(update: This review was updated on 11-2-09 after I got to compare the Bissell as well as add notes about the Ladybugg steamer at the bottom. Also someone has since edited an old review on the Eureka Envirosteamer page to include all the mops we reviewed and the temperatures we recorded, etc when their old review contained none of that. Because of this, this may look redundant and I apologize. At the time of this review this was the only review that contained this information on any of the steamer pages. Because their review is above mine on the Envirosteamer page and has an older date, it would appear as though we simply were redundant or WE copied their review but, instead, their review was edited after we discovered all these things and then they added our info to their review...I apologize that it makes reading the reviews now a little boring but we are flattered that someone took all our information and put it into their old review. :-) )

I live in a neighborhood where EVERY home is "green built certified" this means that, to have that certification, the builder built no homes with carpet. All the main floors are polished concrete and the upper floors wood. The bathrooms all have tile and/or slate in every home.

Because of this, as you could imagine, steam mops are quite the neccessity...not only because they get the hard surfaces better than anything else, but because they are also "green" and clean chemical free. I'll be honest, for us...that's a bonus but we weren't cleaning chemical free before. We like chemical free for our pet's paws but I'll confess I was mopping with chemicals before I got my steamer and just kept the pets out of the room while doing it because, up until then, I couldn't get it clean any other way.

Okay, so that said...we decided to have a steamer show down to compare 5 different steamers because my friends and I knew as long as we are in these homes we are gonna have to have a steamer to get all these hard floors clean...we may as well figure out which one to buy next go round. Because my own home is graced with 2 cats, 3 dogs, and two gregarious cooks, my kitchen floor (which had not ever been cleaned by a steamer since my steamer had just arrived) was the testing spot.

Mind you, I vaccuum twice per week and do a mega mop twice a week. I THOUGHT I had pretty clean floors in spite of my pet capacity.

I thought wrong. These picked up dirt so well it's scary

So here's the results:

1. steam mops are the mac daddys of clean floors. What these things picked up was tremendous and no comparison to my vigorous prior constant major mopping.

2. So now I'll break down the elements of each mop we used and then go into more detail about each at the end.

We tried out:
"S": The shark by Europro
"E" The Envirosteamer by Eureka
"H" the haan steamer
"M" the Monster
"B" The Bissell Green Tea

CORD LENGTH: so you don't have to stop and unplug and replug in somewhere else:
Shark ( will be referred to as S):20 feet
Envirosteamer (will be referred to as E): 25 feet
Haan: (will be referred to as H)19'8"
Monster (will be referred to as M): 25 feet
Bissell (will be referred to as B) 17 feet

STEAM TEMPERATURE: this is a primary element. The hotter the steam, the more dirt picked up and hot steam will also kill parasites, mold and mildew and loosen more dirt:
S 110 degrees. lame
E 220 degrees. very hot
H 212 degrees. very hot
M 266 degrees. hottest...although the envirosteamer and haan seemed plenty hot enough. The shark didn't clean nearly as well and this was one reason. 110 degrees just isn't going to melt off stuck on grime.
B 125 degrees. Note that, because of this low steam temperature the manual said that if I wanted to sanitize the floor or pick up caked on spills, I had to hold the steamer on the spot for 15 seconds but no more than 20 because that could damage some floors. Now I don't know about you, but if I can sanitize with one swipe of the other steamers because of their sanitizing temps my floor will be done WAY faster but I don't have a timer to worry about the extra 5 secons where my wood floors could get damaged. My sink water is hotter than this so it would take less time to use a regular mop if I have to hold the steamer on every spot of my floor for 15 seconds to santize. Just sayin

