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Well, using a steam mop might change your mind. With these bad boys, you can clean more quickly and efficiently and without the need for any chemicals whatsoever. It’s a simple yet effective solution that anyone can use in their home.
Here we’ll go over the benefits of the best steam mops, why you should get one and what to look out for. Let’s begin.
Why Buying a Steam Mop?
Some of you might still be quite skeptical about steam mops. It does sound like a fad, like a gimmicky product that doesn’t do a lot and just adds to the hassle that floor cleaning already is. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Steam mops work by using an incredibly simple system – they heat up stored water, turning it into steam that is expelled through the head of the mop and onto the floor that’s getting cleaned. This allows the mop to easily clean up most stains by dissolving them with heat while keeping your floors pristine – no need for any scrubbing or scraping. Best of all, the steam also kills most bacteria that various chemical solutions also kill, so it is safe and natural while also being efficient – the best of both worlds.
Keep your floors pristine with the best steam mop
You might think this makes them harder to use, but again you would be wrong. They’re even easier to use than regular mops – the only thing you need to do is plug them into an outlet, fill them with water, wait a bit for them to heat up and get going. You will need to add more water at times, but that is far less of a hassle than constantly dipping the mop into a bucket of water you have to drag with you.
The way they operate also makes them quite versatile, and the steam won’t damage most surfaces. You can use them to clean hardwood floors, linoleum, vinyl, ceramic tiles, laminate and so on. They can also use a variety of attachments that allow them to be used on countertops or furniture or just to reach places they otherwise couldn’t.
Another great benefit they offer is that you won’t ever have to worry about waiting for your floors to dry. They will be dry before you even finish working, which is a great benefit if you have a busy household.
Maintenance is also quite easy, and most mopping pads that come with a steam mop are machine washable, so you just need to follow the instructions, and you’re set.
Overall, steam mops are simply a superior way to clean your floors, and you will never have to reach for a regular mop again.
Steam mops aren’t always as good as we make them out to be and there are bad products out there that are not worth your money. Recognizing these products can be a bit difficult at times though, as these are not regular mops and don’t adhere to the same standards.
That’s part of the reason for making this article – to help people get a grip on what they should look for in good steam mop. Here we will offer our opinions and reviews of the top three products that we picked by testing dozens of different steam mops and pair them up with a few user reviews for extra measure. So, here are the products.
Meet the Best Steam Mops
The Good: This is a great steam mop, and it has a large head, long cord, and low weight.
The Bad: Comes with a few niggling flaws, like being hard to fill up and the tank cap breaking easily.
The Bottom Line: Overall, this is an amazing steam mop that offers a lot of bang for your buck. It isn’t perfect, but it has no major, crippling flaws which makes it more than worth the money.
The Good: The real upsides of this mop are the double sided pad as well as the large water tank.
The Bad: On the other hand, this mop is rather shoddily made, leaves streaks when cleaning and has a bad pumping mechanism.
The Bottom Line: This is a mixed bag overall, as this steam mop has some great upsides, like the pad and equally bad downsides, like the pumping mechanism. It might still be worth it if you’re willing to put up with a bit of hassle.
The Good: Comes at low cost, heats up quickly and is quite easy to use.
The Bad: It is rather flimsy, the mop head is quite small, and the water tank’s capacity is underwhelming.
The Bottom Line: For a steam mop this cheap it is probably one of the best ones you can get. It still has quite a lot of flaws that are not easily overlooked so if you have the cash to buy something better, do it. Otherwise, it’s fine enough.
Just the most vital info is here – if you’re looking for more details, head on down below.
All of the Factors Considered
If you’re looking for a steam mop, you’re probably only used to cleaning with a regular mop or some other similar cleaning utensil. You might even be experienced at it. However, guiding yourself by what you know might lead you to get a bad steam mop, as they are quite different than regular mops and cleaning with them is an entirely different experience. To save you the trouble, we have compiled an exhaustive list of the most important things you should consider when purchasing a steam mop.
Head Size
The size of the head is important because it is one of the things that will most affect the cleaning efficiency of a mop like this. This is the one thing that is equally important to both regular mops and steam mops.
The width and length of the head affect the speed at which you clean in one obvious way – the larger it is, the larger the area it can cover in one run. Thus, you will finish faster.
But there is more to this. Larger mop heads are also less maneuverable and will have more trouble getting into tighter spaces, like behind the furniture and so on. In that sense a larger mop head might also hamper you, so be sure what size you need before you get a steam mop.
Water Tank Capacity
This is an important factor because having a larger tank simply speeds up your cleaning work. With a larger tank, you won’t have to stop all the time to fill it up with water again. Since, with most steam mops, this also means turning it off, it will take a while before you’re up and running again.
