A hand steaming device includes a housing having a reservoir adapted to contain a quantity of water, a pair of spaced apart electrodes immersed in the water in the reservoir for generating steam upon passage of electrical current between the electrodes through the water and a switch connected in circuit with the electrodes for selectively controlling the energization of the electrodes from a source of electrical power. The reservoir is provided with a fill port and a removable fill cap seals the fill port. The cap is movable between a first position wherein it seals the port and a second position wherein the port is not sealed. Control means are cooperatively associated with the switch and the fill cap and arranged such that when the fill cap is in the second position the switch is automatically opened to prevent energization of the electrodes and when the fill cap is in the first position the switch can be selectively closed to energize the electrodes or open to deenergize the electrodes as desired.

There is disclosed a self-pressurizing container for liquid helium which comprises an inner and outer vessel with an insulating space between. A heating element is disposed within an insulating barrier tube which extends between the liquid and vapor phases of the helium. The barrier tube insures that the liquid helium is heated and vaporized in the barrier tube without substantially heating the bulk of the liquid helium. The heating element in the preferred embodiment includes a vapor heat exchanger.

A hand-held heated scraper with steaming capabilities for use in removing paint, wallpaper, and adhesively glued down materials (such as linoleum or tile). The apparatus includes a housing accommodating a heating unit and steam generator, an electric water pump, and two alternative base units for attaching a scraper blade, communicating steam to a work surface, or both.

An ironing board supported by collapsible legs to which a box-shaped body can be connected either fixedly or in a removable manner. This body is provided with a specific housing suitable to accommodate an iron interconnected to a steam boiler by a fluid passage duct. The steam boiler may be formed directly in one of the collapsible legs supporting the board or carried, in a substantially vertical position, by one of said legs. Also, the steam boiler may be incorporated in the box-shaped body.

A device for applying steam to the exposed surface of previously applied wallpaper so as to cause the same to penetrate the wallpaper and loosen the adhesive bond between the wallpaper and the underlying substrate. The device is a compact steamer for vertical surfaces which is composed of a forward steam plenum chamber and a rear water chamber having a common separating wall between them. The steam plenum chamber has a steam discharge opening in its front wall. Associated with the common wall is a steam passageway that is wholly contained within the steamer. The steam passageway leads from a steam entry port near the top of the water chamber to a steam discharge port in the steam plenum chamber. To heat the water in the water chamber to steaming temperature, a pair of mutually spaced electrodes is disposed in and near the bottom of the water chamber and is supplied with power through a manually operable switch. A cap selectively closes a fill-opening in the water chamber. The cap and switch are provided with an interlock which prevents opening of the fill-cap when the switch energizes the electrodes and which prevents the switch from being moved to actuated position unless the fill-cap is closed.