In their pursuit of green cleaning solutions, cleaners in Bristol are more and more turning to steam cleaning to get the results they desire. Not only is steam cleaning environmentally friendly, it’s been proven effective for certain tasks that even chemical solvents have struggled with in the past.
Steam Cleaning: How it Works
A steam cleaner works in a way that is basically similar to how an expresso machine functions: Water is heated, pressurised, then released in a controlled way. Steam cleaning is thrifty with resources (another eco-friendly bonus), needing only a bit of moisture (about 4 to 6 percent water), which is then subjected to about 60 psi of pressure and to heat of 115 degrees Celsius or more. This combination of high pressure and intense heat is capable of not only cleaning surfaces, but also killing viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
“If a person wants a nontoxic, environmentally friendly way to both clean and disinfect at the same time, I don’t think there’s a better technology [than steam],” explains Benjamin Tanner, a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology who runs Antimicrobial Test Laboratories in Round Rock, Texas.
How to Steam Clean Effectively
Due to these benefits, the use of steam cleaning by building service cleaners in Bristol has increased significantly, but this move is not without its requisite considerations; steam cleaning requires the right equipment and training in order to be effective. Likewise, there are some limitations regarding which types of surfaces and environments this method may be applied to.
“[The] first thing to know is not all machines are created equal,” explains Tanner. “You want to find a company that has a lab report that describes how it did its testing, and if you can mimic the way it did its testing and treat a surface in that manner, then you’re golden, because that will ensure you’ll get the same disinfection.”
According to the current consensus of cleaning experts, a stainless steel boiler with a two-tank system is the best choice; the two-tank system reduces the machine’s needed “down time” significantly, a great boon to busy office cleaners in Bristol and elsewhere. Likewise, one should check to make sure the machines hoses are well-insulated and removable (so as to allow for easy repair or replacement). The boiler, too, should be easily maintainable, as they tend to build up a mineral film over time.
Darrel Hicks, author of “Infection Prevention for Dummies,” suggests that cleaners purchase their equipment from a company that offers one-on-one training, or at the very least, videos which delineate how to safely operate and maintain their steam cleaning machines.
Such videos are not merely useful from a practical perspective, explains Hicks; they also serve to help cleaning business owners convert any hesitant employees. “Once they get it and see it does work, I think you’ll find employees will find other uses for it that you hadn’t even thought of — and that’s a good thing.”
As is the case with many green cleaning solutions, the potential uses of steam cleaning are as yet mostly untapped, leaving cleaners in Bristol with a lot of exciting room in which to experiment.