We love to have our homes sparkling, whether that be for our own tidiness or if you have guests and you want to show off your space. One way to achieve this is with a steam cleaner or steam mop on your flooring. In this article, we highlight the essentials to getting sparkling results with your steam mop.
Before you begin, be prepared
As with any cleaning, we recommend a quick brush first to remove any loose dirty and debris. This is important for steam cleaning as the debris particles can get trapped in the mop head which can make the cleaning less effective. Once the main dirt is brushed away, you’re ready to look at steaming.
Choose the right steam setting for your flooring
You should consider the flooring you are looking to steam. Your steam mop is likely to have different settings for different floor types, so refer to your manual for this.
Typically, if you are using it on delicate flooring you should opt for a lower setting, and higher for harder flooring and tough stains.
At the same time, you should consider what it is you are steaming away; if it is a bright colour on light flooring, it may be appropriate to dab at the area before steaming.
Use distilled water for the best results
Distilled water should be used in your appliance to prevent mineral build up, which forms limescale.
This can keep your appliance lasting longer and reduces the need to descale so often. However, it also impacts your cleaning results.
If your appliance is building up with limescale it can reduce the amount of steam being produced so ensure to use distilled water, and descale, to effectively steam.
Similarly, tap water can also leave more steaks than distilled water due to the minerals found in the water. Distilled water can help to achieve a streak-free finish. For more on limescale and how it can affect your appliance, click here.
Work your way in sections
If you have a large area to focus on, we recommend dividing the area into sections to work through. This means you can focus on each area by effectively steaming and removing dirt before moving on to the next. If you try to do the whole area in one attempt you may miss areas.
Finish off with a dry pass
Once you’ve finished steaming, we suggest going back over the steamed areas with a dry microfibre cloth. This helps to get sparkling results by removing any excess water or leftover dirt from the floor, and reduces streaks from appearing. This gives your flooring a sparkling finish.
Conclusion
By incorporating our suggestions into your steam cleaning routine, you can be sure to get those sparkling results you want with your mop.
You can view all of our steam cleaners by clicking here.