Best steam cleaners and mops of 2025 – tried and tested favourites that make deep cleaning a breeze

Finesse your cleaning routine with one of the best steam cleaners and mops, reviewed by the Ideal Home team

Ideal Home's choice of the best steam cleaners you can buy, from Vax, Polti and Bissell
(Image credit: Future)

While a traditional bucket and mop is great for refreshing your floors, nothing will tackle the grime and dirt in your house quite like one of the best steam cleaners and mops.

Designed to be used in tandem with the best vacuum cleaners, these high-powered tools use steam to clean and sanitise several surfaces in your home – not just your floors. And there's plenty of things you probably didn't know you could clean with one too.

Gone are the days of laborious scrubbing; these clever gadgets harness the power of steam to lift grime, banish bacteria, and refresh your floors and surfaces with minimal effort. Whether you’re looking to tackle tough kitchen stains, rejuvenate tired grout, or simply enjoy streak-free, sanitized floors, there’s a steam cleaner or mop to suit every household.

Many models often come with various attachments for tackling everything from bathroom tiles to kitchen worktops, and while they're a seriously worthwhile investment, I understand that finding the right steam cleaner or mop for you can feel overwhelming.

At Ideal Home, we've spent years testing the best-in-class steam cleaners and mops from leading brands like Vax, Kärcher, and Bissell, to provide us with the hands-on experience to recommend quality products to you. By combining rigorous testing, speaking to industry experts, and utilising my own product expertise, I've put together this list of the 9 best steam cleaners and mops. Each one has been carefully selected to deliver exceptional cleaning performance, and real value for money.

When testing these appliances, I focused on ease of use, the quality and variety of attachments, and ultimately, affordability. For each steam cleaner and mop, I've highlighted the pros I think you'll love, the cons worth considering, and how they fared in our testing process. This way, you can rest assured you're making the best decision to upgrade your cleaning regime.

Quick list

Best steam cleaner 2025

Why you can trust Ideal Home Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Best steam cleaner overall

The Vax Combi Steam Fresh steam cleaner, an upright cleaner with blue accentsproduct badge

(Image credit: Vax)
The best steam cleaner overall

Specifications

Capacity: 460ml
Dimensions: H: 116cm W: 31cm D: 30cm
Weight: 3.7kg
Power: 1600 watts

Reasons to buy

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Superb cleaning
+
Onboard tool storage
+
Optional detergent
+
Useful triangular brush

Reasons to avoid

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Small fill hole
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Not the lightest

This superb upright steam mop has a triangular floorhead, two cloths, and a carpet glider, securing you value for money from the offset. You can pop the head off to reveal a medium-sized triangular brush perfect for scrubbing.

This is a traditional upright steam cleaner 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. In a stroke of genius, there’s also onboard storage for six tools on the back of the upright, which is uncommon in cleaners like this.

Vax Steam Fresh Combi S86-SF-C Steam Mop being used on a bathroom floor

(Image credit: Future PLC)

This steam cleaner never let us down during testing; in fact, our tester Caramel thought it was so excellent that she found it difficult to step away from it as she envisioned other things in her home she could clean.

Caramel used it with the floorhead and carpet glider to clean the tide marks on an old, colourful rug. It worked to great effect and she only needed to switch to the brush a few times.

In our tests, we found this cleaner was ready to use in less than 30 seconds. The steam itself is variable and powerful on the top setting. Caramel also liked the fact that it can stand up independently when you need to pause cleaning and that you can use detergent as well as just water on tough stains. There are some drawbacks with this model, including the too-small fill hole, but on the whole, it's a great value buy.

Read our Vax Steam Fresh Combi S86-SF-C review for more details.

Best steam cleaner for sofa

Polti Vaporetto steam cleaner, which has a separate body and hose systemproduct badge

(Image credit: Polti)
The best steam cleaner for upholstery

Specifications

Capacity: 2 litres
Dimensions: H 52.4 x W32.4 x D32.4 cm
Weight: 5 kg
Power: 1500 watts

Reasons to buy

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Powerful steam
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Light in the hand
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Onboard tool storage
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Refill any time

Reasons to avoid

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Pricey
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Storage uses more floor space

The Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B has a large 2-litre water tank that 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. It comes with a squeegee with a cloth cover for cleaning upholstery, plus a concentrator, scraper and two sizes of nylon brush. These are all great for cleaning but might be a bit much if you're tight on storage space.

The cleaner 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.

Cleaning the bathroom floor with the Polti Vaporetto Steam Cleaner

(Image credit: Future PLC)

In our tests, our reviewer, Caramel, found that steam took over one minute to heat up and then could 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, and the highest setting is much stronger.

Caramel loved using the Polti, even if it is a bit on the pricey side. 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 windows, curtains and more. Use on a tiled wall was particularly easy too, so if you hate cleaning your bathroom, this is a great cleaner to consider.

Read our Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B review for more details.

