The Greatest Handheld Steam Cleaners, Examined & Reviewed

A vacuum, mop, or broom works simply fantastic for each day cleansing and maintenance, however handheld steam cleaners are simpler when eradicating unpleasant stains, cussed filth, and dirt. These transportable cleansing powerhouses depend on high-heat vapor from boiling water to loosen and carry ground-in messes, kill germs, and sanitize surfaces. Whereas a handheld steamer isn’t ultimate for big jobs, it might work wonders on every little thing from upholstery to carpets, lavatory tiles to laminate flooring, and even clothes and curtains.

To see which of as we speak’s hottest handheld steam cleaners has essentially the most cleansing energy, we put 10 fashions by means of an intensive sequence of assessments. We additionally reached out to an environmental toxicity professional to get their insights on utilizing steam for cleansing and sanitizing surfaces. Based mostly on their opinions and our hands-on assessments, we selected the Dupray Neat Steam Cleaner as our favourite. It’s light-weight and straightforward to make use of, and it proved efficient on quite a lot of laborious and gentle surfaces.

Learn on to be taught extra about this machine and the remainder of the very best handheld steam cleaners that made our listing of prime picks. 

1. BEST OVERALL: Dupray Neat Steam Cleaner
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate 
2. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: Phueut Pressurized Handheld Steam Cleaner
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate
3. BEST FOR CLOTHES: PerfectDay Transportable Handheld Garment Steamer
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate
4. BEST FOR CARPET: PurSteam 10-in-1 Steam Cleaner
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate
5. BEST FOR UPHOLSTERY: Steamfast SF-370 Multipurpose Steam Cleaner
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate
6. BEST MOP: Bissell 2075A PowerFresh Slim 3-in-1 Steam Mop
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate
7. BEST HEAVY-DUTY: McCulloch MC1375 Canister Steam Cleaner
   ↓ Soar to Evaluate

Our High Picks

The most effective handheld steam cleaners are light-weight, present enough steam, and provide quite a lot of attachments. Additionally they do an excellent job deep cleansing flooring and eradicating gentle stains from materials. We examined 9 fashions; listed here are those that made the lower.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4.25/5; Versatility 5/5; Ease of Use 5/5; Worth 5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 9 kilos
• Surfaces: Flooring, upholstery, grout, tile, home equipment, automotive interiors, furnishings, mattresses, loos
• Attachments: 17 items

What We Like

• Cleans faster than most different fashions
• 17-piece accent set helps clear the entire home 
• Extension wand is nice for showers and curtains
• Gives each on-demand and steady steam 

What We Don’t Like

• At 9 kilos, it’s on the heavier aspect
• Loud when utilizing concentrated steam

Most handheld steam mops have a comparatively small tank capability that restricts their cleansing time to 10 or 20 minutes. However because the Dupray Neat steam cleaner separates the cleansing head from the tank, it might maintain 54 ounces of water and steam for as much as 50 minutes. Its intensive accent set contains multipurpose nylon heads, a brass grout brush, flooring and window instruments, a steam lance, a triangle instrument, microfiber cloths, and cleansing pads. It additionally has a 16-foot twine, extension wands, and 6 ft 6 inches of hose for wonderful freedom of motion and straightforward cleansing in hard-to-reach locations.

The Dupray Neat steam cleaner handed our hard-surface assessments with flying colours. It put out extra steam than every other mannequin and was extra environment friendly due to its 275-degree Fahrenheit temperature. We used it to scrub our dingy grout, dislodge mineral deposits in our bathe and round our sink, degrease our oven, and clear our flooring. Throughout soft-surface testing, it lifted gentle stains off upholstery and eliminated wrinkles from clothes. Like the remainder of the fashions, nevertheless, it couldn’t take away darkish or oil-based stains. 

Whereas this mannequin is a deep-cleaning powerhouse, it does have a few cons. First, it generally spits out water after first being powered on. To fight this, we squeezed the set off a couple of instances earlier than utilizing it on upholstery so we didn’t oversaturate our material. Second, at 9 kilos, it’s heavier than different handheld choices—although we had no issues maneuvering it round the home.

