The SteamXpress by Lentek is a hand-held steam cleaner. It holds approximately 3 cups of water, is easy to fill and turn on (and use right out of the box) -- and provides a powerful jet of steam after 30 seconds. It also allows you to dispense steam whenever you need it and to stop when you don't. When you finished you simply unplug, empty and put away. It also doesn't get too hot to handle : )

It has several attachments as shown when you click on this item's specs here at epinions -- but frankly I don't think I will use them. I am using the narrow pointy tool and find that works for all my applications. Too see more specs, you can go to http://www.lentek.com and read about the SteamXpress there. I am not going to repeat what is already written.

When I ordered my steamer, I was hoping to use it to clean bathrooms and the kitchen without chemicals. Being thrilled with my Enviro Steamer (for floors) by Eureka, I was sold on steam cleaning. When I first unwrapped my steamer and was underway in less than 5 minutes, I was at first very disappointed. The machine is about 12 - 14 inches long and while not heavy, takes a little time to adjust to. For general cleaning of the countertops, I was like, "I'd rather do this with a sponge." Dust is simple to clean and is not worth using the steamer for... I also noted the cord was a little short at 9 feet and the unit dripped a little bit when I really dispensed the steam in large volumes. Hold on...I do actually like this machine...keep reading...

By the way, you can only put out 45 seconds of full steam...but I find you don't often want to do that...most of the time you steam a little here and a little there and don't need more... When you press the steam button and hold it for a few seconds, it really blasts much harder than you really need though I have tried the full steam several times. Once it blasts for 45 seconds, it needs a second or two to recharge up and go again. I don't find this any problem or inconvenience at all. The machine operates relatively quiet. My dogs bark at most new noises and they completely ignored this. The noise is acceptable to me.

Anyway, getting frustrated, I went to try to steam some clothes as I hate to iron and it amazingly steamed out wrinkles in my husband's Izod shirts. I steamed about 6 shirts in 3 - 4 minutes. I was thrilled! I tried to steam an all cotton (very wrinkly shirt) but that has to be ironed along with my battenburg lace pillow if you want a "pressed" look. This releases wrinkles beautifully but it doesn't press clothes. In either case, I was pleased. Who wants to iron a bunch of Izods or t-shirts!

I then returned to the kitchen to give this another try and cleaned the goo out of the sink faucet really easy and thought...hmmm...let me try this in other places.

I went to the oven, opened up the door (which has been neglected) and jet power steamed (used the full power) on the door so I could see out of the window which was greased up. With the steam blowing on high, I took off about 10-20% of grease. I was not impressed and realized this was not the best method and scrapped that.

I then went to try the steam on hard water stains in the bathroom (which once a week requires me to use lime away it is so bad) and I was not impressed. It did not remove ANY RUST stains....BUT WAIT!

I remember I had read about a woman using another steamer here at epinions and she wrote that she used it to wash her French doors and baseboards. Well, I tried it and OH MY LORD did it to a miracle job! I was thrilled. Washing four French doors front and back used to take me a good 3 or 4 hours -- washing, rinsing and getting rid of streaks. With the steamer, I managed to wash all four doors (glass and frame) with nothing but the steamer and a dry dish towel in all of 35-45 minutes and they are cleaner than they ever were before! My husband even noticed when he came home they were the cleanest ever (amazing!). The steamer seemed to have cut my cleaning time on the doors by 70-80%. I was sold! If you want to use this to clean windows -- it makes the job a dream! No more buckets, dripping water, scrubbing off stains and streaks! They are history. For this job alone, I can't part with this machine ever again!

I then went into the kitchen again (where we have painted white cabinets that are old) and wanted to see what the steam would do to the paint so I blasted it hard. It does make paint really gooey if you really steam the wood and upon touching it -- it would strip off, but you can back off a bit and it works wonderfully (my French doors are painted and I just kept a little distance and it worked fine). It loosens all the dirt up so you can just wipe it away EFFORTLESSLY...even on a painted surface. You just have to learn how to use the machine.

I had read another review for a steamer here at epinions and I got a huge chuckle out of the two guys who wrote the review. They expected the steam to "dissolve away" the grime. If that is what you are looking for... dream on...this machine doesn't do that. A steam cleaner is used to loosen up existing dirt so you don't have to scrub, or wash with elbow grease. Instead, it softens up the dirt and with the wipe of a rag -- it easily comes off. You must realize, you still have to wipe -- you just don't have to *work at it*.

So, today, I have cleaned all my kitchen cabinets with this machine and again, it took me 20 minutes instead of a couple of hours. I just steam 2 cabinets and wiped them down in 1 minute and moved on and I have a fairly large kitchen. The dirt just lifts right off without me searching for it and scrubbing! It's a dream. So, I think I am going to keep this without a doubt!

While I wouldn't use this machine for my bathrooms every week, I will use it to get grime out things that require scrubbing and I will use it to wash windows, steam clothes, do my french doors, moulding, kitchen cabinets and house windows and doors.

I also cleaned my food processor today and it is like new! It loosened up all the dirt I could never get out...

If you want to make your jobs easier ...than this is the machine for you. If you want to a miracle house keeper, hire one. This machine does not dissolve anything, it merely softens it up so it is easy to wipe clean!

Note: After having used this machine for a few months, I have had the following problems -- though I still like it:

* It steams randomly to release pressure after being used all by itself which can be dangerous. I got a burn from this.

* Worse, if you are not cautious and do put yourself in front of the steam by being careless (it happened to me), you will get a serious burn. I have a permanent scar from a 2nd to 3rd degree burn now. After several months, it is still seriously discolored, but that is my own fault.

* I have had problems with the water canisters leaking and leaking. Lentek has been good about replacing them, but it has been frustrating.

After trying out another steamer, Lenteks product is still superior.


Recommended: Yes