The head will most affect the cleaning efficiency
Of course, having a larger tank also means that you’ll have more weight that you will have to move around, so you should make sure that you can handle that instead of getting a mop with a huge tank that only hampers you. You don’t need a large tank if you have a small house or only a few rooms that need constant cleaning.
Cord Length
Almost all steam mops use a cord to get their power since they require a lot of it to heat up the water inside them and a battery would make them too heavy for comfort. However, that cord can be quite limiting at times, not allowing you to stray too far from the power outlet and it might get tangled around obstacles.
Still, the longer it is, the better since then you can do more work without having to turn off the mop and switch to another outlet, then wait again for it to heat up and so on. You’ll also have less need to use extension cords and the like, which can complicate things further.
Weight
The weight of a steam mop is something that could be crucial because the weightier it is, the harder and more strenuous it is to use. The extra weight of the water tank and the steam-making mechanism is the thing that usually puts people off of using steam mops.
Still, there are plenty of lightweight products out there that are not much heavier than a regular mop and won’t strain your hands too much while you use them.
You should be careful though, as the fact that a steam mop is incredibly light might be a sign that it is not well-made and will fall apart within months of purchase. Incredibly low weight is often achieved by using flimsy materials in the construction, and you should be wary of that.
Additional Features
Various extra features can make a steam mop far more useful than it already is. A telescopic handle could help you reach places that you otherwise couldn’t. Something like a swiveling head could make it more efficient in tight and narrow spaces, allowing it to clean up various nooks and crannies. Various attachments could allow you to clean even rugs, drapes or furniture with it, turning it into an all-purpose cleaning tool.
There are many others but they are almost never a negative and the more versatile the steam mop is, the better.
This is what you need to consider when buying a steam mop. So, let’s see how our top three products measure up!
In-depth Reviews of 3 Best Steam Mops
Bissell 1940 PowerFresh
Key Features
Perfectly Sized Mop Head
The dimensions of the head of this steam mop are 13 inches of width by 7.5 inches in It’s not too large, so it can fit into some tight spaces, but it is also not too small, and you can do a lot of work with it. The head can also swivel, for extra maneuverability.
A Water Tank of Adequate Size
The tank is decent enough, and it can be filled up during use, it has a capacity of two cups. However, it is sometimes difficult to fill up due to its design, and the cap is low quality so it might break.
Long Cord
The cord is 23 inches long, which puts it well above average for this type of product. You still might need to plug it into a different outlet if you’re cleaning more than two or three rooms though.
Lightweight & Easy to Use
It weighs only around 3.8 pounds, making it one of the lightest steam mops on the market right now, but it is still quite sturdy despite the low Even with a full tank, it’s still quite easy to use.
A Decent Amount of Extras
It boasts and inbuilt scrubber, it has three steam setting that can be automated and a couple of fragrance disks. Not too much but still enough.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
This steam mop has almost everything you would want out of a product like this, and it seems well-suited for almost anyone. It has a wide head that’s still small enough to fit into corners and tight spots, it has a long cord, the water tank is of an adequate size, and it is lightweight and easy to use. Overall, it’s a great package.
What to Watch Out For
There are some minor design flaws in play with this steam mop. For example, the cap for the water tank is flimsy, easily breakable and difficult to replace. The water tank itself is difficult to fill since it can’t stand on its own and you always have to hold it. The cleaning pad also seems to bunch up in front of the mop at tougher spots, leading to it getting stuck. Nothing major, but those tiny annoyances might build up over time.
The Conclusion
In the end, there are a lot of upsides to this steam mop, as it has a large, maneuverable head, a good length of cord, decent attachments and an adequately-sized water tank. It does have some flaws but they are minor in comparison to the benefits it brings, so in the end, it is more than worth the cash.
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Shark S3501
Key Features
Decently Sized Swiveling Head
The head is 12 inches wide and 6 inches long, making it decently sized, though not great in this regard. It also swivels – maybe a little too much, since pushing it in a straight line can be hard at times.
Large Water Tank
The water tank is quite spacious, being able to hold around two and a half or three cups of water. That means you won’t have to refill it that often. Still, it has one big downside, and that’s the fact that it is shoddy and prone to springing leaks.
Adequate Length of Cord
The cord is around 20 feet long, making it around average in length but nothing more. You could clean a decent-sized room with it before needing to find a new outlet to plug it into.
A Bit too Heavy
It weighs in at 4.9 pounds and when you fill its large water tank that gets even heavier. It’s still not incredibly weighty, but it might get uncomfortable to use after a while.
Not a Lot of Extras
It doesn’t have many extra features to speak off, but one of them is exceptionally useful, and that is the double-sided cleaning pad. Unfortunately, the other extra feature stands out for the wrong reasons. It’s supposed to use your mopping motions for pumping power, but it doesn’t do that well which lengthens your cleaning times.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
This is well-suited for people that need a steam mop which will allow them to clean a large area without many interruptions. Both the head and the cord are of decent size. The water tank is quite large and double sided pad ensures that you won’t have to replace the pad during cleaning – just turn it over and you can keep going.
