We tried this multifunctional steam cleaner on everything from hob tops to carpet – but can it truly tackle all surfaces?

Not all cleaning jobs are created equal. Sure, some are quick wins – a run of the vacuum or wipe of the worktop and, to quote the legend that is Barry Scott, 'Bang, the dirt is gone'. But others sit there, getting worse while silently taunting you to do something about them. Tile grout that’s gone from white to an indeterminate yellow-grey-brown; shower screens you can no longer see through; crusty hob tops and oven cavities. Little by little, shopping for one of the best steam cleaners becomes less of an indulgence and more of an emergency.

But fear not – the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home is built to handle a multitude of tasks, both easy and more challenging. On the surface, it’s your common-or-garden steam mop, but on closer inspection it's more of a cleaning Swiss Army knife. That's thanks to a removable handheld module, which you can arm to tackle grout, glass and much more using the array of attachments that comes with it.

There’s also the price tag, which certainly raised my eyebrows. Officially, the Steam Fresh costs £159.99, but it’s regularly discounted to under £100. Given everything it promises, that starts to sound like a bit of a bargain. So, does it actually deliver, or is it all just a lot of hot air? We put the Vax to the test…

Vax Steam Fresh Total Home review

• RRP: £159.99
• Dimensions: H116cm x W31cm x D30cm
• Weight: 4.63kg
• Power: 1400-1600W / 220-240V
• Water tank capacity: 0.3 litres (handheld) plus 0.39 litres (floor)
• Settings: Handheld or floor modes (variable steam power dial)
• Warranty: 2-year guarantee

Unboxing the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home

First impressions of the Vax Steam Fresh are excellent. It arrives packaged in a simple brown box. There's no inner plastic coated 'store display' box – just cardboard inserts that hold everything firmly in place, with just two plastic bags that protect the handle and main body of the machine. A small 250ml bottle of detergent and instruction manual sit on top, so you're able to start putting the cleaner together without needing to jump online.

As anyone who has read my previous reviews will know, I'm a fan of sustainable packaging wherever possible, and the Vax scored well here.

The two main things that struck me on unboxing the cleaner are how compact and lightweight it feels, and how many attachments there are. These are mostly housed in a drawstring bag so they won't get lost, but my first bit of advice before you hide them away is to use the manual to identify each one, so you can fully understand what the Steam Fresh is capable of.

In brief, you get a concentration nozzle, which allows you to pinpoint steam in handheld mode, various brushes and pads to target surfaces and grout, an 'Ergononic Hose' to target tight spots and awward corners and a window cleaning tool that looks a little like a squeegee.

There are also three floor cleaning pads (one extra tough and two regular), a carpet glider and a replacement hard water filter.

For anyone worried about long-term running costs, replacements are reassuringly well priced. The regular floor cleaning pads, for example, are £9.99 for two, while the hard water filters cost £14.99 for three. Vax recommends you change these every 3-6 months, or 2-4 months in hard water areas.

To construct the cleaner, you simply push the handle firmly into the body of the machine, and similarly push the body of the machine into the mop head. Both times you'll hear a satisfying click that indicates everything is in place correctly. I found this all very simple.

The handle is easily removed, too, via a release button at the connection point, meaning you can split it from the main body and stash the two parts easily without the need for a very tall cupboard.

There are two water tanks – one at the front of the cleaner above the mop head, which serves the handheld cleaner and takes water only, and the other behind a the base of the handle that takes water and Vax's cleaning solution. The latter is used in floor-cleaning mode. Both are easily detached by pinching the grey tabs on either side and then pulling the tank towards you.

Both are equally easy to fill (I liked to use a jug with a spout to make this simple) and didn't leak at all when turned to fit in place.

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Who would the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home suit?

Due to its compact nature and multiple uses, the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home would suit small to medium-sized households, and those who like a thorough, clean on a variety of surfaces.

It's great for anyone trying to cut down on the use of chemicals in their routine, as the steam alone is powerful enough to remove all but the most ground in dirt, as you'll see. And as the cleaning pads are machine washable, upkeep is painless.

The use of hygienic steam without chemicals, in principle, makes the Vax a boon for pet owners. I will warn you, however, that you won't want to be using the Steam Fresh with pets or small children in the room, as its powerful steam shot can be close to a foot long. I'd also make sure you move your favourite plants out of the way, as their leaves might be singed by the hot-air blast.

