Steam Cleaning Applications

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published September 2025

 

 

Does steam get its due?

We’ve asked that question in the past. The answer remains the same: No.

Our nation rests on enormous reserves of coal, which powered transition from an agrarian to an industrial society. The advent of steam engines allowed water to be pumped from coal mines and coal mining got a big boost.

Local steam engines – reciprocating beauties of many sorts – powered manufacturing until the big leap to electric motors and electricity distributed by a central generation plant.

Worth remembering, though, the grid-supplied electric power got its start with steam generation. And whether water is heated by burning fossil fuel or a nuclear reactor, steam continues to be a significant force in electric power generation.

Today, steam turbines generate most of the world’s electricity and more than 40 percent of the electricity in the United States. And steam remains an unseen and quiet force in industry.

Thus, it should not surprise that the utility of steam in cleaning applications also gets little attention. Of course, when something works well, it’s often simply overlooked.

Depending upon how broadly steam cleaning is defined, the assistance steam provides with cleanups ranges far and wide. “Steam can be a surprisingly effective and environmentally friendly method for managing weeds, whether it be on a farm, or a college campus, or in your backyard,” says Byron Lafferty, vice president – sales, Steam Cleaners Inc. in Fresno, CA.

Cleaning up weeds puts us in the broad view category, but to those who combat weed growth attaching the idea of cleanup to the rogue plants makes sense. For a more exacting cleanup example, try chewing gum.

Steam possesses the power to simplify removal of gum, and outcomes get noticed. “We’ve found that grounds crews for school districts and municipalities are impressed by how easily gum can be removed from sidewalks with steam,” says Lafferty.

There’s no overstatement in the word ‘impressed’. The contributions steam makes to cleaning are enormous.

From clean pores (steam baths) to clean surgical instruments (autoclaves), steam often has a direct effect on human health. Of course, it also promotes health indirectly by accomplishing some of the most difficult cleaning tasks in our surroundings.

Given its potency, steam can often achieve cleaning results that would otherwise require use of chemicals. Because it can reduce the need for chemicals, steam brings another health – and environmental – benefit.

The closer we look at steam, the more uses we discover. Let’s do some exploring.

But let’s first revisit some terminology. Steam is water vapor (water in gaseous state). Not all steam is equivalent; there’s a precise system for naming the types of steam.

The terms dry (or dry saturated) and wet steam are used. Dry steam is water vapor under sufficient pressure (at its temperature) that there is no liquid component.

If there is no water in suspension (liquid component zero), steam quality is 100 percent. And the steam is designated as dry. Wet steam (or unsaturated steam) retains a liquid component (droplets or mist) at its given temperature and pressure.

That’s it for the extremely short version of steam terminology. Again, the quality, or nature, of steam is determined by the interplay of temperature and pressure. Even with that, we oversimplify. For instance, there is superheated steam, which can be wet or dry, and there is supercritical water.

 

Interesting and significant

Steam gets deployed in efforts to remove mold and prevent mold growth, says

Chris Caulfield, general manager of Therma-Kleen in Au Gres, MI. “This is interesting to me because it seems counterintuitive to apply more moisture to an area with a mold issue.”

But steam gets the job done. “[The] high temperature steam, when applied to mold, not only cleans the mold from the surface, it penetrates deep into the molded material to kill the mold spores and prevent future [mold] growth,” explains Caulfield.

Cleaning surfaces with mold-combatting chemicals is an option. But if spores remain, the mold will regrow. By killing both the mold and its spores, steam offers a one-step approach.

We are far from the plateau of new cleaning applications that deploy steam. “The use of steam cleaners to clean HVAC coils and heat exchangers seems to really be taking off,” says Caulfield. “The dry vapor steam cleaners can be used for thinner coils, but for thicker, commercial coils we typically see lower pressure wet steam being utilized for this purpose.”

Steam alleviates the risk of damaging the fins on the coils, a risk that is present with the use of pressure washers, explains Caulfield. “The use of steam cleaners also decreases the amount of water and chemicals required [to clean the coils].”

