17 best steam cleaners for keeping your floors gleaming, tried and tested

Score: 96/100

For an outstanding mop steam cleaner, look no further than this Polti model. Its flexible joint helps you clean under furniture and kitchen appliances, and its long 7.5-metre flex means you won't need to keep switching plug sockets.

The water tank heats up in just 15 seconds, but note that it takes several seconds longer to emit steam, even when the ready light is on. There's a variable steam dial too, and we found the trigger switch on both the stick and handheld unit handy.

Performance-wise, it fared impressively on hard and sealed floors but not quite as well on carpet. The built-in bristles at the rear of the floorhead efficiently scrubbed stubborn grime off vinyl, but the bristles on the included round brush started to bend after tackling particularly stubborn food remnants.

Score: 93/100

Kärcher's most powerful steam cleaner is a large cylinder model that comes with ample accessories to cover most household cleaning tasks. We found it straightforward to assemble and quiet.

There's no need to worry about running out of steam before you finish your floors either, thanks to a large-capacity 1.5-litre water tank and 0.5-litre steam boiler reservoir. The tank heats up in a surprisingly speedy three minutes and offers a great range of steam outputs.

It scored top marks for cleaning ceramic tiles, and it left vinyl flooring shiny without the need for scrubbing. Our windows were spotless and dried quickly, too. And it only dropped a couple of marks in our oven and hob cleaning tests.

The main downside was that it produced a lot of steam quickly, and with that came excess water, which required some mopping up while still cleaning. But this seems a small price to pay given its all-round excellent performance.

Score: 92/100

This upright steam cleaner proved to be another reliable pick from Kärcher. An indicator light tells you when it’s ready to go, and you can choose the amount of steam required based on whether you’re cleaning wood or stone flooring.

It lifted staining from vinyl well and got rid of soap scum from our tiled floor effortlessly. Its swivel design at the head made manoeuvring the mop easy, ensuring extensive access underneath cupboards.

Refilling is effortless too, thanks to the well-designed water tank that’s easy to remove. The Velcro cleaning pads are also smart; you can wash them in the machine and reuse. It has a calc filter, but we’d have appreciated a hose extension for reaching awkward spots. That said, for hard floors you can’t fault it.

Score: 88/100

If you’re looking to cut down on the number of appliances you own, this multifunctional machine can vacuum, wash, and sanitise your floor with steam in a single pass. Our testers were impressed by the combination of a rotating brush and steam power, which blasted through most of the mud, tea, and soap stains in testing.

In ‘steam’ mode, the vacuum runs at the same time, which helps remove some of the moisture generated by the steam. Our vinyl flooring took just four minutes to dry afterwards, with carpet left damp but not overly wet.

We love that the RollySteam self-cleans and dries the rollers in its docking station, which feels much more hygienic than a mucky mop. It has a balanced design, which glides smoothly across floors, and the controls are responsive, too. Don’t expect it to replace your carpet cleaner, as we found it works best on hard flooring – but nevertheless, we’d say this versatile machine is well worth the investment.

We also tested the Polti RollySteam as a hard floor cleaner, where it scored 85/100. Read our review in our best hard floor cleaner roundup.

Score: 88/100

Putting in a strong performance, this affordable model was the highest scoring handheld steam cleaner we tested. Its strong jet of steam cut through burnt-on grime with ease, and it cleaned our hob within 30 seconds, after just 50 seconds of heat up time. It doesn’t have any variable settings, but the thumb trigger was responsive, so you can tailor the steam bursts to the task at hand.

It comes with an array of attachments – including a squeegee head for the shower and an angled nozzle. You can even convert it into a clothes steamer by using the accompanying steaming cloth cover. Unsurprisingly for a handheld, it’s not one to use for large areas, and you will have to wipe away water after cleaning. But for something lightweight that’s adept at smaller tasks, this is ideal.

Read our in-depth Beldray handheld steam cleaner review.

Score: 87/100

If you're struggling to clean awkward spaces properly, this steam cleaner can help – once you get past the fiddly assembly that requires a screwdriver, that is. It has an extra-long flex, allowing you to clean all surfaces from one plug socket, and the mop head is easy to manoeuvre, turning into corners and tilting to reach under furniture. It comes with lots of useful tools and you can order more online, but we'd have liked a window squeegee and carpet glider in the box.

Its multiple steam settings include a steam blast feature for eradicating embedded floor stains, but there's no way of telling when the steam is ready until it starts emitting. The mop head detaches at the press of a button, no handling required, but the cloths shrunk when we washed them according to the manufacturer's instructions.

It's not freestanding and the handle isn't telescopic, but it can also be used as a handheld. It's a reliable choice if you've got a lot of cleaning and little time to do it.

Score: 87/100

This super affordable steam mop from Russell Hobbs is a lightweight, multi-tasking buy. It heated up quickly and performed well when cleaning tiles and freshening up carpets. On vinyl and sealed wood floors, it effectively tackled lighter stains such as tea, but testers found it struggled with mud.

It reached all the awkward spots we tried on test, and the water tank produced ample steam for most cleaning jobs. But if you’re tackling a bigger area, you may need to refill it. It comes with detailed instructions to help you achieve sparkling results and the mop heads are easy to fit and remove.

Score: 87/100

Dropping just one mark in our vinyl floor test, this steam cleaner will serve you well if you’re looking to keep your kitchen and bathroom flooring fresh. The floor head’s polygonal shape makes cleaning corners effortless too, and the built-in brush is handy if you need to scrub stubborn staining.

The tank can hold up to two litres of water, so it can get heavy, but luckily its handle was comfortable to use. You can store tools on board, and we found it compact so you won’t need to free up too much cupboard space.

Score: 85/100

This Shark steam mop offers three steam levels, so you can select the necessary setting for each task. Plus, its instructions offer comprehensive guidance on which to use and when.