BUILD:
We found how it was made corresponded with issues with the steamer. The Shark, for example, was quite flimsy and they actually sell replacement handle kits because so many people have issues with the handle breaking! We know this because my neighbor's shark broke and the store had a replacement handle kit on the shelf because he said "it happens often". That's an extra cost.
Envirosteamer: Was 5.4 lbs which made it lightweight but strong enough that you didn't have to press down to clean. Very well made and strong parts
Haan: not made as well as the envirosteamer but it's more expensive so this was a surprise. A bit flimsy and you need to press down on it more to clean at 3.15 lbs.
Monster: hefty and well made at 9 lbs but a bit too heavy unless you want a good workout. (Note: They have changed the Monster handles on the mops now and they are all plastic and people are having breakage issues)
Bissell: It's 8.4 pounds but that includes a water filter that you have to get for this one (see notes below)

WATER CAPACITY: Very important because having to stop and add more water just adds on to the time you have to spend cleaning, especially if you are cleaning a hallway or livingroom or some other area that has no sink:
S: only holds 10 oz of water. Lasted for 10 miinutes of cleaning
E: holds 20 oz. of water. Lasted for over 20 minutes of cleaning (we stopped at 20 and it was still going)
H: holds 11.83 oz of water. Lasted for 13 minutes of cleaning
M: holds 17 oz. of water. Lasted for 15 minutes of cleaning
B: holds 13 oz of water, lasted for 12.5 minutes of cleaning AND you have to undo and remove the tank from the machine every time you fill it up then hook it back on and the steam tank is on the handle rather than the base so the steam doesn't flow directly out after heating up which may explain why it's not as hot once it leaves the machine. The way this mop is made the water flows past heating elements which can, according to Bissell, develop calcium deposits on it so this is the only mop where, because of this, you also have to use a water filter with it and replace the water filter when there is build up which means and extra 12 bucks every few months. The better mops are made to heat the water in a metal tank so this is not an issue and you pour the water directly into the tank.

STEAM HOLES: We found a difference although you'd think they'd all be the same. The shark only had one hole that the steam came out of so it wasn't cleaning things on the edges, just in one spot. All the others had steam coming from bottom and sides.

SIZE: The taller it is the less stooping, the wider the mop head, the more it covers
S: 40"Hx12"Wx7"D
E: 50"Hx13.25"Wx6.75"D (the fact that this depth was smaller made it reach under applicances better...it fit better under things)
H: 50.5x11.5x7.5
M: 48x12.7.5
B: 45.25H (this was uncomfortably short) x11 x8.4 (even though this didn't fit under cabinets because of the depth it did swivel the best)

Conclusion of comparison: First it must be pointed out that, in order to use the shark and the Bissell, you had to keep pumping the water. This was the most annoying feature of anything...the others just steamed on their own and didn't wear out your fingers. Hated this feature of the shark and Bissell. We liked that the Monster and the Shark and Envirosteamer and the Bissell came with 2 cleaning pads rather than one. The Haan only came with one at the time of the review (I double checked since when she bought hers it was also only one and as of today, that hasn't changed) so that ups the price even more because I can't imagine only wanting one to clean. All worked well on sanitizing mattresses and showers. too.

But the winner picked by all of us unanimously as the mop we want to have for our next steam mop order?
The Eureka Envirosteamer. It picked up the most dirt, was made as well as the Monster but was less expensive, held the most water, emitted the most very hot steam so it sanitized as well, lasted 3 times as long with one water resevor fillup as the others, and had a cord as long as the monster. BUT if you have carpets than I would recommend the Monster because it has a carpet attachment that allows you to steam clean your carpets and it picked up pretty close to the same amount of dirt as the Eureka Envirosteamer, and had close to the same features...a bit heavier though but that may make it last even longer. It is costlier, but to clean 2 surfaces I would think that might make it worth it.

UPDATE: The Haan just started including 2 pads with the mop according to the product description page. Not that this changes our opinion since it didn't work as well and the parts were flimsier, but it should be noted that this issue of not having enough cleaning pads has now been resolved and is equal to the other mops.

ANOTHER UPDATE: 1. The Shark came out with a new machine that holds more water and has a longer cord BUT it still only heats the water to 110 degrees so it won't sanitize or get rid of trapped grime at this "bathwater" temperature.