When we link steam to reduction in water use, we may have an intuitive picture of significant savings. But even that image likely falls short.

“The amount of water used in dry vapor steam cleaning is still surprising to most people new to this process,” says Caulfield. “Dry vapor steam cleaners typically use only about a gallon of water per hour.”

One gallon per hour? “This shocks most people when they hear [it],” says Caulfield. “[Reduction] of water usage and elimination of harsh cleaning chemicals is what makes steam cleaning the greenest choice for cleaning nearly any surface.”

Cleaning in the food processing industry has benefited enormously from steam. “In my opinion, the use of dry vapor steam cleaning in food processing has been a game-changer, especially in the processing of dry food where very little moisture can be introduced,” says Caulfield.

The use of dry vapor steam cleaning allows food manufacturers to reduce the use of water and chemicals and at the same time accomplish the essential task, says Caulfield. “They are still able to sanitize the equipment and all surfaces within the plant without risking remaining chemical residues.” (Such residues could potentially contaminate food.)

Nearly any surface can be sanitized using steam, says Caulfield. That’s just one on a long list of uses for steam cleaners. Among the others he cites as examples of the versatility of steam cleaning are eradication of bed bugs, removal of stains from fabrics, elimination of pet odors, and reduction of allergens (e.g., pollen and dust mites).

 

Quiet innovation

 

The potency and utility of steam are enormous. Yet day-in and day-out steam serves very quietly. Why that should be so is an interesting question. And it’s beyond our scope.

Let’s just say that the innovation involving steam keeps coming – quite often very quietly. Like all innovation, a great deal builds upon what already exists.

“One of the most interesting applications I’ve seen is in dry clean or low-moisture facilities,” says Sean Westerwelle, a sales representative with Steamericas in Gardena, CA. “Think food processing plants or cold storage operations with no drainage.”

In addition to the plusses of steam in such facilities already cited – less water, no chemicals, there’s another. “Watching our customers hit sanitation targets without flooding a floor or risking runoff [and] slip potentials is incredibly satisfying,” says Westerwelle.

Putting steam cleaning options within reach of the widest possible customer base will multiply the benefits of steam. And Westerwelle explains that the compact, high-performance steamer, the Optima XEm, available from his company does that. “It’s electric, consistent, and simple, making it ideal for facilities where diesel or bigger units just aren’t practical or allowed.”

Which is the biggest challenge in cleaning? It depends upon the setting. While a commercial property owner may be vexed by chewing gum with a firm grip on walkways, rails, and plazas, a manufacturer might be more likely to think first of grease and oil on machine parts.

“People new to steam cleaning are blown away when they see it remove grease and oil from machinery,” says Westerwelle. Their firsthand experience dispels their assumption that high pressure, caustic chemicals or a large amount of water are needed.

“Seeing [the reaction of people] when they see dry steam get into tight spaces and clean more thoroughly without waste is amazing,” says Westerwelle. (Tight spaces, crevices, and the like, really put steam to the test and it sails through.)

Steam simplifies so many cleaning processes. Is there one among them that stands out in Westerwelle’s mind? “One word: sanitation,” he says.

“In sectors like beverage bottling or packaging, steam allows cleaning in place without disassembly,” explains Westerwelle. “Less downtime. Less chemical exposure for workers. It simplifies workflows and shifts how teams think about maintenance.”

There’s a question that hangs in the air in the universe of steam applications, and Westerwelle asks it: “What’s holding more companies back from using steam?”

Does Westerwelle have an answer? “In my experience, it’s a mix of legacy thinking and misinformation,” he says. “People think steam equals fragile, slow, or underpowered – until they see a demo. Once that switch flips, they’re often asking [themselves] why they didn’t try it sooner.”

There’s genuine poetry in the development of steam as a partner in commerce and industry. Steam powers essential processes across sectors, and it also reduces the impact (waste, water use, chemicals) of the processes.