Best steam cleaners 2020 – the top steam mops for refreshing floors and more

Steam cleaners – also called steam mops – are great for cleaning and sanitising floors. Whether that’s lifting grime from rugs and carpets or mopping hard floors. Many also come with smaller tools for steam-cleaning everything from windows and bathroom tiles to oven trays and furnishings. A good steam cleaner makes light work of floors and more, leaving them clean and hygienic as quick as a flash.

Once you see how much dirt comes off your seemingly clean mattress, you’ll be converted. We’ve tested a range of steam mops, convertibles and cylinder cleaners to suit every budget. This is our round up of the very best steam cleaners.

For more expert product reviews, check out our buying guides

How we test our steam cleaners

Our tester Caramel has decades of experience of reviewing technology products, writing for, among others, The Evening Standard, The Express, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Mirror, The Telegraph and The Sunday Times. She’s long been part of the Ideal Home family, and knows exactly what you’re looking for in a good steam cleaner.

With two teenage children and a pet dog to clean up after, Caramel has been able to give each steam cleaner a rigorous test at home over several weeks. She’s looked at every aspect of each cleaner, taking into account its ability to clean, to manoeuvre (taking into account its weight and the reach of its cable), the tools that come with it and therefore its versatility, and how easy it is to control.

What is the best steam cleaner in 2020?

Caramel has voted the Kärcher SC5 Easyfix Premium as the best steam cleaner in 2019. If you’re on a budget, she recommends the Hoover SteamJet 2-in-1 stick steam cleaner, or the Kärcher SC3 EasyFix cylinder cleaner. Read on to check out their full reviews.

Best steam cleaners

1. Kärcher SC5 Easyfix Premium – overall best steam cleaner

This premium, cylinder-style steam cleaner is a completely different animal from a steam mop. It does an outstanding job of cleaning so much more than floors and it can keep cleaning for hours. It has a 6m cord and a large 1.5 litre water tank and the water is then pumped into a pressurised steam tank. This means you can refill the machine at any time, even when it’s in use, without pausing your cleaning.

The only downside of its constant, powerful steam is that you must wait 3 minutes for it to come up to temperature initially. Tools and onboard storage are superb. The 2m hose can be extended with one or both sections of lance, for cleaning floors and high-up or hard-to-reach places.

Then you can attach various tools. There’s a large, rectangular floor head which comes with two Velcro cloths and a clip-on carpet glider. This steam cleaner also has a large square brush with cloth and large round brush – with space on the Kärcher to stow.

But there’s more! Lift a flap on the cleaner’s body and you’ll also find a small, round brush for detailed cleaning and a concentrator nozzle. Outstanding selection of steam cleaning tools and storage. The only thing it’s missing that we care about is a window squeegee. However, Kärcher offers a wide selection of accessories if you care about this or other tools.

Cleaning was outstanding – the floor head is much more than a floor head. It’s on a lightweight lance, so we found ourselves instinctively lifting it up and cleaning the bathroom’s tiled walls, right up to the ceiling. This took two minutes and the room has never been so clean. You could do the same with a mattress. This is steam cleaning in 3D.

Steam is highly controllable, with a trigger under your finger and a dial on the body. The top setting didn’t seem OTT but dialling it back to its lowest setting was very impressive. Wooden floors were treated gently and were left nearly dry. The Karcher steam cleaner’s tools are equally impressive. We had to dial it back to avoid the bathroom becoming a steam room.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Buy now: Kärcher SC5 Easyfix Premium, £749.99, Amazon

2. Hoover SteamJet 2-in-1 S2IN1300CA – best value steam mop

The Hoover is a slender, lightweight, manoeuvrable steam mop. As an upright cleaner, it comes with just one floor cloth plus a plastic carpet glider. These clip over the cloth to convert the head for cleaning rugs and carpets. There’s no spare cloth. It has a 5m power cord and 330ml water tank.

You can also remove the handle and the floorhead, at which point it converts to a small, handheld steam cleaner.

