Steam Cleaning Floors

My downstairs has a lot of hard surfaces like tile and hardwoods.  I cleaned the tiles thoroughly with various cleaners like ammonia and white vinegar when I moved in.  The way the tiles are they have lighter and darker areas.  I wanted to get a steam cleaner to give them a deeper clean.

I decided on the Bissell Powerfresh Steam Cleaner.  It has 3 levels of cleaning and these pod things you put in that make the floors smell good. 

I chose the deepest clean setting which is very intense steam and left it in place for a bit on each tile.  They give you 2 cloths and you should use distilled water.  It is a large area and took me 4 hrs from start to finish.  I definitely feel the intense heat of the steam would kill any bacteria.  I got a lot of dirt up I didn't realize I had especially around the fireplace. 

My process was to vacuum the whole downstairs first.  I then started in the powder room and kitchen area.  I used one cloth and then took it off and used the second (as they get dirty).  Once I got those areas done I washed the cloths and let those floors dry.  I moved into the dinette area and then into the main living room.  I stopped and washed the cloths.  I then moved to the hardwoods but did them on light steam and that was much quicker.  My last area was the master bathroom.  It went pretty fast.

Overall I was happy with the process.  It was easy to use and I feel like my floors are cleaner.  The cloths do get dirty/discolored.  I guess that means I had a dirty floor....eek.  I think I will clean regularly with the Swiffer like I have and a few times a year do the steam to keep it really clean.

I like the steamer it was lightweight and easy to use.