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

Product Information

The swivel head is very sturdy and easy to use–it effectively fits into crevices and under or around furniture. This lightweight mop truly made cleaning a breeze, it easily glided over the floor and outperformed the higher-priced competition.

This steam mop is not effective enough for houses with pets, high-traffic areas, kids, or frequent messes. Kathy Cohoon, Operations Manager of the cleaning service Two Maids says, “Extra product is not usually needed as most steam mops are made to work without product since the heat and steam are the real muscle. Be sure to read the usage instructions for your steam mop model as using products unnecessarily can damage the machinery and/or your floors.” 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 cloth cover for cleaning upholstery, plus 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. Three levels of steam are available via a rotary dial. B&D refers this to as Autoselect but there is very little ‘auto’ about it. The dial is simply labelled with different hard floor types to simplify choice rather than three steam levels, although it amounts to the same thing.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. 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.

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. Roll with the prodigious amount of steam however and window cleaning is very good indeed. On tall patio doors, the water runoff was fairly serious even on the lowest steam setting. This truly depends on your cleaning goal and the type of mess in your household. “Steam mops are typically not the best for dealing with dust, hair, and other dry debris on floors so be sure to sweep and/or vacuum before steam mopping for best results. Also, be sure to leave adequate dry time for floors to ensure the shiniest sparkle,” advises cleaning expert Cohoon. Steam mops can sanitize and shine floors, so if that’s the goal, then go for it!

In This Article

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.It’s only designed for cleaning floors, so there are no accessories except a filling jug. There are two steam levels: a button on the front of the body of the cleaner cycles between these and off. In our tests, Molly found it heats up in under 30 seconds. 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. As a steam mop, t feels a little flimsy. There is a lot of flex from the handle downwards, although this is more due to the skeletal design and removable main steam section, rather than any issues with the build quality. Finally, the testers evaluated the process of removing the cleaning pad or cleaning the bristle brush. After hours of testing, we were able to narrow the selection down to the eight best steam mops for your money. 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.

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. 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. 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?

Black & Decker Steam Mops

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