Steam cleaners

I bought one which was advertised on TV. I found it was not nearly as effective as the advert showed (surprise). I did find it useful to clean off some red paint which some idiot had used on beautiful terracotta tiles - I used the hard, metal bristle attachment. It didn't clean the cooker and I was nervous about using it on glass. The only other use I found for it was to de-ice an outside water pipe.
They are now claiming that they get rid of 99% of various bacteria - but most of us won't ever succumb to them anyway, and some bacteria are very beneficial.

Do you really need one? I've started asking this question much more actively in advance about every impending purchase since I retired.

Have you looked at the cost of occasionally hiring one?

Are you sure a friend, neighbour or family member who owns one already and who'd lend it to you for a few days every now and again. Perhaps you could bake them a cake or loaves of bread or help them for a couple of hours in the garden in return. That seems to me a better model of a society where I'd like to live than one based always on buying material things.

That's despite the economic argument that says we must purchase, otherwise the economy collapses. Hmmm, not sure about that. Doesn't that depend more on what you measure and then how you interpret the data?

Just musing. I think I need a cup of coffee