeegee
- a round brush
- an angle adapter if you have to clean at an angle
- a hose

Functionality

I love it. We happened to get this right before we were moving and had to clean our apartment really thoroughly. I could almost have cleaned the whole place with the shark alone (it doesn't vacuum, of course, and it doesn't work for large surfaces).

I used it to clean the tile grout in the bathroom, then all around the corners of the floor and cabinets, and the base of the toilet. With the cabinets, I got a little too enthusiastic and actually blasted some paint off. Of course, it was peeling a bit to begin with. So if your paint is peeling at all, be careful.

I also did all that greasy gunk that ends up stuck on the stove and in the oven, and the Shark blasted it all away. You do need to have a rag or paper towel to wipe up the grime that the steamer blasts loose; actually, a few rags, depending on how big your project is.

The only bad experience I've ever had with the steamer was when I aimed it under a burner on the stove. It blasted soot all over the oven and the wall behind it. So don't do that!

I also used the Shark on all the windows and mirrors, which came out great. I've only used the fabric steamer a couple of times, but it seems to work well too.

Ease of Use

The Shark is a little heavy, especially when full, so you'll have to switch off which hand you use for a long project.

After you pour water in the steamer it takes about 5 minutes to heat up initially. Then you get about 15-20 minutes of continuous steam cleaning time before you have to refill it. To refill, you unplug the steamer, hold down the nozzle to release excess steam, then wait for about 5 minutes for the Shark to cool down before removing the lid and adding more water. Then it has to heat up again, but it's quicker the second time because the Shark is already warm. So you have maybe 8 minutes of downtime for every 18 minutes of cleaning.

It also has a nice long power cord (16.5 feet). Removing and replacing the attachments is as simple as can be.

Comparison with other cleaning tools

Of course, this won't replace things like mops, brooms, vacuums, etc. Its main function is saving you from scrubbing; it has the same effect as a toothbrush on steroids. Plus HGH and amphetamines. I'd say it would replace most sponges, brushes and scrubbing pads, and a lot of cleaning products.

I'm not totally freaked out about the chemicals in cleaning products, but I do like to be cautious. And I detest how much they smell. So a huge advantage of the shark is not having to breathe in those fumes. The downside is that if you're cleaning something gross with the steamer, sometimes you can sort of blast loose some stink, which gets amplified by the steam. I'll take the occasional stink over the constant chemical fume of cleaning products, though.

Durability and Safety

I've owned this for about three years, and it seems as good as new. To be safe, I've always used filtered water in it to avoid build-up, but there are instructions in the manual on removing build-up if it occurs.

You'd think blasting super-hot steam would entail some danger, but I'm a giant klutz and have never burned myself.

Overall

I'm not one of those people who likes to clean, but watching the Shark blast away dirt was actually kind of fun. And it definitely made the cleaning process easier.