The Hoover steam cleaner comes with six small tools for this, including a concentrator nozzle. A small window squeegee and multiple brushes including a metal one (good for grimy oven racks) are included. There’s a small cloth that fits over the ‘utility head’ and a 1m steam hose for hard-to-reach spots.

It took 20 seconds to come up to temperature and then a further 10 seconds for the steam to effectively pump through.

You trigger steam with a button positioned nicely under your fingertip. It’s powerful with lots of steam. The highest steam cleaning setting was too wet for our wooden floors, but you can dial the variable steam down with a knob on the cleaner body.

Getting the tools on and off is a bit tricky, but you get an awful lot for your money. Powerful, controllable steam and plenty of detail tools for around £50. A good cleaner and superb value.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Buy now: Hoover SteamJet 2-in-1 S2IN1300CA, £55.99, Amazon

3. Shark Klik n’Flip Automatic Steam Pocket Mop – best powerful steam mop

Uniquely, the Shark’s floorhead and cleaning pad are double-sided, giving you twice the surface area for more cleaning. It comes with a second cleaning pad, too. It’s only designed for cleaning floors, so there are no accessories except a filling jug. We like the way this clips to the pole, so you always have it to hand. There’s space to coil the 8m power cable too.

There are two steam levels: a button on the front of the body of the cleaner cycles between these and off. It heats up in under 30 seconds.

On the main side of the pad, you steam clean as normal. The pad is big and rectangular, ideal for cleaning large areas fast. Flip the floorhead back on itself to use the other side, then push the whole machine down to get a powerful steam blast that sprays directly forwards onto the floor.

After use, squeeze two tabs together on the body of the cleaner and the floorhead comes open, so the cleaning pad falls off into the laundry basket with no need to touch it.

If you only want a steam cleaner to clean floors, this is powerful and the double-sided floorhead and two cleaning pads mean it can tackle large homes with ease.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Shark Klik n’Flip Automatic Steam Pocket Mop S6003UK, £149, Amazon

4. Kärcher SC3 EasyFix – best affordable cylinder steam cleaner

The SC3 is less than half the price of the excellent SC5 EasyFix Premium. Maximum steam pressure is less at 3.5 bar and everything is a bit smaller, including the tank capacity (1 litre, enough to clean 75m²) but it’s a stunning powerhouse for the price and the smaller makes for easier storage. It’s literally half the weight of the SC5; it’s very light and easy to carry around.

Accessories-wise, it comes with a floor nozzle and hand nozzle, both with microfiber cloths, two extension tubes for cleaning floors and reaching high places, plus a detail nozzle and a small round brush. There’s also a descaling cartridge to tackle limescale in tap water: the machine alerts you when it’s time to replace it.

It’s not just smaller than the SC5, it’s speedier: it’s ready to use in just 30 seconds (compared with 3 minutes).

We love the floorhead. And we love it for more than floors: the advantage of a lightweight cylinder, compared with a steam mop, is that it’s nimble. We ran it over bathroom wall tiles for a thorough deep clean in minutes, then used the detail nozzle and brush on the lighter steam setting to get the taps, overflows and plugholes squeaky clean. It was all a breeze.

In all, we were so impressed that we’d seriously consider downsizing from the bigger model. It’s powerful enough, brilliantly nimble, affordable and very hard to fault.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Kärcher SC3 EasyFix, £186.76, Amazon

5. Polti Vaporetto 100B – best compact cylinder steam cleaner

You get a lot for your money with this Polti. It’s pleasantly compact and modern-looking. It has a large 2 litre water tank which feeds the boiler but you can pop out the tank at any time for a refill without waiting for it to cool down or even disrupting cleaning.

The body boasts variable steam control and an anti-calc collector. You can stow the cleaning head and two-part tube when not in use, or to pause, and there’s onboard storage for tools. It comes with a squeegee with cloth cover for cleaning upholstery, plus concentrator, scraper and two sizes of nylon brush.

