Steam mops

Steam mops use an element to vaporise water stored in an on-board reservoir. They’re an expensive alternative to a no-frills “traditional” mop and elbow grease.

There are two types of steam mop.

• Stick mops can be unwieldy, but they heat up quickly. They’re lighter than barrel models, which makes them a good choice if you’re going to be hauling one up and down stairs.
• Barrel (aka canister) models look more like a traditional vacuum cleaner than a mop. They’re on wheels, and it’s generally easier to manoeuvre the head while cleaning tiled walls and hard-to-reach areas. They often have more than double the tank capacity of stick mops and include other cleaning accessories, making them more of a steam-cleaning system than just a mop.