Does A Steamer Really Clean?

Does A Steamer Really Clean?

Tiktok and Instagram are full of people offering their advice on the best way to clean clothes and sneakers. Many are offering advice on how to prolong the life of your clothes by using steamers to refresh clothes between washes. But does this really work? 

Keep reading to discover a different approach to cleaning.  One that will actually clean your clothes, remove bacteria and save both energy and water. 

Washing machines have always been our go-to to clean clothes, remove stains and get rid of bacteria. However, repeated washing in a washing machine can actually damage your clothes. The elevated temperatures and the mechanical spinning action can cause shrinkage, colour fade,  loss of shape and pilling. And one study by AEG in 2017 highlighted that 90% of all clothes washed in a washing machine aren’t actually dirty enough!   This is also an extremely inefficient use of energy and water, with washing machines being known to be bad for the environment and releasing microfibre into the water supply each time the washing machine is used.

Many ‘fashion experts’ on social media are now recommending using a steamer to keep your winter coats and clothes clean instead of visiting the dry cleaners or using a washing machine. It’s time to dispel a few myths…….While a steamer does remove creases, it won’t remove bacteria which means that odours will still remain on your clothes. And steaming won’t remove any stains either. 

Clothing easily accumulates bacteria which will remain until it is removed by washing.  Bacteria grows really well on clothing when worn and will continue to grow if it is kept moist when stored so it is important that this bacteria is removed between wears. In independent trials, a steamer had very little effect in removing bacteria or odour from a variety of textiles.  And steamers don’t use detergent so the clothing is not cleaned either.  A steamer just heats the fabric to drop out the creases and does little else. 

So how do you remove this bacteria and keep your clothes looking and smelling fresh while being environmentally conscious? 

We created w’air to be an alternative to conventional laundry, using up to 99% less water and 77% less detergent. Using just a fraction of cold water, energy and detergent compared to an average washing machine, the innovative hydrodynamic technology actually removes bacteria, deep cleans and refreshes clothes with minimal effort. 

W’air is also extremely efficient at spot-cleaning a variety of fabrics from silk to denim and upholstery fabrics. Even leather and mesh trainers are expertly cleaned by the w’air device.

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