Steam cleaners

We recently purchased a portable steam cleaner for cleaning stone
relief panels. It is made by the Belgian company Eitan, and is
marketed for use in the jewelry industry.  After about a week of use
with distilled water only it started emitting rust and unidentified
sludge along with the steam.  Repeatedly flushing water through the
unit has not solved the problem.  The distributor that we purchased
the unit from insists that this problem is normal for all steam
cleaners, and that the unit simply needs periodic flushing with a
proprietary caustic cleaning product.  Such a solution seems
excessive, and in any case is obviously not acceptable for stone
conservation.  I have encountered no such problems when using
Derotor steam cleaners in the past, but these are apparently not
available in the U.S.

Has anyone had similar problems with portable steam cleaners, and if
so, with which brands?  Did you find a satisfactory solution?  Is
anyone particularly satisfied with their cleaner? And if one does
order a Derotor from the U.K., is there a problem with having them
serviced in the U.S.?  Any thoughts or shared experiences would be
greatly appreciated.

Naomi Kroll
Conservator
Building Conservation Branch, National Park Service

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:70
                Distributed: Thursday, February 25, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-70-009
                                  ***