There’s a reason doctors, nurses, and hospital staff take handwashing and disinfection of surfaces and instruments very seriously: they are dealing with very sick, sometimes contagious patients, and infection can spread quickly without strict adherence to proper protocols.

Consumer Reports sheds light on just how concerning hospital infections are and why more hospitals need stringent and effective cleaning protocols to combat the issue: “Every year an estimated 648,000 people in the U.S. develop infections during a hospital stay, and about 75,000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s more than twice the number of people who die each year in car crashes. And many of those illnesses and deaths can be traced back to the use of antibiotics, the very drugs that are supposed to fight the infections.”

While the first instinct may be to grab every chemical disinfectant and throw it at the problem, that is not necessarily the answer. Chemical cleaners often leave behind a biofilm that acts as a protective barrier under which bacteria can thrive and multiply. Moreover, chemical cleaners have been linked to health concerns such as asthma and certain types of cancer. Hospitals and healthcare facilities must find a safe and effective cleaning method that eradicates bacteria while allowing patients to seek treatment safely.

For this reason, many hospitals and healthcare facilities are turning to steam cleaning for its powerful cleaning and disinfecting capabilities. Surfaces such as tables, chairs, beds, floors, showers, grout, and more can harbor harmful bacteria that spread infection. Chemical cleaners often cannot reach all of these surfaces, especially tiny pores, cracks, and crevices—but steam can.

Infection Control Today highlights how effective steam cleaning can be in healthcare settings and backs this up with research: “We recently undertook a research project involving a novel steam vapor sanitation device to determine surface disinfection efficacy with a tap-water-only method in a major Arizona hospital. The study was carried out in eight occupied rooms of a long-term care wing of the hospital. Six surfaces per room were swabbed before and after steam treatment and analyzed for total microbial counts and pathogens such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. The steam vapor device consistently reduced total microbial and pathogen loads on hospital surfaces to below detection in most cases and provides a means to reduce microorganisms without the drawbacks associated with chemicals.” Steam cleaning is fast, eco-friendly, and, most importantly, effective at removing harmful bacteria and reducing the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

Clinical Microbiology Review also notes steam’s effectiveness against contagious infections: “Steam vapor machines rapidly reduce pathogens like VRE, MRSA, and Gram-negative bacilli to undetectable levels in under a minute of exposure. Total surface bioburden from hospital surfaces is decreased by over 90%, along with almost complete elimination of pathogens