The Top 5 Benefits of Steam Cleaning
Ditch the chemicals for a deeper clean
Unlike harsh chemicals, steam cleaning offers environmentally-friendly deep cleaning.
Steam cleaners can work on multiple surfaces in your home, leaving it smelling fresh.
Steam cleaning can help remove allergens, providing a deeper clean than traditional methods.
It can take several hours, or even a day or two, for steam cleaning to fully dry.
Steam cleaning requires machine rental or a professional, increasing the cost.
Steam cleaning has become all the rage with people who want to stop using chemicals in their homes. There are a host of benefits of steam cleaning your home compared to traditional methods, from health concerns to efficiency. Let’s de-mist-ify steam cleaning and help you harness the power of steam.
What Is Steam Cleaning?
Steam cleaners heat water up to 300 degrees to remove grime and sanitize your surfaces. These high temperatures can loosen dirt and bacteria's bond on your floors, making it easy to wipe away and leave a sparkling finish. Some cleaning methods only scratch the surface, but steam can penetrate carpet fibers and more for a deeper clean, making it particularly effective on materials like grout or sturdy fabric.
| Pros of Steam Cleaning | Cons of Steam Cleaning |
|---|---|
| Safer than using chemicals | Drying takes longer |
| More eco-friendly | Damage to delicate surfaces |
| Offers a deeper cleaning | Machine rental or professional expense |
| Works on many surfaces | Can leave a filmy residue |
| Decreases allergens and odors | Not strong enough for some stains |
Benefits of Steam Cleaning
The benefits of steam cleaning are abundant—so much so that you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it earlier.
Safer to Use
Other traditional methods of cleaning utilize chemicals like bleach to disinfect your home. While those solutions may be effective, they aren’t the safest to interact with and can be corrosive or poisonous for you and your pets—especially when residue is easily left on porous materials. Steam cleaning, in contrast, lets you clean without any fear that you’ll harm yourself or your family.
Eco-friendly
Again, when you steam clean your home, you don’t have to mix anything into the water you use. The harsh chemicals in cleaning supplies can get mixed in with your water supply, harming your local aquatic ecosystem. Also, much as you don’t want to believe it, cleaning chemicals do come with an expiration date, and you can’t just send them to the landfill due to how toxic they are. Steam cleaning eliminates the need for these chemicals, which helps keep your home and the environment clean.
Deeper Clean
If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen—and dirt, grime, and bacteria take that to heart. Steam cleaning can give you a deeper clean because of the high temperatures, sanitizing better than chemicals and traditional cleaning materials like a sponge or mop. Steam cleaning also kills harmful germs, like viruses, mold, E. Coli, Salmonella, and other infectious pathogens invisible to the naked eye.
Versatile
Unlike one-and-done tools like a sponge or a vacuum, steam cleaners work on many surfaces throughout your home, making cleaning easy from room to room. What’s more, these machines effectively clean otherwise difficult surfaces, like curtains, carpets, and leather upholstery. Most steam cleaners are also very easy to use, which means this all-in-one solution will save you time on chore day.
Removes Allergens and Odors
Whether you have a hairy pet or an aversion to dust, steam cleaning your home can help remove harmful allergens that linger in the air and leave your home smelling fresh. Regular steam cleaning has been shown to remove microscopic allergens like dust mite waste for good, relieving you of the pain of allergy season. Steam penetrates and eliminates unwanted odors and keeps your pets healthy by killing fleas, their eggs, and larvae.
Disadvantages of Steam Cleaning
Steam cleaning can work wonders, but it isn’t a magic wand. Here are a few downsides worth weighing before you fire up a steamer.
Long Drying Time
Steam cleaning soaks carpets and fabrics, which can take hours, or even a day or two, to fully dry. This can be inconvenient in busy areas and might require moving furniture out of the way a few days. If things don’t dry properly, materials like wool could develop mold or mildew.
Heat Damage
Steam is hot, which is great for getting rid of grime, but not so much for delicate surfaces. Fabrics like silk or velvet can get ruined, and unsealed or painted surfaces (including wood and laminate floors) may warp, swell, or discolor.
Expense
Steam cleaning usually requires a heavy-duty machine, which is expensive to buy. You can expect to pay $50 per day to rent a steam cleaner. If you want pro-level results, you’ll need to hire a carpet cleaning professional to get the job done, which costs about $300.
Filmy Residue
While steam itself doesn’t leave residue, adding cleaning solutions or detergents to a steamer can leave behind a thin, soapy film on carpets or upholstery if those solutions aren’t fully rinsed or extracted. It might not be obvious right away, but over time, it acts like a magnet for dirt and dust.
Stubborn Stains
Steam cleaning is great for general dirt and odor, but it may not be strong enough to lift some stains without some extra help. Deeply embedded stains—like old coffee spills, grease, or pet accidents—can soak into carpet padding or fibers in a way that steam alone can't fully reach.
Steam cleaning your carpet is a highly effective and easy way to clean everyday dirt and grime. While you may need to pretreat some hard-to-remove spots for maximum effect, you can regularly steam clean your carpet to help it stay looking new and fresh for years to come. Don’t forget to give it some time to dry.
Depending on the upholstery, steam cleaning your couch is a simple and easy way to give your most sat-on piece of furniture new life. Like a carpet, you may need to pretreat and spot-clean tougher stains, but you shouldn’t use any larger or bulky steam cleaners you’d typically use on your carpets. Opt for a gentle steam cleaner that can specifically clean fabric, and double-check your couch manufacturer’s cleaning recommendations.
The best steam cleaner depends on what you need to steam clean. The most consumer-friendly option is a steam mop for hard-surface floors, like tile, which is particularly effective at cleaning the grout. While you can use a steam mop for other things, a canister steam cleaner is more versatile in what it can clean, helping you tackle windows, counters, and even your car. A handheld steam cleaner is your best bet if you’re looking for a more portable solution to get into hard-to-reach places.