Learn our full evaluation: Dupray Neat Steam Cleaner

What our tester says: “We love how slim the mophead is; it match beneath all our furnishings and cupboards for a complete deep cleansing.”—Katie Barton, Product Opinions tester and author

Get the Dupray handheld steam cleaner at Amazon, The Dwelling Depot, Walmart, Goal, or Dupray.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4/5; Versatility 5/5; Ease of Use 5/5; Worth 5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 3.9 kilos
• Surfaces: Arduous surfaces, flooring, material, upholstery, grout, automotive interiors, furnishings, home windows
• Attachments: 12 items

What We Like

• Produces sufficient pressurized steam for 8 to 12 minutes of cleansing
• 12-piece accent equipment can deal with tons of duties
• Cap can’t be opened if steam inside is simply too scorching

What We Don’t Like

• No steam set off lock for steady output 

Gentle and compact, the Phueut pressurized handheld steam cleaner was one in every of our favourite compact fashions. It was straightforward to function, and the standard of its 12 attachments felt on par with well-known manufacturers. The high-pressure steam it produces can attain a temperature of as much as 230 levels Fahrenheit—scorching sufficient to kill germs and micro organism. 

That prime-temperature steam additionally helped it dislodge filth extra rapidly than a number of the different steamers on our listing. As soon as we powered it on, it was able to clear in beneath 5 minutes, and its tank capability of virtually 12 ounces supplies 8 to 12 minutes of cleansing time. We used it to launch wrinkles from garments, spot deal with upholstery stains, and break down mineral deposits and grease. Between duties, we locked down the security cap to stop unintentional scalding.

One frustration level we had with this mannequin was its brief 9.8-foot energy twine. Switching retailers when utilizing a steamer shouldn’t be ultimate, and we needed to since this unit can’t attain far. We additionally didn’t love that its on-demand set off has no locking mechanism for steady steam blasts. Contemplating how properly this mannequin cleaned, we want we may’ve locked the steam into place throughout extra time-consuming jobs.

Get the Phueut handheld steam cleaner at Amazon.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4/5; Versatility 3/5; Ease of Use 5/5; Worth 5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 1 pound
• Surfaces: Material
• Attachments: 1 piece

What We Like

• Compact and transportable for house or journey
• Shuts off if low on water or too scorching
• Solidly constructed and straightforward to make use of, clear, and preserve

What We Don’t Like

• Solely fitted to clothes and material

At simply 1 pound, this small steam cleaner is ideal for at-home use or taking up a visit. Its beneficiant steam move and ample warmth successfully pull wrinkles out of all material sorts. Since this mannequin is meant for clothes, we examined it on wrinkly clothes gadgets and stains. It eliminated wrinkles from clothes properly, however the small water tank capability solely allowed us to steam three ladies’s measurement M shirts or two measurement XXL males’s shirts earlier than needing a refill. After testing for wrinkle launch, we tried stain removing utilizing our check denims. The steamer helped loosen filth, espresso, and purple wine however was no match for darkish or oil-based stains.

This compact handheld unit includes a 100-milliliter water tank that gives steady steam for as much as 10 minutes. It comes with a fabric-brush attachment for cleansing filth off clothes and smoothing wrinkles. One other nice function is the auto shutoff, which powers down the steamer if it will get too scorching or the water ranges are too low. 

What our tester says: “The PerfectDay transportable steam cleaner is small, light-weight, and user-friendly. It might probably substitute a clothes iron and is straightforward to retailer. The draw back is that it’s for clothes solely and doesn’t provide the flexibility of the opposite steam cleaners.”—Katie Barton, Product Opinions tester and author

Get the PerfectDay handheld steam cleaner at Amazon.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4/5; Versatility 4/5; Ease of Use 4.5/5; Worth 5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 4.85 kilos
• Surfaces: Arduous surfaces, flooring, material, grout, carpet, clothes, home windows, mirrors, stainless-steel
• Attachments: 10 items

What We Like

• Slim sufficient to suit round bogs, baseboards, and furnishings
• Cleans a number of surfaces, together with upholstery and carpet
• Tremendous light-weight and maneuverable
• Water tank might be refilled whereas steaming

What We Don’t Like

• Doesn’t have an extension hose 

Gone are the times of renting a heavy carpet cleaner—this light-weight steam mop from PurSteam sanitizes deep into the fibers of carpets and space rugs. With a reservoir of 11.5 ounces, it supplies as much as 25 minutes of steam on the bottom setting. It really works with faucet water, so there’s no want for harsh chemical compounds. 