Another update: I haven't tried it yet but was told about an even better mop than the Eureka Envirosteamer but I can't personally afford it...still, it's worth mentioning in case you can. It's called the Ladybug XL2300 and is a canister steam mop. It heats the water to 298 degrees (woah!) so it's a super sanitizer but it's over a thousand bucks. It also comes with 6 towels. I didn't include it in my review because I haven't ever tried it and I wanted to only include mops I personally tried but it's got great enough stats that, even though it's out of my price range, I thought I'd pass it on as a super sanitizer.

Also: Don't spend money buying extra pads for the Eureka. I was in a pinch and used a kitchen dish towel...the rectangular kind...just clip on both ends. It worked just as good or better...because they are thinner so the steam penetrates faster and therefore reaches the floor hotter. However, I would recommend still only using the thick pads that come with it for your wood floors just to be safe. But the super hot steam penetrating the dish towel worked excellent on tile and hard floors. Also, you can flip both the towel and the pads that come with it on the Eureka to double the usage...when it gets dirty, just flip it over and use the other side. I use several old dish towels with this but I like best the kind that just have a bit of texture but no squares sewn on them...but they all work great. So do the pads.

I did extensive research on the steam floor cleaners. I had seen the Haan info-mercial a long time ago and also saw the Shark one as well. My research was well worth it. The Haan has definately proven itself. I have hardwood floors on the entire first level of my home and they came out looking great. My ceramic and travertine in my upstairs bathrooms looks great also. I even tried the carpet attachment on the landing and in one of the bedrooms and I can really tell a difference. You do not need to fill too often and the area of steam is in way excess of the other steam cleaners on the market. It is light and easy to use. I also did my homework on price and Amazon even beat out QVC.

The Haan Steam Cleaner w/carpet attachment is fantastic. It's so easy to use, lightweight, and cleans tile floors so clean. I pulled off the pad after it cooled down and there was more dirt than I thought my floors had. I tried the carpet attachment on a greasy footprint that is just in front of my garage door. It cleaned it up pretty good, but I just scrubbed it with a little dawn dish soap to remove any lingering grease. Looks much better, but I'll try it again after it dries. Why didn't I buy this earlier? I'm glad I caught the info commercial. I couldn't stand the smell and sticky floors that the Swifter left behind. Plus, no more filling up my garbage with disposable pads. The Haan pads are washable! I'm going GREEN!

The steam mop does everything it claims to do. I am glad I also got the carpet attachment. I have not used it on carpet yet, but I have used it on my mattress, since I have dust allergies. If you are purchasing this item I would HIGHLY recommend also getting 4 extra pads. (It comes with only two.) If you don't switch the pads freqently they become saturated and don't work nearly as well. The six pads get me through one full tank of water. My floors feel very clean and look great! Also, no more sprays or chemicals to buy or run out of! Recommended 100%!

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! I purchased my unit to remove stubborn spills and stains from our radiant heated tile and hardwood floors. We have one large (105 lb.) dog (four dogs when our daughter brings her three for a visit) and two teenagers still at home. So there are always spills and stains on the floors. The radiant heat is great, except it really bakes on spills. The worst of them, and this is the primary reason I purchased the unit, is baked on dog drool. Whether from giving the dogs treats, or from residue on dog toys, that stuff has proven to be almost impossible to remove by conventional means--at least not without spending an inordinate amount of time working on them. I tried conventional mopping, scraping with a razor blade, and even using a car buffer to rub them out. Nothing worked satisfactorily. The Haan removed them all easily! The kids spill little blobs of milk on the dining room hardwood floor as they traverse through the room, and we also had a lot of trouble removing those after they "cooked." Using the products recommended by the manufacturer of our wood floor would only remove them after a lot of scrubbing, and often you had to "hit" those several times to get them removed. Again, the Haan removed them easily.

