Steam mops compared: tank, heat-up, cord and which floors the makers name
You want to wash hard floors with steam instead of a bucket and mop. Which current steam mop fits your floors and your home? This page compares six models on tank size, heat-up time, cord length and whether they convert to a handheld steamer, and lists which floor types each maker's own page names, and which it excludes.
What we compared and why
- Floors the maker names. This comes first. A steam mop is only for the floors its maker names, usually sealed hard floors. If your floor is vinyl, unsealed wood or unknown, read the floor section below before anything else.
- Tank. A larger tank means fewer stops to refill. We show the maker's or listing's figure in ounces, converted from millilitres where needed.
- Heat-up time. How long after switching on before steam comes. It matters if you steam in short bursts rather than whole floors.
- Cord length. A longer cord means fewer outlet changes across a large kitchen or open-plan floor.
- Handheld steamer or scrubbing feature. A detachable handheld unit reaches grout, counters and fixtures; a scrubbing feature is for stuck-on spots on the floor. Mark 'Yes' only where the maker or listing names it.
The models compared
| Model | Tank stated | Heat-up stated | Cord stated | Handheld steamer named | Scrubbing feature named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BISSELL PowerSteamer (2685A) | 12 oz* | Not stated in listing | 25 ft* | Yes* | Not stated in listing |
| Shark Steam Mop (S1000) | Not stated in listing | 30 s | 18 ft | Not stated in listing | Yes |
| Shark Lift-Away Steam Mop (S3972BRN) | Not stated in listing | Not stated in listing | Not stated in listing | Yes | Yes |
| BISSELL PowerFresh Pet (19404) | 16 oz* | 30 s | 23 ft | Not stated in listing | Yes* |
| Amazon Basics Steam Mop (DS-HSM10-NA) | 15 oz | 30 s | 20 ft | Not stated in listing | Yes |
| DREAME SH10 (HSC27A) | 12 oz* | 15 s* | 13 ft* | Yes | Not stated in listing |
Table values are read from each product's current Amazon listing at the time of this page's build and normalised to one unit by us. "Not stated in listing" means the listing does not give the figure; "Listing gives two values" means the listing states it two different ways, so we show neither. Values marked * come from the maker's own spec page, linked under Sources.
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BISSELL PowerSteamer (2685A)
Who it fits: Homes that want one steamer for floors and for counters, grout and fixtures, with the longest cord in this table.
Skip it if: Your floors are vinyl; BISSELL's page says this model is not intended for vinyl floors.
Shark Steam Mop (S1000)
Who it fits: A plain floor-only steam mop for sealed hard floors, with a 30-second heat-up.
Skip it if: You want to steam grout or counters too; no handheld unit is named.
Shark Lift-Away Steam Mop (S3972BRN)
Who it fits: Sealed hard floors plus handheld work on counters, upholstery and car interiors, which Shark's page names.
Skip it if: You need stated tank, cord and heat-up figures to compare; Shark's page for this model gives none of them.
BISSELL PowerFresh Pet (19404)
Who it fits: Larger sealed floors: the largest tank in this table, a 23-foot cord, and a long list of floor types BISSELL names.
Skip it if: Your floors are vinyl; BISSELL's page says this model is not intended for vinyl flooring.
Amazon Basics Steam Mop (DS-HSM10-NA)
Who it fits: The second-largest tank in this table, with a 20-foot cord and a 30-second heat-up, for floor-only steaming.
Skip it if: You want the maker's own list of floor types; there is no separate maker spec page for this model, so check its manual.
DREAME SH10 (HSC27A)
Who it fits: Mostly handheld steaming in kitchens and bathrooms, with the quickest stated heat-up here, and a floor head for occasional floors.
Skip it if: Steaming whole floors is your main job; it has the shortest cord here, and it is built around a handheld body with a floor head added.
