Dry Vapor Steam Cleaning: The Basics & Beyond

What you learn about vapor steam cleaners will amaze you, and prove it's time you own one.

What Is a Vapor Steam Cleaner?

A vapor steam cleaner is the most cost-effective, efficient, environmentally friendly cleaning systems in today's market. It might look like a vacuum, but it is not. Nor is it a conventional "steam" cleaner or pressure washer. A vapor steam cleaner is a very powerful cleaning device that uses only water to clean, disinfect, and deodorize virtually any surface–without chemicals.

Advanced Vapor Technologies (Advap) has a complete family of both residential (Ladybug) and commercial vapor steam cleaners (MondoVap and VaporJet) to help you clean your home or business. Each vapor steam cleaner is designed to be simple to operate and maintain, and rugged down to the last detail, including protective finishes. And they are backed by the best warranty in the business.

How Does It Work?

Using less than a gallon of ordinary tap water, vapor steam cleaners create a low moisture vapor that carries heat to the surface of what is being cleaned. The heat combined with light agitation does all the work.

Vapor steam cleaners come with a variety of accessories that allow heated vapor to focus on the surface of what is being cleaned while applying a brushing action to release dirt and grease. They are designed for an unlimited number of applications, from walls and floors to ovens and countertops.

Cleaning with vapor eliminates chemical residues while disinfecting the surface being treated. Because so little water is used, approximately 1.5 quarts per hour, cleaning with vapor is virtually "mess-free" and dries almost instantly.

Vapor steam cleaners are quiet and portable, allowing for use anytime and anywhere.

What Is Steam Vapor?

Steam vapor describes a system that produces a high-temperature, low-moisture vapor. The vapor contains only 5% water and is much less dense than the air we breathe.

Over the past few years, you have been exposed to products being promoted as steam cleaners that use no steam at all—maybe warm water on a good day. These so-called "steam machines" spray-on large amounts of water using quantities described in "gallons per minute." You may ask, "Where's the steam?"

A vapor steam cleaner, by contrast, is equipped to safely produce thousands of gallons of vapor using only about 1.5 quarts of water per hour. This significant difference relates directly to the versatility and capabilities of vapor steam cleaners. It is unlike anything you have used before.

Cleaning with vapor is mess-free with temperatures hot enough to kill bacteria and germs, or emulsify grease and oil. The vapor steam cleaner is also quiet and portable so it can be used anywhere at any time.

What Can I Use It On?

Vapor steam cleaners are practical for any surface, except for those surfaces that are extremely heat sensitive, such as the painted exterior of an automobile. Surfaces such as silks, some very thin plastics, and some types of velour upholstery must also be treated with care.

Vapor steam cleaners have uses beyond cleaning and disinfecting. Defrosting freezers, thawing frozen pipes, dusting and misting live plants, polishing jewelry are but a few of the non-cleaning applications. The use of a vapor steam cleaner, in general, contributes directly to better indoor air quality by reducing chemical residuals and removing airborne particles.

Where Do You Put the Water?

A vapor steam cleaner has a tank or boiler, that is filled with ordinary tap water before each use. The boiler heats the water and changes it into a hot "dry" mist, which is called vapor. The unique benefit of vapor is that it a low-moisture, high-temperature product containing only about 5% water.

This patented cleaning system creates the proven power of heat to safely disinfect and clean while reducing chemical use. Hard surfaces like floors and kitchen appliances dry within seconds. Soft surfaces like mattresses and carpets also dry almost instantly. This reduces the time and effort required for many tasks.

How Much Pressure Does It Produce?

Vapor steam cleaners produce low pressure, usually in the range of 60-70 PSI. Low pressure creates a very safe and easy to use cleaning system. Not only does it get the job done without making a mess, but low pressure also does not degrade the surface of what is being cleaned, thereby extending its life.

Where Does the Dirt Go?

Depending on the application, the dirt loosened by a vapor steam cleaner is simultaneously absorbed in a terry cloth bonnet, or rinsed or wiped away using an absorbent cloth.

Can Vapor Be Used to Treat Allergies?

The vapor steam cleaner, unlike other cleaning or pest control methods, uses heat to do the work—not chemicals or poisons.