Its 350ml water tank heats up in under 30 seconds, but there's no indicator light to tell you when it's ready. It cut through dirt quickly with its double-sided floorhead proving particularly useful for stubborn stains. It’s easy to deploy too – simply flip it over for twice the cleaning area per machine-washable pad, before pressing the button to release and reload touch-free.

Unlike most of the versatile designs we’ve tested, this can only be used on hard floors, but its cleaning performance was solid. Reaching under furniture and kitchen appliances was easy too and its long cord helped when moving around. It felt heavy, however, and it’s not freestanding. One to buy if you’ve got extensive hard flooring at home.

Score: 85/100

This light and compact steam cleaner doubles as both a handheld unit and a steam mop. In mop form, the unit can be built at the bottom (reducing arm strain) or at the top (allowing the head to get into tight spaces). It heats up in just 30 seconds, with an LED panel that indicates when it’s ready to use.

Despite its small size, this cleaner proved powerful on everyday mess. It lifted dirt from carpet, ovens and hobs, leaving surfaces looking refreshed. The lightweight, well-balanced design makes it easy to use on stairs or in awkward spaces, while the machine-washable cloths are durable and convenient.

It wasn’t quite as effective on grout and tougher stains, which required extra scrubbing, and it was a little difficult to push across carpets and steer into tight corners. Still, it delivered reliable results across a variety of surfaces, and would make a great choice for smaller homes with limited storage.

Score: 84/100

This affordable steam cleaner did a solid job of cleaning up various types of stains on hard flooring, and it impressed us with its ability to lift burnt-on residue from our test oven. It’s also one of the cheapest models in our roundup with a variable temperature setting – great if you have delicate surfaces like laminate, engineered wood or vinyl. Plus, it gets to temperature in a flash – just 20 seconds.

On the downside, we found that the tank can’t be fully emptied due to its design, which could cause limescale buildup if you live in a hard water area (there’s no anti-limescale device or de-scale indicator, either). But if you’re happy to use bottled or deionised water, as advised in the instructions, this steam cleaner is a reliable buy.

Score: 82/100

Packing a punch in a small package, this steam cleaner is our pick for cleaning the inside the oven (AKA the worst chore ever). We used the pointed attachment on the maximum setting, and it effortlessly lifted stains. A quick follow-up wipe with the flat cloth, along with an extra burst of steam, and our oven was left sparkling.

The continuous steam feature also helps tackle worst-case-scenario mess, although the water tank ran out within 10 minutes. You can’t see the water level through the tank and there’s no indicator either, so it’s easy to get caught out in the middle of cleaning. While it’s slower than most to pre-heat, it still only took around 30 seconds, meaning you can get back to blasting dirt in no time.

Some surfaces needed a final buff with a clean cloth to get a pristine finish, but this compact steamer is a worthwhile investment for simplifying deep cleans.

Score: 82/100

This clever multi-tasker removes the need for a pre-steam vacuum, as it collects dry debris at the same time as steaming tough stains and sucking up spills. The mop glides smoothly over hard floors – along with the comfortable handle and eight metres of cord, it makes whole-home cleaning effortless.

Dried soap stains lifted easily from tiles on the maximum setting, but when we looked closer, there were a few patches left in the grouting. Mud stains took three sweeps to remove, and the mop left behind some streaks, but minimal scrubbing was required and the vinyl surface dried in a minute.

The mop lacks some premium features like an indicator light to show when it’s pre-heated, but overall, it’s intuitive to use with clear instructions and offers great value for money.

We also tested the Shark SteamPickUp 3-in-1 Steam Mop as a hard floor cleaner, where is scored 81/100 in our best hard floor cleaner tests.

Score: 78/100

Unlike the other handheld models in this list, this steam cleaner has a digital display that shows the temperature in real time. It also has two steam modes – Normal for regular jobs and Max for tougher stains – which you can switch between at the tap of the touch screen.

The generous array of attachments lets you tackle a range of different jobs around the home. It delivered its best results in our oven cleaning test, where the pointed nozzle made light work of burnt-on grime, and it handled everyday dirt on tiles and windows well. It struggled more with tougher stains on vinyl and the hob, though.

We liked the removable water tank, which makes refills quick and easy – just note that, due to the position of the drainage hole, it's difficult to empty completely. The touch screen wasn't always responsive when we had damp fingers, and the controls took a little getting used to, but overall, it's a versatile handheld with useful digital features.

Score: 78/100

You get three appliances in one with this steam cleaner, making it a worthwhile investment for anyone planning a serious deep clean. It works as a steam mop, a vacuum and a handheld steam cleaner – ideal for getting into nooks and crannies and up high.

As a vacuum, it lifted 93.7% of the dust we laid down in the test lab. It really shines as a handheld thanks to the nine cleaning attachments and powerful steam output, which made light work of cleaning off burnt-on food from the oven door. The window cleaning tool left some streaks, but a quick buff with a cloth finished the job.

As a steam mop, it moved smoothly over floors and dealt with soap scum well, but it needed multiple passes to lift dried mud and tea stains. Even so, it’s a versatile, easy-to-use tool that’s ideal for homes short on storage space.

Score: 73/100

If you want a grab and go steam cleaner, then this is a good buy. Attaching its cleaning cloth is easy, and a six-metre-long cable makes navigating your home easier. It has a sizeable water tank and it’s lightweight, too.

Testers liked the way the mop head pivots, and found it good at freshening carpets and cleaning wood floors. It removed staining from vinyl too. But if you often deal with a lot of muddy foot or paw prints, it’s not so reliable, struggling to lift heavy amounts.

Its handle isn’t telescopic either; however, you can remove the handle from the body for easy storage, making it well suited to both small and big homes.