Method and apparatus for carrying out a cleaning process for a cleaning appliance, and cleaning appliance

A cleaning device comprising:

• a treatment chamber for receiving articles to be cleaned;
• a heating device with an auxiliary heater and heat pump;
• a fan for propelling process air through a circuit leading through the treatment chamber and the heating device;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• provide an additional heating signal to the heating device to activate the auxiliary heater during a heating process and during a steam generation process following the heating process of the heating device, wherein the additional heating signal is configured to heat the auxiliary heater to a temperature suitable for evaporating water;
• provide a supply signal to a supply device during the steam generation process, wherein the supply signal is configured to cause water to be supplied from the supply device to the auxiliary heater to generate steam;
• provide a heat pump signal configured to the heat pump, wherein the heat pump signal is configured to active the heat pump during an air washing process following the steam generation process;
• and
• provide a fan signal for to the fan, wherein the fan signal is configured to activate the fan during the air washing process to propel the steam for cleaning the articles to be cleaned into the treatment chamber and to propel the steam from the treatment chamber into the evaporator of the heat pump for cleaning the steam.