Hey guys! I hope you have all had a great week! The kids have just left for a camping weekend away with their grandparents so I am hoping that this will be a very productive weekend for me. I have a ton of projects planned and can’t wait to share them all with you! If you want to have an idea what I am up to, you can check out my June To Do List. 🙂
Today we are going to be talking kitchen cleaning. Ugh. We all know how hard it is to keep the kitchen clean. For most of us, it is probably the busiest room in our home, and just when you think it is all cleaned, another mess is created. It is pretty much a never ending story…
I am always on the look out for effective and efficient green cleaning ideas, and was so excited to try out one of these SteamMachine Plus Steam Mops from Homeright. It is super light weight, easy to handle, and one of the most versatile cleaning products I have used. I have been using the Homeright Steam Machine Power Steamer for the past couple of years and use it frequently for cleaning our tiles and deep cleaning the bathroom. For something new, I decided to put my SteamMachine Plus to the test in the kitchen.
The new SteamMachine Plus heats up in under 30 seconds so there is no waiting around before you are able to use it. I also love that I can add some of my favorite essential oils for a nice, fresh scent {you can read more about the best essential oils to use for cleaning here}. I think that the lemon is probably my favorite scent to use in the kitchen – it’s such a clean smell – but you can always use your favorite or mix and match to create a custom scent. Just add about 10 drops to the steam cleaner where you add your water.
So why do you want to clean with steam? The high temperature, high pressurized steam from the SteamMachine Plus easily loosens and dissolves dirt, grease, and grime {meaning NO scrubbing!!!} and kills 99.9% of all germs and bacteria without the use of any chemicals. This will be, by far, the easiest and quickest way to get through all of that kitchen cleaning!
Okay. So let’s get down to work. Aside from being able to steam clean your floors {and there is even an attachment so you can clean the carpets too!}, this little steamer has lots of other uses in the kitchen. My very favorite thing about this unit is that it transforms into a hand held steamer and comes with a variety of attachments to clean windows, grout, counters, and more. This lets you get into all of those little nooks and crannies that can often be hard to clean. I put the steam cleaner to the test with my lovely oven. 
The “after” shot was taken after using the steam cleaner for about 3 or 4 minutes and required NO scrubbing. I just used the scraper attachment on the hand held steamer, steamed it down, and wiped up the grime with an old rag {don’t use a nice cloth for this as it will get VERY dirty!} There are definitely other green ways of cleaning your oven but I can’t imagine anything faster than this!
I also gave it a go in the microwave oven…
To keep the microwave smelling fresh, I leave a mason jar {with holes poked in the top} filled with baking soda and about 10-15 drops of essential oils. When I am done, I just shake up the jar and put it back in the microwave. Just make sure you don’t use it with it in there! It is also really helpful if you can leave the door open for a few minutes after you have finished using it to help it air out a bit.
Easy-peasy!!
If you are looking to boost up your kitchen cleaning routine and cut down on your time spent doing it, I would definitely recommend giving the SteamMachine Plus a try. You can have your whole kitchen cleaned and disinfected in no time and, for some reason, it is a little more fun cleaning with steam! 😉
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Homeright did provide me with a SteamMachine Plus Steam Mop. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
I shared this post at The Cards We Drew.
Great post! I have tile floors in my kitchen and they have some texture to them. As usual it’s the busiest and highest traffic floor in the house. Wich means always needs cleaning! Mopping just doesn’t get the dirt out of the grooves and pits in the tile. Do you think steaming would help? If I get down on the floor, I can get the dirt up with a good bit of elbow geease. I’m looking for something a little easier and kinder to my knees! Thanks!
Yes, the steam would totally help! I do find that for really dirty grout, I still get down and wipe it with a towel after I have blasted it with the steam, but it doesn’t require any elbow grease. And it should be easier to maintain once it has been given a good clean! Hope that helps. 🙂
Wow! Totally impressed, Jenn! I love the idea of cleaning the oven without chemicals!