After we examined this mop, we had been instantly impressed by how rapidly it warmed up and the way a lot steam it put out. It eliminated gentle staining on the carpet and fabric, leaving the material refreshed with out leaving residue behind. The jet nozzle labored to steam our carpet for sanitization functions, and the spherical nylon brush was appropriate as a spot cleaner. We additionally examined it on laborious surfaces, like grout, sinks, and an oven. The hand held unit was awkward to maneuver when tackling massive jobs because it lacks an extension hose, but it surely nonetheless cleaned properly. 

We additionally used the mop, and it was one in every of our favourite options. Because it delivered such a excessive quantity of steam, it cleaned rapidly. We do want the 15.9-foot twine was just a bit longer, because it didn’t attain all the way in which throughout a few of our check rooms.

Get the PurSteam handheld steam cleaner at Amazon, Walmart, or PurSteam.

Our Scores: Efficiency 5/5; Versatility 5/5; Ease of Use 4.75/5; Worth 4/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 8.42 kilos
• Surfaces: Arduous surfaces, flooring, upholstery, grout, tile, automobiles, home equipment, carpet, home windows, grills
• Attachments: 15 items

What We Like

• Gives steam on demand and steady steam
• Built-in energy twine wrap is nice for storage
• Deal with makes it simpler to hold from room to room

What We Don’t Like

• No onboard equipment storage

The Steamfast SF-370 steam cleaner options quite a lot of helpful equipment, however its broad mophead attachments and nook scrub instruments make it a great choice handheld furnishings steam cleaner for upholstery. It was some of the highly effective steam cleaners we examined, and its steam-on-demand set off and steady steam locking swap made it straightforward to manage and direct the steam, particularly when paired with the steam jet nozzle. This attachment allowed us to intention the steam onto cussed stains on mattresses and fabric-covered chairs. It even helped to interrupt up previous gum residue on an space rug. Sadly, it didn’t enable us to regulate the steam’s depth.

Nonetheless, with its 48-ounce water tank that makes as much as 45 minutes of steady steam, we had loads of time to maneuver between cleansing duties. The corded upholstery steam cleaner maneuvered easily as we went, and we appreciated that the built-in carrying deal with made it simpler to convey the unit up and down the steps. Although it shops away simply due to its low profile, this mannequin doesn’t have any onboard accent storage.

Get the Steamfast steam cleaner at Amazon, The Dwelling Depot, or Walmart.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4/5; Versatility 5/5; Ease of Use 4.25/5; Worth 3.5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 6.125 kilos
• Surfaces: Arduous surfaces, flooring, material, upholstery, grout, home equipment, showers, sinks, loos, toys
• Attachments: 7 items

What We Like

• Converts from a handheld steamer to a stick mop
• Attachments insert into the hand-held unit or onto the extension wand
• Can clear most supplies and surfaces

What We Don’t Like

• No extension hose means some jobs are a bit awkward

This cleaner from Bissell is an element handheld steamer and half stick mop. Not solely is it nice for scrubbing hardwood, laminate, tile, and different laborious flooring surfaces, it’s additionally a helpful hand steamer for cleansing furnishings, curtains, garments, and different materials. Itsonboard cleansing equipment contains three spherical scrubbing brushes, a flat scraper, a flat floor instrument, a bristle scrub brush, a grout instrument, and an angle instrument. The attachments can hook on to the hand-held unit or the identical extension tube because the mophead, serving to you attain ceiling followers, molding, and home windows. A bonus garment steamer makes this unit an entire in-home cleansing system.

Throughout testing, we used the steamer to launch wrinkles from clothes and spot deal with gentle stains on carpet, microsuede, and denims. We moved to the toilet and switched to the steam grout cleaner brush, and it simply dislodged the filth in our grout traces. We appreciated that the attachments may hook to the extension tube, permitting us to scrub excessive bathe grout with out straining our arms or neck. The hand held unit additionally carried out properly on grease and mineral buildup. 

There have been a couple of issues about this Bissell that weren’t ultimate, nevertheless. There’s no hose for the attachments, and we discovered our palms and arms received drained holding the complete weight of the machine throughout bigger jobs. Second, the hand-held unit attaches to the highest of the mop, so it feels heavy in comparison with different choices. 

Get the Bissell PowerFresh handheld steam cleaner at Amazon, Walmart, or Bissell.

