Home Steam Cleaners
Many Models, Many Uses

Home steam cleaners come in all shapes and sizes. Some are purely hand held units that are used to sanitize hard to reach places or to clean the grout in your bathroom or kitchen.

Others are simply floor units that can be used to clean your carpets or treated hardwood floors. Then there are versatile models that come with a variety of attachments which allow them to clean nearly any surface in your home.

Aside from painted and plastic surfaces, it can clean and disinfect just about any object that you own. It is also able to do all of this cleaning without using any harsh chemical additives.

While sturdy, home models are not meant for rugged and continual use. This makes them less expensive than industrial models but also gives them a shorter life if they are used and abused too much.

Three Different Home Steam Cleaner Models

Bissell Steam Shot Hard Surface Cleaner

The Bissell Steam Shot is a hand-held steam cleaner that is about the size of a Dustbuster. It has a long cord and many accessories including an extension hose, a window squeegee, a grout tool, different sized detail brushes, and a clothing steamer attachment. It weighs approximately five pounds with empty.

Consumers say that while it is a chemical free alternative to cleaning their bathrooms and kitchens, it is also a tedious machine to use. For starters, there is only one water tank. You fill it up, wait for it to heat up, and use it until the water is almost gone. Then you have to unplug it, let it cool, and fill it up with water again if you are not done cleaning for the day. However, it cleans thoroughly and disinfects without chemicals.

Haan FS20-Plus Steam Cleaning Floor Sanitizer

For keeping your floors clean a home steam cleaner like the Haan might be just the trick. This model has approximately the same dimensions as a squeegee mop, but cleans your hardwood, concrete, carpet, and tile floors with steam heated to 212 degrees. No chemicals are involved.

The Haan is very lightweight; it is less than five pounds even when filled to its twelve ounce water capacity. Some consumers said it felt flimsy, but none reported breaking it with continual use. It runs for approximately twenty minutes before it needs to be cooled down and refilled as there is only one tank in the machine. Its power cord is approximately twenty feet long.

It comes with two reusable pads to collect dust and dry your floors when you use it as a mop. It also has an attachment that allows you to use the machine on your carpets or upholstery.

Steam Fast SF275

The Steam Fast is one sturdiest steam cleaners meant for home use. With its compact design and breadth of attachments, it is also one of the most versatile. It has a breadbox sized main unit that houses a fifty ounce water tank. This unit is on wheels. Then it has a hose and cleaning wand and a variety of attachments.

On this home steam cleaner you will find a floor wand and cleaning pad, a wire attachment for cleaning grills, two sizes of crevice tools, and a general cleaning brush. It also has a twelve foot power cord and heats its water to the boiling point with 1500 watts of power.

Consumers who have used the Steam Fast say that it is good at removing tough stains as long as you are patient. They especially like the crevice tools that are designed to clean the hard to reach corners in your bathroom.

Is a Home Steam Cleaner Right for You?

If you have a lot of hardwood or concrete floors, a home steam cleaner is a good option for keeping them clean without chemicals. Since most models are less expensive than a vacuum cleaner a steam cleaner provides a good value for keeping your home disinfected and chemical free. Keep in mind, however, that using a steam cleaner may take more time than traditional chemical cleaning processes.