Steam Cleaners

Pressure and boiler capacity matter more than wattage. A 3-bar unit with a 1.8-litre boiler gives you twelve to fifteen minutes of continuous steam; below 2 bar you're essentially wetting the surface rather than cutting through grease. Check the nozzle attachments — a detail brush works for door seals and panel gaps, a wide floor tool for concrete or tiled areas, and a brass brush head for baked-on carbon in engine bays or ovens.

Descale the boiler every forty to fifty hours of use if you're on hard water; calcium buildup chokes the element and drops pressure. Most machines have a purge valve — open it cold, drain off sediment, rinse with distilled water. Replace seals and gaskets annually on heavy-use machines; steam leaks around the cap or trigger mean the rubber has perished. Store the unit empty and dry; leaving water in the boiler between jobs accelerates corrosion and shortens the heating-element life.

For workshop or commercial cleaning where you're running the machine daily, choose a model with a separate boiler chamber so you can top up mid-session without waiting for the pressure to drop. Domestic-rated cleaners with fixed tanks need a cool-down period before refilling — fine for occasional car valeting, frustrating if you're halfway through a tiled floor.