The best steam cleaners are those which are actually referred to as vapor steam cleaners, which emit a much higher and hotter vapor than traditional steam cleaners. Essentially, vapor steam cleaners emit dry steam with only about 5% water in the vapor while low-priced steam cleaners lack the power and heat to generate similar dry steam. The steam from these steam cleaners tend to be on the wetter side.

Cheap steam cleaner systems are typically under-powered with pressure levels as low as 15 psi and much lower temperatures that the more rugged and commercial steam cleaners. The low end steam cleaners typically are sold in hand-held or relatively small versions versus higher-quality steam cleaners. Inexpensive steam cleaners clearly lack the features and performance necessary for most steam cleaning tasks within home, business, and commercial environments.

Vapor steam cleaners are rated by a variety of steam cleaner attributes, namely pressure, temperature, boiler size, water refill chamber size (if the steam cleaner allows for continuous-refill), among other features. The best steam cleaners offer pressure per square inch (psi) of 65 and more, and temperatures over 295°, which is well beyond sanitizing and disinfecting levels. The benefit of vapor steam cleaners is they offer outstanding cleaning power for applications low-moisture cleaning applications.

The heart of a steam cleaner is the boiler, which is available in either aluminum or stainless steel, which is the best metal for the ultimate in durability and longevity. Always make sure to research the boiler construction because saving money purchasing an aluminum-based boiler with a shorter life span will most probably results in greater costs later. The best commercial steam cleaners and industrial steam cleaners come with at least stainless steel boilers. Sacrificing boiler quality can result in steam cleaner downtime and boiler replacement at costs up to and over $700.00.

The best steam cleaners are bundled with replaceable steam hoses rather than steam cleaner hoses that are permanently attached to the vapor steam cleaner. The major problem with attached hoses is an unexpected hose malfunction requires the user to ship the entire steam cleaner back for service, which can be distressing, especially if the steam cleaner is used frequently as is the case for most commercial and industrial steam cleaning applications. You can merely replace the steam hose if you buy steam cleaners with replaceable hoses. We suggest only replaceable hoses.

Continuous-refill steam cleaners, which lack pressure caps, are outstanding for applications requiring cleaning a large surface area whether for home and commercial cleaning applications. Those involved in facilities maintenance, commercial cleaning, hospitality, foodservice, health care and other markets can benefit from continuous-refill steam cleaners. Workers often need to clean for hours and steam cleaners that allow them to clean without stopping are ideal to maximize their productivity. Steam cleaners with pressure caps take up to 20 minutes to depressurize, add water, and reheat.

The construction of the steam cleaner case or housing is another very important attribute to consider when searching for the best steam cleaners. High quality steam cleaners use either a heavy-duty plastic casing, one made of stainless steel, or else a combination of both. An easy rule to remember is if the steam cleaner vendor mentions the case or housing is metal and the color is anything but stainless steel, then the material is absolutely painted sheet metal. The problem with painted metal cases is they will rust over time due to heat generated from the steam cleaner.

Do not confuse steam cleaners with carpet steam cleaners as they are targeted towards distinctly difference applications. Although they can be used to spot clean carpet, upholstery, drapes, etc, vapor steam cleaners are designed primarily for hard surfaces they are absolutely not geared towards full carpet cleaning applications.

Carpet steam cleaners are actually a type of carpet cleaner, which is dedicated to carpet cleaning tasks. The bottom line is if your application calls for carpet cleaning, then buy a carpet steam cleaner if you desire heat, but absolutely do not buy a vapor steam cleaner.