Karcher FC 7

Like others have said on here - unfortunately the battery does not last. Bought our FC7 in March 2022. Have been using it weekly until about 6 weeks ago when, for various reasons, we had to resort to an old fashioned mop for a while. Tried plugging it back in to charge yesterday as we need to use it again - nothing happens. Borrowed a… Read more

neighbour's charger to check in case it was the charger that's faulty, but nope. The battery is stuffed. For $799 I would have expected it to last a LOT longer.

Unbelievable for a Karcher product to fail such as the FC7 – My wife and I purchased the FC7 in 09/2021 as we were moving to a home with tiled floors. Please note, we have 2 Karcher pressure cleaners (one heavy duty for years and a lighter unit 4 years old both of excellent quality), the glass window cleaner (good) and we also have the wet/dry outdoor vacuum cleaner (terrific unit) all our excellent… Read more

products. One pressure cleaner we have had for 25 years. One Sunday in August 2023 my wife wanted to use the FC7, nothing - it was dead. Cannot believe it! Luckily it was still under warranty, and it appears the battery has failed. Now for 30 years I have used the same type of batteries in Notebook computers. I have NEVER experienced a fail with any computer battery ever. I am told Karcher are clearly aware of this FC7 battery problem, I was also told it (the battery) would cost $500 to replace - if we had been out of warranty. So the battery price appears to in the order of 60% plus of the cost of the FC7!!! On investigation today 21/08/2023, it is clearly obvious this battery problem is an ongoing problem! For a product created in Germany and also with years of using Karcher equipment, I find it impossible that Karcher have not rectified this problem ages ago, because all and sundry are complaining about this FC7 battery problem. We use it once a month, charge it after use take it off charge, then recharge before using. Remember I have the same form of battery type in all my computers - no recharge problems ever note! In view of the number of other persons having this same problem, I sincerely fell we should be given a complete replacement unit, especially when I have used Karcher gear for well on over 30 years and have NEVER experienced any problems! Sincerely Robert and Robyn Hollywell Gold Coast Queensland..

Needs a Few Improvements – I have had this for just over a year and although it's great, it could be better. In fact, Dyson has just brought out the WashG1 which seems to be a direct copy of this machine but appears to correct things that Karcher have either overlooked or just didn't think were necessary. I only use the Karcher when doing the whole house (roughly every 3… Read more ·  1

weeks), it's too much maintenance to use more regularly than that. I still use the stick mop for daily clean-ups in the kitchen and in the bathrooms.

I bought the Karcher because it claimed to have a 45 minute battery life, although it has never lasted that long, not even on the lowest settings. I literally do half my house, clean the the machine, put it on charge (a full charge takes 4 hours) then the next day I clean the rest of my house and do the cleanup of the machine again. I never leave the machine on charge, I charge it after use and then unplug it ready for the next time. Howeever, I still only get roughly 30 minutes out of a charge.

The water tank is fairly small and everytime I have to refill it and place it back on the machine, I get a warning 'fresh water tank empty'. Apparently this can be soft water (Melbourne water surely can't be that soft), it can also be a dirty sensor (which I clean routinely) but I just have to turn the machine off and on a few times, remove and replace the bottle and eventually the warning goes away, until I really have to fill it up again and then the process starts all over.

Cleaning up is tedius, not only do you empty the container of dirty liquid, you have to clean the bottom of the machine where all the hairs and debris get trapped (it's gross but does pick up a lot of stuff which is good). That's one of the reasons why I don't do a quick mop, because if you let the rollers sit damp along with the trapped hairs and whatever else, it would get musty, smelly and disgusting.

Having mentioned the negatives, there are positives too. It glides across the floor, gets into tight spaces and gets right to the edge, there's no need to vaccuum first (huge plus), it is comfortable to hold and when using the Karcher cleaning fluid, timber floors dry quickly.

My experience with the Karcher has been mixed. I don't like the machine clean up process, the dirty water tank is too small and can be spilled if moving/lifting the machine from one room to another. The clean water bottle is also a bit too small and the battery life isn't what they claim. The fresh water bottle sensor also drives me nuts - but I do enjoy the mopping process more than using a mop and bucket.

Brilliant, when it works – Unlike steam cleaners, it's safe to use on floating floors. Leaves no more wetness than a Swiffer does. Effortless cleaning, although the dirty water tank could be a little bigger. Unfortunately, after 2 months it had the same dreaded complete death that others complained about. No lights, no charge, nothing. Confirmed powerpack was still… Read more

supplying 30v as required, but the machine is dead. I guess you can't leave it plugged in and charging for more than a week at a time. I've returned it for a refund. If a v2 is released that fixes this problem, I'd buy it, but not this revision.

