Floor Steamers – Are They Worth Looking Into?
The floors of our houses are the dirtiest of all surfaces in the house mainly because we bring all sorts of microorganisms from the outside into the inside through our peripatetic feet. Plus, there is the matter of pets bringing their own brand of creatures. But since we dislike the use chemicals in cleaning the house for health reasons, we turn to floor steamers for assistance and with greater satisfaction, to boot.
Simply put, a floor steamer utilizes the power of heat through steam to kill microorganisms like germs, bacteria, molds and dust mites that are lurking on the floor. As such, it eliminates the necessity for using chemical cleaners that can lead to pulmonary diseases when inhaled excessively, even lead to fatal poisoning when ingested. After all, only water is the necessary ingredient as cleaner in these steamers.
However, we must emphasize that not all floors are created equal to the heat and steam generated by this kind of household cleaners. If your floor is made from untreated wood or treated with paint, we suggest looking for other organic ways to clean sans floor steamers. For example, you can use the vacuum cleaner to kill the dust mites and eliminate the dirt while organic materials like baking soda can clean up the grime.
Also, after using the steamer, you may also have to wipe clean the floor with a clean, dry cloth or mop. In this way, the fine mist left behind can be quickly wiped off. Other models may have variable steam settings to control the amount of steam delivered to an area, thus, often eliminating the need to wipe off the fine mist as it will evaporate in a few minutes’ time.
You need not worry about lugging a large appliance when it comes to floor steamers. Even the larger steam cleaners are only the size of a canister vacuum with similar attachments. Naturally, the larger the steam cleaner, the longer the steam time provided, say, a little more than an hour for the large models. You will want to purchase the larger units when your floor space requires more than an hour of cleaning.
The attachments can be used to clean the tight spaces and corners of the floor where the harmful microorganisms congregate more. After all, you might have difficulty reaching these spaces with conventional cleaning tools and, thus, choose to skip them. For most units of floor steamers, you have a choice of brush, bayonet tip and nozzle when cleaning the floors.
With the variety of floor steam cleaners in the market today, you may have difficulty in choosing which one is the best. We are assuming that your number one priority is efficacy in the elimination of the harmful microorganisms with price coming in a close second.
If such is your case, then we suggest looking for the following features on a floor steamer:
* Rust-resistant metal boilers will withstand more uses than a plastic one.
* Pressure gauge lets the user know if the pressure is still in the safe levels
* Variable steam output setting to allow for various steam power depending on the surface being cleaned.
Indeed, when chosen properly, floor steamers are your allies in keeping your house clean and, in consequence, your family as healthy as possible.