7 Factors to Consider When Buying a Steam Cleaner Part Two

4. Water Tank Size
Just like an iron, a steam cleaner will only continue to produce steam for as long as there’s water to heat it from. For smaller steam cleaners, that often means having to refill your water tank more often, probably in the middle of your cleaning task. On the other hand, larger tanks will last longer, but they often take longer to heat up, so you’re stuck waiting to get started.

Decide which you prefer and keep an eye on the comparison between the size of the water tanks in different models you may be considering. Steam mops and handheld steam cleaners usually have smaller tanks and shorter heat-up times; whereas, cylinder and vapor steam cleaners have larger ones and longer times between refills.

5. Pressure & Temperature
Two related issues to consider are how hot your steam cleaner gets and how much steam pressure the product generates. Steam cleaners that have a higher temperature produce dryer steam and higher pressure, which is more sanitary, provides a deeper clean, kills more germs and, ultimately, is more efficient.

To make it even more complex, the temperature and pressure level the device can reach is important, but so is the consistency at which it can keep the pressure at. If a unit is unable to consistently maintain the temperature and pressure level, then it will be less likely to cleanse your home as efficiently as you’d like.

In most cases, steam cleaners that have higher temperature and pressure will cost more, but if a deeper and dryer clean is important to you then the higher cost will be worth it in the long-run.

6. Noise Levels
Steam cleaners are typically quieter than vacuum cleaners, but they all produce some level of noise and some of them can get pretty loud. If you’re concerned about how loud your steam cleaner will be, then consider looking for models that advertise being quieter than usual and check what reviewers say about the noise levels.

Some products may list a decibel level in their specs. If this is listed, it will give you a pretty good idea of how loud you can expect the device to be. Unfortunately, only a few of the best steam cleaners list the decibel level in their specs, so you may have to rely on customer reviews to get an idea of how loud your preferred model is.