My Go With a High Pressure Steam Machine

Okay, let me tell you about my adventure with one of those high pressure steam machines. I'd been seeing them around, people talking about cleaning without nasty chemicals, and honestly, the grout in my shower was looking pretty sad. Plus, the cooker hood filter? Don't get me started. So, I decided to grab one and see what all the fuss was about.

Got the box home, pulled the machine out. It came with a bunch of different nozzles and brushes, which looked useful. First thing was filling it up. Found the little tank, unscrewed the cap – important safety cap, apparently, you can't open it when it's hot, which makes sense. Filled it with distilled water, like the instructions said. Didn't want to clog it up right away.

Plugged it in and waited. There was a light that needed to switch on or off, I forget which, to show it was hot enough. Took a few minutes. You could kind of hear it gurgling inside as it heated up. Felt a bit like waiting for an old kettle.

First target: The Shower Grout

Armed with the pointy nozzle, I aimed it right at the discolored grout lines. Pulled the trigger. Pssssh! A strong jet of hot steam shot out. It was quite powerful, actually. I moved it slowly along the lines. You could see some of the grime loosening up almost immediately. It wasn't magic, mind you. I still needed to go back over it with a cloth or a small brush afterwards to wipe away the loosened dirt, but the steam definitely did the hard work of breaking it down. Did a small section first, looked way better than the untouched part.

Next Up: The Greasy Cooker Hood Filter

This was the real test. Those metal mesh filters get disgusting. I took them out, laid them in the sink. Switched to a slightly wider nozzle, maybe the one with a brush attachment clipped on. Started blasting the grease. The steam cut through some of the surface stuff okay, but the really baked-on, sticky grease took a lot more effort. Had to hold the steam on one spot for a bit, then scrub. It was slow going. Made a bit of a greasy mess in the sink too, which I then had to clean. It helped, definitely cleaner than before, but didn't make them look brand new without a lot of patience and repeated steaming.

Other Random Attempts

• Window Tracks: Used the pointy nozzle again. Great for blasting out dirt and gunk stuck in the corners. Very satisfying.
• Around Taps: Good for getting into those awkward spots around the base of the bathroom taps where limescale builds up. Loosened it nicely for wiping away.
• Oven Door Glass: Tried it here too. Similar to the hood filter, it helped soften the baked-on stuff, but still needed scraping and wiping. Not a quick fix.

Things I Noticed

The machine gets hot, obviously. Handle with care. The steam is powerful close up. Don't point it at yourself or pets! The water tank isn't huge, so for bigger jobs, I found myself stopping to let it cool down, refill, then wait for it to heat up again. That broke the workflow a bit. Also, it's quite noisy when the steam comes out. And you end up with quite a bit of water condensation everywhere you've steamed, so have cloths ready.

So, overall? It's a handy tool for certain jobs. Really good for blasting grime out of tight spots like grout lines, window tracks, and around fixtures. For large areas or really tough, baked-on grease, it helps, but it's not always the miracle cure. It involves work – steaming, waiting, wiping, sometimes scrubbing. But doing it without harsh chemicals is a definite plus point for me. I'll keep using it for those specific jobs it does well.