Steam Cleaner Buyers Guide
Steam Cleaner Overview
Steam cleaners have become very popular for multiple cleaning applications over the past several years. Steam cleaners can disinfect most surfaces such as floors, countertops, tile, and kitchens more effectively and naturally than any other method, especially chemical cleaners. It can kill dust mites and bed bugs, sanitize hard surfaces, and even rid upholstery and drapes of unpleasant odors.
Do I Need a Steam Cleaner?
This is one of those appliances that we think everyone could benefit from using. It is just a question of deciding which kind of steam cleaner matches your needs, size of your home, and probable usage patterns.
How does a Steam Cleaner Work?
The core principle of how a steam cleaner works is quite simple. Water is heated up in a boiler. Then the water passes through a hose to the tip, where it comes out as hot vapor steam to be used with a floor tool, handheld steamer, or many other multiple attachments depending on the chore.
Selecting a Steam Cleaner
- Decide what kind of steam cleaner you want: a floor steam mop, a handheld spot steamer, a small area task appliance, or a multipurpose machine that will do all cleaning tasks better and faster.
- We recommend having several steam cleaners in the home. A steam mop and handhelds are great for quick clean up of messes and are lighter, easier to use. The multipurpose steamers are extraordinarily effective with higher temperature steam and pressure for better cleaning power and a higher sanitization level.
How to Use a Steam Cleaner
- When the ready light shows green, the tank has heated to the water to begin steaming.
- Always let the machine cool down after using it and then empty out excess water. Your steam cleaner will last longer that way.
- Whatever you are trying to clean, do not rub or move quickly. Steam cleaners are best used if they are moved slowly over the area to fully sanitize and disinfect.
- Selecting the right accessory tool for the job makes a great deal of difference to the outcome. The better steam cleaners have excellent accessory tools for multiple cleaning applications such as cleaning windows, grills, stovetops, upholstery, and more.
- Be sure to review your owner’s manual. Using a nontoxic cleaner spray before you steam a spot on carpets or upholstery will improve results exponentially.
Where to Use a Steam Cleaner
The places and tasks that a steam cleaner can tackle and clean include: tile floors; disinfecting kitchen and bathroom surfaces; spots and stains on carpets and upholstery; grout stains; killing dust mites from bedding and mattresses; cleaning windows; removing odors from kitchen sinks and trash cans; BBQ grills; weeds between patio stones and the stones themselves when covered in green algae; killing outside ants nests; wall paper removal; car upholstery and rim wheels; shining kitchen appliances; cleaning kitchen ovens of baked on crud; cleaning the bathroom shower; washing windows; spraying into the air causing water vapor to attach to airborne particles where they then become heavier and drop to the floor to be vacuumed; and restoration of a clean smell throughout your home.
Steam Cleaner Features
The air purifier features we think are the most important are the following:
- The temperature of the steam at the tip. Over 275 degrees Fahrenheit is best.
- A steel boiler is best, and we prefer continuous fill boilers, which means you can continue adding water and finish your cleaning without taking rest breaks to let the machine cool down. This option is only on multi- purpose steamers.
- A long or lifetime warranty on the entire machine or the boiler is important.
- A selection of good quality tools, preferably commercial grade, which make all the difference in how effective you end up being in accomplishing your task.
- Has the steam cleaner been certified as having true disinfection properties with only using steam and no chemicals?
- Be aware that the quality of the steam cleaner lies on the inside and the parts used, which contributes to the long-term safety of the machine.
- Always have a safety cap to prevent opening the machine too soon.
- A variable pressure indicator and adjustment capabilities. Strangely enough, steam cleaners operate best at medium pressure. Sometimes your machine needs a rest break to reach optimal pressure again.
See our steam cleaners here!