Vapor Steam Cleaners have become a preferred cleaning tool for many people with allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivities. By comparing steam cleaning with the traditional methods of cleaning (chemical cleaners) while keeping in mind the reason WHY you clean, it becomes a little easier to understand why cleaning with steam is the simpler, healthier, and in the long run, the more cost effective choice.

1. Chemical-Free Cleaning

Since water and heat are the only elements required for steam cleaning, sanitizing your home has never been more convenient and environmentally friendly. After all, does it make sense to prepare food on your countertop that you’ve cleaned with chemicals? Steam cleaners help to eliminate chemical residue in your home, making it a safer place, especially for children and pets who practically live on the floor. In addition, steam cleaners like Ladybug Steam Cleaners also help the environment by reducing the number of chemicals that get washed down the drain and recycled back into our water supply.

2. A Whole New Level of Clean

While you’ll still need to put in effort when cleaning, the results from steam cleaning with Handheld Steam Cleaners or Steam Mops far surpass conventional methods with harmful chemicals and solvents. Because steam sanitizes and deodorizes with just heat and moisture, debris is removed thoroughly, quickly, and easily without the need for chemicals. There are attachments for cleaning every area inside your home, from bathrooms to basements, for large surface areas like tile floors and countertops, carpeting, upholstery, and even barbecue grills. 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 a floor polisher, glass sparkler, oven cleaner, or tile blaster. You can even get rid of the bald guy in the white t-shirt (for those who didn’t get that reference—Mr. Clean). And you can forget about those sweaty rubber gloves that protect your hands from solvents. Owning a steam cleaner like a Vapamore or Reliable means you have one exceptional cleaning and sanitizing tool to tackle various cleaning needs around your home. So what will you do with all the extra money and extra space?

4. Hunt Down & Eliminate the Trickiest, Nastiest Culprits

Bacteria, viruses, and mold may not be detectable. Still, they are potentially some of the most hazardous pathogens in your home. They can even result in irritations, allergies, and infections. When you use a steam cleaner, such as a Canister Steam Cleaner or Steam Mop, tiny hot vapor molecules penetrate the surfaces you’re cleaning, and expand and force out all dirt, debris, and bacteria. Additionally, because vapor molecules are so hot, they are able to extract pathogens like E. Coli and Salmonella from surfaces and kill them. Good-bye infectious enemies!

5. Kill & Control Allergens like Dust Mites

All of a sudden, the sun pours in, and there are little “things” floating in the stream of light. Many of these little airborne “things” are prolific allergy triggers inside your home. They can even be the waste matter of dust mites, our own dead skin cells, or various pollen spores. Dust mites are second only to pollen in the top causes of allergic reactions. The benefits of steam cleaning with Handheld Steam Cleaners, Steam Mops, and Canister Steam Cleaners, are regularly removing these microscopic, sneeze-inducing pests for good. Some allergic reactions translate into asthma (which is on the rise among children). However, 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 healthier. Eliminating these allergens from your mattresses, pillows, and upholstered furniture can go a long way!

6. Kids & Toys

Handheld Steam Cleaners can help transform a germ-ridden, odorous nursery into a sparkling clean, chemical-free baby sanctuary. Toys, especially those that children share while playing, are notorious germ traps. They are more than efficient at attracting a host of bodily fluids. A steam cleaner will kill any guests that may be lingering after a play date filled with sneezes and runny noses.

7. A Pet Lover’s New Best Friend

Just because you have a pet doesn’t mean your house has to smell like one. A Steam Mop or Canister Steam Cleaner will help eliminate stinky odors from your dog. They can even sanitize surfaces like birdcages and aquariums and spruce up the litter box area, so you don’t need to hold your breath as you walk past. The high-temperature heat kills fleas, their eggs, and their larva. Moreover, steam cleaners safely eradicate these tenacious pests without the use of harsh, toxic 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 carpets, mattresses, upholstery, quilts, pillows, and stuffed animals. In these soft, plush environments, dust mites feed on the flakes of dead skin that humans and animals shed over time. These critters then leave behind their waste, a major allergen and asthma trigger for many people. 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. Many people are in bed for an average of eight hours each day. This means you’re lying side by side with an enormous amount of dust mite debris that can cause allergic reactions and make you feel like you haven’t been in bed for eight hours.

Steam cleaners like the Reliable Pronto 200CS can help destroy these allergy-causing pests! In the same way that steam kills fleas, steam will obliterate dust mite colonies in your mattresses and carpets. Regular home steam cleaning followed by vacuuming with a HEPA 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 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 rule with little ones is to avoid applying anything on a baby’s skin that the little one shouldn’t ingest. Now, take that concept and think about how your body comes into contact with chemicals that you use on surfaces throughout 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’ll no longer need them. No creams, no powders, no floor cleaners.

Using steam is healthy for our planet, too. The chemicals that are found 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 the cleaning products of an average household contribute to 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 steam cleaner will restore dirty tile and grout, get rid of baked-on grease in ovens or on barbecue 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 the 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. An added bonus is the high temperature of the 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! Arbor Trail Cleaning Co offers comprehensive home cleaning services tailored to suit your needs and schedule.

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

Steam cleaners are so user-friendly that once you understand the basics, it’s as easy as using a vacuum cleaner. Here’s how steam cleaners work: you pour tap water into the stainless steel boiler tank or cold water reservoir. With the turn of a dial, the water in the boiler is pressurized and heated for six to twelve minutes (depending on the model) until it reaches a temperatures over 200°F and the right pressure to create pure, “dry” steam. During this brief start-up time, you can connect the most efficient combination of attachments to the main hose for your cleaning jobs at hand. Just like a vacuum!

With all models, there is a wide variety of attachments and brushes to choose from. We have an Accessory Guide to help you easily find the perfect combination of attachments for your specific cleaning needs. In time, most steam cleaners require you to descale them since the minerals that are found in water can build up inside of the steam cleaner’s boiler system. Descaling your steam cleaner is easy—simply run a mixture of water and vinegar through the system then flush it a second time with clean water only. The process is similar to how you would clean your coffee pot if you have hard water. Beyond this, there is little required maintenance.

How versatile is a premium steam cleaner?

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

• tile floors
• sealed hardwood floors
• laminate flooring
• linoleum
• grout
• ovens
• stove tops
• windows
• mirrors
• pet areas
• carpets
• work-out rooms
• barbecue 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
• comforters

How long will my steam cleaner last?

Constructed with only the best materials, most quality steam cleaners are designed to last for many years, they are not a disposable cleaning tool! Some units have aluminum water tanks that tend to oxidize, compromising the integrity of the tank. So try to look for models with stainless steel tanks that will not pit or weaken. Steam cleaner warranties range from just a year or two to up 8 years for some models.

Learn more by reading our Steam Cleaning Buying Guide, find the answers to your questions on the Steam Cleaner FAQ page, or Shop Home Steam Cleaners.