The floorhead is an unusual shape: neither triangular nor a rectangle. It comes with a floor glider and one cleaning pad. The floorhead is slim to fit under furniture and has a small brush on the back so you can reverse slightly to scrub stains. It also features a small tank for optional detergent.

Steam takes 2 minutes to heat up and then can stop and start instantly with a press of the trigger. It’s powerful: the lowest setting is similar to the steam offered by most steam mops, the highest setting is much stronger.

We loved using the Polti. The controls are excellent, the design is practical and it feels weightless in the hand, so much so that you can lift it to clean tiled walls, windows, curtains and more. It has a 7.5m reach. Simply pull the cylinder behind you as you move around the house.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Polti Vaporetto 100B, £199, Amazon

6. Thane H2O HD– best folding steam cleaner

This upright steam cleaner boasts a “why didn’t I think of that” design which folds in half for easy storage in smaller cupboards. Simply squeeze the circles on both sides to fold it. And you can wrap the 6m cord around lugs for storage, even when it’s folded. The curvy green and black design, with colourful lights, is attractive too.

Assembling it for first use requires a screwdriver to attach the triangular floorhead, which comes with one cloth and a carpet glider. After that, it stays on and you pop out the middle bit if you want to convert to handheld cleaning. The fill hole on the 450ml tank is very small but there’s no funnel.

The Thane boasts three steam levels but all switches are on the front of the handheld, so you have to reach down to turn it on or off, or change setting. As an upright, you must use the floorhead. The concentrator nozzle and two brushes attach directly to the handheld.

There’s also a 30-inch extension hose to which you can connect the window squeegee (with cloths to adapt it for garments and upholstery) or duster attachment. The latter was our favourite tool thanks to its “coral” cover with fat, absorbent cloth fingers that pick up dust brilliantly.

Startup takes around 30 seconds but after that it’s quick and responsive. Aside from a few niggles, we liked the design and it cleaned floors and more well.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Thane H2O HD, £99.99, Robert Dyas

7. Shark Klik n’ Flip Manual Steam Mop – best manual steam mop

This works much like the Shark Klik n’Flip Automatic Steam Pocket Mop but instead of a trigger, you have to pump the handle to manually trigger steam. This isn’t as hard work as it sounds: as you clean, the simple act of pushing the mop forwards and backwards is enough to draw a light steam; pump it repeatedly if you want more steam. There’s no variable steam control but how fast you pump regulates it.

Like the other Shark, it has an unusual double-sided head with a single pad that wraps around it. Use it like a normal, rectangular mop but, when you want an extra burst of steam, flip the pad backwards to spray steam directly onto the floor – then use the flipside of the pad to mop it up. It has an 8m cord and a 380ml capacity.

Again there are no tools, just a filling jug which can clip to the pole. It’s only good for cleaning floors then. But it is good value at around £20 less than the automatic version. It cleans floors well if you don’t mind the extra effort of pumping.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Shark Klik n’ Flip Manual Steam Mop S6001UK, £79.99, Amazon

8. Vax Steam Fresh Combi – best steam cleaner for tool storage

This upright steam mop has a triangular floorhead like the pricier Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus and again, as well as the floorhead, two cloths and carpet glider. You can pop the head off to reveal a medium-sized triangular brush perfect for scrubbing.

But while the Steam Fresh Power is a top-heavy stick cleaner, this is a traditional upright with a pop-out handheld in the middle for use with detail tools: squeegee with cloth cover for upholstery, concentrator, scraper and four different brushes. Unusually, there’s onboard storage for six tools on the back of the upright. There’s also a mesh bag for the others and lugs for storing the 8m cord.

The 260ml tank pops off for easy filling. There’s also a 200ml detergent tank and a bottle of detergent. We use this with the floorhead and carpet glider to clean the tide marks on an old, colourful rug. It worked to great effect and we only needed to switch to the brush a few times. Surprisingly, the detergent isn’t smelly, it’s subtle.

