There is a bit of a panic on of late regarding the cleanliness of our hospitals. Since this job has been sub-contracted out to commercial cleaners, budgets have been cut and no matter how efficient a cleaning service are, they can only do a limited amount of cleaning if hospital budgets only allow for occasional cleaning. This, it is believed, has led to many an outbreak of the deadly MRSA virus that has spread like wildfire through our NHS hospitals.

This is not restricted to hospitals. There are many places where people are becoming pre-occupied with germs particularly where the vulnerable are concerned - the people at either end of the age spectrum. So, what is the answer? Well, there is a plethora of cleaning products on the market, can we not simply roll up our sleeves and get scrubbing? Well, let's have a look at just what these cleaning products do and whether or not we would be better off to stick to simple water with steam cleaning gadgets.

There is a huge choice of spray bathroom cleaners on the market for us to choose from and they will all clean and kill germs with adequacy. Unfortunately, most of these cleaners also contain benzene, a known carcinogenic. Others contain a mix of chemicals that react once in contact with the air and can produce severe irritation or breathing difficulties in humans.

So, just how bad is exposure to cleaning products? Well, research has found that even if a pregnant mother is regularly breathing in cleaning products, or the child is exposed to it at a young age, this can extensively raise the chances of the child developing asthma. Sounds like a good reason not to do housework if you ask me!

There is an alternative. There are cheap, simple gadgets on the market that require nothing more than water. They then heat this water to steaming temperatures and this steam is then applied to the necessary area.

So how come if water can do the job, we are bombarded with all these chemicals that we are told we cannot do without and that if we don't our kids are going to be consuming more bugs than food? Well, as with many things, it's simply a marketing ploy. Of course they are not going to shout about the benefits of steam cleaning because that wouldn't sell their products.

So what are the benefits? Steam cleaning is extremely efficient. It can kill germs, remove dirt, grease and ingrained grime with little effort. It will not release harmful chemicals to be breathed in and it will have absolutely no detrimental effects on the health of the user. It does everything that a commercial cleaner claims to do but without harming the environment, without harming unborn babies and without contributing to asthma or cancers.

Steam cleaning is becoming a big thing in restaurants due to its ability to cut through grease. Grease is notoriously difficult to remove, particularly after it has been baked on, yet steam will remove it relatively quickly. It is a good method to employ in commercial kitchens as it leaves no residue and no smells to contaminate food. It also leaves a kitchen meeting the standards of health and safety officials.

Steam cleaning can also be used in the domestic home and it an excellent cleaning method for those who have the environment in mind.