The Shark Steam Pocket Mop is compact and lightweight, which makes it an easy choice for cleaning hard floors. Other steam mops were easier to use, and offer more multitasking than this one, but there is something nice about a no-frills unit like this if you are really just looking for a floor cleaner.
This steam cleaner doesn't leave much water behind so floors dry quickly, but it would probably do better if it ran a little wetter. It doesn’t generate as much steam or moisture as you need to clean efficiently on some tasks. Also, you have to pump a trigger to generate any steam at all, which is harder work than the ones with a switch that starts the steam. If you prefer one that generates steam with the click of a button, consider the Bissell PowerFresh.
This floor steamer performed slightly below average in our cleaning tests. It was the absolute worst on the spaghetti sauce, taking more than three times as many passes to clean compared to our top pick. It did clean day-old mustard spills and orange juice spills with average efficiency.
The swivel handle moves easily backwards and forwards and from side to side. The compact head helps you reach into small hard-to-reach places, such as under cabinets, and the microfiber pads lift and collect dirt that is pulled up by the steam action. The Shark patented design allows you to flip the head over to use both sides of the reversible pad. This means there is a good chance you won’t have to change pads midway through your cleaning job. The pads are machine washable, so you can reuse them instead of having to buy new pads each time you clean.
This floor steam mop has a 20-foot cord, which is average. A longer cord might be more helpful if you have a lot of tile to clean. This mop takes more than a minute to heat up after you plug it in, which is a long time, but the delay is partly because you have to pump it constantly to get it generating steam.
The handle is height-adjustable, so you can set it up to be comfortable for you. The rounded top was more comfortable than most, and lets you get a good grip on the mop. The water tank holds 450 milliliters, but it isn't removable, so you have to bring the water to the steam mop and pour it into the tank, which can be awkward and messy. A filling flask comes with this unit to help, which is nice, but it certainly isn't as handy as having a removable tank that can be filled in the sink.
Most of the mops we tested were better at multitasking than the Shark Steam Pocket Mop. This one just cleans floors, and does a pretty average job of that. For everyday cleaning this will be servicable. It runs pretty dry so you at least won’t wait long for your floors to dry.
