Best Steam Mops for Hardwood Floors Reviews

Basically I love it, hardwood floors are pain to get clean without a little something extra. In this case: a steam mop.  If you're concerned about the steam damaging your wood floor or your manufacturer warranty will be voided if you use a steam mop,  another great option would be to use a vacuum mop to clean your hardwood floor all in one step.

I’m going to go over some of my favorites for hardwood flooring, and give a quick “how to choose” guide as well. If you’re late for a meeting or something though (in which case: run! I’ll still be here later!), here’s my favorite one:

Best Steam Mop For Hardwood Floors

Bissell PowerFresh Slim System

A toss up for Bissel’s best all around steam mop.

Bissel is a major brand in the realm of cleaning appliances, with a lot of quality products. This one is no exception, boasting just about everything we’re looking for. It’s great on hardwood (and any hard surface, from tile to grout to stainless steel), as expected, and comes apart into three separate and equally useful tools.

The steam mop itself is great. Lightweight, with a 25 foot cord and a solid 12 ounce tank.

The handheld attachment takes things a step higher, snapping off with the full tank and containing a number of useful attachments: a bristle brush, an angled tool, a grout tool, and a flat scraper. All four fit inside the base of the unit, making for easy storage (the set also comes with a hook to hang it all on when you’re done).

The final part, removing the shaft turns it into a quite good little garment steamer or close touch up tool for things like refrigerators, the inside of ovens, or a stove top.

For its asking price, you can’t really do better.

PurSteam Therma Pro Steam Mop Cleaner 10-in-1

This is the least expensive model on our list but don't let that fool you.

By using steam instead of chemicals you keep your floors clean and germ free.   You can even freshen carpets that are not a long knap.   We didn't think this was a great feature, but it does work for extremely light carpet work.

As a steam mop, it’s already pretty good. It does hard surfaces with multiple settings. It did come with many attachments and can do much more than just hardwood floors.   The grout brush does an excellent job in cleaning grout.

One thing we weren't thrilled about on this model was the shorter cord.  It would have been nice to have a larger cord when doing larger rooms.  

The swivel mop head makes it easy to get in tight spaces and is large enough to help you get through your floors in a small amount of time.  

Given the low price on the model its hard to go wrong.

PurSteam System ThermaPro 12-in-1

The most versatile steam mop you’re likely to find.

This is a “12 in 1” steam mop. Basically: it cleans every surface. A bit of cheating, perhaps, to put it here, but it DOES do hardwood, and does it well.

The 8.5 ounce tank (heats up in 15 seconds) could stand to be a bit larger, but provides about 20 minutes of steam; good for most spot cleans or single room mopping sessions. It being a break away handheld in addition jumps it up a bit further, especially with the multiple settings to adjust for every surface.

The only real gripes I have with it are it doesn’t come with any attachments, or even a hose. It makes some cleaning awkward and unnecessarily difficult…but given it will cost you less, this is a minor gripe. You can buy all that separately and still come out cheaper than most steam mops.

Bissell PowerFresh Cleaner, 1940

This is one of the to choices recommended by many reviewers.

I think this is because it covers all the basics and doesn't have a lot of extra parts to keep track of.

One other thing that would be nice is to have a cordless version of this mop as for larger areas we had to keep moving the plug.

The price is reasonable and we found this mop did an excellent job of cleaning.

With this steam mop you can say good by to the mop and bucket and enjoy germ free floors with no sticky residue left behind by cleaner solution.

Light ‘N’ Easy Multifunctional

Just a good all rounder.

This is sort of a greatest hits of what we look for in a steam mop. Does most hard surfaces, has a detachable handheld attachment, a respectably sized tank (11.5 ounces) that heats up in under 30 seconds, a solid length cord (20 feet), and has three steam settings for different kinds of jobs.

With its price tag this makes Light ‘N’ Easy’s offering basically the cheapest way to get everything on my list of basic criteria, making it a perfect steam mop for people that JUST need a steam mop and don’t need to use it for any other jobs.