Best affordable steam cleaner

Black + Decker 10 in 1 steam cleaner, an upright model with handleBudget buy badge

(Image credit: Black + Decker)
The best affordable and lightweight steam cleaner

Specifications

Capacity: 350 ml
Dimensions: H: 115cm W: 30cm D: 15cm
Weight: 1.9kg
Power: 1300 watts

Reasons to buy

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Affordable
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Very lightweight
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Easy to store

Reasons to avoid

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Fiddly to fill
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Handle isn’t great
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Controls aren’t at your fingertips
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Short power cord

The design of the Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop FSMH13E10 is immensely lightweight. It has a great selection of tools and manoeuvrability is easy. We also found that it's one of the best options in terms of storage, so if you're short on space, look no further.

The Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop FSMH13E10 took just 12 seconds to heat up and start cleaning during testing. You can't choose different steam levels, so controls are a simple on-and-off switch mechanism. While it's great on floors, our reviewer Caramel did find that tile and wood took a while to dry after use, and that the cord it runs with is a little short.

Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop cleaning a wood effect tiled floor as seen from above.

(Image credit: Future PLC)

The middle pops out and converts to a handheld, with a lightweight design. 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, but just watch out for the small water capacity.

Read our Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop FSMH13E10 review for more details.

Best handheld steam cleaner

A black and blue Bissell steamshot steam cleaner on a white background

(Image credit: Bissell)
The best handheld steam cleaner

Specifications

Capacity : 360ml
Dimensions: H: 21.6cm W: 24cm D: 13cm
Weight: 1.5kg
Power: 1000 watts

Reasons to buy

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8 handy attachments
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Heats up in 60 seconds
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4.5 bar steam pressure

Reasons to avoid

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Small tank capacity

Our review of the Bissell Steam Shot handheld steam cleaner is on its way but we've included it in this list because it's a great piece of kit for a reasonable price, punching well above its weight when it comes to cleaning.

With a super quick, 60-second heat-up time and lightweight design, we found it small but mighty when it came to tackling tricky areas like grout lines, oven interiors, and hard-to-reach corners easily, with its different attachments, including a detail brush and scraper tool.

However, its compact size means it has a limited water tank capacity of 360ml, which means it needs frequent refills when cleaning a larger area or for longer than 15 minutes. And while it's really effective on hard surfaces, it's not as effective on fabrics and soft furnishings.

The cord length can also feel a tad restrictive, especially in spaces without nearby sockets, and though it’s a great supplementary tool for quick clean-ups, because of its size, it lacks the power of one of the larger steam cleaners on this list that are better suited for more intensive cleaning jobs.

Best floor steam cleaner

Kärcher SC 2 Upright EasyFix steam cleaner in a mop style with yellow accentsproduct badge

(Image credit: Karcher)
The best floor steam cleaner

Specifications

Capacity: 400ml
Dimensions: H: 119cm W: 17cm D: 31cm
Weight: 2.5kg
Power: 1600 watts

Reasons to buy

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Great hard floor cleaning
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Slim for storage
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Limescale cartridge

Reasons to avoid

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No handheld cleaning
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Very few accessories
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No carpet glider

The Kärcher SC 2 Upright EasyFix is powerful and easy to control. It doesn't come with carpet attachments, but its 'stick'-style design is reminiscent of a cordless vacuum cleaner, which is very pleasing for those who love convenience. You can even clip away the cord so it doesn't get stuck underfoot.

In terms of attachments, it's a little minimal. It just comes with one microfiber pad for the floorhead and a descaling cartridge. There is no spare for when the pad is in the wash, and nothing for carpets either.

Karcher SC2 Upright Easyfix Steam Cleaner mop cleaning wooden floor tiles

(Image credit: Future PLC)

During our tests, we found that on hard floors it was very effective, with strong steam that lifts dirt with ease. There’s also a descaling cartridge to tackle limescale in tap water: the machine alerts you when it’s time to replace it.

Read our Kärcher SC 2 Upright EasyFix review for more details.

Best carpet steam cleaner

VAX steam fresh total home steam cleanerproduct badge

(Image credit: VAX)

6. Vax Steam Fresh Total Home

The best carpet steam cleaner

Specifications

Capacity: 0.26l
Dimensions: H: 116cm W: 31cm D: 30cm
Weight: 4.63kg
Power: 1600 watts

Reasons to buy

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Great cleaning results on carpet
+
Powerful steam
+
Onboard storage
+
Lots of attachments
+
Optional detergent

Reasons to avoid

-
On the heavy side
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Small water tank capacity

The Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner stood out to our Senior digital editor, Jenny, as a truly versatile and efficient tool. Its powerful steam effectively blasted away stains, making it an excellent choice for families with children and pets. The cleaner heats up quickly and is easy to manoeuvre, equipped with attachments that can tackle everything from carpet (which it did a stellar job on) and grout to upholstery.

After a thorough cleaning of the entire house, Jenny found the powerful steam cleaned exceptionally well on all of the odd jobs she put it to work on. Its minimal setup and user-friendly design, coupled with an impressive range of onboard storage and accessories, made the cleaning process super smooth too.

VAX steam fresh total home steam cleaner-on-carpet

(Image credit: Future)

One of the standout features is the steam control dial and the rapid heat-up time, which really helped the cleaning experience. The cleaner is on the heavier side, which might be a concern for some with mobility issues but this minor drawback is definitely overshadowed by the all of the genius features this steam cleaner will bring to anyone's home cleaning arsenal.

Read our Vax Steam Fresh Total Home steam cleaner review for more details.