by Janet Martinelli
Ever had the unpleasant experience of catching a glimpse of all the dark dirt stuck to your foot? Or maybe had your favorite pair of socks stained from the dirt on your floors?
Keeping your home’s floors clean is a large task, no matter the size of your home. It can be exhausting between endless sweeping, fighting with the dustpan, and lugging around a dripping mop bucket.
That’s where steam cleaners come in: These devices can cut down your cleaning time drastically and keep your favorite pair of socks in rotation.
Want to learn about the different types of floor steamers? Keep reading!
What is Steam Cleaning?
Steam cleaners are perfect for loosening dirt and grime from your floors. Unlike normal mops, steam mops require no cleaning agents. Instead, they rely on the heat of the steam to kill bacteria and remove dirt.
Floor steamers also cut down on cleaning time, as you do not have to fill a bucket with water and chemicals and tote it around your home. Steam cleaners are easily filled, plugged in, and started (usually by the touch of a button). That’s it!
If you’re looking to make your deep cleaning process easier, then a steam mop is a great investment for your home. You’ll want to choose the model that is best for your home’s flooring type.
We’ll talk about which steam cleaners are best for each flooring type next.
Types of Floor Steamers
Each flooring type needs different care. While a one-floor steamer may be perfect for your tile floors, it may be too harsh on your hardwood.
Certain features of the different steam mops target specific flooring types. For example, a steam mop with steam volume control can be a great feature for those with multiple types of flooring in their homes.
Let’s detail the different types of floor steamers and how their features can be used in your home.
Hardwood Floor Steam Cleaners
Hardwood floors are a great addition to any home: they’re easier to clean than carpet and warmer on your bare feet than tile. With this, though, comes the dirt and grime that easily shows itself sitting on top of your hardwood floors.
A steam vacuum can be a perfect solution for hardwood if used correctly. Before searching for a hardwood floor steam cleaner, you’ll want to make sure your hardwood floors are sealed.
You can test this by dripping a small amount of water onto your floor. If the water immediately beads up, then you are good to go. If the water sinks into the wood, then you should not use a steam mop on it.
If your floors are sealed, and you are ready to find a good steam cleaner, you’ll want to look for one that has different modes. This PurSteam mop is one of our favorites because it has 3 different levels of steam. The lowest level is perfect for keeping your hardwood seal intact while cleaning.
Want to find more about PurSteam mops our favorite hardwood floor steam cleaners? Check out our “Best Steam Mops for Hardwood Floors” article!Laminate Floor Steam Cleaners
Much like hardwood floor steam cleaners, you’ll want to be careful. Using a steam mop that is too hot can cause laminate floors to warp and swell.
A steam control feature is also essential for laminate floors. This Bissell Crosswave is both a vacuum and steam mop, which is great for cutting down on cleaning time. Additionally, this mop is great for pet hair, which can easily stick to laminate floors.
A useful tip for steam cleaning laminate is to mop in the natural direction of the floor grain to avoid lifting.
Much like hardwood floor steam cleaners, you’ll want to be careful. Using a steam mop that is too hot can cause laminate floors to warp and swell.
A useful tip for steam cleaning laminate is to mop in the natural direction of the floor grain to avoid lifting.Steam Cleaner for Tile Floors
Tile floors are often in rooms that demand more cleaning attention, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Floor steamers are a great way to cut down the amount of time you spend cleaning these places.
The best steam cleaners for tile floors are those with scrubbing features, like this Bissell Spinwave mop. This mop has two round scrub brushes on the bottom that minimize the amount of scrubbing you’ll have to do!
Stop hurting your back to bend down and scrub tiles. Using a steam mop with scrubbing power is painless and fast.
Steam Cleaner for Grout
Grout is not an easy surface to clean, as it is very porous and frequently quite small. Buying a steam cleaner with brush attachments, like this Bissell Powersteamer, can help you get into the tiny crevices and really deep clean your grout.
If you have tile floors, that most likely means you have grout.
As mentioned earlier, steam is a great way to loosen dirt. This is especially true in the case of grout, as handheld scrubbing is often not enough to loosen trapped dirt.
A steam mop (and an additional grout cleaner for hard-to-clean stains) can get your grout back to looking new.
Want to find more about Bissell steamers our favorite steam cleaners for tile and grout? Check out our “7 Best Tile and Grout Cleaning Floor Steamers” article!
Which Floor Steamer is Best For You?
When it comes to cleaning your floors, steam cleaners can help you expedite the process. No one enjoys scrubbing the floors on their hands and knees!
The different types of floor steamers are best for different flooring materials, but many steam cleaners can be all-purpose. Depending on what features you need for your home, there is a steam mop for you out there.
Steam cleaning is not just for flooring, and we’ve got you covered on the other uses! Check out our website for the best steam cleaners in every category, from garments to floors.Last Updated on November 9, 2023