It is for jobs around the house but there's probably some ways I could use it on the car too. So I'm interested in seeing where you guys that use these things.
I'm sure there are tips out there, so bring 'em on!
You wont be dissapointed. they are brilliant for cleaning leather and for sprucing up filthy engines. I've taken manky aul heaps of engines and made them look like they were made yesterday with mine.
Its great for cleaning in around the seal of the windows aswell. you wouldnt believe how much crap gathers in there.
Thans for the response. I did a bit of Googling & searching over on Detailing World. There's a lot of guys over there using them in pace of chemicals. Like for cleaning under the arches & cleaning wheels. I'd say using a combination of armoury (chemicals & steam) would e very effective.
I might try clean the drivers seat in the 5 tomorrow if I get a chance & see how it turns out. There's loads of jobs now I have in my mind to try with it now!
I wouldn't be without my steam generator on the car.
Here's how I use it on a lot of details....
Exterior
APC and brush with steam on trim and rubber window seals gives them a deep cleaning.
Wipers. Badges. Grilles. Gaps around headlights. Wheel nut recesses. Door locks. Petrol Cap area. Door Jambs. Hinges - but re-grease after.
TBH, I only use the steamer on wheel arches when the weather is crap and I bring the car inside inside to do that. Otherwise, I do it outside with APC, various brushes, cloths, etc and running water (often not the PW).
Engine bay, as mentioned by Rich, it does a superb job melting down the grease with the help of some APC or Engine Degreaser. On plastics just use APC though.
Interior
... everywhere really! Great on seat-runners and around the gear-stick, ash-tray, vents, all those gaps where gunk accumulates and you would otherwise need a brush to remove. Does a great job of de-gunking the steering wheel with a bit of mild APC.
On seats and carpets, I use the shampoo extraction machine first and finish with the steamer. It acts in three ways - removes any stubborn dirt and stains, acts as a rinse to remove the shampoo residue, and finally has a good antibacterial action to leave the interior fresh and neutral. Its great on the headline cloth as well and don't forget the area down the inside of where the door the meets the interior windows. This is where dirt can accumulate.
It might take a while to get around all those areas with your one, but just plan each job and you will get excellent results. Mines a 5-bar steamer so its got a bit of extra power to do the job in the time I need, but since I got it, I don't know how I ever got by without it.
Thanks Brian! Sounds like I'll have to commandeer it purely for car jobs so! There's probably better machines but this is what I have now.
Looking forward to using it now when I get back to Cork at the weekend!
Big steam cleaners are pretty effing expensive but seem to be getting more popular. Fingers crossed they come down in price, but excess of €4K is out of the question.
The one I have is small & compact but has 5 bar pressure and runs about 1 litre for about 25 mins. In the past when the weather was crap, I brought cars inside and sprayed them with waterless and pressure-steamed the gunk down onto the floor. Effectively a touch-less wash. Too inefficient and takes too long to be practical, but left a sparkling car.
Those little kettle-shaped steamers, the cheap ones are not worth it at all, especially for anything car related.
Yeah it depends on the nozzle you are using. Mine has brushes, jets, fabric cleaner heads, glass cleaners etc etc. The jets have loads of pressure but the other heads are like ya said, there not supposed to be very strong.
I bought the one rebelranter has and tried it out on the kitchen floor! considering that it's washed every week the gunk that the steam removed was amazing. Can't wait to try it out on an engine
I used mine today on the e36 to clean the window channel rubbers, the gunk that came out of there was unreal. I also did a nice tidy job around the the fuel filler area.
I really need to do a full detail on the 36 in the next few weeks, I've only been washing it since September. Having it sit there with only the odd spin around the block is not doing it much good.
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