Wow! This article proved that steam could really be that powerful in cleaning various areas in our homes and appliances in the kitchen. People always revert to easier ways like using chemicals and various cleaning items that are readily available at the grocery store when there are many ways of doing so. Not only is steaming chemical free, it is also one of the greenest ways of cleaning your appliances and areas that gives never-ending cleaning story. Great article you have here and keep up the good work!
Great ideas. I am also going to try it on my bathroom shower door. Thanks for the tips, they are actually simple minded if you h t hink about it. Have a great weekend.
Yes, that should work great on a shower door! We just have a curtain so you will have to let me know how it goes!
I’ve always been a little hesitant as regards the steam machines. I actually think that nothing can be cleaned without any real detergents but as I look at the pictures I think I will try the steam machines. Thanks for the article, it’s useful!
While there definitely are some things that I still use cleaning products for, steam is one of the best santizers out there and it is totally chemical free. I think we are just habituated to using cleaning products so much. I had a hard time cutting down on everything at first but it is so much easier now!
Do you think steam cleaning would work on kitchen linoleum ? They have texture to them and look like tile, and it is VERY hard to clean the grooves. I’m like Cindy, I have to get down on my knees to really clean the floor.
Yes – I use it to clean the linoleum in our bathroom all the time. 🙂
Thanks, sooo much. Now tell me the name of this Steam Cleaner again, please.
ONE MORE TIME, I’M GOING TO TRY TO SEND THIS.
Thanks very much for your answer. Now, can you please tell me the name of the Steam Cleaner, again?
Thanks, sooo much. Now, can you please tell me the name of the Steam Cleaner, again? …..dotti
Sorry Dotti – this email never came through to my main email so I am just seeing it now when I look directly at the post. It is a Steam Machine Plus steam mop from Homeright.
For the microwave and baking soda hint, you can always use a small mayo/salad dressing jar with a plastic lid. That way if you forget and turn it on without taking out the jar (probably rare but it could happen) no problem since it doesn’t have a metal cap.
Great alternative!
I see that you have been using the canister style steamer. Which do you prefer, the mop style or the canister?
I like the canister style because I use it for a lot of little areas around the house and it is so much easier to use. 🙂
I have looked and looked for a steam cleaner and could never decide what would be the right one. I would steam clean everything but especially my older appliances and the bathroom!
I should definitely buy one of these steam cleaners because in that way I will stop using so many toxic and harmful for the health cleaners. Thanks for the interesting article! Cudham Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
I have a mop style now and love it. The canister with attachments looks great for other than floors. Where did you purchase the canister one from???
You can get them on Amazon and I believe Home Depot carries them as well. I love the portability of the hand held unit!
From cleaning ovens to removing carpet stains, steam cleaners promise to take the effort out of cleaning a range of household grime. And by using steam, it means they can be effective without chemicals, saving you money on buying cleaning products.
Can you use your steam cleaner on cupboards. Mine are all gummy.
I would be careful about using it on the cupboards depending on what they were made out of and whether or not they were painted or not. I’d just give it a try on the inside of one of the doors first. I would think that it would be fine on wood if done sparingly but I wouldn’t do it on a regular basis. If you have wood cabinets, the best thing I have found to get rid of the gunk, is cleaning it with a baking soda paste made from either baking soda and water or baking soda and olive oil {using about a 2:1 ratio}. Just use a toothbrush to get into all of those little nooks and crannies where the grunge tends to hang out. Hope that helps!
What a great tool for cleaning! I am amazed! Actually, I’ve heard from friends that steam cleaner do a great work, but I am used to the old-fashioned way! But you convinced me to buy one! Well done! Keep the great work!
Hey Jenn,
Steam mops are a really revolutionary gadget for “GREEN” household cleaning. People are slowly learning the unlimited benefits of steam mops as compared to the unhygienic traditional “BUCKET” mopping.
Even my children don’t hesitate to clean their room with this “steam thingy”…!!!! 😛
Really nice information.
Cheers buddy..!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