Kärcher - FC 5 Electric Hard Floor Cleaner – Perfect for Laminate, Wood, Tile, LVT, Vinyl, & Stone Flooring

Had an epoxy garage floor installed a year ago. I had been cleaning it with a foam backed scrub brush with a garden hose and then a rubber squeegee. Labor intensive and very time consuming. I googled garage floor scrubbers and came up with several commercial grade wheeled scrubbers which cost wise were beyond common sense for a residential garage floor. I then tried floor scrubbers and went through the list. I wanted one that was powered by a corded wire and actually scrubbed the floor as well as pick up the residual water left behind. Zeroing in the Karcher FC 5 it appeared to fit most the features I thought I wanted. Ordered it on the 47% discount sale, got it in two days. Assembly was straight forward and spelled out in the owner's manual. Filled the small fresh water tank, added a cap full of the cleaning agent which was included and installed it. Checked the pickup tank and realized it would hold the equivalent of three or four or more the fresh water cleaning agent tank fulls. While at the sink filling the cleaning agent tank I also soaked the two brushes before installing them. I was dubious about how long the fresh cleaning agent tank would last and I didn't want the cleaning agent to be partially used just to wet the cleaning brushes.Instructions say to hold it at 60 degrees from horizontal for best use. I did this plus lower and it worked fine in all positions. I noticed that it would wobble slightly as the rollers spun but not objectionable.I swept the floor with a soft bristle floor broom before scrubbing and got up about a 1/4 cup of debris and dust. This was over 600 sq. ft. of garage floor. It took two fresh water tank fulls to then scrub this area and only filled the waste water tank about half full. Keeping in mind that I was also leaving a slightly damp floor after scrubbing. It was hard to tell where I had gone over so I tried to overlap about half on each pass.I dumped the pickup dirty tank and was surprised as to how much dirt and fine sand it had picked up. I also removed the brushes, washed them and set them aside to dry. I took the unit to the sink held it backwards and sprayed off the housing in which the rollers are attached. It was definitely dirty and needed cleaning. I dried everything externally and left it in the garage in its supplied cradle to dry. I also emptied out the little bit of cleaning solutions remaining in the fresh water tank.I'm 79 years old and not in great physical shape. The unit got a little heavy but not so much as to be objectionable. I thought of ways it could be improved but adding wheels would make it heavier and would the full weight then be applied to the floor while scrubbing.The final test was a half hour after I was finished, I put on fresh white socks and shuffled across the garage floor for five minutes. They did not come out white glove clean but I was impressed. Based on the price, energy needed to use and the cleaning results, I would definitely buy this same unit again.

This thing is very German. It's built like a tank, well designed and smartly executed. So far I'm very impressed. It certainly beats the stink out of mopping, rinsing, repeat, drying... buckets of hot water, buckets of clean water... etc.It is remarkably efficient with water use, I can do most of our downstairs (small house) with one tank. I suspect I should probably go a little slower and use a bit more, as I missed spots in a few places.Tip: use less detergent than you think. I followed the pictogram they provide, and it showed filling the 'clean' water tank with water - then adding detergent using the cap of the detergent bottle. I added a capful. That left behind some visible residue after it dried. I went and read in detail on Kärcher's website, and they say (in words) "1/4 to 1/2 of a capful of detergent". As far as I can tell, any non-foaming detergent will also work fine if you are judicious with it (Mr. Clean, Murphy's, etc...) I will probably experiment. Might even try TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) as it is VERY low residue when it dries - being a salt.Finally - for those who think it is too heavy, too complicated, and too much trouble: Fine. You should probably stick to your swiffer and have dirty floors. Nothing wrong with that, if it works for you. This thing is so much more efficient (of my time, effort, water, etc...) that I can't imagine complaining about it. It was quick to set up, quick to use, and quick to clean and put away. The tray/stand is a great idea - for both storage and priming/cleaning. I just can't fault the design.

This was nice while it lasted, but that wasn't long. After a few months use it died. I contacted Karcher and they sent me a new FC-7 instead. That also worked well and then the dirty water tank broke. I called and placed an order in December of 2023, was told it would be 10 days. Nothing showed up and I called and was told the part was on backorder. I received nothing in January or February. Finally in mid-March I asked the customer service rep what the holdup was? Don't they make these models or parts anymore? She tracked one down and I finally got it 2 days ago. The Karcher has been on the charger in my closet since I last used it in December. I got it all set up only to find out it is completely dead and cannot be charged. Now I am 0 for 2 on Karchers. Looks like a good product but I would argue it isn't a quality product or built to last. No more for me.

I had worn out a Hoover Floor Mate prior to this Karcher purchase. I found this Karcher to be quieter, less heavy, more maneuverable, with better coverage to the floor edge than the Hoover. It also uses less water and cleaning formula. I am thrilled that the microfiber rollers can be tossed in the washing machine. Our house has only hard surface flooring (no carpeting), and I feel I spend less time on the monthly deep cleaning. The only thing that I cannot say is an improvement over the old Floor Mate is that the Karcher does not deep clean tile grout. I guess spinning brushes beats out microfiber for grout. Overall happy with purchase.