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From the Mum’s Dictionary…
Bacteria, (noun): The invisible enemy of parents of toddlers / small children who’d happily eat all their food from the floor or around a bin.
After *cough* years on this planet, I know about germs and hygiene and bacteria and all those things that have, no doubt, contributed to my *cough* years. However, try explaining germs and bacteria to a three year old… “You must wash your hands; there’ll be germs on them.” “No, I got no germs, look”… and so it continues. You want to get the right balance between fear, education and just getting their hands washed before your third attempt at a hot beverage goes cold.
Now, I’m not one of those Mum’s that bleaches and sanitises the banister rail 18 times a day. In fact, as a former Girl Guide, I think there’s immune-system-boosting merit in eating food with a ‘bit of muck’ on it but I don’t actively seek to encourage that muck so I’m always looking for ways to keep the house clean, but in a way that doesn’t detract too much from the hours we need to invest in Lego building, jigsaw making, hole-in-mud digging or painting egg boxes. So, you can imagine how welcome my latest product test was: The Vileda 100°C Hot Spray Mop. I hate ‘conventional’ floor mops, they always smell a bit, well, manky so I notice, with glee, that this comes with a machine washable microfibre cover. Yay! And I’ve not even opened the box.
It’s simple to assemble. So simple, in fact, that a three year old could do it. I imagine. I mean, as if I’d be foolhardy enough to let my children try out a brand new machine. Of course not…*ahem*…
Anyway, I assume the usual testing conditions: try to work it out without reading the instructions (and please don’t do this at home – always, always read the manufacturer guides and instructions. My foolhardiness is purely to see how intuitive a new product is to get the hang of.)
Once out of the box, I’m pleased to note that it’s light enough to lift easily. There’s a little cup measuring thingummy that I fill with cold water up to the line. Then I just pour that water into a small reservoir at the back of the machine until a little indicator pops up. I then turn the machine on and before I’ve had time to make a much needed coffee, the sound of steam is apparent. It really is so quick that I have to read the instructions to make sure it can actually be that quick. Yep, 15 seconds and you’re ready to go.
Now the best bit: it’s cordless! HURRAY! I know it doesn’t take long to plug and unplug stuff but it’s such a faff. It’s so simple and easy to use that I quickly clean the kitchen floor (tile), utility room (laminate) and upstairs bathroom floors in about 20 minutes with little effort and in one charge. There’s no need for floor disinfectants or sprays and, from the dirt that’s covered the microfibre pad, it’s clear that this fab little piece of kit has done the job brilliantly. Just in time too, as I find Thing 2 sitting on the kitchen floor, eating the raisins he’s just emptied on the floor. Carry on kid, carry on…
Defeat those germs forever with a Vileda 100°C Hot Spray Mop!
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