Shark Steam Cleaner

Okay, this is a blatant product pitch, testimonial for this product. No, they are not subsidizing this blog. Yet.

A few years ago a tenant moved out and they weren’t nice, heck, they were spiteful. I got one whiff and a look at the bathroom and knew, that even with gloves, I was NOT going near that room: they left a swamp in fridge, grease was ground into the stove knobs, and plastic was melted on the burners and it ran down under the stovetop. I bought the Shark Steamer just for this unit.

There are other steamers, but the one other that I had tried was a kettle-style which needed to heat up all the water in the reservoir before it would produce steam. It reminded me of a car’s radiator when it overheats: I felt that it was dangerous with steam and hot water waiting to explode if I dropped it.

The Shark Steamer heats the water up as the steam is expelled out the nozzle, or the hose with cleaning brushes, and the water in the reservoir stays cool. The unit has survived being dropped and banged around without spilling, spitting or burning me. But back to that nasty apartment. It was so much better aiming a hose of steam at questionable stains in the bathroom, then watching them melt, with assurance that all was being thoroughly disinfected at the same time. Really, why scrub with cleaners and fumes when a few moments of steam will loosen up the crud for you?!

I now use the steamer, and its many attachments, throughout all bathrooms and kitchens. It is invaluable in cleaning out food and gel-like residues in fridges, grease under a stove top, and disinfecting all kitchen drawers and shelves. It does a great job in removing layers of shelving papers, removing latex paint blobs, plus does an amazing job on cleaning the grout in the bathroom.

The steamer is not a total substitute for all cleaning products, but when used, there are no fumes to breathe or residue of cleaning products to rinse off. When I have used it on floors or cabinets in my own home, I have noticed that things stay cleaner just a little longer and the floors feel great under bare feet. I do recommend that every so often that you run a little vinegar through it, just like cleaning a coffee pot. My first unit broke when an attachment became clogged and I was lost until I replaced it.

And the bonus—I use it to steam winkles out of my clothes. It doesn’t totally replace an old-fashioned iron, but it touches up my clothing quite nicely.