TIL my stubbornness with a clogged steamer cost me a whole Saturday

My little portable steamer for facials got clogged up last week and I figured I could just poke it with a needle like usual. Tried that for like an hour, then vinegar soaks, then watching three different YouTube tutorials. Ended up having to take the whole thing apart and clean the tiny valve with a toothpick, which took me from 10 AM until almost 5 PM. Has anyone else had a steamer just totally give up on you and how did you fix it?

4 comments

4 Comments

bailey.jennifer1mo ago

Vinegar can actually make mineral clogs worse in some steamers. It reacts with the buildup and turns it into a harder paste. Next time try just distilled water and a longer soak.

lucasw841mo ago

That explains my last disaster lol

felixm291mo ago

Wait, vinegar makes it WORSE? I've been doing it wrong for years.

danielm808d ago

Respectfully, I gotta push back a little on the vinegar thing. I've used vinegar on my steamer for years (probably four or five different models at this point) and it's never made a hard paste for me. I think the key is using a really weak solution - like one part vinegar to four parts distilled water - and not letting it sit for more than 15 minutes. The problem is probably when people use full strength vinegar or let it sit for hours thinking it'll do more. Plus, the whole "distilled water only soak" thing sounds nice but in my experience it takes way too long to do anything if you've got a stubborn clog. Save yourself the headache, do a quick vinegar soak, then flush it out with plain distilled water right after.