Three Ways to Use a Clothes Steamer for Home Cleaning
Two years ago I discovered that clever people on the internet were using their handheld steamers to clean their homes and I thought it was brilliant , so I immediately started doing that too. Professional steam cleaners are great because they get so hot that they can even disinfect surfaces. to use it around the house.
Here’s my steamer , which retails for about $26 and comes with a brush that can be glued to the front. I try not to use a brush when cleaning so I don’t accidentally get dirty dirt on my clothes when I use the steamer for its intended purpose, but it can come in handy in a pinch.
I steam any stain of dubious origin.
First, if I find a stain somewhere and I don’t know exactly what it is, I steam it. Of course, you can steam any stains, as the heat loosens them and a little moisture helps draw them out, but I especially like this method for those messes that I can’t explain, as I feel better knowing my first line. the attack on them is germ-killing heat.
Today I moved a bunch of things near the sink and found some marks under them. I couldn’t be sure what caused the stripes, but I could be sure that I attacked them with heat and force. In addition to its ability to kill germs, steam is great for quickly removing stuck-on dirt. For example, I used a steamer to remove baked food from oven racks. Of course, you can use oven cleaner or hot soapy water, but it will take much longer. Steam treatment of dried sticky mass quickly loosens it and allows you to quickly move on to soapy, more serious disinfection.
Just a few seconds after the smoke appeared above my sink, they were gone. Of course, I came back with the cleaning solution after that, but by this point I was feeling pretty smug. They came right up and went away without me having to scrub them (plus I never had to touch anything rough).
I steam dirty dishes
If you wash dishes right away, food does not have time to stick to them. Blah blah, I know. But sometimes I’m busy. Sometimes I’m lazy. I’m talking about food sticking to my dishes and I hate scrubbing them with a sponge, but that’s not enough to ever learn a lesson about how to clean them faster. This is where my steamer comes to the rescue. I don’t have a dishwasher because I live in a small apartment, so I can’t throw them in there and let the heat do its thing. What I can do is blast these bad boys with a steamer for a second or two, which makes the task of cleaning them much faster than if I left them in hot water or, God forbid, just went ahead and cleaned them.
I love getting my dishes done quickly and of course the heat kills some germs before I even get to them with dish soap. Today there was a spoon in the sink with a very stuck streak of food in the bowl (probably from cheap microwaveable soup, unfortunately) but the steamer dislodged it like it was nothing. I tried a little with my fingernail and sponge before I worked it on, just to see how bad it was, and neither had any effect, but the steamer definitely did the trick. After that, I lathered it all up, dried it, and went on with my day.
I also float mirrors
Today when I steam cleaned I didn’t have to clean the mirrors (humble brag) because I had already done it recently. What I can’t provide in photographic evidence, I make up for in testimony: I love steaming my mirrors because it works very quickly and doesn’t leave streaks. Windex is fine and all, but you’ll have to scrub thoroughly to get those streaks out. Steam is much easier to clean up and doesn’t leave behind any chemicals. I also really like this because one of the main mirrors in my apartment is illuminated and runs on electricity. I try to avoid getting wet as much as possible, so the minimal amount of moisture provided by a steam machine is much preferable to a direct hit of window cleaner.
The steam will quickly remove water stains and other stains, although I caution that you may have to reapply hairspray stuck to the glass two or three times. It takes me a few passes to fully get the hang of applying spray, hairspray, and other sticky chemicals like the ones you use in front of the mirror. Additionally, this method works great on shower glass, tile, ceramic, or any other smooth surface that has water stains or other deposits on it. You don’t need chemicals or a bunch of tools if you have a steamer and a rag to wipe everything down.