You may find you need to clean small areas like kitchen surfaces, tiles or oven hobs. If so then a hand held steam mop could be your ideal solution.
I have spent over twenty five hours analysing customer reviews and studying manufacturer’s manuals. This has enabled me to identify the best hand held steam cleaner for you.
Because of this research, I am confident that the McCulloch MC1230 Handheld Steam Cleaner is the best hand held steam cleaner for most people.
This hand held steamer heats up within 20 seconds. In addition, it has a 0.4 litre capacity. This gives a steaming time of approximately 12 minutes, which is sufficient for most small jobs.
| The Best Hand Held Steam Cleaner | BEST BUY |
|---|---|
| Hoover SSNH1000 Steam Express Handheld Steam Cleaner |  |
This hand held steam cleaner is all you need for cleaning a variety of surfaces around your house. Shop now at Amazon |
| The Runner Up Hand Held Steam Cleaner | Runner Up Buy |
|---|---|
| Vax S4 Grime Master |  |
The runner up hand held steam cleaner is the Vax S4 Grime Master. It has all the features of the Hoover SSNH1000 but has a smaller tank and therefore shorter run time. Shop now at Amazon |
Table of Contents
- Why you should trust me
- Different types of steam mop
- How I picked and tested
- Best Hand Held Steam Cleaner Buy
- Runner Up Hand Held Steam Cleaner Buy
- The Other Steam Mops I considered
- References
Why you should trust me
I have been researching and reviewing all types of hand held steam cleaners for the last five years. While writing this best buy guide, I have looked at scores of customer reviews to identify any problems with particular models. In addition, I have read the manufacturer’s user models to compare specifications.
Different types of steam mop
- There are four types of steam mop or cleaner
- Steam Mop
- 2 in 1 Steam Mop and Handheld
- Hand Held Steam Cleaner
- Cylinder Steam Cleaner
- In this guide, I have just looked at hand held steam cleaners. If you are interested in other steam mop guides just click on the relevant link.
How I picked and tested
There are a large number of hand held steam cleaner on the market. While researching, I have found complaints of poor quality with some of the cheaper unbranded models. Therefore, I have concentrated my research on the better brand models. In addition, I have not included steam cleaners where they score less than four stars or equivalent in a review. Generally, poorer rating are a result of design faults or inconsistent quality. The prices can range from roughly £20 for the cheapest model to £50 for the more expensive models.
As part of my research, I have looked at other professional review sites. Unfortunately, there is has been little work done comparing different hand held steam cleaners. The Which magazine recommends Vax S4 as their best model. This model is also the current beat seller on Amazon UK.
I was going to recommend a high-end handheld steamer. By high end, I mean more expensive, but with more features and a more powerful performance compensate this. However, even after hours of research I have been unable to find a better steamer than the Hoover SSNH1000.
Because of my research, I am recommending the Hoover SSNH1000 Steam Express as best buy. The runner up is the Vax S4 Grime Master.
Best Hand Held Steam Cleaner Buy
Following intensive research, I have concluded that the Hoover SSNH1000 is the best hand held steam cleaner in the current market. It only takes 20 seconds to heat up. Also with a water tank, capacity of 0.4 litres gives you a running time of at least 12 minutes. This amount of time is sufficient for most small jobs. It comes with a flexible hose this is useful for cleaning.
The runner up, Vax S4 Grime Master does not come with a hose. This makes cleaning difficult, as you are unable to tilt the cleaner, as the heating element is located on the base. You can check out further the Hoover SSN1000 Steam Express at Amazon.
Who is the steam mop designed for?
This hand held steam cleaner is for customers who require a simple to use and well designed hand steam cleaner. These steam cleaners are suitable for cleaning small surface areas like kitchen surfaces, the oven hob and the inside of ovens, tiles and harder to reach areas in the house. If you also require a steam cleaner for your floors please see the Best 2 in 1 Steam Mop and Handheld Guide. This guide find the best steam mops which also in incorporates a hand held steam cleaner.
Hoover SSNH1000 Steam Express Handheld Steam Cleaner Performance
The steamer has a comfortable handle and balances well in the hand. The Hoover Steam express heats up quickly to steaming point taking only about 20 seconds to heat up. The water tank has a capacity of 0.4 litres and it has a steaming time of approximately 12 minutes.
It has two power settings and it also comes with a long lead. There are two stem settings; the higher one will mean that the water runs out quicker. However, the advantage of this steam cleaner is that it is easy to refill when the water runs out.
