A method and apparatus is provided for using a plasma generated from a processing gas mixture including H.sub.2O to efficiently strip photoresist material without causing significant damage to exposed, underlying low k dielectric material. The method includes disposing the processing gas mixture including the H.sub.2O over the wafer. The processing gas mixture including the H.sub.2O is then transformed into a plasma. The plasma serves to remove the photoresist material from the substrate without adversely affecting the exposed low k dielectric material.