Hand Held Steam Cleaners

Hand Held Steam Cleaners — Are They Worth It?

With more and more people wanting to keep their homes both clean and environmentally friendly, steam cleaners have increased in popularity. Why? Because they are a chemical-free way to get rid of dist and grime, and also sanitize the surfaces of your home. But what about hand held steam cleaners? Do they do the job of the larger models, or are they just a gimmick?

In short, yes they do just as good a job for cleaning, and for killing germs and bacteria. Of course, there are pro’s and con’s to using a hand held model over a larger model. This article will go over the good and the not-so-good, so you can make your own decision.

Water Tank
Just like the larger models, hand held steamers have a tank and a heating element that heats up tap water, and turns it into steam. A trigger allows you to release that steam under pressure. A hand held model has a much smaller tank, which means that your steam cleaning power will last for a shorter time…between 15 minutes and a half hour. However, the smaller models will heat the water faster than the larger ones, so you get your steam faster.

Attachments
If you want to clean a variety of surfaces, attachments are essential. Many hand held models come with different cleaning heads, so you can use it on your windows, countertops, even upholstery. However, not all hand helds come with a hose, which can make actually cleaning those surfaces troublesome.

Portability
Hand held steamers are, of course, very portable. Some need to be plugged in, while others can run on batteries. While batteries allow you to get to more places, you may end up with a very short running time and have to recharge batteries frequently. If you have cleaning jobs that take longer than about 10-15 minutes, then a model that plugs in is a better choice.

Regardless, the portability means you can take your steamer pretty much anywhere. This is very handy if you want to deodorize, sanitize and freshen you car, for example. They are very lightweight, witch makes them easy to use for everyone.

Storage
Although larger steamers have become lighter, smaller and easier to store, a hand held model easily tucks away out of sight in a cupboard. Many of them come with a storage bag, so that you can hold the steamer and all of the attachments and keep them dry and tidy.

Cost
Hand held steam cleaners cost less than their larger counterparts. Generally, this is because they do not come with as many bells and whistles as a larger model, although there are some high end hand helds that cost even more than a floor model. The best advice here is to not shop on just price…you need to shop based on the features you need for the cleaning jobs you have. For basic, around the house cleaning and sanitizing, a basic hand held will do the job.

All in all, a hand held steam cleaner is well worth purchasing. They clean and remove germs and bacteria just as well as larger models, and with more choices available now than ever before you are sure to find one that meets your specific cleaning needs.