Our Scores: Efficiency 4.5/5; Versatility 5/5; Ease of Use 5/5; Worth 5/5 

Product Specs

• Weight: 10.78 kilos
• Surfaces: Arduous surfaces, flooring, concrete, home equipment, grills, decks
• Attachments: 20 items

What We Like

• Wheeled base, extension hose, and lengthy energy twine make it straightforward to maneuver
• Carried out the very best in our soft-surface check
• 20 versatile equipment for indoor and out of doors cleansing

What We Don’t Like

• Could also be too heavy for going up and down stairs
• Doesn’t embrace a devoted upholstery attachment

The McCulloch MC1375 is a canister steam cleaner with handheld and mop attachments. It boasts a 48-ounce water tank and may final produce steam for as much as 90 minutes. It options an on-demand set off that locks in place for steady steam, which is necessary when tackling massive jobs on indoor and out of doors surfaces, together with flooring, loos, concrete, grills, and kitchen. It includes a wheeled backside, an 18-foot energy twine, and a protracted extension hose, making it straightforward to maneuver. It additionally comes with built-in twine storage and a bag for its 20 equipment.

The McCulloch MC1375 carried out the very best of all of the machines throughout our soft-surface assessments. It eliminated filth, wine, and occasional on all surfaces. Whereas it didn’t fully take away oil, chocolate sauce, or tomato sauce, it eradicated or lightened these stains higher than every other unit. Its equipment proved helpful in deep cleansing laborious surfaces, and it was in a position to blast by means of grease on the oven, take away mineral deposits round a sink, and break down filth and dirt on our flooring.

At over 10 kilos, it’s the heaviest handheld vapor steam cleaner on our listing and never an excellent choice for these cleansing a number of tales. It additionally doesn’t embrace a devoted upholstery attachment, though the jet nozzle labored properly for spot treating stains and releasing wrinkles from garments. It’s finest suited for many who’ve beforehand used steam cleaners and are in search of a multipurpose steam cleaner with heavy-duty attachments.

Get the McCulloch handheld steam cleaner at Amazon, Walmart, McCulloch, or Kohl’s.

ALSO TESTED

We additionally examined the Comforday pressurized handheld steam cleaner and the Gentle ‘n’ Simple multifunctional steam mop, however neither handed testing. 

• Inside 5 minutes of testing the Comforday Pressurized Handheld Steam Cleaner, the metallic tip blew out of the lengthy spray nozzle. The steamer additionally featured a security lock on the set off, which felt cumbersome to carry down. 
• The Gentle ‘n’ Simple Multifunctional Steam Mop labored properly as a mop, however the removable handheld unit solely got here with a jet nozzle, a material instrument, and an extension hose. The material attachment launched wrinkles properly, however the machine merely didn’t present as a lot cleansing versatility as different fashions.

How We Examined the Greatest Handheld Steam Cleaners

Earlier than testing, we researched the very best handheld steam cleaners and chosen common fashions that match a variety of wants. We included choices which might be budget-friendly, convert to a mop, have a big water tank capability, and include a number of attachments.

We selected ten of the very best steam cleaners and put them by means of hard- and soft-surface assessments. For our soft-surface assessments, we used an upholstery board with tan microsuede material, a white shag carpet scrap, and a pair of light-wash denims. We stained every floor with filth, espresso, purple wine, vegetable oil, tomato sauce, and chocolate sauce. We then used every steamer on the stains. The outcomes had been constant throughout the board: All steamers eliminated a lot of the filth, espresso, and purple wine on all surfaces, however not one of the transportable steam cleaners may fully take away the oil, tomato sauce, or chocolate sauce. 

For our hard-surface assessments, we used every handheld steam cleaner (aside from the clothing-only mannequin) to dislodge grease in an oven, take away mineral buildup in a dishwasher, clear soiled lavatory grout, and loosen dried meals off the ground. We evaluated how properly every mannequin cleaned numerous family surfaces and scored them with a rubric.

What to Take into account When Selecting a Handheld Steam Cleaner

The most effective handheld steam cleaner doesn’t simply take away stains, filth, and dirt. It additionally wants to fit your finances, arm energy, and even endurance. Listed here are a number of the most necessary components to contemplate when seeking to purchase a handheld steam cleaner.

