Last Updated on January 10, 2023
Besides steaming the creases and crumples out of your clothing, garment steamers are a great tool to have around the home. They are an excellent alternative to the standard iron if you want a safe and efficient way to get your clothes looking fantastic.
What many fans of garment steamers don’t realise, however, is that you can do a lot more with these devices than just make your garments wrinkle-free. Access to a plentiful supply of hot steam could help you to tackle a wide range of chores in your home.
Here’s your guide to learning what is a garment steamer used for and how you can utilise it around the home.
Ways to Use a Garment Steamer
Aside from removing wrinkles, clothes steamers have many other uses. Here are just a few things you can do with that handy steam button.
1. Clean Your Sofa or Furniture
There’s only so much you can do with a vacuum on your couch and other pieces of fabric-covered furniture. However, with a steam cleaning appliance, it’s easy to get rid of stains in no time. Using distilled hot water vapour, you can transform your home furniture surfaces quickly and avoid exposing delicate materials to hefty amounts of moisture.
It’s not just sofas that benefit from a quick go over with modern steamers, too. You can also clean other fabric furniture around your home – such as pet beds, dining room chairs, and drapes or curtains.
2. Remove Tricky Carpet Stains
When you’re done dusting your drapes and getting creases out of your curtains, why not use your clothes steamer as a new method to remove annoying spots in your carpet? Carpet stains are no match for a great steamer. Just apply the hot steam following the guide in your products instructions and you’ll see dirt and bacteria starting to disappear from your carpet fibres. Remember to use some carpet safe detergent for even better results.
3. Sanitise Surfaces
There are so many uses for a steamer. Your clothes steamer is a powerful product that’s capable of reaching extremely high temperatures. That makes garment steamers excellent for sanitising surfaces. Just steam clean your kitchen countertops, tables, bathroom, and anything else you can think of to get them looking as good as new. The steamer will ensure you don’t have any lingering bacteria left behind.
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4. Clean Grease
Did you know that your garment steamers are excellent for cleaning pesky grease stains and difficult-to-remove dirt? Capable of more than just ironing your clothes and heat-treating creases in fabric, your garment steamer can use extreme heat to break down grease build-up for easy removal. You can also use it to get rid of mildew and hard water stains in your bathroom and kitchen.
5. Transform Your Car
Want to get your car looking great again? A handheld steam cleaner can help with that. Cleaning cars is one of the best uses for a garment steamer. You can clean both interior and exterior parts of your vehicle, remove stains from seats, and wipe off bacteria on your dashboard. A steamer can also be one of the best ways to avoid exposing your car to too much water when you’re washing the inside. Why pay for someone to detail your car when you can care for your vehicle on your own?
Can You Use a Garment Steamer to Clean?
As you can see, there are tons of uses for a garment steamer beyond making irons obsolete. A garment steamer doesn’t just transform the clothing in your wardrobe, it can also be a great way to clean fabrics and surfaces around your home. The combination of heat and moisture the device uses means that a garment steamer is one of the best ways to remove stubborn stains and dirt.
You can even find plenty of tips and article insights online that can teach you how to use your steamer with specific fabrics or surfaces. Just remember, if you want to get the most out of your garment steamer, you’ll need to make sure you read the instructions provided with your device. Not all steamer products will be able to handle all cleaning jobs.
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Some Points to Remember
To get the most out of your experience:
1. Make sure that your garment steamer reaches the right heat.
Cool water vapour won’t help to sanitise surfaces. If you want to remove some spots of bacteria from around your house, ensure that your steamer can reach at least 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Know how to use your devices with clothes and fabrics.
Some fabrics aren’t suitable for use with a garment steamer. If you have a silk shirt in your closet labelled “dry clean only”, don’t use your steamer. You might need to avoid irons with these delicate fabrics, too.
3. Read the label.
Before using your garment steamer, check the label on your clothing or the instructions provided with the furniture you want to clean.
4. Avoid using your steamer with the wrong material.
Fabrics that can’t withstand high degrees of heat should not be steamed. The same is true for surfaces.
5. Use caution with colours that run.
If the fabric material you’re steaming has more than one colour, be careful. The colours may run and damage your garment if you’re not careful.
6. Prep the item appropriately.
If you’re using your steamer on clothes, hang the garment outside of your closet, and follow the easy-to-use instructions provided by the company. If you’re using the steamer with other fabrics, consider whether detergents and extra products are necessary.
Is a Garment Steamer Better Than an Iron?
You’re the only person who can decide whether a garment steamer is better than your steam iron. A garment steamer has more uses than an iron in general, as you can see from our tips above. You can use your garment steamer to clean almost all the items in your house – from your bedposts to your door handles. You can even sanitise surface areas with your steamer and make the whole place look better than ever. With minimal weight to carry around, a garment steamer is a great way to improve your look, and easily clean your home.
Final Thoughts
Just remember that it’s important to do your research before you place your steamer too close to certain products. While many items respond well to steam cleaning, not all of them will. You should check the tips provided by your fabric or garment manufacturer just in case. Look at the instructions on your furniture, and be careful when experimenting with different uses.
Now that you know more about what is a garment steamer used for, we hope you enjoy using your clothes steamer to its full potential now.
Rebekah is a writer who loves to explore new products and find hacks that make life easier. She has a knack for all things home improvement, health and fitness. So you’ll often find her on Pinterest or browsing Houzz for ideas.
She’s always looking for the next thing to fix up around the house or what gadget might be just right for her lifestyle. Rebekah enjoys exploring new recipes, taking care of her family, and making sure she stays healthy with regular workouts at the gym.