Shark Lift-Away Pro

Simplistic, but good.

It’s a testament to how much I like most of these steam mops that this one is so far down the list. This is by no means a bad steam mop, I’d even call it a great one. It’s just a little simpler than anything else, being a steam mop with a great tank (17 ounces), a long cord (22 feet), and a good handheld detachment.

The only other thing that stands out though is the “no touch” pad that can be disengaged and dropped without ever needing to touch your fingers. While nice, I’m not sure it really competes with a lot of others on this list.

If it were a bit cheaper it might be higher on the list, but as is? It’s great, but not great enough to justify buying it over the Light ‘N’ Easy above.

How To Choose The Right Steamer for Hardwood Floors

The main things you need to look out for is its function, price, and any extras.

Can Steam Mops be used on wood floors?

If they are sealed you should be able to use the steam mop on your wood floor.   However, before using steam on your wood or wood laminate floor consult your manufacturers warranty.  Some manufacturers will void the warranty if you use steam on them.   Steam mopping is slightly different than wet mopping in that the super heated steam has the potential of warping an unsealed laminate or altering the look of an unsealed wood surface.  

We mopping while it may cause the wood to become damp if it isn't sealed it doesn't cause the warping or curling steam could potentially cause.   All this being said,  many people claim that they haven't had any issues.  

We stand by the advice to "go with you're floor manufacturers" warranty guidance to be safe.

Are Steam Mops Worth it?

We believe so,  in all cases we found the steam mop was still picking up dirt even on floors that had just been wet mopped.   We also found for steam mops, when going over the floor with a new pad a second time,  very little dirt was picked up.

This coupled with the no chemicals feature of a steam mop.  Makes this a sure fire improvement over a standard mop.

Function

Are Multiple steam settings required?

They may not be required, but to get the most flexibility we highly recommend finding a model that will allow you to adjust the steam output.

How long should a power cord be for a steam mop?

We recommend 20 feet or more.   Anything less you may find yourself moving the plug in to a new location more than you would like.   You can certainly get away with shorter cords for small spaces,  but 20 feet or more gives you much more flexibility.

Mop Head Size and shape

Continue down the line for everything from the “footprint” (the bigger the head the better in many cases, though past a certain width it becomes a downside.   We like models that stayed in the 12" by 8"  size range.   Much larger than that became more difficult to maneuver.

If you have a space with lots of smaller nooks and crannies you should find a steam mop that has a triangular head option.   This will allow you to easily reach those difficult to reach corners.  If your rooms are pretty open with fewer tights spots you'll be happier with a nice sized rectangular head for better coverage.

Tank Size

Generally I’m looking for about a 12 ounce tank at the smallest, that heats up in thirty seconds or less.  While a larger tank size may be appealing to some,  keep in mind the more water you have the heavier the mop will be to push around and maneuver.  

Extras

Will a multi-function steam mop work on hardwood floors?

In addition to the previously mentioned functions, anything it can do BEYOND hardwood floors is a big plus. If it snaps off into a handheld that’s a huge one. If it also does carpets or area rugs, that’s another biggie.

The really huge one here is: is it also a vacuum? This one extra saves so much time if you can vacuum and mop at the same time that it pretty much instantly rockets it up a few places over steam mops that are otherwise similar (or even a little better).   We don't talk much about vacuums on this article but Bissel does make an excellent vacuum that is also a steam mop.  

If your manufacturer warns against using a steam mop  there are several excellent vacuum mops that will make your life easier.

What type of Mop Pads should I use for Hardwood Floors?

There are several types of pads you can use, however for hardwood floors you want to avoid any that are made of abrasive material and still with the pads that are soft to avoid scratching the finish on your floor.

Price

Much like any cleaning appliance like a hardwood steam mop, the range of prices can be wide. Really, it’s all about your budget. There are good options at every price. Don’t feel pressured to buy the most expensive one just because it has a bunch of extras unless they’re extras that really appeal to you.

Our number one seller is the 10 in 1 model which also happens to be the least expensive!

Summary Chart of all Models Reviewed