Which? Don't Buy steam cleaners

These poor-quality steam cleaners and steam mops failed to shift everyday grime in our lab tests – and are easily outdone by a bit of elbow grease.
Hardeep ChannaResearcher & writer

Buying a poor-quality steam cleaner can make you wonder why you ever bothered getting rid of your old mop. 

The worst models struggle to remove even simple stains such as muddy footprints, instead smearing dirt across your floors and leaving greasy residues on your windows. 

But the best excel at removing dirt from crevices, tiles and carpets, and make short work of banishing sticky jam or juice residue.

Our in-depth reviews can point you in the direction of fantastic Best Buy steam cleaners that make cleaning a doddle. In the meantime, here are the duds that deserve a wide berth.

Join Which? to find out which steam cleaners we've named as Don't Buys.

What makes a Don't Buy steam cleaner?

Our tough lab tests show there's a worrying gap between the best and worst steam cleaners, with the highest scoring a sparkling 81% and the lowest a measly 36%. 

We've tested steam cleaners that struggle to clean up even light spills and marks, and others that leak water or whose attachments are hard to fit and remove. Some are also poorly built and produce less and less steam each time you use them.

But it's not all doom and gloom – there are plenty of great models out there that shift sticky stains in seconds, and come with all the accessories you need to keep your house sparkling clean. 

Prices can be surprisingly reasonable. Our cheapest Best Buy costs around £60, so you won't have to break the bank to get your hands on a top-class steam cleaner.

Unique steam cleaner testing by Which?

Our tests go further than anyone else's to make sure the steam cleaners we recommend are the best of the bunch.

We buy and assess new models every year so we can be sure we're up to date with the very latest models. And we don't just reveal the best products – we also highlight the low-scoring Don't Buy steam cleaners, so you can avoid buying a dud you'll soon be keen to replace.

Each steam cleaner we review goes through a series of tough tests in our lab, which are designed to replicate how you use your steam cleaner at home. 

  • Cleaning power: we measure the time and effort it takes to shift common household spills and dirt from a range of surfaces, including tiles, floors, ovens and glass.
  • Shifting grime: steam mops have to power through a hard floor covered with curry paste, pasta sauce and raspberry jam to win our approval.
  • Heat-up time: we measure how long it takes for each steam cleaner to heat up and be ready to use.
  • Ease of use: we assemble and take apart every steam cleaner to check how easy this is to do. We steer steam mops around objects to see how flexible they are and weigh them to find out how heavy they are in use.
  • Durability: we use each steam cleaner 30 times and measure the steam output throughout to see if it drops after repeated use.

We've found Best Buy and Don't Buy steam cleaners from the same brands, so you can't judge quality by brand alone – it's the individual model that matters. 

And it's not always the cheapest models that produce the worst performance – we've found disappointing steam cleaners costing more than £200.

This is why you can only really know what you're getting by checking our reviews first.

Find out which steam cleaners are Don't Buys and which are Best Buys by joining Which? today.