Russell Hobbs Replacement Steam Mop Pads for RHSM1001-G Steam & Clean Mop, Pack of 5, RHPAD1001-G

Product Information

Steam mops have become increasingly popular in the UK over the last few years, thanks in part to cleaning influencers like Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon who swear by theirs and who, like many of us, are keen to have a gleaming home without using too many chemicals, especially around children and pets. They also both came with small plastic jugs to make filling the mops with water easier - but this isn’t necessarily the perk you would imagine. Having said that, you don’t actually need to apply any pressure at all to get the Shark to work - it glides across the floor easily, so easily in fact that I wasn't sure it was working properly until I saw the grime it was able to pick up after just a few seconds’ work.

Russell Hobbs Replacement Steam Mop Pads for RHSM1001-G Steam Russell Hobbs Replacement Steam Mop Pads for RHSM1001-G Steam

I pitted three of the best-selling steam mops head-to-head for our test, the Shark Steam and Scrub, the Lakeland Steam Mop and Russell Hobbs' Steam and Clean. They work more quickly and efficiently than traditional mops and don't leave you with a fully wet floor afterwards. If your house is one where muddy foot and paw prints are a daily feature then it is absolutely the pick of the three. It had real oomph and power behind it but was still lightweight and easy to manoueuvre, while its extra-long cable made getting round quick and easy.

While they look very different, all three mops have a similar motor size, ranging between 1120W and 1200W and they all say they get to temperature within 15 and 30 seconds with Russell Hobbs the quickest and Shark the slowest on paper at least.

Russell Hobbs RHMSM3101 Steam and Clean 1400W Multifunctional Russell Hobbs RHMSM3101 Steam and Clean 1400W Multifunctional

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. Whereas traditional mops rely on detergent and elbow grease to disinfect floors, steam mops heat water in an onboard tank and then release the vapour directly on to the floor at temperatures of up to 120 degrees Celsius, making for a deeper clean and killing most bacteria likely to be lurking on surfaces.The size and shape of the microfibre mop pad on the Lakeland one was by far the biggest of the three and definitely makes quick work of any bathroom and kitchen floor, but the lack of a spare feels like an oversight when the Russell Hobbs came with one and is. The cable length does vary considerably though, with the Shark coming in at a generous 8m compared to the other two’s 5m cables, making it easier to get round without having to swap plug sockets if you’re tackling multiple rooms. To get the best results from your steam mop you do need to sweep first to get ride of any surface dirt because as there's no suction otherwise you risk simply pushing the dirt around the room. Both the Lakeland and Shark mops had two speed settings, with the lower speed recommended for wood floors and more delicate surfaces and the higher speed for more ingrained dirt and tiled areas. While they’re all roughly the same weight, once the Shark is on and working you need to really hold on tight to make sure you don’t lose control of it.

Russell Hobbs RHSM1001-G Steam and Clean 1400W Steam Mop with Russell Hobbs RHSM1001-G Steam and Clean 1400W Steam Mop with

In practice however, they all seemed much of a muchness and it’s not as if I was tapping my foot impatiently waiting an extra couple of seconds for the Shark to come up to temperature. It wasn't all about colour choices either, although at first glance I thought the pale blue Shark looked a bit more modern and on trend than the retro brown/pink of the Russell Hobbs which reminded me of my nan's old Hoover.as real users, posing a threat to a site’s security, so the site sometimes runs random security checks. Instead of one large pad it has two circular pads that work together to effectively simultaneously steam and scrub the floor. When you turn it on it feels noticeably more powerful to use, to the extent if you’re someone who struggles with holding a hefty gadget I’d consider plumping for one of the others. All three mops assembled very quickly and, while they had instruction booklets, it was hardly the Krypton Factor putting them together.

Russell Hobbs Replacement Steam Mop Pads for RHDSM4001

I used them on different parts of the floor so they were tackling the same amount of grime and while they all got me out of my sticky situation in the end it was soon clear that for the worst kinds of dirt and mess the Russell Hobbs took a little longer to get the job done, with me having to run the mop back and forth across the same spot several times to see the difference. But once the excess has been cleaned up the steam will loosen the most stubborn and built-in grime, which is then picked up by the microfibre of the mop head.

When you turn it on you can feel the power but despite that additional oomph, the pads glide easily across the floor making easy work of grime. Steam mops are are ideal way to keep your home clean but with them all largely doing the same thing how do you choose which one is right for you? Two of the mops tested came with a host of additions in the box, although notably the Lakeland only came with an instruction book. Secondly, if you really want to test a steam mop the best way to do so is in the aftermath of a precariously-put-away almost-full bottle of maple syrup falling out of a cupboard and smashing onto a tiled kitchen floor.