Best Steam Mop for Tile

What’s a Steam Mop?

Sponge mops are a quick way to clean up spills on certain types of surfaces, but a steam mop works to clean your floor in an entirely different way. Instead of using solvents, water is added to a reservoir in a steam mop where it’s heated to high temperatures. The steam comes through jets on the bottom of the mop and moistens a cleaning pad, which is used to remove dirt, grime and stains from tile floors in your home.

If the system gets the water hot enough, it can help kill bacteria on your floors. They can cut through tough stains with ease as well, but the cleaning pad will need to be changed. A steam mop is no replacement for a vacuum, and you’ll need something else for pet hair, but they serve a completely different purpose and can cut your cleaning time in half.

How to find the Best Steam Mop

Capacity and cord length are the two most important areas to keep an eye on when looking for a steam mop in most consumers’ minds. Well, those are two very important specifications, but there are several other areas you’ll need to consider as well.

Ease of Use

We don’t feel that steam mops are difficult to use, although they can require a little more work than a simple stick vacuum. Weight can be a concern if the mop has an awkward, unbalanced design. That can happen with convertible mops, but the cleaning head can cause much bigger issues.  A well-designed system should have vents that allow steam to flow freely and a tank that never leaks.

It should also be easy to get into corners, and refilling the reservoir on the steam mop should also be simple. It’s also important to look for a mop that’s comfortable in hand, and comes with a good cord wrap. That’s something missing from a number of otherwise solid steam mops. Hands-free pad systems are rare, but a feature we would definitely like to see more of.

Design

A good steam cleaner isn’t necessarily cheap, especially compared to a spray mop or budget-friendly upright vacuum. There also aren’t many options from a design standpoint, although the form factor can increase the price of a steam mop.

If you are not a fan of corded cleaning devices, cordless steam mops are an option. You’ll need to pay a premium for those systems, however, and could be held back with battery life. A traditional upright is the cheapest style of steam mop, while a 2-in-1 that converts to a handheld is typically on the high end of the pricing spectrum.

Choosing between a standard and convertible steam mop is a decision that most homeowners struggle with, but we’ll make it simple.  Do you actually need a steam cleaner to fresh up your drapes or sanitize a countertop? If so, choose a 2-in-1 and pay close attention to the attachments. Otherwise, focus on mops that are designed for floors instead of other areas.  

Cleaning Path Width

Steam cleaning is easier than vacuuming in many cases, but it can still wear you out if you pick an awkward mop. A poor design can do you in, but so can a small mop head. Unfortunately, you can’t judge that based on a mops dimensions, so look for a specification called cleaning path width.

Whether you find that number depends on the manufacturer, and it can be like hunting for a needle in a haystack. A mop with a small cleaning path width shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, but it can slow you down in a big room. In our research, we found that most steam mops have a head between 8 to 12” wide, although several exceed that range.

Capacity

Whether you’re shopping for the best vacuum cleaner for hardwood or need a spray mop for laminate flooring, capacity is important. With vacuums, it refers to how much dust a machine can hold before you need to empty the bin. It’s the opposite with steam cleaners and wet mops. The tanks on these cleaners will require a refill when they run dry.

How large the water tank is on a steam cleaner can dictate how long or how many rooms you’re able to clean before needing to stop and top of the tank. That process is usually simple, but capacity on these mops can vary wildly. Just like with cleaning path widths, there is no perfect number, but bigger is better if it doesn’t add too much weight.

Cord Length

Unless you plan on picking up a cordless steam mop, cord length is another specification to keep an eye on. We chose machines with long cords that should satisfy most homeowner’s needs, but cord length can have a big impact on cleaning time. In other words, you should never have to stop and unplug your wet mop to finish out a floor.

Cleaning Pads

There are two things all steam mops have in common – water tanks and cleaning pads. We’ve already told you how important the water tank is, and we would be remiss to overlook the plush pads on the end of steam mops. They can vary in size and shape, just like heads from different manufacturers, but all should last through at least a half-dozen cleanings.

The main thing to think about with cleaning pads is the cost of replacements and how long they may last. None are considered cheap if they are well-made, but you can find a variety of third-party alternatives that work with various steam mops. Outside of a few oddballs, most come in multipacks and are machine washable.

Features

Steam cleaners and steam mops are simple cleaning tools. That means they don’t require a lot of cutting-edge tech to do their jobs. Unfortunately, you won’t find nearly as many fun features on these machines, although there are a few that can make an impact.

Steam on demand is a popular option, but it can be hard to find with some brands. These systems typically have a trigger-based system or a button for steam whereas others let off a continual stream. There are also steam mops with preset steam levels like low, medium and high.

The only other common feature we’ve found that’s worth your time are spot cleaners. Scrapers and scrubbers are popular, and can quickly remove stubborn stains. Mops that use a concentrated blast of steam also work well alongside microfiber cleaning pads.