It’s ready to use in less than 30 seconds. Steam is variable and powerful on the top setting. The Vax isn’t especially good looking, it’s chunky and a rather clinical cream and blue, but it gets the job done. And we liked the fact that it can stand up independently when you need to pause cleaning.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Vax Steam Fresh Combi, £79.99, Argos

9. Dupray Neat – best-looking cylinder steam cleaner

The ‘cylinder’ cleaner that’s actually a cube. If Apple designed a steam cleaner, it would look like this: sleek in glossy white with a single button on the side and a pop-out handle on the top. The underside has small wheels and space to stow the 5m power cord.

It comes with a simple rectangular floorhead with 8 microfiber pads plus a cloth (clips let you attach any cloth). There’s no carpet glider. There’s also a large squeegee, a mid-sized triangular brush with cloth cover, a concentrator, 5 nylon brushes and a brass brush. There’s no onboard storage for them though.

Good design touches include a huge 1200ml capacity (enough to clean for 50 minutes) and a button on the handle that lets you lock the trigger for constant steam. Like any cylinder cleaner, the bit you hold is lightweight.

We disliked the fact that steam isn’t adjustable and the steam indicator button is on the side, not the top, which makes it harder to see. And the water tank is a pain: you fill via a funnel built into the top of the cleaner and replace the cap, then the whole tank is heated. Full, this takes 8 minutes. If you just put in 500ml, it takes 4 minutes. When you want to open the tank to refill, you must press the trigger to release steam and then wait for the tank to cool down, like a car radiator.

The design feels like style over substance: the Dupray looks cool but you can’t even clip the handle on the side, let alone store tools. We’d take a Kärcher or a Polti in preference any day.

Ideal Home’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Dupray Neat, £179.99, Amazon

10. Morphy Richards Supersteam Pro 720520 – best twin-tank steam mop

The designers of this upright steam mop have come up with a few unique features: some work and some don’t. For example, its twin water tanks are an interesting idea. There’s a 400ml tank in the upright and a 200ml tank in the handheld. A great idea… but they work independently. So when you pop out the handheld you must wait for 30 seconds all over again for the water to heat up. It would have made more sense to use the larger tank to feed the smaller one.

The handheld also has an unusual design that’s imbalanced in the hand unless you turn the handle around by 180°, a novel feature but it would be unnecessary if the design was balanced in the first place. Meanwhile the upright’s handle folds forwards to make it easy to clean under furniture without backache and yet you can’t fold it over double for storage.

Tools include an upholstery tool with cover, concentrator, scraper, nylon brush and crevice brush. Cord length is 5m and there’s no hose, tools must be attached directly to the handheld.

You get a triangle floorhead with one pad and a carpet glider, but it doesn’t clip in place so you can’t lift the floorhead off the carpet without losing it. Cleaning performance from the variable steam is fine but all the design niggles add up to annoyance.

Ideal Home’s rating 4 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Morphy Richards Supersteam Pro 720520, £89, AO.com

11. Black & Decker 9IN1 steam-mop with SteaMitt – best handheld steam cleaner

The design of this Black & Decker is much like its predecessor, with a glove on a hose that lets you clean quickly and thoroughly. It’s a bit smaller but it’s more affordable than ever.

The hand cleaning is effortless. You feel like a housework superhero. It also serves fine as an upright mop, with 6m cord, 400ml tank, two floor cloths and a clip-on carpet glider.

There’s no trigger on the mop handle, but a dial on the body lets you turn it on and select steam level. It takes 30 seconds to heat up the first time but then stops and starts promptly. It doesn’t pause automatically though, so if you stand it still then the floor underneath gets wet. The top steam level is good and powerful and the dial has helpful settings for different floor types.

The middle pops out and converts to a handheld, with a 0.8m hose, squeegee, cover and two brushes. Or better still use the SteaMitt on its longer (1.3m) hose. It’s the size of an oven glove and comes two cloths. The silicone mitt’s fabric inner comes out for cleaning from time to time too.