Twice bitten... never again – We bought our first Karcher FC7 about 18 months ago. We have a large tiled area through our living area and do a lot of cooking and entertaining, so thought this would be a worthwhile investment. It works pretty well on our matte finish ceramic tile, though it did leave some minor streaking. Definitely more efficient and hygienic than a mop… Read more

and bucket! I found the cleaning and refilling very awkward, but my husband, who does the floors most of the time, thought it was okay.

In April we went to use it and it was completely dead. Nada. Nothing. Tested the power pack and it was fine. Returned to Harvey Norman and they facilitated an exchange through the Karcher rep. We were surprised by the failure but happy with the outcome.

Two days ago we went to use it for the second time since it was replaced (we had been away.. don't judge our housework ) and exactly the same thing! Dead! Like Groundhog Day, we returned to Harvey Norman.. this time we were only interested in a full refund, and we got it, again after authorisation from Karcher. Reading other reviews it's apparent that there is a known fault - maybe the battery pack? - with this model.

Unless you love high risk situations I'd give this model a miss. When we bought our first there were very few alternatives on the market but that situation has really changed. We have replaced with a Tineco and it seems way more ergonomic and the self cleaning of the rollers is much better. Still love our other Karcher products, but this one will do their reputation no favours.

Two repairs in just over 12 months – After just 10 months the detergent tank wasn’t feeding water to the mob, then the springs went on one of the dirt filters, 5 months later the springs have gone again. Took it back to Harvey Norman, rather than being apologetic they just had a massively bad attitude, and now I have to wait again for it be be fixed. Don’t waste your money. Show details

Great idea but poor design – Loved this machine but after only a few months wont charge and is dead. Looked after it as per instructions. Very disappointed to say the least given the cost. New machine out of box wouldnt charge ! Back again for another replacement machine. The 3rd replacement machine just stopped working randomly yesterday. Works today but not sure for how long. Very frustrating machine that has lots of faults. Show details

The battery died twice now. Inherent problems with this product – When it works its a great product... nut. We've had the unit fail 2 times now in the space of a year. The battery just dies and it won't start. We returned it back to Harvey Norman and they advised they've had a large number of these fail with the same issue. Karcher needs to fix the design fault with the product. Show details

Karcher FC7 - I'm Disappointed. Replacement Failed After 13 Months – What a shame; the Karcher FC7 has so much potential but fails in every way. A replacement was provided under warranty (which took a long time), but the replacement has now failed. My disappointment is extreme. Mine still looks like new and has always been rinsed after use. I would not recommend or purchase a Karcher FC7 again. Show details

terrible customer service on warranty repair – Karcher FC7 - worked perfectly to start with - great job with wood floors. Died just after 12 months. I've been waiting over 5 weeks for warranty repair and have been told at least another 2 weeks. This isn't satisfactory on a $800 machine, and they don't give a replacement machine while you are waiting, if they have such slow repair work - they should provide another machine to use. I would look at an alternative machine. Show details

DEAD after just three uses in 4 months – Seemed to do a reasonable job on my tiled areas. Nevertheless, be aware that it doesn't manage to get in and clean the grout between tiles. I was happy enough with it's performance, although found the cleanup of the machine afterwards a little more laborious than I'd anticipated. However, when I went to use it just recently, for only the forth… Read more

time, it was completely DEAD! I thought that it may not have charged, so tried it in various power outlets around the house. Nothing! I checked the charger was putting out the required 30V (it tested 31.2V), so I reported it to Harvey Norman. As the machine is some months old, they suggested I contact the local Karcher service agent. I called the agent a number of times, during normal business hours; no answer. I then took the machine to the agent, to find the office and workshop locked up at 13:00 on a Friday afternoon. NOT AT ALL HAPPY. Re-contacted Harvey Norman who said to take it back to them. I guess that's my only option, followed by what I suspect will be a LONG wait. I'd prefer my money back and be rid of this device from my life.

KARCHER FC7 Broken – My karcher fc7 stopped working after only 5 months of use, the wheels stopped spinning. I took it back to Harvey Norman and have been waiting over 3 weeks and still they can't tell me when I will get it back. The machine was only 5 months old when wheels stopped spinning. Not at all happy. I would look at alternative machines such as Bissell or… Read more

Tineco brand. The fc7 was really good when it worked, but unfortunately after reading many other reviews with similar problems to mine, it seems the quality of the internal parts are just not up to the task.