Do Steam Cleaners Disinfect? Sanitize, Kill Germs, Bacteria & Viruses!

Many times, A steam cleaner is a good alternative to washing. There are household items you cannot put in a washer as there might be electrical connections or other problems, but a steam cleaner will easily sanitize and kill germs from them.

Before talking about how steam cleaners can be a good option for cleaning and disinfecting, it’s a good idea to know how they work as a mechanism.

How Does A Steam Cleaner Work?

A steam cleaner fundamentally works like a water heater. It has a boiler inside that heats up water up to boiling point and pushes out the vapor out of it through a spray nozzle or a pipe. The vapor is what kills bacteria and loosens dirt.

Steam cleaners come with different nozzle and spray types according to the cleaning needs of the users. There are customized spray heads available too. This machine works by a few simple mechanisms as explained below.

The steamer machine holds a water container inside. As you fill that container with water and turn the machine on, the water starts heating up and creates steam that will blow out of the nozzle. Usually it takes some time, from several seconds to a few minutes for the water to be completely at a boiling point.

In the past, steam machines were slower and took much time boiling up the water enough to create steam. Nowadays, newer and advanced machines can do the job of heating in a matter of seconds.

There are a bunch of reasons teh steam cleaner machine is so prized. Three facts about the steam cleaner is mentioned below –

1. Master in dirt removal

The steam machine works on the same principle that follows washing clothes in hot water. Water soaks up the fibers and heat helps the debris to be released from the fabric fibers. A Steam cleaner works in the same way, fundamentally.

A steam cleaner will weaken the bond of the dirt on your couch, carpet and any fabric or even other household items. The heat works like washing something in hot water.

Cleaning anything is much easier and hassle free while using a steam cleaner rather than washing it in hot water. There’s less time to dry off and much less water usage.

2. Kills pathogens

Cleaning pathogens and viruses is much easier with a steam cleaner. The machine emits steam hot enough to kill any bacterial growth.

3. Less carbon footprint and pollution

Steam cleaning doesn’t require using a chemical or shampoo or other cleaning agents until you do. Sometimes it’s necessary to use a strong cleaning agent to remove permanent stains but most of the time regular water will get the job done.

Disinfecting Items With A Steam Cleaner

It’s important for a home to have its kitchen and eating table clean. A dirty kitchen will cause bacteria to invade in foods before cooking or serving. Although most bacteria will die in regular cooking heat, some might stay if the food is not evenly cooked. There’s always a risk of food poisoning from the kitchen.

Another part of meals preparation is on the eating table. If the table is unclean, there is a chance of bacteria or virus getting into the served food and entering the human body.

Steam cleaning both the kitchen and the utensils as well as the eating table will ensure these places and items are disinfected and have nearly zero chances of food getting poisoned with pathogens.

Cleaning Carpets and Couch

Cleaning carpets is similar to cleaning couches. Both of them gather a lot of food debris and oils. The process of cleaning both of these is similar.

Start by vacuuming the visible debris first and then steam to wet the stain marks and rub off with a clean dry cloth afterwards. If you’re cleaning the couch, give more attention to the headrest and backrest. These places will gather most of the dirt.

Disinfecting Hay

Some people like to clean up hay before feeding it to animals. This is a good thing as the washing is done thoroughly to ensure no other harmful substances stay in the food.

But washing hay will make its taste change and change sugar contents. Steam cleaning it will give the same result as washing it but without the bad side effects. The taste remains intact and the nutritional contents remain the same.

Sterilizing Soil

Soil collected from random places always has some risk of containing harmful pathogens that might not suit your plant. Spreading soil on a surface and steaming it will help you clean up any bacteria colony in that soil.

This is not very necessary as plants have good disease preventing antibodies but some plants might get sick or die from specific pathogens. So it’s better to be safe sometimes.

Extro

We mentioned that you should steam clean things that you cannot wash in the washer but it doesn’t mean you should follow this advice for every item in your house. Some items need to be cleaned manually as steam cleaning cannot clean deep inside. It works mostly on the surface level.