If you’ve come up against a stubborn stain that simply won’t be removed by traditional cleaning methods, then it might be time to invest in a dedicated steam cleaner. Luckily for you, we’ve laid out exactly which ones are worth buying.
Even though we recommend that every home has one of the best vacuum cleaners to hand (or one of the best robot vacuum cleaners if you’d rather take the chore off your to-do list), steam cleaners tend to get overlooked by most consumers, which is a mistake that’s worth avoiding. Just like vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners are an essential piece of any home’s toolkit.
Steam cleaners are much faster at removing stains than scrubbing by hand, and it saves the need to bring harsh chemicals into the mix which can be dangerous to both yourself and the surface in question. With that in mind however, there are quite a few variables to consider before deciding upon which steam cleaner or steam mop to get.
Depending on the size of your home and the scale of mess that you plan to tackle, you may want to pick up a model with a larger tank, whereas smaller homes may want a more compact design that’s easier to store away. This is all before considering attachments or convertible cleaners that can adapt to handheld cleaning.
To help you make the right decision, we put every steam cleaner through its paces, testing to see how efficiently it removes stains from a surface. Similarly, convertible cleaners are pit against a handful of extra tests for precision cleaning when in handheld mode, such as cleaning grout and wiping down oven trays.
Not only have the products in this list passed our tests brilliantly, but we’ve also made sure to include a degree of variety in the price points covered, so that all budgets are catered for. With that said, we do recommend that the messiest of jobs require a cylinder steam cleaner which can cost a bit more, but pack impressive power in return.
Looking for other ways to kit out your home? Take a look at our guides to the best microwave, best oven, best induction hob, best washing machine and the best tumble dryer.
- The best overall steam cleaner: Karcher SC5 easyFix Premium Steam Cleaner – check price
- The best overall steam mop: Shark Klik n’ Flip Automatic Steam Mop S6003UK – check price
- The best handheld steam cleaner and mop: Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner – check price
- The best cylinder steam cleaner: Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B – check price
- The best steam cleaner and vacuum cleaner: Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E – check price
- The best steam mop that uses detergent: Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner – check price
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Learn more about how we test steam cleaners
We test all steam cleaners in the same way. Each model is tested on hard floors, letting us see how well they clean tough everyday stains. We take before and after photos of cleaning to show the power on offer, and test how well cleaners get into the edges of the room.
For cleaners with detail attachments, such as squeegees and wire brushes, we test how well they clean tough stains including tiles and grouting, burnt-on stains on oven shelves and limescale-encrusted shower screens. We report on how easy each cleaner was to use and how far it could clean on a tank of water.

Karcher SC5 easyFix Premium Steam Cleaner
Pros
- Staggering steaming power
- Very fast hard floor mopping
- Good tool selection with storeage
- Great VapoHydro cleaning
- Easy to carry
Cons
- High price
- No squeegee window tool
- Cable too short (5.9m)

Shark Klik n’ Flip Automatic Steam Mop S6003UK
Pros
- Powerful and fast cleaning
- Steam blast loosens tough stains
- Simple controls
Cons
- Doesn't stand up on its own
- For floors only

Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner
Pros
- Hugely versatile
- Powerful floor cleaning
- Makes short work of most jobs around the house
Cons
- Have to hold trigger down

Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B
Pros
- Large water tank
- Easy to fill
- Heats up quickly
- Powerful steaming
- Versatile
Cons
- Unclear steam dial
- Bulky for small jobs
- Noisy

Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E
Pros
- Vac cleans in front of steam mop
- Fast heat-up time
- Good run-time per tank
- Decent-length cable (7.5m)
Cons
- Limited suction power
- Average steam power
- No pivot on head

Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner
Pros
- Stands up on its own
- Heats up quickly
- Uses water efficiently
Cons
- Seam volume not adjustable
- Only one microfibre pad
- Residue from messier stains

