Steam cleaning records 2

03-25-09: Harrison_s
Walgreen's is now selling the "Living Solutions" steam cleaner, model #516414, for $29.98. It looks exactly like the late lamented "Perfection" steamer except that it's green instead of red. There is no lead warning on the box, so it looks like it avoids that hazard.

It seems clear that the Perfection steamer was being dumped earlier in 2008 by Walgreens at a fire sale price due to its lead content in the power cord (which another poster identified after a call to the company).

The new Living Solutions steamer is probably identical to the Perfection steamer except for the lead free power cord and new color.

Harrison_s-
Got one-works great.

A tag line on the box claims that the unit only needs tap water. Don't be caught by the biz-men, use anything but tap water. For reasons related to H20, read selected parts of the thread. All the best.

Still not afraid of the lead in the Perfection's power cord. If you hang those little Christmas lights you've got the same thing. Just don't chew on the cord and wash your hands after using(which I would hope anyone would do after handling dirty records anyway). The points almost moot now since the Perfection's discontinued anyhow.
More concerning is what happened yesterday after steaming eight LPs. The Perfection steamer was just sitting on the counter and suddenly the seal on the cap seemed to just give way and steam vented all the way to the ceiling. Is this a failure of my unit or was the steamer just relieving excess pressure? This has never happened before and now I'm just wondering if this particular unit is still safe to use.

Most steamers have a pressure relief valve in the cap that allows steam to escape at a certain pressure to avoid the tank from exploding. There is a thermostat in these machines that keeps the steam up to, but not over a certain pressure/temperature. I would not take a chance with these relatively inexpensive machines. You could expose yourself to severe burns. Either your thermostat did not shut down the heating element or the relief valve opened prematurely. In either case I would replace the machine, it is not worth the potential risk.