Vileda Steam Mop review

It’s something of an oddity to see a steam cleaner that isn’t packed with a bunch of bells and whistles. Steam cleaners now seem to be crammed full with every feature under the sun, that definitely aren’t always necessary. The inexpensive Vileda Steam Mop doesn’t break the bank and is relatively simple when it comes to design and features compared to its bigger brethren, but does it pack a punch when cleaning?

Design

From a purely visual standpoint, the Vileda Steam Mop is nothing short of basic when it comes to features and design. Its slim profile means it can be stored easily in a tall cupboard and can handily stand upright on its own. Many other steam mops, such as the Vax Steam Fresh Power Plus, require a wall bracket to stay upright.

With very few buttons, the Vileda is a great choice for steam cleaning newbies, being incredibly easy to use. The 0.4 litre water tank capacity means you’ll be cleaning for longer and won’t be waiting long to use it, thanks to the surprisingly short 45 second heat-up time.

Power consumption is on the low side too, with just 0.231kWh recorded during a lengthy cleaning session in the kitchen. Weighing in at just 2.5Kg, the Vileda is one of the lightest steam mops I’ve used and could easily be moved around the house, although it isn’t quite as lightweight as the Karcher SC1.

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My only concern is the lack of safety features, which really stops the Vileda Steam Mop being a top tier cleaner. The tank can be easily opened during use, exposing the hot water within. It’s best not to do the steam cleaning while the kids are around and you’d definitely want them to steer clear after use before the water cools down. There is an indicator light when the cleaner is on though, but you’ll probably know already as the space around the tank was very hot when using it and took a considerable amount of time to cool down once I had finished.

Cleaning performance

Limited to just floor cleaning, the Vileda Steam mop excels at removing tough stains, gliding incredibly well across hard surfaces. There’s no trigger to pull or button to press to get the steamer going, just turn it on and steam pours out at a steady rate automatically.

Taking just a few swipes and a couple of minutes to clear tricky breakfast spillages from the kitchen floor, I barely needed to apply any pressure, as some steam cleaners need you to add that extra oomph. The mop cover itself is only loosely held on with velcro though, so I found that it would slip on occasion and would be tricky to use. Thanks to a carpet glider, the Vileda can also be used on fabric surfaces, albeit with a little bit more friction, requiring a bit of extra force to overcome.

Although perfect for clearing liquid stains, more substantial dirt was unfortunately pushed and smeared around the floor, making more mess, which left me feeling as though I reached a stalemate in the floor cleaning war. The triangular cleaning head was very maneuverable and could reach stains in the corners, but would sometimes click into place when moving it around as if it was vertically stood up.

Steam power can be adjusted by a simple knob, although I felt like I needed the Vileda to be at max power when cleaning, with the steam output lower down the dial found to be pretty poor at getting rid of some pretty typical stains. I’d recommend trying the lower settings only for more delicate floor surfaces.

Conclusion

The Vileda Steam Mop doesn’t reinvent the steam cleaning wheel, but it excels at what it does best. A stripped down and back to basics steam cleaner, the Vileda Steam Mop is a great choice for anyone who simply needs to get a hard floor clean. The lack of any safety features is a bit of a worry, and if you’ve got little ones running around you’d be best getting the Karcher SC1 Steam Stick, that’s packed with plenty of safety precautions and peace of mind.

For those wanting something simple and easy to use though, the Vileda Steam Mop is the steam cleaner for you. Don’t expect it do everything, but what it does do (clean floors) it does very well. 

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