Home Steam Cleaning

Steam Vapor cleaners, such as the Vax S7 Total Home Master, use hot water and vapor for scrubbing hard surfaces in the household. Steam cleaners not only clean hard surfaces but eradicate 99% of allergens, mildew, microbes and fungus. There aren’t many locations where steam cleaners can’t be used, for instance, they can be used in office blocks, care homes, large shops or peoples houses. If operated in the home, a steam cleaner is used to clean general locations such as the living room but can , in addition, be used in more detailed jobs such as the hob. There are a wide variation of surfaces that can be cleaned with a steam cleaner as long as the surface is unaffected by to heat.

There are a couple of variations of steam cleaner – the traditional and vapor steam cleaners. The traditional steam dirt freeing tool consists of a water tank, container, hose and accessories, and uses warm water to make the surface dirt free. Scrubbing hardfloor surfaces are one of the principal roles for a steam cleaning system. The hot water is spread on the dirty floor, and then the turning brushes clean the surface and gather the dirty water into a storage container. In general, nothing other than water and the many attachments is all that is required to perform these tasks but from time to time detergents can be added for further cleaning ability.

Vapor steam cleaning systems comprise a container with a electric heater, a pipe and a spout. First, the water is super-heated to produce vapor. The steam that is produced then escapes from the spigot and onto the surface that wants steaming. The hot vapor steam than cuts through the dirt and grime that needs washing. On more expensive models, the left over water is cleared by use of an included vacuum cleaner. There is only a minor amount of water in the steam – near 6 percent – so the surface is typically dry pretty quickly. Vapour steam systems can be used on most surfaces provided that that surface is resistant to heat. With no chemicals necessary, steam tools can be used by people with aversions to such things.

There are also steam cleaning equipment that are produced solely to steam clean carpeting. Instead of using vapor steam, they use warm water to clean the carpet. As the water is dispensed, the carpet cleaning attachments scrub the carpet and removes grease. Any outstanding water is then vacuumed back into the tool. The use of an dehumidifier while drying is good as it removes dampness from the room, and the carpet gets dried quickly. Once the carpet is dried, make sure that it is then vacuumed so it is cleaned completely.

All steam cleaners have a water tank on the unit but certain steam cleaning systems come equipped with a continuous water supply function. Having the boiler run dry at some stage in a clean can be frustrating so a constant water supply is the favorite option.

The choice of steam cleaning equipment existing to buy are both wide-ranging and varied. When thinking about buying, be mindful of the boiler size, the boil time, how much steam time is available and what add-ons come supplied. Even though easy to use, it is worth your time to read over the instructions before use.

The Three Types of Steam Cleaner

Steam cleaners are becoming ever more popular in the home and many manufacturers are attempting to persuade us to spend our hard earned cash by splashing them on our TV screens in the form of advertising.

However, one man’s steam cleaner is another man’s steam mop as the old Chinese proverb says. Yes, it’s no longer as simple as saying you’re going to buy a steam cleaner anymore as there are more than one version available on the market. Here, we’re going to try and differentiate between them and hopefully send you on your way towards the best steam cleaner.

The Standard Steam Cleaner

The standard steam cleaner consists of the usual components that you would expect – a water tank / boiler, a dispensing hose and a number of attachments that fix to the hose to help us perform the cleaning tasks around the home.

Most steam cleaners are general cleaning tools which means there is no one job that they specialise in and they should perform each task equally well, whether that’s cleaning hard floors, upholstery, windows or detail jobs like de-greasing the oven.

Because of this, they tend to be more expensive than the other two types of steam cleaner but you do get a bit more bang to the buck with them as they happen to be more powerful, hold a larger water store – so more steaming time when you use – and can affix a larger number of attachments and accessories.

The Steam Mop

Hot on the heels of the standard steam cleaner is the steam mop. As the name would suggest, their primary role is the cleaning of hard surfaces and they manage to perform this duty far better than the standard steam cleaner. Their clever mop head design allows the mop to glide across the floor while twisting and tilting to avoid obstacles.

Many steam mops today try and double up their usage by having a detachable unit which allows the mop to convert into a handheld steamer. By connecting various attachments to this handheld, they allow the steam mop to tackle the more detailed jobs that their smaller brothers and sister excel in.

However, due to power restraints, even the best steam mop doesn’t perform anywhere near as well (generally speaking) than both the standard steam cleaner or the handhelds models that are designed specifically for that role.

The Hand Held Steam Cleaner

The handheld steam cleaner is, as the name would suggest, a small device that can be held in one hand and is used to for small specific and detailed jobs around the home such as oven or hob cleaning, grout cleaning or cleaning grease and grime from worktops.

Usually very good at what they do, they are obviously limited in a wider range of tasks. Whereas they might be able to remove a spot stain from a carpet, they are totally inappropriate for general carpet steaming or floor mopping.

So which should type should I buy?

That is a question that maybe only you can answer. Obviously, if you’re going to be wanting to include floor surfaces in your steam cleaning device, the handheld variety is a non-starter. So in that case it becomes a toss-up between the steam mop and the standard cleaner.

The standard cleaners are usually more expensive than the steam mops, whereas the steam mop isn’t usually as good at the wider range of tasks despite being billed as 2 in 1 devices (ie, mop plus handheld). The steam mop has one advantage over the standard cleaner, however, and that is their ready to use time – ie, how quick the water boils and allows the mop to be used. This time is usually far quicker than a standard cleaner means it can be used for quick and easy cleaning tasks around the home.

So there you have it – the three types of steam cleaner that are available on the market. Hopefully you’ll have found something of help in this small introductory article.