Steaming in the Ozarks

 Steaming in the Ozarks

If you follow us here on the blog you will know I am a big proponent of steam for deep cleaning nothing cleans better and makes less of a mess for certain jobs. While I would not want to steam clean each and every project we take on steam has a place in the cleaning world. I have always wanted a "Sioux model B steam-cleaner" it is a proven machine that has been around for a long time. It just so happened I found one in a tractor/truck repair garage in northern Missouri for the right price, and bought it. With this addition we can open up even more ways to help you clean your projects. Cleaned by Pete now offers more cleaning alternatives and any one else in the Ozarks. Dry low pressure steam, steam cleaning, wet steam, hot and cold water power washing and safe "soft washing" for homes and businesses.

Sioux model B steam cleaner

Sioux model B propane fired burner.

Those of you not familiar with steam cleaners I thought I would talk about them in this entry. Some of the features of steam cleaners that make them so useful are they: eliminate any splash back we as an operator need not worry about what we are washing splashing back and soaking us with water and what we are washing off. Water consumption is reduced by 57% which also reduces runoff (this is compared to a hot water pressure washer). You can achieve hotter and higher temperatures which increases the effectiveness of chemicals and cleaners. Steam cleans grease and oil off of surfaces more effectively and thoroughly. Lastly since the steam cleaner is quicker we save on electric or gas consumption which ever may be powering the unit. With these features we can achieve these benefits less cleanup time with less mess. It will cost less to do the job with a environmentally friendly footprint. Steam is saver for the operator and is more controllable. We can reduce the time, water usage, chemicals, time and other resources (gas, oil, electricity) using steam-cleaners. Our model "B"

is also propane fired which carries more BTU's than a diesel fuel and burns cleaner another win for the environment.

With all that why don't we use steam for everything then? As with any tool it works better for certain jobs, while we could hammer in a nail with a pair of pliers it would not be the best tool to use. Having the option of what tool to use is the key. Having the option of using steam over the hot water power washer puts one up and over the competition. It also put one up higher up as a stewards of the earth doing a bit more to help this old world's streams and lakes. I am older than most power washers and back in the day these machines were found in auto shops, garages, and shops where I spent alot of time as a kid growing up. I have even heard my dad speak of the steam cleaner at the welding shop in the small town where I was born and how people and business would come there to use it. Just amazing that one tool could be used by the folks in the town and the farmers around. Cleaning greasy equipment, detailing car motors, steaming years off or farm equipment for repair this did it all. 

What am I going to use this steam cleaner for? It will be used the same as the other steam cleaner in our line of cleaners. Our other steamers are low-pressure dry steam cleaners this one is more powerful and will help to widen our cleaning capabilities to clean even more. The list below is form the Sioux web sight and is what they suggest a typical steam cleaner can be used for:
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS FOR STEAM

• Cleaning engines, transmissions, drive trains, and other equipment prior to performing service and maintenance work.
• Thawing frozen drains, tanks, piping systems, culverts, etc., for street and highway departments, manufacturing and processing plants, pipelines, and other industries.
• Thawing railroad tank cars to accelerate removal of viscous liquid contents, while ensuring that the maximum temperature is less than the boiling point of water (to prevent fires and other high temperature damage).
• Removing chewing gum from sidewalks, tables, stadiums, entryways, etc.
• Degassing tanks prior to welding or other maintenance work, especially gasoline, oil, and petrochemical tanks of all sizes.
• Preparing surfaces for painting, especially removal of cutting oils, grease, and similar oily or greasy substances.
• Degreasing dies and tools in manufacturing operations.
• Removing fats, grease, oils, and substances from surfaces and equipment in food processing plants.
• Melting and removing paraffin and wax or grease from traps and drains in wastewater treatment plants, petroleum refineries, and for similar use in other industries.
• Cleaning and restoring brick, block, stone and other masonry surfaces for maintenance or restoration projects, at monuments, cemeteries, and similar applications, where steam is more gentle and less intrusive and damaging than high pressure cleaning.
• Wide range of other specialty applications.

