Steam Cleaning 101: Sanitize Your Home Safely
This is a non-toxic and powerful method to sanitize and clean your space. These can rejuvenate your home and give it a thorough cleaning with the overpowering smell of harmful chemicals. Using steam mops can also keep your surfaces, tiles, and floors sparkling clean by getting rid of dust, grime, and germs utilizing hot air.
The best thing about these appliances is that their power and performance are not sacrificed for trading heat for toxic cleaning solutions. Using steam properly can instantly eradicate 99.9% of bacteria and germs in your house. It’s a healthy, safe, all-natural, and eco-friendly method to clean your entire space. Learn more about its effectiveness and limits to discover why you should get one today.
How Does A Steam Cleaner Work?
Steam mops are upright machines that have a built-in water tank that produces a hot and dry stream of steam that penetrates the head of the cleaner to deep-clean your floors and surfaces. The extreme heat can kill dust mites, germs, bacteria, mold, and so much more, using plain water.
There are some models today with detachable tanks that you can transform as a portable handheld cleaner. You can attach accessories to it such as upholstery tools, scrubbing brushes, and squeegees for cleaning your sofa, bathroom tiles, and window
Top Benefits Of Steam Cleaning
It is the preferred technique by numerous households and medical establishments for various reasons. Compared to traditional cleaning techniques, it has remarkable benefits for your family and even pets.
- Save On Your Budget. If you’re like most homeowners, you probably have several cleaning products stashed in your cabinets. You probably have separate sprays for your floors, windows, bathrooms, and mirrors. A steam mop is a good substitute for the majority of these products. So aside from saving on your budget, you’ll also have some free space in your cupboards.
- Environment-Friendly and Safer Option. Such cleaning mostly requires water, so you’ll use far lesser dangerous chemicals. The smell of detergents, bleach, and other harsh chemicals can cause nauseousness and light-headedness. Using only heat and water for cleaning cuts down on chemical use, and it’s far safer for your family and the environment. You do have an option to add a bit of detergent to the water for that clean, fresh smell though. Just make sure it’s suitable for your unit and eco-friendly.
- Helps Relieve Asthma and Allergies. Your sofa, beds, and the soft toys of your children can be a breeding ground of dust mites, which causes asthma and allergies in some individuals. You may not see them with your naked eye, but potentially contagious pathogens like molds, bacterias, viruses, and mildews, are everywhere. Steam cleaners use high temperatures that can kill mold and bacteria without additional chemicals. You can keep your space hygienic by doing this
- Fast-Drying Floors. The dry steam of steam mops will not leave your floors and surfaces as wet as with traditional mops. So, you’ll no longer see yourself carefully tip-toeing around those wet spots every time you clean.
- Less Work, More Shine. You can achieve sparkling clean worktops and floors without the need to scrub feeling like you’ve had an hour of gym workout afterward. A steam cleaner can provide you far better results since it will not leave your surfaces with cloudy residues. You’ll have finish free of streaks, especially on glasses and mirrors.
- Say Goodbye to Pet Odors. If your home is starting to smell like a zoo because of your pets, steam cleaning can aid in eliminating this unwanted pet odor easily. Plus, your pet will be healthier and happier since it can also kill fleas, including their eggs and larvae.
Things To Consider When Shopping For Steam Mops
Not all of these are created equally, so here are some things you need to consider when on the market on the market for one:
- Heat-Up Time. There are models that can warm up in less than a minute, so there’s no need to turn the unit on and wait a long time for it to reach a certain temperature before you can use it.
- Make sure you the steam mop have all the attachments required to tackle the cleaning jobs throughout your house.
- Tank Size. Size does matter. Look for a unit with a bigger tank for longer cleaning time and to avoid refilling and reheating every time water runs out. There are machines with a continuous fill feature that has a backup tank as well.
- You’d want to get a steam cleaner that can heat water to a minimum of 200 degrees, which is the ideal temperature for efficient sanitizing power. The steam will be drier as it gets hotter. This means that the possibility of water damaging certain types of surfaces will be reduced.
- Like with most home appliances, you should always get what pay for. An expensive unit should provide you with a solid warranty, the best customer service, and longer life of the product. However, a higher price tag does not always mean you’ll get the best performance. There are steam cleaners in the middle range that can perform just as well or even better than pricier ones.
If you’re looking for the best steam mops around, you can find out more on sites such as CleanupExpert.
Where Can I Use Steam Cleaners?
You will be surprised at how many household surfaces you can safely clean with these. Depending on the kind of unit and attachments you have, here’s a list of what you can clean with your steam mop:
- Hardwood floors
- Sealed tiles
- Sinks
- Grout
- Countertops
- Tubs
- Showers
- Carpets
- Upholstery
- Mattresses
- Ovens
- Grills
- Stovetops
- Glass, and more
As great as these cleaning tools are, they can melt plastic, warp your unsealed floors, and cause swelling on laminate floors. Aside from these surfaces, avoid steaming the following:
- Cold windows
- Anything covered in water-based paint
- Unglazed tiles
- Delicate surfaces and fabrics
- Products made of cardboards and papers
Before starting with your cleaning task, make sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions of your unit for the surfaces you need to skip.
Things To Remember Before Steam Cleaning
These cleaners are not perfect, so make sure to keep the following things in mind before going to work:
- You still need to wipe surfaces you’ve steam cleaned with a clean cloth. While it can loosen dirt, it doesn’t entirely remove them.
- It is really hot, and when it comes in contact with your skin, it can cause painful burns. Avoid this by wearing protective gloves and clothing.
- There are certain tasks that may be done a lot quicker by hand.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to operate the machine.
