Pros:
Super-efficient
and serious hard floor cleaning
Vacuums,
washes and ‘dry’ action all in one
Polishing
action to leave residue free finish.
Works on all
kinds of hard floor
Cons:
It’s a bit
heavy
Doesn’t
deal with hair very well
Key features
(From Kärcher website):
2-in-1
function: Vacuums and washes in one, using SmartRoller technology.
Self-cleaning
function: Continuously clean rollers for best cleaning results. The Smartroller
technology removes excess water, leaving floors clean and dry in just two
minutes.
High-quality
microfibre rollers: Placing the microfibre rollers on and off is quick and
easy. Machine washable at up to 60°C.
Innovative
drive concept: With forward rotating rollers, the machine moves across the
floor almost by itself – for effortless cleaning.
Cleaning
head with a flexible hinge: Easy to clean under furniture. Easy to move around
objects. Cleaning right up to the edge – for excellent results in corners and
edges.
Easy-to-remove
two-tank system: The fresh water tank can be easily filled under the tap.
Hygienic removal and emptying of the dirty water tank without having to come
into contact with the dirt.
Cleaning
and storage station: Perfect for easily cleaning dirty rollers. Convenient
storage of the machine.
Roller
speed (rpm) 500
Power (W) max. 460
Current
type (Ph/V/Hz) 1 / 220 / 240 / 50 / 60
Tank
capacity fresh water (ml) 400
Tank
capacity dirt water (ml) 200
Cleaning
station volume (ml) 200
Cleaning
performance per tank filling (approx.) (m²) 60
Drying
time of cleaned floor (min.) 2
Roller
working width (mm) 300
Weight
(kg) 5
Dimensions
(L x W x H) (mm) 320 x 270 x 1220
Equipment
2-tank
system
Yellow
cleaning rollers
Cleaning
and storage station
I have
different type of hard floors. Light coloured laminate floor in the kitchen,
solid oak floor in the living room, hard wood in the hall and vinyl flooring in
the bathroom. Over the years, I have purchased nearly all kind of cleaning
equipment such as steam cleaner, electric mops, powered polishers but none dealt
with the cleaning job very well so I can give up my mop. I normally spend 2
hours a week hover the floors, mop, then remove the residue water with a
Kärcher window vacuum. The job is one of the chores that I hate the most.
Kärcher’s
FC5 promises to wash, scrub, polish and vacuum as it goes. It sounds like a
dream machine which can make floor cleaning less cumbersome and even enjoyable.
Now I have been using it for 2 weeks and I am happy to report that Kärcher FC5
really is truly a fantastic piece of kit for floor cleaning.
It come
nearly fully assembled. All I need to do is to slide the handle into the body
and it is ready to roll. The cable is fairly long (~7 meters) and can easily
cover a very large room. There is also a nice stand to keep the FC5 upright
which is very handy. The stand can also be used to wet the roller prior to
cleaning and wash the roller after use. Like all Kärcher product, it’s very
yellow and feels very solid and well built. It’s fairly slim so takes up little
floor space and is quite stable when stored between uses. When I was using a
mop, it kept falling out of the bucket which was extremely annoying.
Kärcher
FC5 is very straight forward to use. It’s a bit heavy (5kg with clean water
tank full) but once it is going it is easy to move around and the pivoting head
does make life slightly easier. The instruction says to hold onto the appliance
firmly and I highly advise that you do. It has surprisingly powerful forward-drive
momentum and you don’t want it to take off on its own.
On the
front of the FC5 is the clean water/cleaning solution mix. A small handle
releases the container to allow it to be filled up under a tap. To refit the
container, simply push it back into its original position. The container is
almost clear so you can see the water/cleaner solution level. The fresh water
tank uses the water sparingly and so will be economical if using detergent. It
can be used with clean water or any hard-floor cleaning solution made for
machine cleaners. Karcher offers a range of solutions that cover all kind of
floors.
On the
back is the filter and dirty water tank. Emptying the tank is easy to do and
you see all the dirt and bits that the FC5 has picked up.
With twin
forward-rotating fleece rollers and powerful suction behind, the FC5 glides
over surfaces with no effort at all. It also cleans up to edges. The rollers
draw clean water from the tank and rotates to collect dust while moistening and
scrubbing the floor. At the rear of the rollers, a squeegee and vacuum slot
draws dirt and dirty water out of the roller’s fleece surface and into the
waste tank. The ease of not vacuuming first does make a significant difference.
The rotating motion can easily remove the toughest stains. Fleece on rollers do
not get to dirty to continue cleaning like others do and need replacing. They
almost clean themselves. If you want to, they can be easily twist off and are
machine washable.
It cleans
hard floors with enthusiasm, removing loose debris and even the worst dried-on
stains, then buffs sealed laminates to perfection. The results are fantastic. I
don’t think my floors have ever been this clean. Even after I have just cleaned
my floors with mop and feel they are in a reasonable state of cleanliness, the
colour of the waste water tank tells me that this have been an illusion. You
will be surprised to see how much dirt a mop and bucket leaves behind.
As it does
not soak the floor like a mop (only moist), any remaining surface water soon
dries leaving a streak free finish. Residual water was something of concern for
my sealed solid oak flooring especially in wet England winter but the FC5
doesn't leave much residual water.
Now it takes
me around 30 minutes to clean the house.
Final thought
A fantastic
all-round hard-floor cleaner that produce fabulous result. Highly recommended.
