A Guide to Using a Steam Mop on Various Floor Surfaces
Have you ever seen the steam mop commercial? The one where people with cracked and dirty floors get to stand on the clean looking floor and rinse their feet? Or the one where the man is cleaning the floor and his shoes are soaking wet and he has to put the mop in the dishwasher before he can put them on the floor? Or the one where the girl is cleaning the floor and she puts the mop right on top of her freshly cleaned bare feet and the floor gets so messed up that she ends up selling her ugly shoes at the flea market?
We hate to break it to you, but when putting in a 38 hour project on research and testing, we have found that most individuals do not require a steam mop that well, if they are not any better than a wet mop, and yet were surprised to discover that they could actually ruin almost any type of flooring in your home. Before we go any further, you need to know exactly what you are getting into before you decide to fill up your tub with this product. The very first thing that you should realize is that a steam mop is basically a big hose that is filled with water in order to create steam. It is a fairly safe product to use on hard wood, tile, carpet, or any surface that you would want to clean with steaming elements.
Now, if you are going to be using a steam mop in an area where there is no carpeting or hard wood flooring, then you need to know how much water it will contain before you start working with it. There are mops that come with a gauge that you can use to determine how much water the machine holds. Usually the gauge is in gallons, so make sure that you know how many square feet of water your machine holds before you purchase the product. You can either purchase the unit already built with the gauge, or you can purchase one that has an adjustable gauge on the tank. In the latter case, it is a good idea to measure out how much water your machine holds first, before you purchase the tank. This way you will have enough water for the job when you are ready to start using it.
The best place to use steam mops is on hard floors such as tile and vinyl floors. It is important to note that these surfaces are especially tough to clean when using regular household cleaning products, so you will need a specially designed tool for these surfaces. For example, steam mops are usually not recommended for flooring made from concrete or marble, as the suction may be too strong for these surfaces.
If you are looking for a steam mop that you can use on all types of surfaces, you should know that there are two different types of maps that are available on the market today. There are the hand held steam mop and the upright steam mop. The hand held variety is usually meant to be used at the bottom of the sink. This type of mop is also not very efficient in terms of the amount of steam it produces. An upright steam mop is the mop of choice for cleaning hard floors.
When you are using an upright mop to clean your floors, the amount of dirt that is generated will be reduced. However, it is important to note that this is not necessarily a good thing. The main problem with these types of mods is that they generate lots of suction, which means that all of the dirt that is generated during the cleaning process will escape into the air. In turn, this can cause dangerous levels of pollution in your home, especially if your home is located near a major city.
A steam mop that attaches to the floor with hooks can solve the problems of insufficient suction. These types of cleaners are called steam cleaning pads. There are many different brands available, and they all do a great job of cleaning your floors. Some of the top selling brands are Bissell and Hoover, who have developed special cleaning pads for homes with children.
You can use a steam mop on most any type of surface, although there are some surfaces that you should avoid. If you have sealed stone floors, you should keep the steam mop in a well ventilated area. Stone floors should be washed on a regular basis with water and a mild detergent, preferably an enzyme-based cleaner. If your stone floors have been sealed, then you may consider steam mopping instead of using a regular floor cleaner.