The Best Tools to Get the Cleanest Floors for Your Family

Are domestic steam cleaners a worthwhile investment? You all know what a cleaning junkie I am. And, having a toddler in the house means that figuring out if my floors are clean enough, and finding new ways to keep them clean, is an absolute must. So I’m excited to share with you a great post today with tips on choosing the best tools to keep your floors clean enough for those little ones to crawl on, play on, and maybe even eat a Cheerio off of when you’re not looking.

Kids, animals, husbands – they all create a lot of mess, and vacuuming, as you know, can only ever achieve so much. Every now and then you’re going to want to give your home a deeper clean and this is where domestic steam cleaners could come into play. Of course, you could get a professional company in to steam clean your house. There are plenty of them around and will no doubt do a good job. But at what cost? Maybe a one-off is fine but you’re going to want to get it done on a regular basis, probably at least once a year. You’ll also need to arrange a time and stick to it, difficult as you know in a normal, busy family household. However, steam cleaning is not a specialist task these days though and the other dead easy option is to invest in your own steam cleaner and there are plenty on offer to the home market – a confusing selection in fact!

Broadly, they come in three different types: handhelds, steam mops and cylinder steam cleaners. Many of them come with accessories that turn them into multi-purpose cleaners able to clean everything from floors and carpets to upholstery, tiles and even glass, all without using chemicals. Unsurprisingly, handhelds are smaller, easier to store and quick to use. They are also the cheapest and are great for quickly cleaning upholstery, curtains, and suchlike. Expect to pay anything between $30 and $100 for one of these. A steam mop is great for floors and carpets and they can be really quick to heat up – in under a minute you can be up and running which makes them perfect for use even when you only have 10 minutes to spare. It also means they’re handy for the next household cleaning emergency, which with kids is always just around the corner! $100 to $200 will get you a pretty decent steam mop. Cylinder steam cleaners or deep cleaners are more expensive, between $200 and $400 but more like the machines the pros would use. They have larger capacities and can steam for longer so are more suitable for bigger jobs though they do require longer to get up to temperature – between five and 20 minutes in some cases.

If you do decide a domestic steam cleaner is for you, always look at three things when choosing: its capacity, its heat-up time and its steaming time so that you’re getting the right cleaner for your family situation. And remember, unlike a vacuum cleaner, a steam cleaner is not something you’ll necessarily be using on a daily or even weekly basis, so you can always loan it out to friends and neighbors in return for a favor or two, especially if you decide to invest in a good quality deep cleaner!