Ladybug Li'l Bug Steam Cleaner Review

This steam cleaner compares well to its more expensive siblings

by Mercia Tapping, President, Allergybuyersclub.com

Steam cleaning is one of the best cleaning appliance inventions in the past few years, and I have written about it extensively in previous articles and newsletters. Unfortunately, it is not a trivial expense; most of the better quality continuous fill steam cleaners come in at over $1000. So with that in mind, I was delighted to learn that the same factory that produced the five star LadyBug vapor steam cleaners had come out with a less expensive model called the Li'l Bug 1500 (starting at $699.95), and it uses the same accessory tools as its more expensive siblings.

INFO LINKS Vapor Steam Cleaners Overview - view all Vapor Steam Cleaners sold by AllergyBuyersClub.com Vapor Steam Cleaners Comparison Chart - a comparison with pluses and minuses of all the best Vapor Steam Cleaners Vapor Steam Cleaning most frequently asked questions - Answers what is vapor steam cleaning, common cleaning uses, & more Best Steam Cleaner Articles - Editor's top picks on steam cleaner info

Much of the effectiveness of steam cleaning comes from the quality of the tools, the other comes from the temperature of the steam at the tip and the consistent delivery of steam at the right temperature and pressure. The other factor is the longevity of the machine. Keep in mind that the ones advertised on TV break down as soon as you look at them.

The Li'L Bug did not disappoint and my home smelled wonderfully clean afterwards. Here is a summary of the chores I tackled and the results.

Pluses

1. My worst challenge was cleaning rugs or upholstery after one of my Siamese cats had some digestive problems before the vet got it under control. I will spare you the gory details but I was quite distressed at the extent of the problem. Soap and water had not even approached reaching an acceptable solution. Using a pre-spray of Formula 212 stain remover (priced at $39.95) and then rubbing gently with a triangle brush certainly got rid of all odor and most, but not all the stain on first round of cleaning. I think I will get nearly all of it out on a second go around, but I am not a very patient person and there was a lot of other cleaning chores ahead.

2. The bathroom and kitchen tiling was where the Li'l Bug steam cleaner came into its own. Little stains on the grout came off easily with a small round brush and tile floors really came up like new. The cats' bathroom no longer looked unsanitary and everything smelled so wonderfully pure and clean.

3. I have been giving my cat his medicine (which is very sticky) on the kitchen counter top and despite efforts to clean off the sticky residue, the counter top wasn't as clean as I would like. One going over with a steam cleaner and I could feel the counter silky smooth and clean beneath my touch.

4. Husbands, cats, and kids all produce dirt and stains, and my husband is a the age when he visits the bathroom in the middle of the night but does not turn on the light so as not to disturb me. The results greet me when it is time to clean and the Li'l Bug gives a satisfying sanitary clean up of all the unmentionables. I use a separate set of tools for sanitary purposes, and just spray with a small brush and wipe dry with a towel.

5. We had a second refrigerator in the garage which had some mold inside and the odor was terrible. We wanted to put the refrigerator back into use for storage of cold drinks before a summer party. The large triangle brush and a nice clean towel tackled this disgusting task in record time, and the refrigerator is now restored to its former glory and is keeping dozens of drinks cold during these last hot and humid days of summer.

6. Using a steam cleaner on a sealed pre-finished wood floor is not recommended by floor manufacturers who say to avoid wet mopping it. However, as a practiced steam cleaner user, I double wrapped a towel around a floor brush and lightly whipped around acres of wood flooring, with any dampness drying in seconds - the hallmark of a good steam cleaner. For this task I confess I would have liked to have used a Ladybug XL (starts at $1449.95) steam cleaner which delivers the driest steam and has a pressure gauge, but I breezed my way very successfully through this chore with no damage to the floor. This should not be the first ever steam cleaner chore you try.

7. I was having trouble cleaning my microwave oven and the usual spray cleaners were just not working, and lots of food particles were still stuck to the interior of the oven. A small brush with no towel, and a separate towel to mop dry, handled this chore with a pleasing result to even the cleaning obsessed.

Minuses

1. I have 3M tinted windows for UV filtration. The filtration company could not guarantee that the hot steam temperature would not damage the film, so windows need to be cleaned the old fashioned way. A limited problem for some.

2. Having been a user of steam cleaners for a while now, I missed the pressure gauge found in other LadyBug models which tells you when the machine is working at optimal steam pressure. A gauge ensures you are not wasting your time cleaning when the steam which is not at its peak. The other added benefit of a pressure gauge is one of safety, as it tells you if you are in the overheated zone- apparently this is a very rare occurrence but it is a feature in steam cleaners that gives me peace of mind.

3. Since I did not conduct protracted cleaning sessions (mostly an hour or so at a time) as I tend not to devote whole days to cleaning, I did not miss the continuous fill advantage of the LadyBug line. However, I can easily foresee when that would not be the case, and waiting for this machine to cool down and then heat up again[figure on an hour's interruption] would be irritating.

Summary

I think this is a very welcome addition to our vapor steam cleaner line as the Li'l Bug gives a great deal of what the average person needs for a steam cleaner, with its great tools and affordable price. If you clean for a number of hours at a time, we suggest looking at the complete Ladybug line steam cleaners and if you are trying to achieve a very high level of sanitation and germ removal or infection control, the Ladybug TANCS would be a better bet. However, for the rest of us, the Li'l Bug goes a very long way.

First Published: August 2005
Updated: May 2007

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