Shark Steam Mop or Hoover Floormate? Which Mop Should I Get?

I have the Floormate, but I wish I had the steam mop. Why?
1) It never seems like I've gotten the crumbs all sucked up before I go to wash it, so I end up sweeping anyways.
2) It is pretty noisy, and I do my floor cleaning while the kids are asleep.
3) I don't like having to buy solution for it
4) It can't fit under my cabinet bottoms, so I end up getting a mop for under there.
5) It is heavy and is just another thing I have to clean (the water reservoir and the dirty water catcher & filters).

The only thing I like is that it does do a great job sucking up the water. Not enough for me to use it anymore. It just sits collecting dust.

I have had both. The Floormate was a nightmare for me. I hated emptying and refilling the icky water and buying the special cleaner and if your floors aren't perfectly level the suction didn't work right anyway. It was always dirty and if you didn't clean the machine well enough it was even ickier the next time.
The shark on the other hand is my favorite new tool. You can replace the pads and throw them in the washer so you can always have a clean machine without all the fuss. You are only using water, so it is pure- no chemicals. They recommend using distilled water to help lengthen the life of the machine, but I just use regular tap water (granted I live in the country so my water is cleaner than some city water). My kids can even use it. I woke up one morning to my 6 yr old mopping my floors with the Shark. That's just my 2 cents.

I have the steam mop and love it but it is not intended to pick up loose dirt, you sweep first. They have a model that vacuums and mops, you probably want that one.

I had the Hoover Floormate until it broke on me and would just start gushing water out of it. It probably worked for maybe 2-3 years total w/out any issues. When it did work, I liked it. However, I always vacuumed/swept before using it because I just didn't think it was too effective at picking up debris.

I bought a Shark mop a few months ago. I love it. It's so easy to use.

The only disadvantage is you should use distilled water, which you would think would be easy to find in the store. I had to go to 6 stores to find it.

The other disadvantage is I can't seem to get the pads clean.

With a steam mop you need to sweep or vacuum first. I use less than a cup of water to clean my whole downstairs. Remember you're using steam so there's no pushing around dirty water.

Okay. I literally JUST went through trying to figure out what steam mop I wanted and here is what I found. A review on amazon of 5 different mops. BEST REVIEW EVER. Hope it helps!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2U0WBRUIMTHZI/ref=cm_cr_dp_...

I have a Hoover Floormate and I love it. I've also had a steam cleaner (not the shark) and I thought I loved that. When the one I had broke and I couldn't find another one (it was 9 years ago and I don't think the shark was around then) I got a Floormate. I think the Floormate is better because it picks up the dirty water. The steam mop could be putting dirty steam (aka water) on the floor if the pad is dirty. Dirty water will make the grout in tile very dirty. I've had a Floormate for 9 years and I like it way more than the steam mop I had.

I have the shark steam mop and I LOVE it! I've been using it for a little over a year and it it still works just great!