Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus | Above Floor Cleaning with Long Reach | Cariable Steam Control - S84-W7-P

Product Information

Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity. For any content that you submit, you grant Vax a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); If you’re not wedded to an upright model, cylinder steam cleaners such as the Karcher SC3 and the great value Polti Vaporetto GO are also worth considering. Verdict

For floor cleaning you use the Vax’s triangular floor-head, which is a good size and shape for the job. It whizzed around hard floors well, with the higher of the two steam settings delivering plenty of cleaning power. That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation; The Vax may only come with two small tools, but it actually boasts a hidden third tool: a smaller triangular brush inside the floor-head. We found it handy for awkward little areas and stubborn spots on carpets, but it can’t be used for bigger sections because it doesn’t glide. Performance-wise, the Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus is okay, but it isn’t cheap and its design proves annoying at times.

There are definitely some cheaper and better alternatives out there. If you’re looking for a very effective steam mop that can handle floors incredibly well without forking out too much, the Vileda Steam Mop is a great choice. Alternatively, if you want a multifunction steam cleaner, the Karcher SC1 is better placed to handle numerous tough tasks. The Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus leads the brand’s steam cleaning range, with multiple different cleaning functions and even a detergent setting, which lets you use specially formulated detergent with steam power to remove really stubborn stains. Certainly, from the specs alone, this looks to be the big daddy of steam cleaners, with every feature under the sun, but does the premium price make it a cut above the rest? Design When filling the water tank, it’s important to ensure you turn on the tap gently since the fill hole is quite small. The Vax comes with a small bottle of concentrated detergent, and you need only use a couple of capfuls (50ml) diluted in water. Despite its small size, the bottle is enough to fill the detergent tank five times over. Variable steam controls are accessed via a four-way thumb control on the handle. This gives you plenty of flexibility, with different power modes and you can choose if want to use detergent. All settings worked perfectly well when put to the test, with plenty of steam power even at the lower settings.

The thumb control makes it easy to change the level of steam, but when you release the trigger to stop cleanin, it takes a few seconds for the steam to stop. This means you have to be careful when changing accessories. The body of the Vax is home to a replaceable water filter and a twin tank that pops off to be filled. The larger (300ml) section is for water, and you have the option to add detergent to the smaller (165ml) detergent tank. We found the detergent to be quite smelly and overpowering, so only used it the once. It was effective at blotting out smells, but we felt the Vax’s cleaning performance was fine without it. You could use another brand of detergent if you preferred. It is a shame that the use of detergent feels necessary when cleaning, as a steam cleaner should really just do its job without added cleaning solution.The mop head did struggle to stay velcroed to the base when using it on hard surfaces too. Overall steam time was pretty poor at just over 8 minutes, although at least the water tank heated up in a relatively speedy 60 seconds.A light turns on to let you know the cleaner is in use, but that’s it for safety features. The storage tank can be accessed during use, although the lid isn’t external, so you have to remove it from the cleaner first. The outside casing gets very hot to the touch during use, including the handle which made could be uncomfortable during longer sessions. Cleaning performance You agree to indemnify and hold Vax (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. If you feel the need for additional cleaning power, there’s a steam boost button on the floor-head itself. We used this while cleaning carpets and found that it sent an extra jet of steam out of the front. The nozzle can be rotated in 90-degree increments, which was very useful when cleaning walls, just make sure not to rotate it towards your face, though. The Fresh Power Plus didn’t excel when put to the test against some dirty walls in our kitchen, seeming to not reach a high enough temperature to shift really stubborn stains, with less steam being produced than I’d hoped for. Thanks to the high centre of gravity, the design is manoeuvrable but heavy in the hand, so you do feel like you’re working hard. It certainly isn’t as effortless as many rival steam mops.

It comes with just two tools: a precision tool that emits concentrated jet of steam for hard-to-reach and heavily soiled areas, and a soft-scrub brush with an attached scraper, which is great for cleaning cookers, hobs, sinks and taps. Most steam mops have a handheld that pops out of the middle of the device, but the Vax has an unusual design. The steam generator is a handheld cleaner, to which you add a lance and a floor-head to convert it into a mop for cleaning floors. To control the Vax, there’s an on/off switch on the body of the cleaner and a control at your thumb for two levels of steam, each with or without detergent. The 0.3-litre water storage tank can be disconnected from the mop itself for easy filling. There’s also a detergent tank section, for the steam detergent supplied in the box, that can be used while cleaning to help get rid of tougher stains. There’s also plenty of attachments, including brushes and nozzles, to help you scour tougher messes.

The Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus has impressive detergent-assisted cleaning power

The Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus is a decent multifunctional steam cleaner that’s let down by a few flaws. While hard floor and carpet cleaning is great, especially with the use of the detergent, it struggled to get rid of grime on wall surfaces. For floor cleaning, there’s a triangular floor head with two microfibre pads and a carpet glider. We love Vax’s use of bright blue for the carpet glider, buttons, power cable, and mains plug. It’s unusual and striking. This setup does make the Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus feel heavy in the hand, but it offers the advantage that you can use tools on the end of the lance to considerably extend your reach. You can also connect them directly to the handheld for compact cleaning.