Why clean with steam?

Steam is extremely powerful when used to clean. Heating up to 120°C, the ‘dry steam’ produced by steam cleaners cuts through grease and grime, whilst also killing dust mites and bacteria.

Allergens can lurk in the hardest to reach areas in your home, and the build-up of dust mites, pollen, pet dander and other irritants can often leave you feeling unwell. Whilst regular vacuuming can help to reduce allergen levels, a deeper clean can be more easily achieved with a steam cleaner.

Steam is an excellent alternative to using chemicals and cleaning products, making it both a hygienic, allergy-friendly and eco-friendly way of cleansing your home. What’s more, your steam cleaner can be used to clean a multitude of surfaces, from carpets and upholstery, to tiles, windows, hard surface floors and more.

Steam cleaning can also reduce your cleaning schedule drastically. The amount of effort required or “scrubbing power” is lessened with the powerful steam, and as steam is ‘dry’ there’s no drying time required for floors and surfaces.

Key points to look out for?

Steam cleaners come in a range of shapes and sizes, depending on the main purpose of your steamer there are four main points to consider:

• Heat up Time – This is the length of time needed to convert the water in the water tank into steam, and can range from 20 seconds to over a minute.

• Steam Time – This is the amount of steaming time you will have from one full tank of water. Steam time can last from 10 minutes to up to an hour, depending on the capacity of the water tank.

• Water Tank Capacity – Larger water tanks will take longer to heat up, but will offer a longer steam time for extensive cleaning. If you’d rather use your machine little and often a smaller tank with a quicker heat up time might be better.

• Power – Most steam cleaners range from a 900-1500 watt range. The higher the wattage, the greater the cleaning power. For smaller jobs, a 900 watt machine may suffice, but to remove tougher grease stains, or caked on dirt, a more heavy duty power will be needed.

What are the different types of steam cleaners?

Much like vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners are available in cylinder, upright or handheld styles. Some steam cleaners also offer a vacuuming function, our Polti Vaporetto Lecoaspira range use a water-based filter capturing the smallest of allergens.

Upright steam cleaners – Often referred to as steam mops, these upright steamers have a small water tank attached to the handle, heat up quickly and are lightweight to use. The smaller water tank means that they are ideal for quick and regular cleaning of smaller areas.

Cylinder steam cleaners – These tend to have a larger water tank, and whilst this means a longer heat up time, you will get the benefit of more steam time allowing for longer, more extensive cleaning of larger areas.

Handheld steam cleaners – With very small water tanks, handheld steam cleaners are perfect for quick use. They are very easy to use, compact to store, and ideal for use on a small scale.

Which surfaces can a steam cleaner be used on?

Steam cleaners can be used on:

What accessories do I need?

Most steam cleaners will come with all you need for general cleaning jobs. But if you have specific needs more attachments are available separately such as:

• Cleaning Cotton Cloths and Socks – designed to collect dirt dislodged by steam.

• Squeegee – for cleaning windows or other glass surfaces.

• Shaped brushes – to access the most inaccessible areas of your home, corners etc.