You put a hand inside the mitt and stroke things to clean them. It made quick work of lifting grime from upholstery, tiled walls and more. At this price, it’s a great buy and does more than most steam cleaners.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Black & Decker 9IN1 steam-mop with SteaMitt FSMH1351SM-GB, £99, Amazon

12. Hoover Steam Capsule 2 in 1 CA2IN1D – best-looking steam mop

This fairly affordable Hoover does a good job on floors but is so-so as a handheld. The floorhead comes with two cloths and a carpet glider. The name “capsule” doesn’t mean capsules of detergent; in fact, it’s just Hoover’s name for the handheld.

The handheld pops out of the back, which means the front of the upright mop looks great but also means that controls (three levels of steam) are hidden round the back. And to fill the 350ml tank you must pop out the handheld, then the tank and then open a fiddly, small rubber cap.

On first use, you need a screwdriver to attach the mop handle. There are lugs to stow the 7m cord. We liked the mid-sized, triangular brush that pops out of the rectangular floorhead to scrub stubborn stains. The mop stands up by itself and we liked the trigger’s responsiveness: steam starts and stops promptly. But it is heavy to steer, like an old-fashioned upright not a nippy modern one.

The handheld is ergonomic in the hand and comes with a squeegee and cover, concentrator, two nylon and two brass brushes. But we found popping it out a faff and steam modest, so it’s better as a good-looking upright.

Ideal Home’s rating 4 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Hoover Steam Capsule 2 in 1 CA2IN1D, £99, Amazon

13. Bissell Powerfresh Slipsteam – best stick steam cleaner

Pretty much all convertible steam mops have a handheld that pops out of the middle of the upright cleaner. This, however, is designed more like a “stick” cordless vacuum cleaner. You hold the handheld and then add tubes below to clean floors. As a result, it’s nippy but top-heavy. It won’t stand up by itself then and there’s no carpet glider.

We liked the design and how easy it was to convert back and forth. We loved the plastic tray that clips to the underside and holds all four supplied tools (concentrator, scraper and two shapes of brush). If your steam cleaning is a mix of floors and fiddly smaller things then the Bissell is hard to beat because your tools are always on board and converting is a doddle.

There are a great many other thoughtful design touches. The fill hole for the 400ml tank is a good size and it comes with a jug. There’s a Velcro strap for stowing the 7.6m cord. There’s also a mesh bag for if you buy additional tools or don’t want to store them on board.

Cleaning is versatile and the two steam levels are good enough for all uses. It’s not the most powerful steam on test and yet it’s the cleaner we’d pick up and use again and again.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Bissell Powerfresh Slipsteam, £129, Amazon

14. Bissell Vac & Steam – best vacuum and steam cleaner combi

The first rule of mopping or steam cleaning is that you vacuum first. You lift as much dust and hair as possible dry, then use water to lift the remaining grime. It therefore makes sense to have a machine that does both.

This Bissell does double duty, with a cyclonic vacuum cleaner followed by a steam mop. There are no handheld cleaning tools, it’s just for floors. It’s heavy (4.4kg) but does the job of two appliances.

Vacuuming is straightforward: stiff brushes help lift dirt but there’s no rotating brush bar. For steam cleaning you just need to fill the 380ml tank and add the fabric pad (it comes with two, one plain and one with lines to scrub dirt, each with a pocket for adding an optional fragrance disc). There’s no carpet glider because it’s really designed for hard floors.

The cyclonic vacuum is bagless, with a 950ml dust container. There are two steam levels and it takes just under 30 seconds to heat up. There’s an anti calc filter and lugs to store the 7.6m cable when not in use.

You can use each feature independently but the Bissell Vac & Steam is at its best when you use both at once to save time. You can whizz round the house at double speed if dirt isn’t too ingrained.

