You probably may have considered using essential oils in your steam mop, especially if you love using essential oils in diffusers. Can you put essential oil in a steam mop? Is it safe the water reservoir? Are there other alternatives to incorporating essential oils in your cleaning routines using a steam mop if it is not safe?
Keep reading this article to find out the specific reasons and other related questions.
Can you put essential oil in a steam mop?
It is not a good idea.
Essential oils have an antibacterial effect and can deodorize floors after cleaning. Using essential oils in a steam mop is not safe nor advisable because of how steam cleaners work: Not all steamers can be used with cleaning products and essential oils.
It is, however, not impossible to incorporate essential oils when cleaning using a steam mop. If you want to incorporate essential oils, you can dab a drop of essential oil on the steam mop before you put it on.
Alternatively, you can spray the essential oil directly on the floor while passing the steam mop over.
1. Can you put essential oils in a Shark steam cleaner?
You cannot use essential oils in a Shark steam cleaner because the oil will sit on top of the water. Essential oils do not dissolve in water; they will float on water.
When you empty the water tank, the oil leaves a film of grease around the water reservoir. And your floor will be sticky after you mop it.
The oil can damage your steam mop by clogging parts of the steamer, and you might need to replace it.
3. Can you use essential oils in the Bissell steam mop?
You do not need to use essential oils to add fragrance when mopping with Bissell steam mop.
Bissell steam mops come with fragrance disks such as Spring Breeze fragrance discs.
You can insert the fragrance disks into your mop. Additionally, Bissell mops are used with their specific scented water, demineralized for use with Bissell steam mop.
4. What kind/types of essential oil are safe to use?
It is best to safely use essential oils with a steam mop by rubbing a few drops on the mop to dilute the essential oils.
You can rub essential oils like lemon oil, pine oil, and tea tree oil on steam mop pads.
Lemon oil will leave your floors and carpet smelling tremendous and citrusy. Additionally, it will remove grease and tough stains from your floor.
Pine oil is excellent and a popular choice for many because of its antibacterial properties.
Tee tree oil is also popular because of its anti-fungal and antibacterial properties; it will kill germs on your floors.
Questions About What You Can/Can’t Add to a Steam Cleaner
1. Can you put disinfectant in a steam mop and why and tips?
You are discouraged from putting disinfectants in a steam mop and the steam cleaner reservoir. Why should you not add disinfectants? Some disinfectants produce toxic fumes when heated in a steam cleaner. As a result, the toxic fumes can cause the steam cleaner to catch fire and explode.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions- unless they recommend and approve specific disinfectants, do not take the risk.
You do not need to add disinfectants to a steam mop/cleaner because steam cleaning kills 99.9 percent of germs and microorganisms, including viruses, provided the water is heated to 175 degrees to be an effective sterilizer.
- Tips:
Disinfectants are suitable, and they do a great job at killing germs. Since you cannot add disinfectants to a steam mop/cleaner, the safest way to do this is to disinfect surfaces at least 15 minutes before steam mopping.
2. Can you put vinegar in a steam mop and why and tips?
You can add vinegar to a steam mop as it is a powerful cleaning agent, especially on vinyl and tiled floors. Adding vinegar enhances the cleaning power of the mop and will have additional benefits.
Because vinegar is an antibacterial cleaning agent, it will kill germs. Remove stubborn stains and disinfect the floors. Vinegar has deodorizing effects and will leave your room smelling nice.
- Tips:
Mix a quarter part of vinegar and three-quarters of water. Put the solution in a spray bottle and spritz some on the floor before passing your steam mop.
3. Can you use bona in a steam mop, and what tips?
If you are cleaning wooden floors, you cannot add Bona to the steam mop or the steam cleaner. Steam cleaners are not recommended for wooden floors because steam can cause damage to your wooden floors.
Do not incorporate Bona directly if you want to use a steam cleaner for your wooden floor. Bona is a good floor cleaner for wooden floors and will leave the floor looking great.
Instead, use Bona and your steam cleaner separately and wipe the floors immediately to remove excess moisture.
- Tips:
Sweep the floors. Using Bona and a damp microfiber cloth, clean the wooden floor. Afterward, turn the spray nozzle of your steamer to mist, then spray directly on the floor.