Karcher SC5 easyFix Premium Steam Cleaner
The best overall steam cleanerPros
- Staggering steaming power
- Very fast hard floor mopping
- Good tool selection with storeage
- Great VapoHydro cleaning
- Easy to carry
Cons
- High price
- No squeegee window tool
- Cable too short (5.9m)
If you want an impressively powerful steam cleaner that can tackle anything from window sills to brick walls and boasts the highest level of steam pressure we’ve seen from a domestic appliance, look no further than the Karcher SC5.
Offering a mammoth 2L capacity, 2kW+ heater and a 4.2bar steam pressure level, the SC5 boasts serious steam cleaning power.
Don’t be intimidated by the 4.2bar steam pressure though, as the SC5 offers variable steam control that allows users to control just how much pressure it outputs. This makes it perfect for more delicate or detailed jobs.
With its VapoHydro mode water is mixed with steam and provides a pressure-washer level that we found could easily clean off tough dirt from notoriously difficult areas, including brick walls and garden tiles.
Numerous accessories are included with the SC5 that suit a variety of jobs. This includes an Easyfix mopping head with microfibre cloths and a carpet glider. We found this provided impressively speedy mopping, a wide cleaning sweep and was incredibly easy to manoeuvre.
Also included is a large square brush for tougher cleaning jobs, a detail nozzle and small detail brush and a power nozzle. All tools will easily see you through any household steam cleaning task, from hard floors and carpets to tiles and window sills.
All accessories conveniently clip into the onboard tool storage too, which makes for convenient storage and means less ferrying tools and brush heads around.
The refillable water reservoir lifts out with ease with an unmissable spout for foolproof refilling or topping up.
As it is one of the most expensive models on our list, if you just need a steam cleaner for simple jobs then this might not be the best choice for you. However as this is an easy to use and versatile steam cleaner then we would say this is a worthy investment for those who can spare the cash.

Shark Klik n’ Flip Automatic Steam Mop S6003UK
The best overall steam mopPros
- Powerful and fast cleaning
- Steam blast loosens tough stains
- Simple controls
Cons
- Doesn't stand up on its own
- For floors only
If you’re looking for a steam floor mop to quickly clean up hard floors, the Shark Klik n’ Flip S6003UK Steam Mop could well be the model for you. This well-priced steam mop is focused on floor cleaning, shipping with a double-sided mopping pad that clips to the bottom of the mop. It’s a huge mop, making short work of floors, as you can clean large areas with a single swipe based on our tests.
Cleverly, the Klik n’ Flip head can flip over partway through a clean, giving you the clean side of the pad to keep cleaning with, without introducing a lengthy changeover. This is a feature we found super handy, that let us clean larger areas without having to stop and start.
Cleaning performance was excellent, with the Shark Klik n’ Flip S6003UK Steam Mop tidying up mud on our tiled floor with ease, and picking up everyday kitchen stains: the steam blast function is particularly useful for cleaning up tougher stains, and we found that this helped remove dried-on pet food without having to get down on our needs.
Thanks to the design of the cloth, we found that we could push the S6003UK right into the edges of our room, giving us edge-to-edge cleaning. We needed to get down on our knees and manually clean areas far less with this model than rivals.
Easy to use, easy to move and brilliantly priced, the Shark Klik n’ Flip S6003UK Steam Mop is the best steam mop that we have ever tested. If you’ve got lots of hard floors, this is a great model to buy.

Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner
The best handheld steam cleaner and mopPros
- Hugely versatile
- Powerful floor cleaning
- Makes short work of most jobs around the house
Cons
- Have to hold trigger down
If you’re looking for a versatile steam cleaner that can be used across floors, windows and even to tackle bathroom tiles, the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home steam cleaner is a fantastic choice.
With two tanks on-board, the Vax Steam Fresh Total uses a combination of steam and detergent when in its upright mopping mode, with the latter adding a scent boost into cleaning.
Just note that when the device is in handheld mode, you can only use steam to clean.
Vax includes a huge array of additional tools which can be used in both handheld mode or via the hose. These tools include a detail nozzle for pushing steam into hard-to-reach areas, a squeegee, and grout, scrubbing and even deep scrubbing brushes too.
In upright mopping mode, you can either use a tough HD steam cleaning pad or a softer steam pad depending on how dirty your floor is. Both options attach via velcro, so it’s easy to swap them mid-clean.
There’s also a built-in scrubbing brush to help agitate any tough and dried in stains too.
Want to refresh a carpet or a rug? Attach the included carpet glider which helps the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home to slide on carpet without causing any damage.
Using the steam mop is impressively easy, thanks to its power button and intuitive switch that allows you to control the amount of steam that’s produced. A potential issue with using the mop is the fact you need to manually hold the trigger in order to start producing steam.
Although we appreciate the fact we can control the amount of steam, some may find this tiring and difficult to use after a while.
There’s unfortunately no option to collect solids, which you can find on the more expensive Dyson WashG1, however if you need fast and efficient cleaning around the house then the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home steam cleaner remains a seriously great choice.

Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B
The best cylinder steam cleanerPros
- Large water tank
- Easy to fill
- Heats up quickly
- Powerful steaming
- Versatile
Cons
- Unclear steam dial
- Bulky for small jobs
- Noisy
If there’s one problem with cylinder steam cleaners, it’s that you have to wait for most of them to cool down before you refill and continue cleaning. Not so with the Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B, which has a removable water tank, so you can fill it as many times as you need to complete your cleaning job, all without any cool-down time.
We found this makes this cylinder steam cleaner a great choice for large and difficult jobs, but its bulk means that it’s not an ideal tool if you only want to tackle smaller jobs or just mop floors.
Although the controls are a little confusing on this model (the steam dial goes from min to max, but it’s not clear where about you are in the range), performance is mostly excellent. The Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B coped well with our tough floor challenge, brought grout back to life and easily managed to clean up a hard floor.
There are tools to tackle most jobs, but only one mop pad in the box is a little disappointing, as this gets dirty quickly. That said, for the price, this is an excellent choice and the continuous cleaning makes it brilliant for large jobs, particularly those outside of hard floors.

Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E
The best steam cleaner and vacuum cleanerPros
- Vac cleans in front of steam mop
- Fast heat-up time
- Good run-time per tank
- Decent-length cable (7.5m)
Cons
- Limited suction power
- Average steam power
- No pivot on head
The Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E is a fantastic time-saver, vacuuming and cleaning at the same time. We loved the original, and now the 1977E model has had a small update and now comes in a fetching blue colour. As a standalone steam cleaner or a standalone vacuum cleaner, this model won’t win awards; yet, the combination of the two features produces some powerful cleaning results.
With a 400W bagless vacuum cleaner and 1100W steam heater, we found that small particles were sucked up before the microfibre pad steams the floor and picks up stains. For well-trodden areas in your home with hard floors, the Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E effectively halved our cleaning time. Bissell recommends three passes for a dirty area and that worked well for us, picking up dust and removing stains well.
The downside of the system is that it’s not very flexible, and it’s neither a good vacuum nor a flexible and powerful steam cleaner. Still, it’s the combination of parts that is important, and the Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E delivers on hard floor cleaning. We recommend this model for homes that need regular cleaning; our tester has dogs, so needs to clean daily, where the Bissell Vac&Steam 1977E came in handy. For deeper floor cleaning, the Shark S6003UK is a better choice.

Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner
The best steam mop that uses detergentPros
- Stands up on its own
- Heats up quickly
- Uses water efficiently
Cons
- Seam volume not adjustable
- Only one microfibre pad
- Residue from messier stains
The Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner is our top pick for the best budget steam mop that can also use detergent.
It’s sturdy and a mop we found to be easy to work with, given how lightweight it is. We also think the Beldray cleaner looks the part with its turquoise and white colour scheme, too, and is able to be conveniently disassembled with the handle can be removed with a literal touch of a button. The fact there’s a 5-metre cable here also enables this cleaner to go rather far round your house, and also helps its manoeuvrability.
For its steaming powers, this Beldray mop comes with a 330ml water tank. That may sound small, but thanks to the fact it uses its water rather sparingly, you can actually go rather far before that tanks needs refilling. To go with the 330ml of water, this cleaner also has a 200ml detergent tank to help freshen up floors and offer a little more oomph for cleaning.
Beldray says water will heat up in 25 seconds, making this a relatively prompt mop to heat water up with. There isn’t much in the way of controls, apart from an onboard power switch, which is a handy addition considering other cleaners require you to physically turn it off from the wall. This appliance also comes with a Velcro-attached microfibre pad for the mop head, and a carpet glider to help it to move smoothly across carpeted surfaces.
In our testing, we found the Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner to do a pretty good job of removing most of the mess we’d left down in tiles in one fell swoop. In addition, it saturated the colours of our rug when steaming a patch for 30 seconds, although didn’t quite get rid of a small stain that was left. It arguably did a better job of dealing with laminate flooring, as our dried muddy footprints were fully gone within 20 seconds without any marks or residue. Our toughtest test involving a combo of coffee and tomato paste stains dried into a patch of tiles arguably pushed this cleaner to its limits, with it taking around two and a half minutes for the stain to be fully removed.
FAQs
A steam mop is designed specifically for hard floors, with a microfibre cloth used to pick up dirt and steam pushed through the cloth to clean and remove dirty. A steam cleaner is different, as it has different attachments for different jobs: nozzles and brushes for detail cleaning, window cleaning accessories and more.
The latter is better for tackling jobs around the house, but a steam mop is more convenient for everyday use. If you want a balance, you can get models that convert from a mop to a handheld unit for occasional detail jobs.
Steam cleaners don’t have to use detergent, and use clean water and steam alone to remove stains. This makes them more gently cleaners in some regards, as you don’t have to use harsh chemicals to remove stubborn stains. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use chemicals in the normal way.
For example, for cleaning floors and surfaces, using traditional detergent and disinfectant makes sense, although you can then use a steam cleaner afterwards for dealing with some stains. Likewise, you should still clean with cleaning products for the deepest clean, letting the steam cleaner handle deeper jobs.
The larger the tank of water you have, the longer the steam cleaner can keep cleaning. This is more important on some models than others. Many models have a refillable water tank that you can remove and top up when you like. These ones heat water when its pumped from a tank, effectively giving you continuous cleaning. For these models, the size of the tank isn’t so important, as you can get water when you need it.
If you have a cleaner with a built-in tank where all of the water is heated at the same time, you have to have a cool-down time (up to 20 minutes or so) before you can refill and use them again. For these models, it’s important to have a running time that will last for the length of job you have, so that you don’t have to pause in the middle of cleaning.
Steam cleaners, bar standalone steam mops, will come with a variety of attachments for different jobs. Largely, these are there to make specific tasks easier. Each accessory works by changing how steam is directed, such as a thin nozzle to help push steam towards tile grouting, or by providing a tool to help clean, such as a wire brush for cleaning an oven. Tools can do both, such as an upholstery brush that directs steam over a wider area and gives you a brush to agitate the upholstery and loosen dirt. When you buy a steam cleaner you should think about the jobs you want to do and make sure that your chosen model has the right accessories.