The Bissell is a jack of all trades, master of none. But it comes quite close to mastering both jobs. If you want to vacuum and mop every time it’s well worth your consideration.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Bissell Vac & Steam, £149.99, Lakeland

15. Beldray 12-in-1 Steam Mop – best basic steam mop

This cheap-and-cheerful upright cleaner has some nice features but misses some tricks. For example, the handle folds forwards by around 40° so you can clean under furniture without stooping, but it doesn’t fold completely for easy storage.

Its 5m cord and 330ml tank are pretty standard but the tank has such a tiny fill hole that it comes with both a jug and a funnel, for belt and braces. It comes with plenty of tools, including two floor cloths and a carpet glider for the floorhead, plus two nozzles, two brushes and three other tools – there’s a cloth to convert the window squeegee to clean upholstery and clothes.

As an upright, it’s manoeuvrable enough, but press the trigger and the steam is slow to respond. It takes 30 seconds to get going the first time and at least 5 seconds thereafter. Worse still, if you pause cleaning the steam persists for 5-10 seconds, so you can’t pause on a delicate surface.

Remove the floorhead and handle to convert to a lightweight handheld, which works well but won’t give you a long reach. The tools are good for a budget cleaner but there’s no sense of why it’s billed as “12-in-1” as it doesn’t set out to clean in 12 different ways.
Steam isn’t immensely powerful but you get what you pay for and the Beldray is fine for floors and a bit of handheld cleaning.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Buy now: Beldray 12-in-1 Steam Mop, £39.99, Robert Dyas

16. Vileda Steam Mop SC-1806 – best compact steam mop

Who better to go to for a straightforward steam cleaner for floors than mop giants Vileda? This, their only steam mop, is simple and lightweight. It sets out to do one job well. The steam mop has a triangular floorhead and comes with two cleaning pads that Velcro on.

Add the plastic carpet glider underneath for rugs and carpets. It also comes with a measuring jug. The tank capacity is 400ml and a 6m cord means you can clean a room or two at a time.

This steam cleaner’s controls are very simple, just: an on/off switch and a dial to adjust the amount of steam. It only takes around 20 seconds to come up to temperature. The Vileda steam cleaner is very light and manoeuvrable and the controls are responsive.

Having to reach down to the body for the power and steam controls isn’t a big deal. However, we yearned for a trigger under our finger to start and stop the steam. If you need to pause cleaning and don’t want to soak a patch on the floor then you must turn it off completely.

There’s not enough steam at top whack for intensive cleaning but as a mop replacement it’s very good. It leaves floors that have already been vacuumed clean and not too wet. It’s slender, doesn’t take up too much space, and stands upright by itself when not in use.

There’s no pop-out cleaner or detail tools… but that means no accessories to store. While not the cheapest steam cleaner, it’s a good choice if you want a simple steam mop for floors without any fancy features.

Ideal Home’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Buy now: Vileda Steam Mop SC-1806, £75, Amazon

17. Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E – best steam cleaner with vacuum

An upright, cyclonic vacuum cleaner and steam mop in one. You can vacuum and steam at the same time but it’s recommended that you do one and then the other. There’s a lot to squeeze in, so there’s compromise compared with a standalone vac or steam mop. Vacuuming is a thin strip across the front of the floor head, with no motorised brush bar for pet hair, and the dirt container capacity is small at 930ml.

The majority of the floor head is dedicated to steam cleaning, with a large cloth that’s elasticated to fit. There are three buttons on the front of the handle: vac, low steam and high steam (for more durable floors and stubborn dirt). It stands up well by itself.

There are no accessories or tools, it just comes with the jug, two floor cloths and a couple of optional fragrance discs. Vacuuming performance is ok. It’s manoeuvrable, gets into corners and up against skirting well.

Cleaning is more like a lightweight cordless vac (albeit with a 7.5m cord) than a full-sized mains upright. You don’t need the floor cloth on there – in fact, it’s probably best to save it till later so it stays clean for mopping.

