Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Uncategorized
Dry Steamers in Canada?
(8 posts)-
Emmm
member
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 242
Posted 9 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 11:14:47
#
Login to Send PM
Before anyone starts with the usual replies...
I've read the FAQ.
I've searched on the board.
I've scoured locally.There are some amazing dry steamers out there, even affordable ones. But not a single one listed in the FAQ ships to Canada. I have a small handheld steaper that gets plenty wet, but I cannot, for the life of me, track down a dry steamer, and I'm in Toronto.
I'd love to rage on about how useless Canada and especially Toronto really is when it comes to bed bugs, but I'd really rather people just help me out about finding one, because I'm really in a bind here. Every option I've come up on for my upcoming move has turned up walls upon walls. This was a last ditch effort short of trashing perfectly fine furniture that, unfortunately, I can't just be blase about. You see, I may not really need a couch, but I do need a desk in order to work from home to pay for everything.
Thanks.
-
bedbugsbad
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 48
Posted 9 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 11:54:36
#
Login to Send PM
http://www.cleangrout.com/default.htm
Emmm
I just called them and they do ship to Canada. I have the contact info for the sales guy I spoke to if you need it.
Good luck,
BBbad
-
lil_bit_obsessed
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 9 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 13:23:12
#
Login to Send PM
ahhh yes, the T630 is there, and that has been recommended by bedbuggers!
i'm in canada as well, so this link may be useful if i'm unable to find anything locally. thanks bbbad!
emmm, have you considered renting a steamer in TO rather than purchasing? i suspect that dry steamers might be more widely available via rentals than anything else.
-
Emmm
member
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 242
Posted 9 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 14:37:03
#
Login to Send PM
TO be fair, I did find allergy buyers club DOES ship the very T630 I want to Canada. And with the exchange rate not all that bad right now, it's probably the way to go. We found a cleaning supply place that offers one that's aparently a Thomas Machine, but I can't find any info on it. If the T630 is highly recommended and gets hot enough, I think we'll go with it. (Any suggestions not to?)
We initially planned on getting a packtite and renting a steamer for the furniture we're taking with us. However, thanks to Canada being epic in its inability to help bed bug sufferers, packtites are not available here. We considered getting one through family in the USA, but decided against it after talking to a couple PCOs. Not to mention, if something went wrong with an iliicit packtite, my personal insurance would probably be void, and I really can't afford THAT.
We decided to buy a dry steamer instead, now that we're not getting a packtite, and use it on everything we can, perhaps even shoes, some clothes we couldn't hot wash/dry properly, etc. Besides, as a long-term investment, it seemed like a better idea. I can clean the apartment using it, after all. I love my little handheld steamer, use it often on what I can, and this will just be that much better.
Important to note, we've both been cleared by a bed bug dog. We have both found infestations early, I think, though while I saw no live bugs, he did see a few and one PCO he spoke to recently said it was a lot to SEE. But he threw away his old bed early, and despite paid-for self treatment (his landlord kinda failed on this one), he seemed to really be in the clear all this time. If we had active infestations, we'd either not move or just chuck everything we could. At this point, we feel maybe we're safe to save the furniture we still have, and use the few methods available to us in order to move. (Dry steamer, vapona, sealing the new place, spraying our desks and dressers with this spray he has, etc.)
-
Emmm
member
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 242
Posted 8 months ago
Thu Jun 25 2009 13:00:19
#
Login to Send PM
Big thank you to hopelessnomo, as I got in touch with Reliable to directly get one from them. It wasn't even on my radar that they could be FROM here considering I was running into such trouble finding one in Canada.
Just a quick note: The T630 is being phased out, with the Enviromate E3 replacing it in September. As I don't really have until September to buy a steamer, I'm hitting some mad luck in getting a refurbished T630. Does anyone have any information as to whether the refurb should be a problem? I know I get a full-year warranty still, and it's not a returned unit at that.
And while you're here... ;) a quick question about steaming. I'm doing all our furniture with it before the move, and some other items that might be better served by steaming rather than dunking in rubbing alcohol. I've used my hand steamer on shoes from bags with vapona (sort of extra caution plus to help break down the vapona on them) , and wanted to do the same with purses. Should that be acceptable? And can one use a steamer on some dry-clean-only clothing as well, instead?
-
buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,259
Posted 8 months ago
Thu Jun 25 2009 13:06:14
#
Login to Send PM
Since I ended up not needing my steamer for treatment, I used my T630 steamer to unwrinkle a number of my dry clean only clothes, and it worked great for unwrinkling them.
Obviously, I wasn't measuring the temp since everything in my apartment had already been baked, but I can tell you that using the carpet foot attachment and a towel, like the instructions suggest? I didn't damage the items in question with the heat from the steamer (I think it was a couple of silk skirts, so pretty delicate, and a pair of linen pants that were not washable linen.)
-
Emmm
member
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 242
Posted 8 months ago
Thu Jun 25 2009 13:24:25
#
Login to Send PM
I'm to the point where if I can't steam them to save 'em, then forget it, you know? So while the steamer might damage some nicer things (which, being such a fan of Old Navy and Shoe Company, I'm not inundated with ;) ), that's fine, as long as it works at KILLING anything that might be left in there. Would you say it'd be a decent alternative?
The majority of my clothes were put through the paces, but there's one dress I'm not keen on shrinking (I'm such a girl), and I'd hope the steamer would work well on my purses. Before I'd steam them out of the vapona bag and throw it in the dryer afterwards for about 30 minutes. My dryer is dead, so I'm left with the steamer now.
Reply
You must log in to post.
