Which steam cleaner is right for your home?

Steam mop if you only clean hard floors and want something you can grab in two minutes — no hose, no accessory box. Boiler system if you also do bathroom grout, windows, oven grease or sofa fabric: the separate boiler keeps steam hot through a long hose, which mops struggle with. Handheld if upholstery and spot jobs dominate and floors are someone else’s problem.

Marketing mixes bar, temperature and "bar pressure" — focus on bar for boiler/handheld models. 3 bar handles light floor work; 3.5-4 bar is the sweet spot for bathroom grout and kitchen grease; 4-5 bar helps when you want faster sanitising on large tile areas. Steam mops often don’t quote bar at all — look for sustained steam time and tank size instead.

Dry steam at 100 °C+ kills many bacteria on hard surfaces without chemicals — useful for allergy households. Let surfaces cool and dry before kids or pets walk on them; steam is hot and slippery. It does not replace detergent on visibly greasy soil, and it won’t fix mold inside walls. Ventilate while you work; pets hate the hiss — keep them in another room during passes.

Only on sealed hardwood or laminate that the manufacturer explicitly allows — unsealed parquet, oiled wood and cheap laminate swell and cup with moisture. Test an inconspicuous corner first; keep the mop moving, never hold steam on one spot. Tile, sealed stone and most modern vinyl are fine. When in doubt, use steam on bathroom and kitchen hard surfaces only and dry-mop wood.