A Steamer for Cleaning Grout

Dirty grout can make your tile or brick wall look dirty.

Grout has a rough surface that can attract and hold dust and dirt easily. Often when you clean your tile, you are cleaning the grout but are not cleaning it enough to remove all of the dirt is held in the grout's nooks and crannies. Manual grout cleaning requires a lot of scrubbing. Avoid this by using a steam cleaner.

Purchasing Steam Cleaners

If you have a lot of tile floors you might want to invest in a steam-cleaning machine. Choose one that fits your needs. Choose a large upright device if you have a lot of flooring, but pick one that you can carry on your own. Choose a handheld device if you want to save money and don't mind refilling the water tank often while cleaning grout. Be aware that you can also use steam cleaners to clean ovens and upholstery. Some of them also clean carpets.

Renting Steam Cleaners

Choose to rent a steam cleaner if you are only planning on using the steam cleaner for deep cleaning every year or every few months. Rent steam cleaners from hardware or home improvement stores. Make sure to rent one you can carry up and down stairs and buy one that will not damage your floors. Some industrial steam cleaners will ruin laminate floors while other more sensitive steam mops will clean without damaging laminate.

Using Steam Cleaners

Steam cleaners heat water to a very high temperature and shoot it at the grout. If you are using a hand held device you will need to concentrate the steam over the grout and mop up the dirty water with a towel. Some small machines also have a wand connected to the tank by a long hose. If you are using an upright steam cleaner, you will simply need to push the machine over the floor to steam clean the grout. Some upright steam cleaners also have extraction systems that suck up the dirty water. These are referred to as steam extraction machines. Most steam cleaners require you to fill a water tank and allow it to heat up before steaming the grout clean.

Safety Precautions

Always wear shoes, pants and long sleeves when using a steam cleaner to make sure you don't accidentally shoot to steam on an exposed part of your body. Keep children and pets away from the area while you are working as steam can cause serious burns.

References

• Repair Home: House Cleaning
• Mrs. Clean: How to Clean Grout
• Bissell: Steam n'Clean II User Manual
• Bissell: Steam Mop User Manual