I had researched this purchase by reading beforehand the buyer's comments posted here. One of the comments I saw a couple of times concerned the leaving of streaks on the floor after cleaning. I observed this also, but noticed that it was due to the pad being excessively soiled. Our floor was cleaned by vacuum before steaming it, but it was still heavily soiled. The pad collects that grime and when it reaches a certain "saturation" point, it simply smears some of that grime around, thereby leaving streaks. I tested this theory after noticing that after cleaning our large kitchen for quite some time, I was beginning to see some minor streaking being left behind. I examined the pad, which was brown with soil. I changed it to the clean spare pad, and the streaking stopped. Based on this, I'm confident that as we use this steamer and the floor gets increasingly cleaner, streaking will be minimized if not absent altogether.

We have not tried the Sanitizer Tray yet, so we cannot comment on its efficacy.

Suggestions/Criticisms

The handle on my unit will not stay locked in the upright position when at rest. Even when the handle is retracted to its shortest length or the cord is not coiled for storage. It's not a "show stopper" for me, just an aggravation.

Power cord management is just weird they way it's implemented. The design is poor and results in the cord often not being managed at all--it just falls out of whatever clips or guides are present. Again, it's not a big deal. I solved some of that with some nylon cable ties.

Grout lines don't really get cleaned as the pad fibers are not long enough to get down in those little trenches--at least on our floors. It might be kinda neat if there were a special pad with a design just for that. I see some vinyl floors that also have rather deep embossments where this might also be an issue.

What more can I say? My wife loves the results of this little unit!

Couple of notes - you MUST vacuum before using this item or you'll be pushing dirt all over the floor. But once that's done, really cleans the floors. Not sure what issues other folks have had with this unit on wood floors, but I haven't experienced those in my use. I love the streak-free clean on my wood and tile floors. Usually can do my entire "public" area of my house on one fill of the tank (20 minutes). So light weight that even my 10 year old daughter can help using this device. Love how the included pads easily clean via the laundry!

ONLY negative in my mind is the not-quite-long-enough power cord which was easily fixed by adding a 15 foot extension cord - allowed me to get the entire public area of my house from one outlet!

Highly recommended.

My kitchen area is a high traffic area and is always dirty. I even have a spot where I was training my puppy to use the potty that now has a huge stain on the floor. When I used the steam mop is removed 65% of the stain on the first run. The more and more I use it on the stain more and more of it gets removed. Cleaning the kitchen is a breeeze now. I love that I don't have to wait for it to dry. I haven't tried it on the carpet but I'm sure it will do well. I do recommend buying extra pads. Other than that the product works well.

I purchased the Haan Cleaner. It came with the carpet cleaner attachment and 4 pads. I love the Haan. I used to do my floors with the oil soap but I found there was always dirt on the floors when I got done. It was embedded in the dried oil soap. Now I find that the floors are so clean when I walk on them with bare feet. This is something I should have bought long ago. I am very impressed with the Haan and best of all no chemicals.

Since I can't find a reliable cleaning crew for my mother, I thought I better buy a reliable floor cleaner "for myself." Most of the floors in my mother's house are covered with 25 year old sealed tile. On her tile, the Haan is very simple to use. It easily cleans the 2 week old coffee spills, dried catsup, smashed chocolate, and other yucky stuff an 87 year old leaves behind. The unit puts out steam hot enough for my needs, and the pads are thick and durable. By the looks of the pads it is obvious they will last as long as the company claims.
Two things though. The tile floor is not left dry enough not to slip on. But the amount of water left behind is so minimal it dries in about 10-15 minutes. Also the machine is extremely flimsy. Most of the parts are thin plastic. I am expecting it to be fully broken within a year. Although I think replacing it that often, for the cost, would be worthwhile. She has two cats and has to buy expensive organic cleaning products that cost more than $100 a year anyway. This way the unit is easier to use than hands and knees on the floor, and it doesn't require a cleaning product. Even with yearly replacement she breaks even. If the steam mop lasts longer than that, then great!

It does clean the floor quite well in record time. I bought this one because of the carpet attachment. I found that it did not clean the carpets that well and left them too wet. For floors, it is great.