First of all, don't expect the Eureka Hot Shot to do what a larger residential cannister style might do. If you're just looking for a steamer that can do light duty tasks or are just curious about steam cleaning without spending more than a hundred dollars, then the Hot Shot will do just fine.

Specs:
-Water tank that holds one cup of water. The entire unit is the size of a small tea kettle.
-Accessories include a nylon scrub brush, fabric tool, window cleaner, straight nozzle, angled nozzle, a 2 ft. flexible extension hose, funnel and measuring cup to add water. The power cord is about 6 ft.

Where it works:
I first went to the window track/sill of my kitchen where 2 years worth of dirt had collected. The Hot Shot produced a forceful amount of steam enough to blow some of the dirt up and out and then dissolve the dirt that had "caked" along the track. I noticed the closer I got with the nozzle the more dirt it loosened. Granted the dirt didn't "melt away" but it wiped off very easily with a paper towel. As I was steaming I noticed the smell of the chemical my exterminator used to spray my house. It was embedded in my window sill. I experimented with the steamer using the extension hose, angle nozzle and no attachment, and found the angle nozzle lost a lot of steam pressure for some reason. There was an adequate amount of steam pressure using the extension hose and using no attachment at all. Confident that the Hot Shot cleaned my window sill/track, I took it to the oven to really test it out.
The grease on the oven door melted away easy as well as some grease spots around the sides and top of the oven. They wiped away with no effort. However there were some grease spots at the bottom of the oven that weren't going away. Not even fading after blasting it for several seconds with the steam. Then I took the nylon scrub attachment with the extension hose and gave it another blast of steam. After a little more effort the grease finally gave way. I took the nylon scrub attachment off, and placed the nozzle directly over the remaining stubborn spots. With a little agitation the grease finally melted enough to wipe off. Although I needed to use more "elbow grease" with the steamer, I thought it was a better option than using my butter knife to scrape the grease spots off.
At this point, I was getting a little tired of cleaning so I took the Hot Shot to my bathroom shower door to give it one final test. There was an orange colored water stain and mildew around the bottom corner of the door that was dried on. The Hot Shot did very well loosening the mildew and blasted the orange stain away. With a final wipe of the sponge, I was done.

Peeves:

-The Hot Shot's on/off steam button was on the unit itself making it awkward to use in tight spaces. It would be nice if the steam button was also on the extension hose.
-When the water level was running low, the Hot Shot lost its steam power all together after pressing the steam button continuously. I thought I was out of water but after "resting" the unit down for a minute the steam was back again with adequate pressure.
-Because the unit only holds a cup of water, Re-fills are frequent. At most, I got 10-15 minutes of continuous use out of the steamer.
-The window cleaner attachment lacks a rubber edge so that you can steam the mirror and wipe with the same attachment

Conclusion:
For the cleaning tasks I did, I was pleased with the Eureka Hot Shot. It's made of a sturdy plastic body and you can regulate the steam by pressing the steam button harder or lighter. I didn't find the Hot Shot to drip a lot of water and it produced a hot, consistent steam for cleaning. Another nice feature was the nozzle built into the steamer can be adjusted to the direction you want the steam to go. I'd recommend a larger cannister model style steam cleaner for those people who require long sessions of cleaning. People with arthritis, elderly, or anyone who has any ailments with their hands and fingers may find this unit cumbersome to use. The unit is portable but not extremely light.

Sears carries the Hot Shot for $79 and the larger cannister model for $149 (on sale).

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 84