Steam is generally safe to use on most surfaces but there are some exceptions to this. As you’re using water, using a steam cleaner on an unsealed surface isn’t recommended. And, surfaces that may react badly to a lot of water, such as solid wood flooring, may not be suitable, as you could get swelling.
The situation is worse if you apply steam directly to the surface but also applies with steam mops. Although mop heads will absorb most of the heat of the steam, they can still get very wet, which is no good for many surfaces. For dealing with hard floors, we recommend that you buy one of our best hard floor cleaners, instead.
Steam is an effective way to kill bed bugs and their eggs, thanks to the high temperatures proving lethal. If you’re worried about an infestation, then steam cleaning soft furnishings can help. Make sure that you use the upholstery attachment and/or mattress accessory to clean. You should move slowly over the area, taking at least 30 seconds before moving the steam head in order to deliver a killing dose of steam. Make sure that you cover all areas, and press the steam head into crevices and around the bed; for mattresses, cover the sides and underneath, too.
Karcher commissioned research that showed that enveloped viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, can be killed by high temperatures. Spot cleaning for 30 seconds at maximum steam level was enough to kill the virus. This shows that cleaning close-up is required to be effective, so cleaning with a burst of steam can be a good secondary way of disinfecting surfaces, although cleaning with detergent should always be done. Steam can be good on surfaces that are otherwise hard to clean, such as curtains and upholstery.
Using a steam mop is slightly different, as the microfibre cloth absorbs some heat. Steam mops will remove dirt, bacteria and viruses, but the pad should be cleaned at a high temperature in a washing machine to disinfect it after use. In short, then, a steam cleaner can help disinfect surfaces but should be used as an additional tool after traditional cleaning.
Test Data
Karcher SC5 easyFix Premium Steam Cleaner | Shark Klik n’ Flip Automatic Steam Mop S6003UK | Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner | Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B | Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E | Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner |
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Full Specs
Karcher SC5 easyFix Premium Steam Cleaner Review | Shark Klik n’ Flip Automatic Steam Mop S6003UK Review | Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner Review | Polti Vaporetto Smart 100_B Review | Bissell Vac & Steam 1977E Review | Beldray Detergent Steam Cleaner Review | |
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UK RRP | £499 | £149.99 | £159.99 | £165 | £148.99 | £39.99 |
Manufacturer | Karcher | Tokit | Vax | Polti | Bissell | – |
Size (Dimensions) | 301 x 439 x 305 MM | 100 x 110 x 1180 MM | x x INCHES | 270 x 400 x 290 INCHES | 280 x 229 x 1181 MM | 1170 x 222 x 350 MM |
Weight | 9 KG | 2.3 KG | 4.63 KG | 5 KG | 4.81 KG | 2.07 KG |
ASIN | B077CBLBT3 | B01N3930UF | – | B079TNF6QL | B01MYDV5WI | B08HDJK24W |
Release Date | 2018 | 2020 | 2024 | 2021 | 2018 | 2021 |
First Reviewed Date | 23/07/2018 | 17/11/2020 | 10/10/2024 | 22/02/2021 | 02/08/2018 | – |
Model Number | – | – | Vax Steam Fresh Total Home Steam Cleaner | – | – | BEL01097 |
Accessories | Floor cleaning kit, EasyFix + extension tube (2 × 0.5 m), hand nozzle, detail nozzle, round brush (small), microfibre cover for manual nozzle | Floor head | 2x water filters, 250ml bottle of detergent | Mop head with microfibre pad and carpet glider, squeegee tool with microfibre cover, two small round brushes, curved nozzle, scraper tool and two extension tubes | Floor head (carpet and hard floors) | – |
Provided heads | – | – | Carpet glider, floor head (3x mopping pads), 4x cleaning pads, scrubbing brush, deep scrubbing brush, window tool, detail nozzle, grout brush, | – | – | – |
Bin capacity | – | – | litres | – | – | – |
Modes | – | – | Variable steam | – | – | – |
Stated Power | – | – | 1400 W | – | – | – |
Run time | – | – | hrs min | – | – | – |
Water tank size | 1.5 | 0.33 | 0.26 | 2 | 0.38 | 0.35 |
Floor cleaner type | – | – | Steam cleaner | – | – | – |
Detergent capacity | – | – | 0.13 litres | – | – | – |
Steam cleaner type | Cylinder | Mop | 2-in-1 | – | 2-in-1 | Mop |
Cleaning solution tank | – | – | Yes | – | – | Yes |
Steam pressure | 4.2 bar | – | – | 4 bar | – | – |