Cleaning: Steam Cleaning vs Vinegar vs Stardrops vs ??

Blairweech

Well, now I am living on my own, it's time to get into the OS way of doing things, but I'm wondering the best ways of cleaning my flat.

Should I use a steam cleaner (I like this idea), or continue with Vinegar/Bicarb? Go intermediate and progress to Stardrops? A mixture of all three? Another alternative?

We rent, so I'm not sure if a steam cleaner would be a good idea under the circumstances (I have visions of all the bathroom tiles falling off!), but any advice/suggestions on making the cleaning as easy as possible (other than ignoring it) would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

llol_slim

Blairweech wrote:

Well, now I am living on my own, it's time to get into the OS way of doing things, but I'm wondering the best ways of cleaning my flat.

Should I use a steam cleaner (I like this idea), or continue with Vinegar/Bicarb? Go intermediate and progress to Stardrops? A mixture of all three? Another alternative?

We rent, so I'm not sure if a steam cleaner would be a good idea under the circumstances (I have visions of all the bathroom tiles falling off!), but any advice/suggestions on making the cleaning as easy as possible (other than ignoring it) would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

my steam cleaner (cost me £40 from Homebase similar to this )


and its pretty pathetic, decent pressure for about 5 minutes and then runs out after about 15minutes.
In fact we dont use it apart from steaming around the toilet bowl and the matress every now and then.
SO if you buy one, buy one that is recommended to you
I use vinegar a lot more.
Not much help i know but just felt like posting
laurie

Rachie_B

in my case all 3

stardrops for a general cleaning ,floors ,surfaces etc either in hot water or in a spray bottle mixed with water

I use vinegar for cleaning glass and bicarb for cleaning cooker top / baked on food on pans / oven etc

i use my steam cleaner on mattress / floors / tiles / windows / bathroom etc to get a deep down clean every month or so

this is the one we have https://www.asseenontvnetwork.com/vcc/tvnetworkltd/steamsharkfree/140856/ quite expensive but much better than the smaller handheld type and really quite powerful

betterbargains4u

I have had a Polti steam cleaner for about four years now, and although it is very good, we don't use it very often.
They are excellent machines, but take ages to heat up, so only ever seem to use it to clean the carpets with!!
Stardrops is a really good all round cleaner.
Vinegar is also very good for lots of things....if you can put up with the smell!!

Blairweech

Thanks!

I think I'm going to start off with vinegar/bicarb for now and use Stardrops for the harder jobs. I might progress to a steam cleaner when I've got more space to clean (or when I get fed up of scrubbing everything).

Can't you add fragrance/essential oil to vinegar to mask the smell? Or lemon juice, for added cleaning power?

Rachie_B

yes i add tea tree oil for its antibacteial properties

plus i love the smell !
lavender is good too

Quasar

I live in a small flat and the vinegar and stardrop methods plus a little elbow grease are adequate in my case.

However I am intrigued by steam cleaning mattresses - how is this done?

Rachie_B

the steam cleaner i have comes with a head attachment , like on a vacuum cleaner so i wrap a cloth round it and use that

Gers

Just bought the Polti Vaporette from John Lewis - comes with free steam iron generator - it was expensive but a fab machine. It holds 2 litres of water, takes about 5 minutes to heat up and the water lasts about an hour.

Of course I went mad and cleaned everything in sight. Bought it for the bathroom and kitchen floors really but used it to clean toilet, shower, the sofa with the material cover (didn't go near the leather one!), microwave oven, gas oven, kitchen tiles and the curtain in the bedroom hiding the bookshelves.

I believe it's good for giving clothes the once over after a night out in a smoky pub/club.

So far so good. The high pressure steam kills bed mites dead but I'm saving the mattress for last as it's latex and less than a year old.

I haven't tried the steam iron generator yet but am told that the high pressure steam irons clothes much faster and pushes the steam through to both sides of the item. Might even start ironing sheets and duvet covers again!!

I'd recommend a steam cleaner for some things and the other OS stuff for other things - does that make sense??