Steam naturally cleans and sanitizes deep below surfaces to kill germs, lift grime and remove stuck-on residue. Some steamers come with attachments for killing bedbugs or cleaning carpets. You can choose a handheld steamer for smaller projects, a steam mop for floors, or our pick, the Dupray Neat Steam Cleaner. This steamer does it all. It works both inside and outside and comes with 18 accessories to tackle any small or large job.
The Dupray Neat steam cleaner comes with several attachments to help you deep clean, disinfect and sanitize just about any surface. The floor attachment can be used with one of the three included reusable microfiber pads, or your own cloth or rag. Other attachments help you get corners, clean appliances, grout, windows, and furniture. Water heats up quickly and is hot enough to kill bed buds and mites while killing germs deep inside your bed, furniture, and carpets. You can use this steam cleaner to steam out wrinkles from clothing and curtains or clean off car seats. The reservoir holds 54 ounces of water, enough to clean for a continual 50 minutes before needing to refill the tank.
This steam cleaner doesn't have as big of a reservoir as our top pick, and it's missing some accessories, but overall, the McCulloch MC1275 is an excellent multipurpose cleaner. It works with several different surfaces, including tile, sealed hardwood, carpeting, stainless steel, and brass. It takes about 8 minutes to heat up, and its steam is hot enough to kill germs and bugs, including bed bugs. The floor accessory works on tile, hardwood, laminate, and rugs and carpets. However, because there isn't any suction ability, using it on carpeting or upholstered furniture means you'll need to follow up with a vacuum to ensure any loose dirt is picked up. Also, for some grout stains, you may need to put in a little extra elbow grease to get them out.
The PurSteam is one of the best steam cleaners available, designed to be lightweight and easy to use for spot cleaning. Its attachments and bendable hose let you reach tough spots, including corners, faucets, toilet rims, and inside appliances. This steam cleaner comes with a window squeegee to clean both inside and outside, and brushes to help lift dirt, grease, and grime for a variety of surfaces including both ceramic and laminate tiles, granite, stainless steel, and even washable wallpaper. It is good for cleaning spots from your carpet but can't handle cleaning or sanitizing the whole thing. You can use the iron attachment to get wrinkled out of clothing, curtains, bedding, and upholstered furniture, all while deep cleaning them, too. The PurSteam reservoir is quite small, holding just under a cup of water. But this means it only takes about three minutes for the steamer to be ready.
This Bissell PowerFresh steam mop is an excellent solution for cleaning all types of flooring without using harsh chemicals. The hot steam and spot scrubber help lift sticky, grimy messes while also wiping them away. This steamer is safe to use on treated and sealed hardwood floors, tiles, laminate, and marble floors. The 25-foot cord lets you reach every part of your room while the swivel head easily slips under countertops, tables, and other furniture. The rectangle head doesn't reach corners very well, but the swivel feature helps it get pretty close. The tank holds 16 ounces of water, and the steamer comes with a measuring cup that attaches to the cleaner's handle when you're done. It only takes 30 seconds for the Bissell PowerFresh to be ready to clean, and you can add either Bissell's demineralized water or fragrance discs to give off a fresh scent while you clean. Unfortunately, this model is only for steam cleaning floors. It doesn't have any tool attachments for cleaning smaller jobs or other surfaces.
Shark is one of the top brands for home cleaning products, and this Genius steam cleaner is specially designed for hardwood floors. The head of this steam mop is bigger than others and holds a double-sided grip pad that both loosens and lifts dirt and grime from crevices, corners, and groves on your floor. Because it's two-sided, you can turn the mop head over and keep cleaning if one side becomes too dirty. And you don't have to touch the soiled pad. A lever on the Shark Genius handle detaches the pad so you can dump it straight into your washing machine or laundry hamper to wash and reuse. The Shark Genius has three settings and features a steam blaster for spot removal. It's small and compact, so it is ideal for apartments and smaller homes. You can use this steam mop on tile floors, too, but it is not recommended for laminate flooring.
Bottom line
The best steam cleaner for home use is the Dupray Neat Steam because it comes with everything you need to deep clean and sanitize your bathroom, kitchen, floors, appliances, windows and so much more. It comes with attachments to iron clothing, bedding, curtains, and upholstered furniture and heats high enough to kill bed bugs and mites. It's more expensive than handheld machines and steam mops, but the overall cost isn't much more, and the benefits of having a multipurpose machine, it worth the few extra dollars.
Dupray also makes a commercial steam cleaner that works just like the Neat Steam but has a few more tools and some extra oomph to tackle bigger jobs, particularly those outside. But the Dupray Neat Steam is good enough for a lot of these types of jobs, too, so it's still a better value to go with the Neat Steam.
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