Cast aside your old, water and bucket mop. Do it right now! These days, homeowners are falling all over themselves to replace the old methods with a steam mop. Here's a kitchen gadget that has come into it's own. Not only will they save and immense amount of time, there are a myriad of advantages in their ease of use, effectiveness and sanitizing that render old style mopping obsolete. Moreover, steam mops are modestly priced in relation to the gains realized by having one of these nifty tools in your house cleaning arsenal.
The Advantages of Using Steam Mops For Household Cleaning
Steam mops are a great alternative to the mops your mother may have used for cleaning. With a steam mop the need for a separate mop and water bucket is eliminated. Steam mops are highly effective at removing germs, dirt, and scuffs from hard surfaced floors without leaving behind chemical residues.
Steam mops have an unlimited list of advantages over standard water and bucket mops. Steam mops are gentle enough to use on all hardwood floor types; marble, hardwood floor, and even laminate flooring. Since a steam mop is designed to dry floors quicker, there is no need to worry about the water getting into the hard floors' surfaces and ruining them. Steam mops come with their own self containing water bucket that is built in. No longer do you need to lug around a mop and a heavy bucket of water.
With standard mops if you have floors that are not suitable to be cleaned with large amounts of water or chemicals unless you follow behind the mop with a towel, you are at risk of ruining your floor. A steam mop allows the water to evaporate as soon as it hits the floor, meaning that you no longer have to be on your hands and knees drying the floor. Another advantage of the steam mop is its patented steam cleaning design. Since the mop uses steam to clean the surface of the floor, there is no need for additional chemicals that are harsh to your floor.
It has been proven long ago that the old mop and bucket style of mopping is ineffective as a cleaning method. After you have to put the mop back in the bucket the first time to rewet it, the water is no longer clean. You continue to rewet the mop and clean the floor using dirty mop water. If you have small children and pets, you are exposing them to dirty chemical water. Steam mops use a much cleaner method to scrub the floor. There is no rewetting of the mop and sticking it back into to dirty water full of chemicals and germs. Steam mops can heat the water it their tanks up to an amazing 130 degrees Celsius. Heating the water to such a high degree, enables the mop to kill bacteria and germs while it cleans, leaving a clean floor for your pets and children. Along with bacteria and germs, steam mops can kill and prevent the future growth of molds and mildew. Steam mops are also used by people with allergies to destroy and prevent dust mites and other potential allergens.
Steam mops are also easier for people that have health problems that prohibit them from standing up. A normal mop is hard to handle and maneuver from a sitting position. Most steam mops have adjustable handles and also with a steam mop you don't have to worry about the bucket of water. The steam mops are equipped with triggers to be pulled to release the water. The steam also can go right up against the base boards- a place that other mops tend to miss.
There is nothing more time consuming than mopping an entire floor for a little spill. With an old fashion mop you have to mop the entire floor to make it appear streak free; however, with a steam mop the water dries on contact. Since the spill is being steam cleaned there is no reason to mop the entire floor.
The best thing about steam mops is the fact that you can eliminate harmful chemicals that you used to use when you cleaned your floors. Cleansers may contain ingredients from bleach to large doses of ethanol. Side effects can vary from nausea and vomiting to chemical pneumonia. Not only are chemicals harmful to your family but they are also bad on pets. If you are looking for a mop that takes most of the work out of mopping and is pet and child friendly, try a steam mop and prepare for a wonderful mopping experience.
Eva is a cleaning professional and hardwood floor expert of 20 years. She has been on the forefront of the chemical free, green cleaning movement for 10 years, educating people one by one. For more information about Steam Mops, visit: http://www.cleanfloorstore.com
Tags:
floor cleaning,
house cleaning,
kitchen gadgets,
mopping,
steam mop
October 06 2009 | Steam Mops | No Comments »
Let's face it. Traditional mopping is, simply stated, a drudge job. It's messy and requires a lot of steps to do the job right. In this mundane realm of house cleaning, there's something of a revolution going on, and that is the rapidly growing popularity of steam mops. These gadgets are affordable, and have many advantages over the iconic water bucket and floor mop. If you're considering buying a steam mop, here are some of the points you'll want pay attention to.
Should You Buy a Steam Mop?
Have you have seen the late night infomercials touting the benefits of owning a steam mop? Does your neighbor keep bragging that she is able to clean her house in half the time thanks to her new steamer? Is someone in your household sensitive to cleaners? Or are just plain sick and tired of dragging out the mop and bucket every weekend, and want to find an effective alternative?
There are several makes and models of steamer mops on the market. Though there are slight differences, these gadgets do basically the same thing. They clean floors using steam instead of soap and other detergents.
They can be used on several types of flooring surfaces, including ceramic tile, linoleum, and sealed hardwood flooring. Some even have an additional accessory which allows them to be used on carpet. They should not be used on unsealed wood floors. The hot steam can also be harmful to no-wax flooring. Although they can be used on linoleum and similar surfaces, the hot steam could have an adverse effect on the glue used to adhere these types of flooring to the ground.
If you are concerned about the safety of using a steam mop on your floors, there are a couple of steps you can contact. First, you may want to contact the flooring manufacturer and ask. Second, you can test the machine on a small area that is in a low visibility area.
To operate your steam mop, you will want to read the detailed instruction manual that comes with it. However, to give you a brief overview of how they work, here are the basic steps:
1. Fill the water tank with either tap or distilled water. Most recommend that you use distilled if your water is hard.
2. Attach the cleaning pad to the bottom of the machine. Many models use machine washable, reusable cleaning pads. Some have disposable pads that can be thrown out after use.
3. Make sure your hands are dry. Plug in the machine and give it time to heat. For most brands, this takes approximately thirty seconds.
4. Start the steaming process. Some models are trigger driven, while others use a pumping motion on the handle to start this process.
5. Slide the mop head across the floor, adding more steam as necessary. To sanitize, read the manufacturer's directions. Most recommend that you leave the unit in place for a set amount of time (for example, 10-15 seconds) for sanitizing.
6. When finished, turn off the machine and unplug. Also, do this any time you need to refill the water tank or replace the cleaning pad.
7. To store the machine, read the instructions. Most recommend emptying the water tank, removing the cleaning pad, and carefully wrapping the outlet cord.
As you can see, using a steam mop is a fairly easy process. You can achieve similar results as using a mop and bucket, but with much less hassle and effort.
Visit Steam Mop Resource to learn more about these house cleaning helpers, including special safety precautions you should take when using steamer mops.
Tags:
floor cleaning,
house cleaning,
kitchen gadgets,
mopping,
steam mop
October 06 2009 | Steam Mops | No Comments »
US $65.95
