Steam Cleaning 101: Top Seven Reasons for Steam Cleaning

The Vapor Steam Cleaner has become the preferred cleaning tool for many people with allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivities. Here's why...

1. Chemical-Free Cleaning Since the only ingredient needed to use a steam cleaner is water, cleaning your home has never been more environmentally friendly. After all, does it really make sense to make a sandwich on a countertop that's been sprayed with poison? Not only do you eliminate chemical residues in your home, making it a safer place (especially for children and pets who practically live on the floor), but you also help the environment by reducing the amount of chemicals that get washed down the drain and into our water supply. 2. A Whole New Level of Clean While you'll still need to put in the effort, the results after using a steam cleaner surpass the conventional method of solvent and sponge. Since steam deodorizes and sanitizes with heat and moisture, debris is removed thoroughly and quickly, leaving a chemical-free sparkle and making your job easier. From bathrooms to basements, large surface areas like tile floor and counter-tops, carpeting, upholstery and even barbeque grills, there are attachments for every area of your house. You'll end up cleaning things you've avoided for ages.

3. Spend Less Money on Cleaning Supplies

You will never have to decide on lemon or pine scent again! You'll never need floor polisher, glass sparkler, over cleaner, tile blaster, or the bald guy in the white t-shirt hanging around again. You won't even need those sweaty rubber gloves to protect your hands from solvents. Owning a steam cleaner means owning one exceptional cleaning product for many of your cleaning needs. What will you do with all the extra money? What will you do with all that extra space?

4. Hunt Down & Eliminate the Trickiest, Nastiest Culprits

Bacteria, viruses, and mold may not be detectable, but they are potentially some of the most hazardous pathogens that can result in irritations, allergies, and infections. When a steam cleaner is used, the tiny hot vapor molecules penetrate the pores of a surface, and as they come in contact with the cool surface of the pores, they expand and force all dirt, debris, and bacteria to the surface. Vapor molecules are so hot that they are not only able to extract pathogens like E. Coli and Salmonella from surface pores, but also kill them. Good-bye infectious enemies.

5. Kill & Control Allergens like Dust Mites

The sun pours in, and there are little "things" floating in the stream of light. No, it isn't mood lighting; many of these airborne particles are some of the most prolific allergy triggers in the home - the waste matter of dust mites, second only to pollen in causing allergic reactions. Using a steam cleaner regularly will remove these microscopic, sneeze-inducing pests for good. Some allergic reactions translate into asthma (which is on the rise among children), but studies show that avoiding allergens in early childhood can prevent the onset of asthma. Using a steam cleaner is a great way to keep everyone in your home healthy.

6. Kids & Toys

Steam cleaners can transform a germ-ridden, odiferous nursery into a sparkling clean, chemical-free baby sanctuary. Toys, especially those that are shared with other children, are notorious germ traps that are more than efficient at attracting a host of bodily fluids. A steam cleaner will kill any lingering guests after a play date filled with sneezes and runny noses.

7. A Pet Lover's New Best Friend

Just because you have a pet, your house doesn't have to smell like one. A steam cleaner will eliminate eau de dog, sanitize birdcages and aquariums, and spruce up the litter box area so you needn't hold your breath as you walk past. The high-temperature heat kills fleas, their eggs, and their larva. Using a steam cleaner will eradicate these tenacious pests without the use of harsh chemicals.

Dust Mites: What You Don't See Does Hurt You

Dust mites, the irritating cousins of the tick and spider, feel quite at-home in your home, or more specifically, in your mattress, upholstery, rugs, carpets, quilts, pillows, and stuffed animals. in these soft, plush environments, dust mites feed on flakes of dead skin shed from humans and animals. These critters then leave behind their waste matter - a major allergen and asthma trigger. Here's some simple math for you: a single dust mite deposits up to 20 droppings a day, and the average bed is infested with millions of dust mites. You're in bed an average of eight hours per day, so you're side by side with an enormous amount of debris that can make you feel as though you haven't been in bed for eight hours.

So what does this have to do with steam cleaning? Well, in the same way that steam kills fleas, steam will obliterate dust mite colonies in your mattresses and carpets. Regular steam cleaning followed by vacuuming with a HEPA-filtered vacuum to pick up the allergenic debris will make a significant difference in your home's air quality and most importantly, your family's health.

