Between parenting, blogging, and tidying, cleaning seems take a backseat in this house. Every weekend Craig and I will do a blitz but it’s not long before Dexter will wee on a freshly mopped floor, or bury the crust from his toast in the sofa. Recently I’ve found it so stressful that we’ve even discussed getting a cleaner in for a few hours a week to keep on top of the bathroom and the vacuuming.

Having said this, Craig is quite OCD about cleanliness and our cleaning cupboard is bulging at the seams. He’s always wanted to try a steam cleaner so we were delighted when we were offered a trial of the Karcher SC 2500C.

The first thing to point out is that the steam cleaner (or ‘Kevin’ as we like to call him) is incredibly easy to set up. You get it out of the box, fill the reservoir with water, and press go. It comes with a variety of different heads and all the accessories you’ll need to get started (de-calcifying sticks, machine washable terry cloth covers, steam gun, detail nozzle, round brush, hand nozzle, extension tubes and floor nozzle).

Kevin’s first job was to tackle a dirty BBQ. This is perhaps the worst job on the planet and usually makes me feel a little sick. With the Karcher however, it was gleaming in less than 5 minutes with no scrubbing and no bending.

We then set it to work on our bathroom. To say I’m impressed is an understatement. It’s perfect for the elderly, disabled and near full-term mums-to-be as the effort required is absolutely minimal and the results are staggering. On ceramic surfaces (such as toilets, baths and sinks) you could physically see the dirt and limescale lift away. For shower enclosures and screens, you just give it a quick blast then follow-up with a brief squirt of Cilit Bang - ours looked brand new in just ten minutes.

Before we adopted Kevin, I can honestly say I could think of a thousand things I’d rather do than stick on my apron and get the sponges out. Now I’m literally on the hunt for new things to steam. It’s quite addictive! We even took it outside and gave our car windows a quick blast. A stubborn bird poo stain on our back window disappeared in seconds (great stuff as I wasn’t looking forward to doing that one!).

Now I’m pregnant again, it’s especially important I take it easy and avoid harsh chemicals. It might seem like overkill but we’ve lost babies before and aren’t taking any chances. The steam cleaner is 100% safe as it’s just pure water. It’s also credited with killing an impressive 99.99% of all common household bacteria on common household hard floor surfaces. Great news for parents with crawling babies everywhere, and an end to smelly mops and buckets!

Further adding to its baby-friendly credentials, the Karcher also won’t wake up napping babies. You can certainly hear the water bubbling as it boils within the machine, but the steam injection itself is virtually soundless. You will want to use the machine whilst your tot is tucked safely in another room though as the sight of Kevin sends Dexter into hysterics. Luckily there is a safety lock on the nozzle for more inquisitive children.

At £219.99, this model isn’t cheap but it’s very difficult to argue with the results. Kevin is now whipped from the cupboard weekly and has helped cut our weekly blitz down from 4 hours, to 30 minutes. We have peace of mind our home is clean enough to Dexter to explore, and baby number 2 is not being subjected to anything harmful. It’s definitely an investment, but I don’t think we could live without it now it’s here.

If I haven’t convinced you, you can see videos of the Karcher working its magic on Youtube, and you’ll then surely want to nip to the website to buy your own.