What to Watch Out For
Probably the worst downside this mop has is something touted as a feature – the fact that it uses your mopping motions to pump steam. This should make your work easier, but because the pump is weak, this means that you will have to stand in one spot and mop five or six times just to pump it whenever it loses steam. It is rather flimsy as well, especially the water tank which can leak at times.
The Conclusion
Overall, this is a quality product with some nice specs and a few standout features like the double sided cleaning pad and the large water tank. The issue is that it seems flimsy and one of its extra features doesn’t help at all but does quite the opposite. It is still a decent product, but due to the various flaws it has, you might want to think twice before getting it.
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LIGHT ‘N’ EASY Steam Mop
Key Features
Small Head
The mop head of this product is rather small, only 10 inches wide and 6 inches long, making it sub-standard. It can fit into some rather tiny spaces tough, but when you’re just cleaning floors it is a hindrance, and it prolongs your work time.
Tiny Water Tank
The water tank can hold only around a cup of water, which is a meager amount compared to other similar products. With only that much water inside it, you will most likely need to stop and refill multiple times during cleaning.
Decent Cord Length
The cord measures 19.6 feet in length, more than plenty enough to clean out a single room. After that, you will need to find a different outlet to plug it in, but it starts up quickly, so that’s not a major issue.
Quite Weighty
This “light” and easy mop is advertised as weighing “less than 4 pounds, ” but that is blatantly untrue. Even empty, it weighs around 4.7 pounds, and it weighs even more than full. That is not incredibly heavy, but it gets a black mark for blatant false advertising.
Practically no Extra Features
It has almost no setting or extras of any sort which is what you get for a price this low.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
For people on a budget, this steam mop is the ideal product to get. It has quite a low cost, and it offers plenty of bang for your buck. It heats up rather quickly meaning you can get to work straight away and it has a decently long cord, so you don’t have to stop that often.
What to Watch Out For
This steam mop has quite a few different problems which compound upon each other. It has a small head, meaning that it will take longer to clean larger areas. It also has a small water tank, meaning that you will need to refill it often and both issues prolong your work time by a lot. It’s also flimsy, so various malfunctions might prolong it even further. It also has almost no extra features.
The Conclusion
Well, for the price it is a fine enough steam mop, it does the job, and it heats up quite quickly. It also has a relatively long cord. It has a lot of issues though, both with how flimsy it is and how much it underperforms in various areas. It has a small head, a low-capacity water tank, and practically no additional features. For the price, it is probably the best you can get but if you have more cash, steer clear of it.
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The Best Steam Mop – Bissell 1940 PowerFresh
There’s a lot to consider when buying a steam mop, and every product has at least a flaw or two, so it is understandably difficult to pick one as the best. Not all steam mops are made for the same surfaces and the same use, so experiences with using them differ greatly. However, after a lot of deliberation and testing, we have decided that the best one on the market right now must be the Bissell 1940 PowerFresh.
It impressed us with how good it is in almost every area, and it doesn’t have any crippling downsides or major flaws to speak off. Sure it does have a few minor annoyances, but other than that it is great and we recommend it wholeheartedly.
The Conclusion
While we do honestly believe that the Bissell product is the best steam mop out there right now, it doesn’t mean it will be the perfect product for you. The other two products we present here are good in their own ways, and there are some others out there that might fit you better than any of these. Only you can decide that, in the end. We only hope we were able to inform you and help you make a good purchasing decision. If this article was of any help to you, share it around and help out others who might have the same conundrum. Until the next article, have a good day and stay well.
Have been hearing of mopping sticks but this steam mop is unique. Thanks for this post! With the steam mop, you can clean more quickly and efficiently and without the need for any chemicals whatsoever. It’s a simple yet effective solution that anyone can use in their home. Love this!
Bissell 1940 looks good. Nowadays, steam mops are better since it only cleans with steam. Less chemicals is good for your home and for your family.
I’ve got a house with a huge floor space to clean, and I agree, using a regular mop wouldn’t cut it. I need the Bissell 1940 PowerFresh to make my life a hell of a lot easier.
Steam mop makes cleaning of floors easier than using the regular mop.I have never heard of a steam mop before though..All the reviewed products have their disadvantages and one can just give one of them a try
Getting your floor clean without using chemicals is best and is just using steam. The best one’s with the good brand should always be selected.
I always prefer steam mops to other mops because their Maintenance is easy. The mopping pads that come with a steam mop are machine washable, so one just need to follow the instructions and it done
I had no idea about this mopes, I have only used the basic one but after reading this article I’d love to try the shark steam pocket mop.
I don’t know which one to pick! They all seem really useful and worth it to me. I need to do some more research when buying the best steam mop. Anyways, thank you so much for this!