BLACK+DECKER 1600W Multifunction Corded Steam Mop with Detachable Body and STEAMITT Glove and 14 Accesories Included (BHSM1610DSM-GB)

Product Information

A.k.a. 2-in-1 cleaners, these are upright steam mops where the steam generator can pop out from the middle to be used as a smaller, handheld cleaner. They come with various tools for steam cleaning smaller stuff. We appreciated that this cleaner was very lightweight and was easily able to maneuver around areas to clean. While lightweight, even when filled with water, it is hard to prop the unit up when not in use—it fell over a few times during testing because of this. She’s an engineering graduate, an award-winning journalist and writes regularly in the Evening Standard. She has appeared as a technology expert on TV and done countless radio interviews. As both the cable and the water tank are fixed to the steamer body, and there is no filler jug supplied. you must take the whole ensemble to the sink to fill up. This steam cleaner never let us down during testing; in fact, our tester Carmel 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.

More than just a steam mop, this lightweight cleaner comes with eight accessories, including a handheld steamer and multiple brush heads for tile and small areas, making this steam mop a great value, on top of being super lightweight and very easy to use.Combine two cleaning tasks into one swift motion with the Bissell Vac & Steam, which does exactly what the name says. It lifts as much dust and hair as possible and then uses water to lift the remaining grime. Carmel used this 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.

You can use each feature independently but the Bissell Vac & Steam is at its best when you use both at once to save time. You can whizz around the house at double speed if dirt isn’t too ingrained. How we test our steam cleaners Adding a steam mop to your arsenal of cleaning tools can be a wise decision, especially if you have a lot of sealed floors in your home. The Bissell Powerfresh Deluxe Steam Mop 1806 is a mid-priced steam mop that our testers found easy to use and quite effective. Along with the new features, it has a similar digital ‘Auto Select’ Technology to the previous model, which allows the steam mop to automatically adjust the steam pressure depending on the floor type you’re cleaning. It also features an extra steam on demand button that is designed with a one-touch control instead of needing to hold down a button each time you need extra steam. There are no handheld cleaning tools with this cleaner as it’s just for floors. It’s heavy (4.4kg) and perhaps not as versatile as some of the other options on this list, but it does have the value of a vacuum and steam cleaner combined. For this story, Maya researched the best steam mop styles, sizes, prices, and features and then compared her findings with testing insights from our steam mop lab test in Des Moines, IA. She also consulted with Kathy Cohoon, Operations Manager, Two Maids, for expert advice on using and shopping for steam mops.

What do customers think about Black & Decker Steam Mops?

The cord on this cleaner is an extremely long 23 feet, which is useful for moving all around the house, but can easily get caught, tangled, or trailed through newly cleaned floors, so keep an eye on it. We should also note that we didn’t love that plugging this model in is what turns it on, so you’ll want to make sure you have it set up in a spot that’s steam cleaner friendly. Filling the tank under the tap is easy but there is no gauge to say what is ‘full’. It’s very easy to over-fill, at which point the filler cap vent hole spits water when you move it around. The same vent hole also dribbles if you tilt the steamer unit over, such as when steaming at an angle to clean a shower. Caramel Quin has been writing for Ideal Home and other titles at Future for many years and tests a wide range of consumer technology for newspapers, magazines and online. She prides herself in real-world testing and translating geek speak into plain English. Her pet hates are jargon, pointless products and over-complicated instruction manuals.

That’s not an issue when using the hose and details tools of course. The steam unit’s superb output means you really only need the minimum setting for most jobs. Go higher than this and you will be mopping up floods of water run-off. Using the squeegee tool on windows is a prime case so have a cloth handy. There’s a lot to like about this Bissell steam mop–in our tests, it worked equally as effectively on tile, grout, concrete, and sealed hardwood floors. Intuitively designed, there’s a removable water tank, which is easy to fill, and three levels of steam. All of the steam mops on this list have attached cords, so think about your house, the outlet locations, and if you’ll need to constantly plug and unplug the steam mop to adequately and safely move around your home. Also keep in mind that steam mops maintain their heat by being plugged in, so if you need to change plugs, you might need to wait for it to heat up again. In our tests, Carmel found that steam took over one minute to heat up and then can 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, the highest setting is much stronger.Testing these cleaners simultaneously has allowed her to see which cleaners excel at which task, and to judge them on ease of use and storage, which is crucially important in her very compact space. What is the best steam cleaner in 2023? Our favorite steam mop of the bunch, this steam cleaner is lightweight, super effective, and has a lot of nice-to-have features without a budget-busting price tag. On the most basic level, we appreciate that this steam mop has an on and off button, so you can turn it off even when plugged in, which we think should be more common after testing this model. While this seems like a small detail, many other steam mops don’t have such intuitive buttons. Uniquely, the Shark’s floorhead and cleaning pad are double-sided, giving you twice the surface area for more cleaning. It comes with a second cleaning pad, too, which our Ecommcerce Editor Molly thought was excellent value for money during testing.

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. Unlike some other options, the multiple attachments were easy to swap between and we found them quite effective. As an added bonus, the included instructions were simple, easy to follow, and accurate, so we never found ourselves guessing if we were using the right thing.

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If you only want to steam clean floors, consider a simple machine that doesn’t convert to a handheld. It will be light, easy to manoeuvre and you won’t have to store fiddly tools that you’ve no intention of using.