# steaming - first impressions



## AndyC (Oct 25, 2005)

Well my Vax V081 arrived last week and unsurprisingly it was the cars that got worked on first.

Firstly I cleaned up the engine bay of the Saab. 34k now and not touched since I got it 10 months ago at 2k. Steam on medium pressure, old MF at the read, avoiding all electricals etc and off we went.

Reasonably impressed - no mess, all dirt removed easily, quick wipe over with Gloss It TRV and it all looks rather nice.

I then moved onto the 205 and it all went a bit downhill. Even on minimum setting, the volume of steam meant that I couldn't see what I was doing and even after some Surfex applied, left to dwell and then steamed I couldn't see a massive improvement to the oilier bits of the Pug's engine.

More testing needed for sure.

The kitchen floor was a different matter however. Wiped over with Surfex, dried and steamed and it's now cleaner than a clean thing and reasonably hygienic to boot - comforting with a 2 year old racing around.

It then came into its own again Monday night when said 2 year old projectile vomitted in her bed, our bed, her room, our room and so on. The odour from the steam wasn't exactly pleasant :doublesho but the carpets, bed, matress et al are now clean.

So a week on and I'd say it's a useful piece of kit but maybe not quite the revolution I'd expected. I intend to continue using it whatever as it used significantly less water when I worked on the cars than I expected and ditto the carpet cleaning (although if I'm being honest they're getting hit again this weekend with an extractor to make sure they're absolutely deep cleaned).


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## reign (Oct 6, 2008)

This topic is guaranteed to get me all "steamed - up".. I purchased a steamer recently, and I got to have it for a whole 8 days before it disappeared down the depths of Karl's "detailing equipment". I think the next time I'll see it will be in a write-up........:wall:

IMHO, every valeter/detailer needs one. It really helps on some of those trickier surfaces where you're not entirely sure what to use.. for instance, wax melted into plastic trims and whatnot. It's also better for the environment as there are no chemicals involved.


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## Johnnyopolis (Oct 25, 2005)

good little review there Andy - Thanks....

Steamer is something I think I need to try !! 

Johnny


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice to see you have taken the plunge and got yourself a vax.
I cant comment on this machine. Best man will be Bigpikle or Alex Serious Performance as they have the same machines. I could be the lack of pressure. But as I say not my machine.

What I can say is the steam issues at this time is year is the biggest problem. Humidity in the atmosphere and air temperature. Make the steam very dense. Which with the warmer weather should not present you with so much of a problem.

I have not really manage to source a really dirty oily engine myself. But if this is really bad you could probably try and warm the engine slightly by running it. Not to make it hot but just take the chill of the block. Also think about a degreaser applied and worked in with a small brush on the really stubborn areas, instead of an APC. 
I found my cleaner manage to shift tar spots with just the heat contained under a MF and not chemicals. So inturn its probably down to not really see the area worked on and that the heat is getting dispersed, with block temperature and not being contained locally.

You have carried out cleaning test that I have not even managed, cleaning up after the young one. But although it was not a pleasant experience for you. Glad it work out for you.

Gordon.


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Am interested in buying a steamer, can you recommend one, only problem is it must be cheap but up to the job.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

I will not recommend a brand or make this can be down to you, there is a lot out there.

But what you are looking for, is as high a PSI or Bar you can afford. With at least a minimum of say 130 C Steam temperature. Tools are an another consideration. So make sure you get the equipment for the jobs you are going to undertake. Dont buy one for interior cleaning without a upholstery cleaner for example. Although you can still do this just makes it harder for you and more of an ordeal, rather than a pleasure.


Shop about see what spec you can get and ask away before purchasing.

High Steam pressure
Highest steam temp.
Big enough water tank, But not to big as it become to heavy to use.
And not forgetting Tools.

This is what I would be looking at prior to purchasing a cleaner from my experiences.

Gordon.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

I love steam cleaners for cars, great on upholstery and for leather. I only use steam now for interiors gets dashboards really clean. I also aim it down the vents as it is supposed to kill of bacteria that air con produces.

Used it the other day on the back of my alloys, I havent cleaned the backs for a few years so there must be over 50,000 miles worth of dust, came up a treat.

I fancy a better steamer but the one from ScrewFix I have is fine, plenty of attachements and her in doors does the grout in the bathroom, comes up as new.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2009)

plankton said:


> I love steam cleaners for cars, great on upholstery and for leather. I only use steam now for interiors gets dashboards really clean. I also aim it down the vents as it is supposed to kill of bacteria that air con produces.


Thats an intresting thought, I would hazard a guess it doesen't actually work to be honest because once the steam is in relative open air it soon cools down to ambient temp. I'm not knocking that btw, i'm just having a logical think 

There would be an easy way to find out and that is feel the steam coming out of the other vents and see whether it is warm at all.

The only reason I bring it up is because on the Tv programs when they give toilets a quick waft with the steam it is a good few inches (even ft) from the nozzle, then the next minute they are holding it upto their hand saying how safe it is - I see a flaw in their logic


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

good to get your thoughts Andy

I havent attacked a really greasy engine yet either, but I did have success on some pretty dirty arches etc.

I know what you mean about steam and visibility. I have found a great way to reduce the issue is always have the steamer nozzle wrapped in a MF and just wipe while steaming.


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## reparebrise (Jan 19, 2009)

With steam , temp, and PSI are everything, get the highest of both you can afford, it's well worth the investment. Better to wait a while and get a better machine than make do with a cheaper one.

On another note, for the steaming of vents, with our machines steam goes in vent at 320f and comes out other side at 250f after 1 min, as far as aiming it at skin, 2 feet minimum or else it's burn time. But in the vents it is in a controlled low volume space.


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## [email protected] (Jan 9, 2006)

ive just found my old steam cleaner nozzle attachment from an earlex wallpaper stripper, it has a nozzle, brush and scraper attachment, might be tempted to have a play, all for saving chemical costs and usage


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

I used my steam cleaner today on my leather seats (used with a MF cloth), and then continued to do the rest of the interior...

So seats, carpet, dash (inc all the air vents etc) and boot all done with the steam cleaner, then dash etc wiped down with a clean MF cloth and the seats protected further with the Raceglaze leather care kit.

Everything came up very nice, and as you say Andy - very clean and easy to use!!!

I keep meaning to try it on the wheels and arches, but always forget... :wall:

Here is my little baby here...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Karcher-SC112...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1683|293:1|294:50

:thumb:


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