We at Cleaned by Pete have used our steam cleaners on patio furniture, greasy motors, greasy equipment, motorcycles, stoves, shopping karts, playground equipment, kitchen and butchering items, terracotta floors and grout lines, while used mostly in the auto and manufacturing areas vapor cleaning is gaining a whole new life in the USA. Vapor cleaning in Europe and Australia has been going on and being refined for some time now. During the '60's steam cleaning was loosing a battle to the pressure or power washer here in the States. Back then it seemed we had unlimited water, gasoline and diesel fuel all of which you would need to run a heated power washer, but in other countries they were already starting to conserve and look ahead. Vapor or steam cleaning is more efficient way to clean in a lot circumstances. We now have low-pressure dry steam cleaning, steam cleaning, wet steam and hot water cleaning in our lineup each is different each is used in a different way and for different jobs.

This is a picture of the steam cleaning machine that Cleaned by Pete just bought, looking for years of use from it.

This is an excerpt form our web page that I wrote about steam cleaning, thought it would fit in here it is about why a steam cleaner works.

Vapor Expansion is why steam cleaning works heating water up way over 214 degrees plus in one self-contained cleaning machine at low pressures between 80 to 200 psi. Pressure affects the point at which water boils or vaporizes into steam. At a pressure lower than the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level water boils at a temperature lower the 212°F boiling point of water at sea level. At pressures higher than the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level, water boils or vaporizes at temperatures higher than 212°F. a pressure washer operation the pump simply pushes water out of a restrictive nozzle. The narrow passage through the nozzle increases the water's velocity and, consequently, its potential impact and cleaning power. In pressure washing, the pressure or restrictive nozzle is the last part of the machine the water flow passes through. In simpler terms these units put out steam more like a whistling tea kettle in stead of super hot water out of your kitchen faucet at full blast. The steam cleaner doesn't so much use steam to clean as it uses steam expansion to propel water at near its boiling point at a high velocity. The closer the steam cleaner's nozzle is to the surface to be cleaned, the higher the temperature and velocity of the water, the more effective the cleaning action. In addition to steam our vapor cleaners have a feature that we can add soap or cleaning solutions directly in to the cleaning stream the biggest advantage to this is that heat will help any soap or chemicals work more effectively this also reduces any "chemical runoff" to a smaller factor. The expanding and cooling of the water when the water passes through the  special nozzle puts the vapor additional pressurization and cannot remain a liquid at ambient temperature. The water cools itself to 212°F by vaporizing a portion of its volume. This is called "flashing to steam." Depending on the system, from 5 to 15 percent of the volume vaporizes, cooling the remaining liquid. This steam vapor, with a properly designed steam cleaning nozzle, also propels the remaining water droplets. Unlike a pressure washer nozzle, where the restrictive orifice is the last thing the water passes through before reaching the atmosphere, the steam cleaning nozzle has an expansion nozzle placed past the pressure orifice. This directs the water vapor energy rather than allowing it to dissipate in all directions. When water vaporizes, it expands to almost 1500 times its former volume. This expansion, directed by the somewhat conical steam nozzle, adds velocity to the water droplets. So, not only does the expansion nozzle direct the steam cleaner's output, it serves as a sort of propulsion chamber. No simply the super heated water hits the air out side the small hole in the nozzle and becomes steam it more or less expands or flashes becoming like a small explosion and these small drops or hot water hit the surface and tumble and splat to chip a way the dirt or grease. 

May be a bit faded and scratched but it has not effected it cleaning power Pete's newest addition to the steaming line up at Cleaned by Pete

Call Cleaned by Pete we are "Steaming in the Ozarks" 

417-459-7869

from the listing where I purchased it.

Letting off Steam .... Cleaning?

Dry steam cleaning is another type of cleaning it has power and pressure so I thought it would fit in here. This is a blog about power washing and in broad terms by definition it is a power washer.

Cleaned by Pete has and does "dry steam cleaning". Before I go to far about "live dry steam cleaning" that we do or make you read this article and then say "That is not what I thought I was going to read about"; cleaning carpets with steam it is not, upholstery cleaning with steam it is not, "wet" steam cleaning using a pressure washer supplying hot water it is not. Cleaned by Pete has pressure washers with the capabilities to do "wet steam" and does "wet steaming", but this entry is not about that. I may draw some comparisons between "wet steam" and "dry steam".

