How to Clean Shark Steam Mop for Best Performance

With a Shark steam mop, you can easily clean your (hardwood) floors and make them fresh once again. It’s a very clever household product, and anyone in possession of one will agree it’s very useful to have one around. In this article we’ll explain how to maintain a clean Shark steam mop, to boost its longevity and keep your floors squeaky clean.

Did you know steaming works great on curtains and drapes?
Check out our article to find out more.

When to Clean a Shark Steam Mop

If your Shark steam mop isn’t producing steam like it used to, or not at all, it’s time for some maintenance. The nozzle likely has gotten blocked by sediment buildup, causing the spray nozzle to stop working properly. A simple cleaning of the Shark steam mop nozzle can make it work like it used to. 

How to Clean Shark Steam Mop

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Requirements:

• Paper clip or similar piece of metal
• Vinegar

Time to Complete:

10 – 30 minutes

Mop Pads

The mop pads need to be cleaned most often. It’s recommended to clean them after every cleaning session. Remove the mop pads from the steam cleaner and put them in the laundry basket. This way you can endlessly re-use them to keep your floors clean. 

Pitcher

The pitcher is used to refill the water tank and won’t need as much attention. If you, however, want to make absolutely sure it stays as clean as possible, you can either run some hot water over it or simply put it in the dishwasher.  

Steam Mop

The water runs from the water tank, through the steam mop and comes out via the nozzle. Since you can’t easily get to these parts, since they’re inside the steam mop, cleaning can be a bit tricky. Especially the nozzle can get blocked by sediment buildup, being such a tiny opening.

You can clean a Shark steam mop nozzle in one of three ways:

1. Use a paper clip to clear the blocked nozzle. 
2. Pour vinegar and let it sit overnight. 
3. Disassemble the unit and take out the nozzle. 

Use a Paper clip

This is the easiest way to clean the nozzle. For this method, you need to form a hook out of a paper clip or any other similar piece of metal you can find.

Apply the following steps:

1. Ensure the mop isn’t hot and keep it unplugged. 
2. Take the paper clip and insert it into the nozzle. Keep moving it around until any blockages are removed. 
3. Test the steam mop by filling the water tank, plugging the steam mop in the socket, and seeing if the blockage has disappeared. 

If this doesn’t work well enough, because the blockage is too severe, you want to use the next step in this list. 

Apply Vinegar

This method will take at least 30 minutes, but luckily is relatively easy. It won’t just clean the nozzle, but the entire steam mop is treated.

Apply the following steps:

1. Empty the water tank. 
2. Pour vinegar into your Shark steam mop and let it sit for 30 minutes. 
3. Plug your mop into an outlet near a sink, bathtub, or bucket. (Or anywhere else you can catch the used vinegar in). 
4. Turn it on with the spray nozzle facing the sink/bathtub/bucket. 
5. Make sure all the vinegar runs through the system and out of the nozzle. 

Any filth blocking the nozzle should come out. By now, the vinegar has broken down whatever sediment buildup was keeping the nozzle from working properly. However, make sure to clean it with water afterward. Otherwise, the next time you use your steam mop your floor will smell like vinegar.

Disassemble And Internally Clean Shark Steam Mop

If the nozzle stays blocked, you might want to disassemble the whole unit and take out the nozzle, to clean it more thoroughly. This is the most effective method because you can clean the nozzle directly. 

If you need assistance with the technical side of this you can find help here.

Apply the following steps:

1. If it’s possible to detach the head of the mop without taking out any screws, try to get the spray nozzle out that way. If not, grab a screwdriver and take out the right screws to detach the nozzle. 
2. Keep track of the screws you take out of the mop, so you can put them back at the right place once you’re done. 
3. When the screws are out and the mop head detached, you should be able to remove the spray nozzle easily. Use vinegar or a paper clip to clear any sediment inside the nozzle. Running hot water through it can help as well. 
4. Once you’ve cleaned the nozzle, put it back into the mop and reattach the mop head. 

If you executed all the steps accordingly, you should now have a clean Shark steam mop.

Conclusion

Before you throw out any Shark steam mop thinking they’re not good anymore, try these methods first. All you need is a paper clip, vinegar, and a screwdriver. This way you can get your clean Shark steam mop up and running again, and cleaning the way it should.