Meant Use

Many producers listing the sorts of duties their handheld steam cleaners can deal with, however remember that some fashions particularly meant for clothes, for instance, shouldn’t be used on a carpet. Realizing a steam cleaner’s meant use will help you slim down the choices that finest meet your cleansing wants.

Handheld steam cleaners are sometimes transportable, even when the water tank is full. Even most massive handheld fashions often don’t run for greater than an hour, which implies they work properly on emergency spills, small stains, pet accidents, and different light-duty jobs.

Twine Size

Since steam cleaners draw massive quantities of electrical energy, there aren’t any cordless choices. As a substitute, maintain twine size in thoughts: The longer the twine and extension hose, the extra attain a handheld steamer for cleansing may have. The most effective handheld steam cleaners present loads of size so that you don’t need to unplug mid-clean. 

Dimension and Weight

When deciding on the appropriate handheld steam cleaner, measurement and weight are key because you’ll be holding and lifting the steamer throughout operation. If the reservoir is massive, the excessive quantity of water could make a handheld cleaner heavier, making it harder to make use of after a couple of minutes. You’ll doubtless need to search for fashions with ergonomic handles and easy-to-reach buttons or switches.

Equipment are equally necessary and ought to be substantial sufficient to succeed in the areas that want deep cleansing but sufficiently small to retailer compactly when the hand-held steamer isn’t in use.

Energy and Steam Settings

Simply as some vacuums have extra suction than others, some handheld steamers have extra forceful steam stress than others. Making use of greater stress generally is a lazy trick for higher cleansing, but it surely may additionally injury sure surfaces, particularly if the consumer is careless. 

As a common rule, carry out a small spot check earlier than cleansing a particular merchandise or space, and use solely as a lot stress as wanted to do the job. On an upholstered couch, for instance, choose a small space on the again, spot cleansing it utilizing completely different energy settings to find out the one which cleans finest with out inflicting injury.

Some steamers have one setting solely, so the one approach to change the stress is to carry the steamer nearer or farther away from the thing. Different fashions have two or three modes to accommodate completely different duties. 

Tank Capability

If the tank capability is 6 to eight ounces, the steamer will probably be a lot lighter and simpler to carry however will run out of steam fairly rapidly, typically in only a few minutes. A bigger tank capability means longer cleansing energy, but it surely makes the unit a lot heavier. 

Supreme tank capability varies by job. A smaller tank can deal with easy spot cleansing, however a bigger one is critical to scrub, say, a set of bathe doorways. Once more, bigger tank capability makes a steam cleaner heavier, so that you’ll need to decide how a lot weight you possibly can comfortably maintain all through a chore. 

Consolation

Ergonomic handles with padding and easy-to-reach controls assist you to use a handheld steam cleaner with out straining your fingers. Additionally, a lighter handheld pressurized steam cleaner will probably be way more snug than a heavier mannequin. As beforehand mentioned, weight relies on tank measurement—the bigger the tank capability, the heavier the hand-held steam cleaner will probably be when it’s full.

If cleansing flooring is a main use, you’ll need to take into account a handheld mannequin with longer attachments or a removable wand to assist alleviate again pressure. Those who double as steam mops provide comparable advantages.

Further Options

Steam cleaners typically include all kinds of attachments as a regular a part of the acquisition. A great handheld steam cleaner sometimes features a few brushes, a window squeegee, angled and bendable nozzles for cleansing in deeper or hard-to-reach areas, carpet or mop steaming heads, and an extended attachment for reaching locations like the highest of ceiling fan blades. 

If these aren’t sufficient, search for optionally available attachments, like detailing nozzles for cleansing the upholstery in a automobile or stiff brushes for cleansing grout or kitchen grills. Extensions can flip some into light-weight, full-size steam mops.

FAQs

This information has an ample quantity of data for customers seeking to make an knowledgeable buy. These needing extra info on steam cleaner makes use of could need to learn on for solutions to a number of the mostly requested questions on handheld steam cleaners.

Meet the Tester

Katie Barton has over 10 years of expertise in product writing, has examined dozens of cleansing merchandise, and has authored lots of of articles for main media retailers. Her cleansing and organizing recommendation has been featured on quite a lot of common house and finance web sites. She takes an unbiased strategy to product testing, utilizing every product a number of instances or for a number of days/weeks.

Further analysis offered by Shannon Lee and Bob Beacham.

 

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