 What the blog entry is about, is "dry steam".

dry steam

n

(Physics / General Physics) steam that does not contain droplets of water

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Dry steam sometimes called low-pressure steam is what you see when you heat water in a tea-kettle and see the vapor that starts to whistle out the little hole letting you know it is hot. Super heated water. There is no water in the stream just water in a gas stage steam. The escaping steam is under pressure 80 to 200 psi depending on how tight the lid and seal are. Only difference is our pressure is created by super heating the water in a metal coil. The feeding or incoming water pressure affects the point at which water boils or vaporizes into steam. At sea level water boils at 212°F. the norm, or mean boiling point of water. At pressures higher than the pressure of the atmosphere sea level, water boils or vaporizes at temperatures higher than 212°F.  We have to have the water hot enough to turn into its gas or steam. Now your asking you have hot steam how does it clean something? The expanding water as it  passes through the coil is getting hotter and hotter and a special nozzle slows down the flow even more. This puts the steam or vapor under additional pressurization since it cannot remain a liquid. The dry steam now exits the nozzle. The water that that has been super heated to at least 212°F or great, is being totally vaporized and is increasing in volume still. It now exits the nozzle and hits the air, this is called "flashing to steam." Depending on the system, from 5 to 15 percent of the volume is vaporizes, this is now our pressure for cleaning expanded water into steam increasing by volume.

Do you remember your Science teacher crushing a metal can then putting in a small amount of water? He then takes a pair of pliers and holds it over the flame of the Bunsen burner once it starts to warm the wrinkles pop out and the can starts to swell. Water turning into steam and displacing more volume.

This steam vapor, with a properly designed steam cleaning nozzle, is also propelling it. The steam is exiting the nozzle, hitting the air and starts to cool forming water droplets, small tiny water droplets are propelled in the vapor or stream to the object that is in need of cleaning. These super hot water droplets hit the object and break or explode while the expanding steam helps cleaning it also. This type of cleaning will use 80% less water and is great for grease, oil or inside applications since there is little to no runoff and easy to aim and control. The object being cleaned is usually wiped with an absorbent towel at this point collecting anything still remaining or is liquified by the heat. Cleaned by Pete has three low pressure steam units all the same brand all made sometime in the 1960's with no moving parts they don't ware out. If you ask why three the same? One uses powered or cake soap in the steam's stream. Number two use liquid soap in the steam's stream and number three is a back-up. All the units are heated with propane which is a more "friendly gas" to the environment less "green house" effects. Making our "dry steam cleaning" the most environmentally friendly clean we do.

While this form of cleaning was "fazing out" during the 1960's here in the United States it was growing in Europe and Australia where it has had good growth and development even up till today. They have steam cleaning car washes and portable units for hospitals and restaurants even portable gum cleaning units. You might ask well if it is so good why did it die off here then? A new type of cleaning was being developed here in the States. It was making great strides and developments by crossing a "steam jenny" with a higher pressure pump. The "pressure washer" as we know it was being born.

Cleaned by Pete just went out to the breakers and found an old dirty, grease caked, grimy motor case to steam clean. This is it it has not been pretreated or soaked in cleaner or degreaser,

Cleaned by Pete is using only live low pressure steam with powered soap mixing in the stream of the steam. The water pressure entering the steam pot is around 30 pounds or less a small stream of water enters, this is what comes out.

You can see what is going on here when the steam is cleared out a little, Cleaned by Pete dry low pressure steam cleaning.

Motor after dry steam cleaning. Cleaned by Pete

As pictured above after dry steam cleaning, Cleaned by Pete

Steam pot set up out side while we clean and disinfect a terracotta floor that was once a "hot tub area". Cleaned by Pete

Grout lines cleaned tile cleaned with in minutes any hot water left is evaporated, Cleaned by Pete dry live steam cleaning

Old greasy hydraulic hose-reel from the railroad we're going to use for a high-pressure hose line.

After low pressure steam cleaning or "dry steam cleaning", Cleaned by Pete.

