Vapor Steam Cleaners: Knowing What You Are Getting and Where It Came FromAug 27 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line There are a range of companies selling vapor cleaners. Knowing what you are getting and where it came from is an important part of choosing a vapor steam cleaner.
Having done a good bit of research, I’ve become something of an amateur expert on vapor steam cleaners. I won’t waste your time discussing the advantages of vapor over steam because this is well documented in the Epinions article, “Are you thinking about steam vs. vapor?” So is the question of whether or not to buy a continuous flow machine, “Continuous Flow and Vacuum: Higher Price Worth It?” Both of these articles are tremendously helpful. There also is a useful Vapor Leaning Center at http://vapor-systems.com/vapor_learning_center/. Instead, I’ll address the process of choosing a vapor steam cleaner dealer. It shouldn’t surprise you that there are a wide variety of characters selling these amazing machines, which clean and disinfect the environmentally friendly way—without chemicals. Some dealers have a style that would make a used car salesman blush. This is true because despite the growing popularity of vapor steam cleaners, no large American firm, like Hover (Maytag) or Eureka, has stepped forward to manufacture these marvels of technology. It’s mostly a patent problem. Vapor steam cleaners are imported from Italy, where they are as common as a vacuum cleaner. They were created and the components patented by a handful of firms, including SIEL (http://www.sielsrl.com/), TPA Impex (http://www.tpaimpex.com/), and Euro Star (http://euro-star.it/). These Italian manufacturers ship to America, mostly by boat. When the boat and vapor steam cleaners arrive, importers distribute to dealers who market mostly on the Web where it’s a real war to gain a competitive advantage. In this all-out-war, one of the things that first caught my eye is the number of Websites advertising “factory direct.” This implies you are buying from the manufacturer at a savings or price reduction only the manufacturer can offer. But how can this be? Vapor steam cleaners are imported from Italy. How can a Website with a street address in Florida, Texas, or Washington State sell factory direct? It can’t. This is a dealer trying to fool you. So beware! The Attorney General states you are entitled to know precisely what you are getting and where it is coming from. Any attempt to mislead you is against the law. Something else to keep an eye on is the number of Websites publishing nameless customer testimonials. I can spot these fake dealers a mile away. I don’t know if what they are doing is illegal, but it certainly isn’t ethical. Real customers are happy to provide their name. That’s why it’s easy to spot fake testimonials. A few Internet dealers publish the real names behind their customer testimonials. One dealer even provides a link in some cases to the individual and/or company. I chose this dealer after I contacted a real customer who placed and received an order and was pleased to share their experience with me. Testimonials add a degree of credibility. So look for them before ordering. But only pay attention to a testimonial having a real name and location. Beware of a dealer publishing a review by Diane in Denver. Another situation that warrants concern is when one dealer has numerous Websites, each having a different name and different Web address but each operated by the same people at the same physical location. Be suspicious of someone disguising their operation in this manner. It isn’t always easy to spot, but sometimes these people are too lazy to write completely different copy for each different site. As a result, there are similarities which give their little game away. An important thing to remember when buying a vapor steam cleaner is that many American dealers put their own name on the machines they sell. This is how those advertising “factory direct” justify what they are doing to themselves. But the name and location of the “real manufacturer” is important because most vapor steam cleaners come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Ask who made the machine you are buying. And ask what happens if you have a problem. Do you have to ship your cleaner back to Italy? Does the dealer have to? If a dealer insists they are the manufacturer, run. As a final note, as you search for a vapor steam cleaner on the Web, you likely will run into smaller dealers that describes their inventory with language copied from the Website of larger dealers. Copyright laws are difficult and costly to enforce. This is especially true on the Internet. Beware of a wannabe dealer that pirated the copyrighted material of another. If the dealer is not smart enough to write its own material, do you really want to give them your money?  |
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