Steam cleaners: How to buy the best steam cleaner

Cleaning with steam

You might associate steam cleaners with carpets and upholstery - but multi-functional steam cleaners can use steam power to refresh and remove stains from hard surface floors, tiles, windows and more, without the use of chemicals or cleaning detergents.

Follow our top steam cleaner shopping tips

Which? has independently tested the latest steam mops and handheld steam cleaners - find our reviews and ratings in our steam cleaner reviews area.

A steam cleaner works by rapidly heating up water to produce steam, which is then applied to the carpet or surface at high pressure. This produces a 'dry' steam that manufacturers claim is able to bring up dirt and grease, and kill bacteria and dust mites.

Choosing a steam cleaner

Which? has tested handheld steam cleaners and steam mops and has Best Buy steam cleaner models to recommend.

These shopping tips should help you choose the best model for your home and budget. 

Types of steam cleaner

Steam cleaners come in a range of shapes and sizes - but generally resemble vacuum cleaners, coming in cylinder, upright or handheld varieties. 

Some steam cleaners can perform more than one task - doubling up as vacuum cleaners with water-based filters, or even featuring attachments that can power a steam generator iron.

Handheld steam cleaners are lightweight and easy-to-use - but steam won't last long

Cylinder steam cleaners

Cylinder steam cleaners (also called barrel steam cleaners) are composed of a main body, bendy hose and nozzle. They tend to be lighter and less hefty than upright cleaners and give you the flexibility to get into tight spaces. 

Handheld steam cleaners

Hand-held steam cleaners are compact and easy to store, and can be a good option if you're only looking to steam clean on a small-scale - to clean curtains or hard-to-reach carpet edges, for example.

Steam mops

Steam mops are next-generation mops that promise to harness the power of steam for more effective and convenient floor cleaning.  These are upright mops with a water tank attached to the handle. 

Steam cleaner accessories

Some steam mops include accessories for other cleaning jobs

Some steam cleaners can perform more than one task - doubling up as vacuum cleaners with water-based filters, or even featuring attachments that can power a steam generator iron.  

Common attachments allow you to take on other cleaning jobs around the home, like window cleaning, clothes steaming and even cleaning your car tyres (more typical of handheld steam cleaner models). Keep and eye out for:

• Squeegee - for cleaning glass
• Cleaning pads - for wiping surfaces down
• Upholstery tool - to make treating stains and refreshing fabric easier
• Scrubbing pad - to make light work of removing grease from ovens
• Scrubbing brushes - to remove embedded grime from grout and tiles

Heat-up and steaming time

The capacity, heat-up and steaming time are important factors to consider.

The heat-up time displayed in the model specification refers to how long the machine takes to reach steam generating mode, which will depend on the capacity of the machine.  Hand-held steam cleaners are lightweight and easy-to-use - but steam won't last long. 

Some steam mops are ready to use in 20 seconds, others take more than a minute to heat up

With steam mops, even the slowest of those we’ve tested are ready to use in less than a minute.  And some very speedy models are ready to clean in around 20 seconds.  

The steaming time is how long you can use the cleaner for with continuous steam before it needs refilling with water to generate more steam.  The small water tank on hand-helds means they'll only generate steam for short bursts before you need to stop and refill. 

Depending on the model, with steam mops you can steam anywhere from 10 minutes to nearly an hour before you need to refill the water tank.

Steam output

You'll also usually see the steam output, measured in grams (g) of steam per minute (m) - the higher the figure, the more powerful the steam. We've seen models claiming to offer over 100g/m.  

One thing to consider with a steam mop is those that offer the highest steam outputs, generally also leave your floor the wettest as they get the job done.

The small water tank on handhelds means they'll only generate steam for short bursts before you need to stop and refill.

Allergy reduction?

Because we haven't tested the dust mite killing ability of steam cleaners, we're not able to give a definitive answer as to how effective they are at reducing allergens.

However, the British Allergy Foundation has awarded its 'seal of approval' to several models of steam cleaner, given to products which it deems can lead to 'significantly reduced allergen content'. 

Brands and prices

Karcher, Vax, Morphy Richards and Polti are among the big brand names who produce steam cleaners - with stores including Argos, John Lewis and Tesco all stocking steam cleaners in their household departments.

Prices depend on the size and model, but expect to pay from £20 to £100 for a hand-held steam cleaner, between £30 and £100 for a steam mop, and anywhere between £70 and £400 for a multi-purpose steam cleaner.

More on this...

• Find the best steam mop with our steam mop reviews
• Go straight to our reviews of handheld steam cleaners
• Expert buying advice: steam cleaners features explained