Bissell Steam Shot review – a flexible cleaner for just £30

At just £30 steam cleaners don’t come much cheaper than the Bissell Steam Shot. Despite the low price, it comes with a range of accessories, making it highly flexible and able to take on any little cleaning jobs around the home – just don’t expect it to stand in for a steam mop and clean large expanses of floor.

Design

The Bissell Steam Shot is nice and light at just over 1kg plus any water in the tank, which is significantly lighter than the somewhat similar, Karcher SC1 Steam Stick. The handheld can be stored away quite easily thanks to its compact design and is one of the smallest handheld steam cleaners I’ve reviewed to date. You should be able to fit this in your cleaning cupboard without too much hassle but you’ll need to find a bag for the various accessories in the box as none is supplied.

The steam cleaner is very easy to operate, with numerous different attachments that can be swapped hassle free. The window squeegee is a nice addition, plus there are three colour-coded brush attachments, so you can reserve them for specific jobs. You can use a small nozzle or attached the short hose to help you reach difficult areas. It’s handy but considerably less manoeuvrable than the hose for the Karcher SC1. I often had to fight with the unruly hose in order to get to go where I wanted.

The 4.8m cable, which is just under a metre longer than the Karcher SC1, was more than enough to work my way around the kitchen without having to find another plug socket. There are plenty of safety features for peace of mind too, with a red indicator light letting you know when the Steam Shot is plugged into the mains, eventually turning off when warmed up and ready to use. The cap can’t be opened while the handheld is being used too, as the pressure inside locks it in place.

Cleaning Performance

With just a simple trigger on the handle controlling when steam is ejected, the Bissell Steam Shot gives is very simple to use. While it does come with a small mop attachment, it doesn’t really compare to the cleaning power of a dedicated steam mop and is only really to be used for small spills and stains, rather than whole floors. For those, you’d definitely be better off turning to the likes of the Vileda Steam Mop.

Cleaning grout from the tiles in the kitchen was effortless, getting rid of the otherwise tough to clean stains with ease. There wasn’t any struggling on my part in order to bring the grouting back to its former white glory. I noticed decent results in just a few seconds and without any great amount of scrubbing on my part.

Unfortunately, the button has to be pressed down constantly in order to emit steam and was incredibly uncomfortable to use even after a short period of time. My thumb started to ache after just 30 seconds and unfortunately, you can’t relieve even the slightest amount of pressure without steam being cut off.

After a few minutes, the cleaner became noticeably hot too, even around the handle, forcing me to take a break from time to time. Sadly, the small 0.36-litre tank only gave me just over eight minutes of steaming time and as Bissell encourage that five minutes should be left between refills, I found myself sitting around waiting to clean.

Conclusion

The Bissell Steam Shot is a capable and cheap little handheld steam cleaner with small jobs. With plenty of accessories included in the box, the Steam Shot easily handled the varied cleaning situations I threw at it. The only downside is that it’s not the most ergonomic design with the steam trigger and hose both frustrating at times.

While it isn’t a replacement for more dedicated and larger steam mops such as the Vileda Steam Mop, it is a competitively-priced choice for the odd bits of cleaning that need doing around the home. If you’re willing to part with a bit more cash though, the Karcher SC1 is highly recommended, as it comes with additional pole attachments to reach high areas and to double-up as a makeshift steam mop as well. Still undecided? Read our Best steam cleaner 2016 guide.