Vapor steam cleaners

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Hi everyone. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Does anyone use a vapor steam cleaner? Do they work well, as opposed to normal vacuum cleaners? Would you recommend buying one, and if so, what sorts of factors/parameters should one consider?

I'd appreciate any help, since I'm generally quite ignorant about household applications

Thanks a lot!

2
What kind of cleaning do you usually need to do?

I have a steam cleaner - but I only need to drag it out when caring for a very ill dog whose control isn't what it used to be. Then it is invaluable, couldn't be without it, no other applicance will do the trick. However, that is a very limited use - maybe a few weeks once every few years. The rest of the time it sits in the Keller, taking up space.

For normal household cleaning my trusty regular vacuum, floor mop and bucket do the trick quite nicely.

The question is: is the expense of the steam cleaner worth it for your normal usage?

3
They are very useful for

cleaning outside blinds and shutters,

window frames, inside and out,

bathroom and shower tiles,

ovens and grills, REMOVE the fuses first,

wooden floors, but add a cloth under steam head,

A very usefull tool, maybe not used every day, but good at getting dirt out of cracks and corners. No cleaning chemicals needed!

My advice, buy one with a large tank. I bought a small one and it struggles to keep the steam temperature high enough.

http://www.ricardo.ch/search/search....NavBarSearch=1

http://www.fust.ch/de/nav/shop/onlin...0a242b1130439f

4
My goodness - prices have certainly come down since I bought mine. (IIRC, I paid something in the 6-700 range ca. 8 years ago...)

At this price (CHF 299), it's a no-brainer: get one!

5
It's not instead of vacuum cleaner though, it is for cleaning, not vacuuming. Yes, I would recommend one, especially if you have tiled floors, very useful. Also good for bathrooms, kitchen, furniture and many other things. I don't use mine (Polti Vaporetto) exactly daily, but a couple of times per week certainly.

6
+1 with this, vacuum first then use. We have a steam mop for the normal tile stuff that is FAB, no chems needed, 1 min to heat, run around like vacuum and then place the head in the wash for next time. It saves both time and coin on floor cleaner whilst drying super quickly. We also have a dedicated handheld machine that is used for the bathrooms etc, the pressure from it is immense and it can blow dirt out of places you didn't know existed! That is a VAX which I don't think can be brought in CH.

7
Excellent device for tiles floors. Don't use on wooden floors !

Beware of ceramics in the bathroom. I cracked a large shower base with steam...

8
Are you looking for something just to clean carpets?

I bought a Karcher, it cleans carpets and floors (not wood). It is not industrial strength, but does a more than adequate job.

9
Thanks a lot for the replies everyone! (For some reason I can't seem to find the 'thanks' button on the bottom right of the post?)

I actually wanted to get one for my mother. She was quite amused when I told her that I asked about it's advantages "as opposed to a vacuum cleaner" only to be told that they obviously didn't have the same function.

Ideally it would be used all around the house (bathrooms, kitchen, windows etc..)

Thanks again for the help