The steam mop has a 380ml tank accessed via a flap at the back that’s a bit awkward. It supposedly takes 30 seconds to come up to temperature then you squeeze trigger.

We found it took longer. Both steam settings are pretty gentle; you won’t overdo it on sensitive floors with the low one. Overall it did a good job quickly. But for the same money you could buy a budget steam mop and a budget vacuum cleaner that would clean better. Still, this is a good choice for smaller homes with hard floors if you don’t have space for a vacuum cleaner and a steam mop.

Ideal Home’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 

Buy now: Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E, £168, Amazon

18. Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus – best hand steam cleaner

Most convertible steam mops have a middle that pops out to turn into a handheld cleaner. But this Vax puts the cleaner in your hand and then extends it with a lance and floor head. As a result, the controls are at your fingertips and it’s easy to use the lance for hard-to-reach spots as well as floors. The top-heavy design makes it very manoeuvrable but heavy in the hand and it can’t stand up by itself. But it does come with a wall bracket for storage.

The steam cleaner floor head is triangular and comes with two cloths and a carpet glider. It also comes with two tools: one offers a concentrated jet of steam, the other is a soft scrub brush with a scraper on the end for stubborn grime. A handy tool storage bag is also supplied. The power cord is a generous 8m and there are two tanks: 300ml for water, 165ml for (optional) detergent.

It takes just 20 seconds to heat up and there are two levels of steam, controlled with your thumb. There’s also a control for detergent (but we found the fragrance a bit overpowering). Steam is powerful enough and there’s an additional boost button on the floor head too. While cleaning we discovered a third tool: a small, triangular brush hidden inside the floor head that’s handy for impromptu scrubbing. That said, we were disappointed with the lack of tools offered by this steam cleaner.

Ideal Home’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 

Buy now: Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus, £99.99, Amazon

How much should I spend on a steam cleaner?

Image credit: Black & Decker

The most straightforward steam mops start at £50, but up to £150 is average for a convertible upright. These are steam mops that double as smaller, handheld cleaners. Budget upwards of £300 for a cylinder model with much more steam power.

Still confused? Read our sister site Trusted Reviews’ best steam cleaner reviews.

What are the different types of steam cleaner?

Image credit: Dupray

Steam mop

If you only want to steam clean floors, consider a simple machine that doesn’t convert to a handheld. It will be light, easy to manoeuvre and you won’t have to store fiddly tools that you’ve no intention of using.

Convertible steam cleaner

A.k.a. 2-in-1 cleaners, these are upright steam mops where the steam generator can pop out from the middle to be used as a smaller, handheld cleaner. They come with various tools for steam cleaning smaller stuff.

Cylinder steam cleaner

For the ultimate in powerful, long-lasting steam, get a cylinder cleaner. They generate a constant flow of strong steam that make light work of anything. But they take up more cupboard space.

What else should I look for in a steam cleaner?

Image credit: Vax

1. Variable steam

If you have wooden floors, avoid models that don’t let you adjust the level of steam. You’ll want to dial back steam to its lowest setting to avoid damaging them. A good steam cleaner can use a small amount of steam, then pick up the moisture with the floorcloth, so the floor is left nearly dry. If in doubt, check with your flooring supplier in case they advise against steam cleaning.

2. Powerful steam

At top whack, powerful steam is great for loosening stubborn grime. For example, you can bring old oven grills back to life or finally get bathroom taps squeaky clean.

3. Steam cleaner tools

Convertibles and cylinders come with smaller tools as well as a floorhead. Expect brushes for scrubbing and a concentrator nozzle for a precise, powerful jet of steam. A mid-sized cleaning head with cloth is great for furniture and a squeegee is handy if you want to clean windows. If a steam cleaner comes with lots of tools, bonus points if it also comes with a way to store them.

4. Steam cleaner cord length

This may matter, depending on where your power sockets are. We found a 4m cord was too short to reach our bathroom.

The post Best steam cleaners 2020 – the top steam mops for refreshing floors and more appeared first on Ideal Home.

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