After steaming, wipe up the cleaner using a dry microfiber cleaning mop or cloth. As an extra precaution, take the cleaning pad of the steam mop off and rinse it out with warm water to release traces of Bona.
Wring it out, then attach it back to the mop.
4. Can you put chemicals in a steam cleaner and why and tips
No, you cannot put chemicals in a steam cleaner. Adding chemicals can cause corrosion of the steam cleaner and potentially damage your steam cleaner as some chemicals can be reactive.
When you use many chemicals when steam cleaning, your floor feels sticky. The soapy residue left behind dries out, causing the sticky feeling.
With steam cleaners, you are advised to use distilled water only. Using a steamer is as good as using a disinfectant-you do not need to use both: Steam is an effective disinfectant, and a steam cleaner is designed to offer chemical-free cleaning.
- Tips:
If you must use a chemical, only use those approved for use with a steam cleaner and follow the manufacturer’s direction.
5. Can you add a scent to a steam mop and why and the tips
You can add vinegar or natural essential oils to your steam mop. Vinegar is a natural deodorizer.
Adding vinegar to your water or a few drops of tea tree oil, orange oil, or lavender oil to the steam mop pad will enhance the cleaning by disinfecting the floors and leaving your house smelling great.
- Tips:
The safest way to incorporate essential oils when steam cleaning is by dabbing a few drops of the essential oil on your steam mop before putting the mop in the steam cleaner.
6. Can I put eucalyptus oil in my steam mop and tips?
Yes, you can add eucalyptus oils to your steam mop. Eucalyptus is a common and popular oil used in steam cleaning because it is a good disinfectant and has natural antibacterial properties.
Additionally, Eucalyptus has a cleansing odor and can remove mold and mildew from the surfaces.
- Tips:
Put a few drops of the Eucalyptus essential oil on the backside of the steam mop to act as a diffuser.
7. Can you put dish soap in a steam mop?
Liquid dish soap and detergents are used to clean tiles and floors, but they are inappropriate for steam cleaner/mop use. Using dish soap only puts your cleaner at a dish of getting damaged.
Additionally, the dish soap may contain harmful chemicals that may cause damage to your steam mop /cleaner and is hazardous to the environment.
- Tips:
Avoid dish soap and laundry detergents inside a steam mop/cleaner. Use water only and additional additives recommended by the manufacturer.
What Can You Put in a Steam Mop to Smell Better?
1. What makes your rooms smell better after steam mopping?
Some manufacturers of steam cleaners recommend using specific cleaning products, for example, dilute vinegar. Sometimes, you might need to mask odd smells and the smell of dampness after cleaning your floors.
Using vinegar solution can make your house smell better. To prepare this mixture, you can use soap and water and squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice.
Put the cleaning vinegar and lemon cleaning solution in a spray bottle and spritz on the floor before mopping. Do not add the mixture into the water tank directly.
Put some essential oil fragrances like lavender or orange on the steam mop pad if you want a more potent fragrance. Alternatively, you can add essential oils to your cleaning products to leave behind a lovely fragrance.
2. Popular products you can choose.
Steam cleaners are effective in cleaning and disinfecting. However, water alone is not enough to leave behind a pleasing scent after steam cleaning.
What products can you put in your steam mop or cleaner to make your room smell better without a harmful effect on your steam cleaner and mop?
There are additives available in the market; they are recommended supplied by some manufacturers of steam mop/cleaners- the products will not release toxic fumes when heated in a steam mop/cleaner.
Therefore, you are not limited to using water alone and a little bit of vinegar.
Some of the products that are formulated to use with steam cleaners:
- Bissell Eucalyptus Mint Demineralized Water: This solution will leave your room with a fresh and refreshing minty-eucalyptus scent.
- Hoover Steam Plus 4X Hard Floor Solution: Your room will smell like fresh linen when you use this product
Conclusion
Unless your manufacturer recommends or your steam cleaner has dual functions, do not use anything apart from water in your steam cleaner.
It is best to use only demineralized water because the steam alone is sufficient to get your house clean and disinfected.
When using your steam cleaners, it is best to practice safety to avoid damaging the system by adding additives that your steam mop manufacturer does not recommend.
Ensure you sweep the floor or the area you want to steam clean and use distilled water in the water tank and approved additives for a more satisfying steam mop.