It is good at cleaning grime because of the specially adapted nozzle. This is good for cleaning the grime on ovens. It comes with various tools including an angled nozzle, a round brush, comb brushes, and shovel shaped plate. The lead is approximately 4 meters in length.
Hoover SSNH1000 Steam Express Handheld Steam Cleaner Features
Delivery – The handheld steamer arrived promptly. As usual, the steamer was well packaged.
Assembly – Easy to assemble. You just have to fit an attachment or the flexible hose to the front of the steamer.
Clear instruction book – The instruction are in the form of pictures with text to follow. The text is a little unclear but the unit is not complicated to operate.
Water tanks – The water tank has a capacity of 0.4 litres. This is large for a handheld. This gives it an extended steam run time of 12 minutes. Which I find sufficient for most small jobs. In addition, it only takes 20 seconds to heat up.
Variable steam settings – The steam cleaner has a dial with which you can vary the steam pressure. It has a high and low pressure setting. The high setting gives you more pressure but means the steaming time is shorter. However, is useful when you want to give a quick burst of steam on a difficult surface to clean.
Trigger mechanism – You control the steam by a trigger, which you press when you require steam and then release when you need the steam to stop.
Heats up quickly and long running time – The steam cleaner only takes approximately 20 second to heat up. It has a run time of 12 minutes because of the large 0.4 litre tank capacity.
Power cord – The cleaner comes with a long cable cord length of 4 metres. This is the longest cable I have seen for hand held cleaners.
Tools and accessories – The cleaner comes with a good range of tools. However, customers have complained that some of these tools can be a little flimsy and wear or break easily.
Drawbacks
To steam continuously you need to hold down the trigger, if you release it the steam stops. Several customers have complained that the tools that come with the steam cleaner are not very robust.
Alternative Solutions
There are other steam cleaners on the market. The Vax S4 Grime Master came a close second to the Hoover SSNH1000. The main disadvantage is that it does not come with a flexible hose. The hose allows you to use the steam cleaner at an angle, which is essential when cleaning most surfaces.
Customer Reviews
Most of the customers who brought this model are satisfied with its performance.
Some of the complaints that do arise are due to the user not understanding the function of the steam cleaner. Such complaints like those that the steam runs out quickly. However the hand held steam cleaner are for cleaning relatively small areas.
Summary
This hand held steam cleaner is Hoover’s best selling model. It has all the features required of a hand steam cleaner including a flexible hose, variable steam control, large tank to give longer steaming. Therefore, for these reasons it exceeds other steam cleaners in performance and features, I am recommending the Hoover SSN1000 Steam Express Handheld Steam Cleaner as our best buy.
Runner Up Hand Held Steam Cleaner Buy
This is the Vax S4 Grime Master. Which is an easy to use lightweight steam cleaner. It was easy to assemble and use. Not a powerful handheld cleaner, but has a comfortable handle to hold. However, the water task has enough capacity to get several small jobs done. It is compact and easy to store with a good cable length.
The handheld comes with several useful attachments. This includes a circular brush, a window cleaning attachment and two attachable flannels for cleaning furniture.
The Vax S4 Grime Master heats up quickly and is ready to use in a couple of minutes. There are several steam setting to those from. The instructions which come with it are in the form of pictures and easy to understand.
The water tank as stated is rather small and only takes a couple of cups of water. However, this is sufficient for smaller jobs. It is only suitable for light cleaning and does not clean grime very easily. You have to keep the steamer needs to be kept level to clean properly, so is difficult to use to clean at angles.
Customers said it was quite good for cleaning windows using the window attachment.
The Other Steam Mops I considered
I have included below brief comments on the other hand held steam cleaners. These are hand held steam cleaners, which did not quite meet the grade.
Beldray Handheld Steam Cleaner – This is a good model for cleaning small areas and surfaces. The tank capacity is only 220mil, which is lower than the Hoover handheld. Because of the small capacity, it does mean you have to refill more often. There are attachments that come with this model but they are not that robust.
Quest Handheld Steam Cleaner – a popular model but it does suffer from a small tank. This means you have to frequently refill the tank. However, it comes with a cup and funnel, so refilling is easy.
BISSELL 2635s Steam Shot Handheld Steam Cleaner – another popular model again the water tank is rather small. However, it does come with a flexible hose and a long power cord.
References
Best Buys Steam Mops Which 2016
Hoover Steam Cleaners Hoover 2016
Vax Steam Mops Vax 2016