Consider dust mites. These unwanted intruders live in fabrics and carpets and are common in every room of the house. But people receive their greatest exposure in the bedroom, where they spend 1/3 of their lives. Mattresses and pillows are out-and-out dust mite resorts. The recommended treatment for dust mites is to launder the infected item in water at a temperature of at least 130° F or treat the surface with a tannic acid solution. This is difficult to do with carpets, couches, and mattresses—or your best suit, which likely is highly contaminated.

The vapor steam cleaner is a knight in shining armor because it carefully penetrates all of these surfaces thoroughly with temperatures over 180° F. And the heat kills the mites without over wetting the surface. Whatever is cleaned is completely dry in a matter of seconds—not hours.

After treating a surface it is recommended that you vacuum it thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arresting) filter, which traps microscopic particles that pass through ordinary vacuum cleaners.

Either way, dust mites, fleas, flea eggs, and flea larvae are killed instantly by short-term exposure to vapor.

Can Vapor Help With My Sensitivity to Chemicals?

Because vapor steam cleaners use only water, chemicals, and their odors that can create health risks for adults, children, and pets, are not introduced into the environment as you clean. Vapor steam cleaners remove chemical residuals left behind from previous cleanings, as well as remove odors (such as perfumes) from garments and other fabrics.

Also, vapor steam cleaners provide a means to sanitize many critical surfaces that are important to your health without using odiferous toxic germicides. However, if you suffer from chronic and severe chemical sensitivity, you should have someone else do the work, particularly during the initial cleanup.

Because vapor steam cleaners reach into the pores of the fabric and hard surfaces, it will drive out contaminates and chemical residue from those surfaces. This may harm you until those contaminants are completely removed.

Why Haven't I Heard of This Before?

Vapor steam cleaners are a mystery to a lot of people. If you reside in the U.S., the reason is very straight forward. Vapor steam cleaners, while as common in Europe as the vacuum cleaner, have only recently been introduced to this country. Because our electrical power supply is different from the European electrical system, the vapor steam cleaner had to be re-engineered for use here.

All the vapor steam cleaners offered by Advap have undergone the most rigorous safety tests by ETL Laboratories and qualify as a disinfection device for the Unites States Environmental Agency (EPA Est. No. 82121-WA-01).

Spend some time on our website. Whether you’re an existing customer… or thinking about ordering a vapor steam cleaner… or merely interested in learning about vapor steam cleaners… it can be an eye-opening experience. When you explore our website, you’ll be surprised by how much there is to learn about vapor steam cleaners.

Are These Systems Being Used on a Commercial Basis?

Yes, businesses of all kinds such as hospitals like Cleveland Clinic, healthcare clinics, supermarkets, and fast-food chains are taking advantage of this chemical-free alternative.

Hotel companies like Marriott and Hilton, and those operated by The Walt Disney Company, look to the MondoVap to help maintain a healthy environment for their guests.

Schools like The University of North Carolina and The University of Washington use the MondoVap for a variety of cleaning and disinfecting jobs. High schools use it to clean up restrooms, which many students avoid because they consider them a health threat.

Amtrak uses the VaporJet for rail coach interior cleaning.

Vapor steam cleaners not only reduce labor and chemical costs but also prolong the life of business equipment by protecting it from degrading chemicals. Plus vapor steam cleaners reduce the need to use toxic cleaning products. This is significant because exposure to cleaning chemicals is the largest contributing risk factor for occupational illness and injury.

What Will Shipping Cost Me?

Shipping within the continental U.S. is free. Contact us for shipping charges outside this area.

How Long Will It Take to Receive My Order?

Advap makes every attempt to ship your order within 3-5 business days of order receipt. The actual delivery time is longer. Within the continental U.S., please allow 8-10 business days. Outside the continental U.S., delivery time depends on the shipping address. We do not ship on Saturday or Sunday.

Advap uses the most efficient carrier in your area. Shipping and handling times are approximate and not guaranteed. Pre- and post-shipment inspections and other importing delays caused by world events may slow delivery. Should an item be on backorder, please allow up to 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Are Your Products Always Available?

From time to time, some of our products may not be immediately available. In this case, you will be notified by email.

Can I Pay by Check or Money Order?

You cannot pay by check or money order online, but you can send them by mail, it will just take a little longer. Once we have received the check or money order from you, we will place the order. Customers who pay by check or money order will receive double Best Buy Gift Cards. For instructions on how to pay by check or money order, click here.