 A pressure washer simply pushes hot water out of a restrictive nozzle under greater pressure. The narrow passage, the nozzle, increases the water's pressure, the more pressure (psi) and volume (gpm) is what impacts cleaning power. In pressure washing the water is heated but the volume and pressure put forth is such that it all can not be all turned to a gas so you have a greater amount or water leaving the nozzle thus "wet steam". Wet steam or some steam with alot of hot water, pressure is doing most of the cleaning. Wet steam is heated water under pressure of at least 1000 psi or greater, the pressure is supplied mechanically by a pump not by expanding water. There is greater water run off with the pressure washer, plus over spray and relocating the grease from here to there.

For information about dry steam cleaning visit www.cleanedbypete.com website by just clicking the link and find the page on vapor and steam cleaning.

added this section as an update 3/18/2013

BBQ and Out-side Kitchen Area Steam Cleaning
 Cleaned by Pete's residential cleaning service

Stripping down the BBQ for cleaning this one is about 3 years old and this is its first cleaning. Cleaned by Pete

Baked on and chard on Cleaned by Pete will remove the burners and clean under and remove all the grease, grime, and get the BBQ looking close to new. What you see is not from charcoal. What you see is crumbs, drippings and animal fats that are carbonating at some point they can ignite.  This one is really baked on and will take more than one cleaning

Looks more like a "smoke house" than a grill we will not be able to get 100% on the first cleaning session and will need to put this on a regular cleaning, Cleaned by Pete.

Grills, flame separators and burners will all be cleaned too, Cleaned by Pete.

Dry steam cleaning, starting we are steaming the out-side first to help warm up the cleaner that has been applied, Cleaned by Pete.

Cleaned by Pete, applying our learned cleaning techniques from years of hood, duck and exhaust fan cleaning to cleaning the BBQ and the kitchen area.

Cleaned by Pete uses dry steam to clean these out-side residential kitchen and BBQ areas. Most of these BBQs are "built-in" units and set in finished cabinetry, so water run off is not what you want. Dry steam works the best for us with little to no run off and no water pressure forcing its way into places we don't want it to go.

After the steam clears, we can start to see that we are making great progress, this is the 2nd pass, you can see quite a big difference that Cleaned by Pete has now made.

Three years of cooking and three years of grime are mostly gone now, Cleaned by Pete will be able to remove more with the next service cleaning.

This shows the water stream before heating. This small stream water will be turned into steam as pictured above, and that steam is quickly evaporated after doing the cleaning leaving little water runoff. Cleaned by Pete is saving water and has no runoff environmental friendly dry steam cleaning.

Cleaned by Pete's dry low pressure steam cleaning. Most of these BBQ systems use electrical starters, regulators, heat probes water does not play with electricity, and even careful pressure washing will force water where it should not go and have too much runoff. High steam temperatures cut and melt grease and animal fats aid in cleaning of kitchens. For these reasons dry steam fits this cleaning the best.

Drying time is as fast as the steam can evaporate, Cleaned by Pete, will now buff off the water spots and any residue then do a final wipe down.

Cleaned by Pete also steam cleaned the other items on the patio or kitchen area.

Looking good after the final wipe-down is finished, Cleaned by Pete residential cleaning of outside kitchen and BBQ areas.

Finished up all the steam cleaning of all the stainless items, counter tops, work areas, BBQ, sink, steamed any spills off the floor and cabinetry. Cleaned by Pete, will return tomorrow and power wash the patio, furniture, landing and then clean out and vacuum the ash and burnt wood from the fireplaces, readying it for entertaining and cooking this spring.

If you think you need our "residential kitchen, BBQ, or entertaining area cleaning" give us a call for a free prompt estimate or to answer any questions you many have. Call 417-459-7869


There is also one more benefit from dry steam cleaning that is since the dry steam is hotter, at least 214 degrees it kills germs, or disinfects. During the Swine Flu year we ran this add. Looks a bit dated now but helped get the word out. They are still using dry steam to kill bed bugs in mattress and hotel rooms it is a much different unit but still works on the same principal. Just think of this, that BBQ we cleaned above has to be quite disinfected with all the steam so if anything remains, it too is disinfected ready to cook on.

Cleaned by Pete: doing more than just 
"power washing" call us for your cleaning and washing needs.
417-459-7869

www.powerwashingspringfieldmo.com