"Clean Sweep" Giveaway! Win An Oreck Grab-It and Steam-It!

Do you ever have conversations like this with your "significant other"??

"Hon, if you unload the dishwasher...I'll fill it."
or
"Hon, if you fold the clothes in the dryer....I'll transfer the clothes from the washer and start another load."
or
"Hon, if you vacuum....I'll dust."
or (and this is the one I use the most!)
"Hon, if you will sweep...I'll mop!"

Well, I guess those are less CONVERSATION and more NEGOTIATION on my part to get the hubster to help me out with some of my least favorite tasks.....including the dreaded sweeping/mopping detail.

Oh how I hate to sweep AND mop! 

I know it sounds a little crazy...but I don't mind sweeping....and I really don't mind mopping (except that in order to mop you really can't skip the sweeping part, unfortunately)...but I hate doing BOTH! It is the main reason I will procrastinate this particular chore until it really is bordering on unseemly (or until my kids start complaining their feet/socks are sticking to the floor!). *sigh* Then I start the much hated process.

• Put all chairs, stools, trash cans, shoes, laundry baskets, rugs, JUNK, up on counters or on table or throw outside into the snow.
• Break out the broom and dust pan and sweep. Don't forget inside pantry door in kitchen and storage closet in mudroom/laundry room (how do those get so much crap in them anyway? Nobody even walks in there!)
• Sweep all debris into corner...making sure to corral the air soft gun pellets that will bounce off the wall and ricochet back across the room again!
• Inspect debris pile for stray change...pocket the change for a big Diet Coke on ice reward later for doing this horrible job.
• Marvel at how many blood glucose strips are in the debris pile and puzzle over why the 16 year old can never seem to get them into the trash can.
• Realize you are procrastinating the mopping....sweep debris into dust pan...throw into trash can on top of counter.
• Hunt down mop (that for some reason never seems to be where I put it last)...fill sink with hot water, soap and bleach.
• Dunk mop...squeeze out...marvel at how the water is already dirty and you haven't even started mopping yet.
• Mop dining area....rinse....squeeze....mop kitchen proper....rinse....squeeze....try not to notice how dirty and gross the water is that you just RINSED in....finish mopping in laundry room.
• Find yourself mopped into a corner....go out the garage door....try to come back in the front door....find yourself locked out of your own home.
• Sit down on front step and think to yourself....I quit drinking too soon!

KIDDING!!!! Couldn't resist that last line. ;-) It's one of those lines we tend to use in our house when we are frustrated and tensions are running high...just to inject a little levity. I'm not sure it translates here. lol.

Anyway.....I think you get the picture! I really, really, really, really, really DISLIKE sweeping and mopping. Give me a pile of clothes a mile high to fold....but please don't make me sweep AND mop.

So...when the Oreck people asked if I was interested in trying out their new "Grab It and Steam It" Turbo Broom and Steam Mop I thought maybe it was some sort of cruel joke! There couldn't possibly be a device out there that addressed my most dreaded homekeeping chore! Could there?????

Ladies and gentlemen...I'm hear to tell you that YES...there is. I'm pretty sure the people in R & D at Oreck must have had me in mind when they came up with the Grab-It and Steam-It. I don't know how they knew...they just did. Or....maybe I'm not the only one who feels this way about sweeping/mopping. hmmmm....

So...I have to be completely upfront about this...given my serious aversion to sweeping/mopping...pretty much ANYTHING someone comes up with to replace it is going to be A-OK in my book! But, I promise I will TRY and give this product an honest and forthcoming review.

So here we go...my observations...in no particular order.....

#1 SUPER easy to put together right out of the box. Seriously easy. I considered asking the hubster for help but soon realized how ridiculous that would be since it literally involved snapping the handle on...snapping the steamer pad thingie onto the bottom....filling the water thingie with water...and plugging it in/turning it on!

#2 At first I was too nervous to actually try the "grabbing" and the "steaming" at the same time...so I just ran it around the kitchen as a turbo broom. It has excellent sucking abilities...but if you're looking for a something that will grab stuff right up against the wall or in corners...this isn't that something. However, anything in it's unencumbered path was immediately sucked up into the little removable receptacle. Including licorice snaps and blood glucose strips. (How did THOSE get on the floor???)

#3 I tentatively approached the steaming part...because I have actually never owned a steamer. I've always wanted one...just never found the right one at the right price before. I started out on LOW...but soon was craving MORE and cranked that baby up to HIGH. Perfect...lots of steam...got the floor plenty wet...but not too wet. I even used it on the section of our kitchen floor that is directly under our "milk shake making station" (I have a child who thinks milk shakes are part of the 4 food groups...well I guess technically they are) that had dried on globs of ice cream spilled on it. That stuff does NOT come up easily. I didn't count but I'd guesstimate about 10 short strokes with the thing on HIGH steam and the globs were gone.

Laundry/mudroom "before"

#4 I saved the nastiest area for last...the laundry/mudroom. I didn't prepare the room in any way, except to get EVERYTHING up off the floor. I'm particularly proud of all that dirt where the rug was. :-/ Before I tackled this area though, I changed out the microfiber cloth for a clean one (it comes with two) because I knew it was going to need it! And I was right. The thing was FILTHY when I was done (see picture above)....BUT...the floor in my admittedly small laundry/mudroom was completely clean. As a matter of fact...the floor looked so nice when I was done it made my BASEBOARDS look extra dirty...which led to more cleaning....but hey...it was a small price to pay.

Laundry/mudroom "after"

Overall impression...WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE??? With the exception of the inability to suck up dirt in corners and being a bit of an upper arm workout (not that I couldn't USE more of that!) this floor cleaning tool was everything I could have hoped for. Simple to operate...nicely compact...effective. Some might suggest my standards aren't high enough here....but like I said at the beginning of this...anything that addresses one of my LEAST FAVORITE household chores (and my guess is I'm not alone in this) is going to be given more than it's fair shake by me. :-)

Wow........I have written the blog equivalent of a novel tonight. I guess I was feeling extra chatty for some reason. My apologies to those who came here looking for the GIVEAWAY and had to slog through all this first. :-)

Now, on to the good stuff! Would you like to own one of these beauties for your very own self?
Of course you would!


Here's how to enter (there are a few specific REQUIREMENTS, so pay attention and get ready to take notes! I'm kidding...it's not that hard):

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Oreck.com and tell me one thing in the comments that you learned about the 

Oreck Grab-it & Steam-it

Want to increase your chances to win?? You can do any and ALL of the following:

(Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry)

EXTRA ENTRIES:

- Follow One Good Thing By Jillee on Twitter – 1 ENTRY
- Tweet about the giveaway and mention @JillsGoodThings and @oreck – 1 ENTRY 
- Become a Fan of One Good Thing By Jillee on Facebook – 1 ENTRY
- Follow me through Google Connect (on the left-hand side of this page) – 1 ENTRY

RULES:
- Contest will close at 11:59 p.m. MST on Sunday, January 29th, 2012! The winner will be drawn at random on Monday, January 30th.
- Contest open to U.S. residents only.
I received a Steam-It from Oreck to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine. Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! :-)

Doing away with traditional sweeping and mopping FOR GOOD is today's.....

CONTEST IS CLOSED.