Start with your floor
A steam mop puts heat and moisture on the floor, and each maker says which floors its mop is for. Before comparing tanks or cords, find out what your floor is: sealed tile, sealed hardwood, stone, laminate, vinyl or something you are not sure of. Then read the table below, which gives the floor wording on each maker's own product page for these models. We quote the makers' categories; we do not add floor types of our own.
| Model | Floors the maker's page names | Floors the page says not to use it on |
|---|---|---|
| BISSELL PowerSteamer (2685A) | Bare floors, sealed hard floors, sealed wood floors | Vinyl floors |
| Shark Steam Mop (S1000) | Sealed hard floors | None named on the page |
| Shark Lift-Away (S3972BRN) | Sealed hard floors | None named on the page |
| BISSELL PowerFresh Pet (19404) | Bare floors, sealed hard floors; the page also names sealed hardwood, ceramic, linoleum, granite and marble | Vinyl flooring |
| Amazon Basics (DS-HSM10-NA) | No maker spec page apart from the listing | Not found |
| DREAME SH10 | Marble, tile, wood and laminate, and carpet with its carpet glider; the page does not say sealed | None named on the page |
Three things stand out. First, both BISSELL pages exclude vinyl, so if your floor is vinyl, those two are out unless the manual you receive says otherwise. Second, a page that names no exclusions is not a promise that every floor is fine; the Shark pages name sealed hard floors, and the S1000 page refers you to its owner's guide. BISSELL's 19404 page also asks you to test a hidden spot first and to check your floor maker's instructions. That is good practice for any model here. Third, DREAME's floor list does not use the word "sealed" that Shark and BISSELL use; if your wood or laminate is unsealed, the manual is where to confirm it.
Tank and heat-up: the arithmetic
The tanks we could confirm run from 12 ounces (the BISSELL 2685A and DREAME SH10) to 16 ounces (BISSELL 19404), with the Amazon Basics listing 15. The 16-ounce tank holds a third more water than a 12-ounce one: in round terms, three refills of the larger tank do the work of four of the smaller. If you steam a whole kitchen and hallway in one go, that is the difference you will notice.
Heat-up times are short across the board where stated: 30 seconds for the Shark S1000, the BISSELL 19404 and the Amazon Basics, and 15 seconds for the DREAME SH10. Unless you steam in many short bursts, heat-up will not decide between them.
Cord length
Stated cords run from 13 feet (DREAME SH10, converted from DREAME's metric figure) to 25 feet (BISSELL 2685A). The BISSELL 19404 states 23, the Amazon Basics 20 and the Shark S1000 18. In an open-plan floor, a longer cord means fewer outlet changes; in a small kitchen it hardly matters.
Handheld or floor-only
Three models name a handheld steamer: the BISSELL 2685A, the Shark S3972BRN and the DREAME SH10. The DREAME is the most handheld-first of them: DREAME's page leads with kitchens and bathrooms, and treats floors as one use among several. If your main job is floors, a floor-first mop such as the Shark S1000 or BISSELL 19404 is the plainer choice. If you want one machine for grout, counters and floors, look at the three handheld rows.
Which one if...
- Your floor is vinyl: leave out both BISSELL models, whose pages exclude vinyl, and confirm in the manual of any other model that vinyl is allowed.
- Large sealed floors and fewer refills: the BISSELL 19404 or the Amazon Basics, with the larger tanks in this table.
- Floors plus grout and counters: the BISSELL 2685A or the Shark Lift-Away S3972BRN.
- Mostly handheld work, floors now and then: the DREAME SH10.
- Stuck-on spots: the rows the table marks with a scrubbing feature: the BISSELL 19404, the Shark S1000, the Shark S3972BRN and the Amazon Basics.
If your floors include rugs or you would rather wash than steam, see wet-dry floor cleaners compared. Not sure which kind of machine you need? Start with which floor cleaner you need.
What this page does not tell you
We have not used these mops, and we do not rank them. We make no claim about what steam removes from a floor; any such claim is the maker's, under the maker's test conditions. We do not say how a given floor finish reacts to steam: your floor maker's care instructions and the mop's manual decide that.