Steam Cleaning 101 Questions

Why should I use a Reliable™ Steam cleaner instead of my usual cleaning products?

Let's equate the use of infant skin care products with the use of solvent cleaners around the home. The healthy maxim is to avoid applying anything on baby's skin that the little one shouldn't ingest. Now take that concept and think about how your body comes in contact with chemicals that are used on the surfaces around your home: furniture polish lingering on the dining room table, floor cleaner residue that attaches itself to bare feet, the ammonia used throughout the bathroom. So, would you rather absorb these nasty chemicals, or have contact with the only thing a steam cleaner needs to operate - pure, clean water?

If keeping your family chemical-free is not enough to convert you to the virtues of steam cleaning, think about how your shopping list will shrink. After your initial investment in a steam cleaner, there will no longer be a need to buy the dozen or more cleaning products that line the shelves in your laundry room or sit under your kitchen sink. You'll no longer need to stand transfixed in the cleaning aisle, wondering which "New & Improved" product will do the best job because you won't need them. No creams, no powders, no floor cleaners.

Using steam is healthy for our planet, too. Chemicals used in cleaning products, more often than not, get washed down the drain - like the big bucket of dirty water mixed with floor cleaner, or the blue stuff that swishes around your toilet. And where do they end up? They end up in a few different places - like in our water supply, threatening waterways and the wildlife that depend on these areas for sustenance; some are even hormone disruptors that don't biodegrade. Environmentalists estimate that an average household's cleaning products contribute about 8% of total non-vehicular emissions of organic compounds, which not only pollute the air, but also cause eye, nose, and lung irritation, as well as rashes, headaches, nausea, asthma, and, in some cases, cancer.

Your Reliable™ Steam cleaner will restore dirty tile and grout, get rid of baked-on grease in ovens or on barbeque grills, and reach grimy, out-of-the-way spots that most people dread to even consider.

How does pressurized steam work as an everyday cleaner?

When steam is forced onto a surface, the very small vapor molecules penetrate pores in the surface. The vapor molecules quickly and powerfully expand to force out all dirt, grease, detergents, bacteria, and basically any particles that don't naturally belong on the surface. The added bonus is the high temperature of vapor molecules, which kills bacteria and other pathogens like mold, fleas, flea eggs, and dust mites. The result is a surface that is sanitized, deodorized, and hypoallergenic. A thorough job of cleaning also means you won't have to work as hard the next time around!

Reliable™ Steam cleaners sound like complicated machines. Are they easy to use?

They're so user-friendly that once you understand the basics, it's as easy as using a vacuum cleaner. Here's how it works: You pour tap water into the stainless steel boiler tank. With the turn of a dial, the water in the boiler is pressurized and heated for seven to twelve minutes (depending on the model) until it reaches a temperature between 302 and 320 degree Fahrenheit. During this brief start-up time, you connect the most efficient combination of attachments from the 11-piece accessory kit to the main hose for the job at hand. Just like a vacuum! A large brush with a sole plate attachment runs smoothly over carpet, and a smaller brush can be used for upholstery and other textiles. There is also a high-pressure nozzle that can be used with or without the nylon and brass brushes for light to heavy "scrub and steam" jobs from enamel sinks to car wheel rims.

How versatile are Reliable™ Steam cleaners?

You can clean nearly everything in your home with a steam cleaner. (Do not use a steam cleaner on paper products!) You can steam clean the following without harsh chemicals:

tile floors sealed hardwood floors grout ovens stove-tops windows mirrors pet areas carpets work-out roo barbeque grills sinks bathtubs

shower floors fridges freezers toilet bowls children's toys stuffed animals mattresses blinds (non-fabric) car wheel rims upholstery radiators car interiors pillows

How long will my Reliable™ Steam cleaner last?

Constructed with only the best materials, Reliable™ Steam cleaners are designed to last for years. This is not a disposable cleaning tool! Other units have aluminum water tanks that tend to oxidize, comprimising the integrity of the tank - but Reliable™ Steam cleaners have stainless steel tanks that will not pit or weaken. Reliable™ guarantees the steam cleaner for one year and the tank for three years.

Originally published in the February 2007 issue of Allergy Consumer Report.