While an old-school mop and bucket will do its best to clean your home, nothing will tackle the grime and dirt in your house quite like the best steam cleaners and mops. They use high-powered steam, often in several ways (thanks to attachments), to clean and sanitise all number of surfaces in your home - not just your floors. And while we think it’s a serious value-for-money investment, we can also understand that choosing the best steam cleaner or mop can be daunting.
With so many steam cleaners and mops on the market, finding the right option for you, your home, and your budget can feel like a minefield. That’s why the Ideal Home team has spent years testing steam cleaners and mops from brands such as Vax, Kärcher, Bissell, and many more to provide us with the hands-on experience we need to recommend quality products to you. Throughout this process, we tested everything from the general ease of use to the quality of the attachments and the affordability.
After rigorous testing, we’ve compiled this list of the 9 best steam cleaners and mops that we’re confident will be a worthwhile investment for your cleaning regime. For each steam cleaner and mop, we’ve outlined the reasons to buy that we think you’ll love and the reasons to avoid that you’ll need to consider to make an informed decision.
And once you've given your home a once-over with the best vacuum cleaner, we have no doubts that your choice of expert steam cleaners will surely become a sure-fire staple in your cleaning routine.
Quick list
Best overall
The Vax Steam Fresh Combi S86-SF-C features excellent onboard tools and convenient tool storage, making it highly practical for users. It comes with a handy triangular brush that allows for efficient cleaning in tight corners. Additionally, the option to use detergent enhances its cleaning capabilities. Even though the small fill hole can make the setup process a bit tricky, it's our top pick.
Best for upholstery
Boasting a large water tank, allowing for extended cleaning sessions without frequent refills, the Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B is impressive in its cleaning capabilities. Its design enables it to get under low-lying furniture effortlessly. However, it comes with a relatively high price tag, which might be a consideration for budget-conscious buyers.
Best affordable
The Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop is easy to carry, allowing for effortless maneuverability around the house and its compact design ensures it stores away easily. Additionally, it features a switch instead of a trigger, simplifying its operation and making it super user-friendly.
Best handheld
Versatile the Hoover Steam Capsule boasts an ergonomic design and a self-standing feature for added convenience. It includes a handheld cleaner, making it suitable for various cleaning tasks but our reviewer reported that the unit can be heavy to steer, which might pose a challenge during prolonged use.
Best for floors
The Kärcher SC 2 Upright EasyFix is an excellent performer on sealed floors, while its slim, space-saving design makes it convenient for storage and easy to maneuver around the house. It's also often available for under £100, making it a cost-effective choice. However, it doesn't come with a carpet glider, which could be a downside if you want to clean carpets as well.
Best for carpet
Our reviewer found the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home gave excellent cleaning results on carpets, thanks to its powerful steam. It features onboard storage and a variety of attachments and the option to use detergent can provide an extra boost for tough stains. However, the cleaner is somewhat heavy its small water tank capacity will require frequent refills.
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Best for tiles
Featuring a wall mount for easy storage, our reviewer found the Bissell Powerfresh Slimstream had a good attachment carrier allowing so its tools are accessible while in use. However, the handheld function can be awkward to use, making some cleaning tasks less comfortable.
Best cylinder
This is a powerful cylinder steam cleaner and works exceptionally well on carpets, with out reviewer commenting on how effectively it removed even stubborn grime. With its 6-metre long cord, it offers ample reach for various cleaning jobs but its heat-up time is a bit long, which might be a slight inconvenience for some.
Best multipurpose
The Dupray Neat Multipurpose Steam Cleaner features a large water tank that provides up to 50 minutes of continuous cleaning time, allowing for extended use without frequent refills. It comes equipped with 17 different tools, including various brushes and a floor attachment and its heavy-duty construction makes it super durable and reliable. Our reviewer found it challenging to drain though and wind the cable after use.
Best steam cleaner 2024
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Best steam cleaner overall
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.
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.
Our Vax Steam Fresh Combi S86-SF-C review has the full details.
Best steam cleaner for sofa
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.
In our tests, 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.
Our Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B review has the full details.
Best affordable steam cleaner
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.
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.
Our Black & Decker 10-in-1 Steam Mop FSMH13E10 review has the full details.
Best handheld steam cleaner
The Hoover Steam Capsule 2 in 1 CA2IN1D is an all-rounder and earned high praise from our reviewer Caramel. It's got a design that many in search of the best steam mop will gravitate towards. Our first impression was that it's an annoyance to assemble it, as you'll need a screwdriver. It does look great though, and the handle is very ergonomic, even if the entire cleaner is a little tricky to manoeuvre.
It comes with a steam hose and several accessories, such as brushes and cloths. There isn't any on-board storage, but the power cord is long, at 7 metres.
You can pop out the handheld from the back of the Hoover Steam Capsule, and there are three levels of steam controls to choose from. It's possible to pop off the steam head, leaving a scrubby triangular brush which is amazing at picking up stubborn areas of dirt and grime.
Our The Hoover Steam Capsule 2 in 1 CA2IN1D review has the full details.
Best floor steam cleaner
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.
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.
Our Kärcher SC 2 Upright EasyFix review has the full details.
Best carpet steam cleaner
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.
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.
Our Vax Steam Fresh Total Home steam cleaner review has the full details.
Best steam cleaner for tiles
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 the best cordless vacuum cleaners. 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.
During the review process, our writer Caramel found we liked the design and how easy it was to convert back and forth. She loved the plastic tray that clips to the underside and holds all four supplied tools (concentrator, scraper and two shapes of brush). If you're steam cleaning 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.
Cleaning is versatile and the two steam levels are good enough for all uses. She remarked on how well it did at lifting grime from the bathroom tiles on the high steam setting. It’s not the most powerful steam on test and yet it’s the cleaner Caramel would pick up and use again and again, especially thanks to the easy wall storage too.
Our Bissell PowerFresh SlimSteam 2234E review has the full details.
Best cylinder steam cleaner
This premium, cylinder-style steam cleaner is a completely different animal from a normal 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.
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 a large round brush – with space on the Kärcher to stow. 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.
The 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 and cleaning the bathroom’s tiled walls, right up to the ceiling. The only downside? It's a little slow on the uptake when you begin cleaning.