The long 8m cord lets you move from room to room easily, and I can't emphasise how lightweight this model is – especially when compared to a beast like the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam. The only potential downside is that you will need to press down on the trigger continually to keep the steam coming. While this seems like common design sense, safety wise, and I found it no issue, a few customer reviews have mentioned that this is tricky if you have a lot of weakness in your hands. If that's the case, it's unlikely any steam cleaner will be right for you.

I'd personally recommend the Vax to almost anyone – in fact, as you read on you'll see I began to find it quite addictive!

What is the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home like to use?

Once you have familiarised yourself with all the parts, the Vax Steam Fresh is a doddle to use. As the heavy duty floor cleaning pad was already attached, I started in floor-cleaning mode. That meant loading filling both water tanks. One takes 50ml of detergent, which you add first to the line that's clearly marked out. Incidentally, you can buy a 1ltr bottle of Vax Steam Detergent, £5.99, at Amazon.

Testing on a tiled kitchen floor

Once the Vax is turned on, it's explained you'll need to wait around 30 seconds for the steam light to turn green and then you're ready to start mopping. In reality, this took less time – closer to 15 seconds – so you really aren't hanging around. Pressing the trigger releases the steam/detergent solution through the pad, and cleans the floor.

I found the heavy duty pad really effective at picking up grime. The floor looked pristine after my first pass. It leaves the floor slightly damp, but no where close to the sopping wet it gets when I use a mop. On a sunny day it was bone dry within 10 minutes.

I did a little test using a mix of ketchup, jam and coffee, allowing them to set in for a few minutes. As you can see, the Vax mopped up everything bar a little chunk of jam.

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Another thing I loved about the Vax Steam Fresh was its triangular mop head. It's one of those small design choices that makes a big difference. Unlike the usual rectangular heads that you can attempt to run along edges, this one gets right in there, and the point lets you properly target and scrub at grime, rather than just nudging it about.

Testing on carpet

We tried the Vax out on my old spare bedroom carpet, which is due to be replaced and has a few deep-seated stains. It's fair to say the Steam Fresh won't deep clean a carpet – there's no vacuum function and no way of driving detergent deep into the pile. However, it can handle new spills and work to refresh carpets using the lemon-scented cleaning solution designed to be used with the cleaner.

We did try the Vax on some deeper stains but it did nothing to lift them. We then spilt a little tea and grabbed the cleaner to see if it could remove it before it caused a stain. it did a lovely job, with no trace of the tea left visible and a lovely lemon scent left in the air.

In conclusion, the Vax will deal with fresh carpet stains that haven't dried in. It can also lift odours from a carpet – another benefit for pet owners. But don't expect it to take out long-standing stains – for that, you'll need a dedicated carpet cleaner.

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Testing on worktops and hob

Our next test for the Vax Steam Fresh was on my laminate worktop. I'd allowed some chilli to drop as I served it and let it dry in overnight. The next morning, I attached a combo of the concentration tool, flat surface tool, scrub pad attachment and a heavy duty micro pad, and got scrubbing.

Most of the dirt lifted on the very first pass, though a particularly stubborn piece took a more vigorous scrubbing before it lifted. But within a minute the countertop looked as good as new, with no scratching.

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I moved on to my range cooker's enamel hob, which I'd allowed to gather dirt over a week's intense batch cooking – as you can see, it was pretty filthy by the time the Vax was put to work.

I generally take extra care when cleaning the enamel, as chemicals can cause damage. So I had everything crossed the steamer would work wonders. I wasn't disappointed. As you can see from the before and afters, it lifted the dirt a treat and left the hob spotless with not a drop of cleaning fluid in sight. I also tried it on the cast iron pan supports using just the concentration nozzle, and embedded grease and grime was blasted off a treat. I was amazed at its power and precision.

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Testing on tiles

The next job we gave the trusty Vax was to spruce up the grout in our tired downstairs shower room, using the concentration nozzle in combination with the grout brush. We gave the Vax a pretty tough task, with grout that was dirty orange with patches of mould. As we plan to renovate this room shortly, we weren't expecting great things, but the Vax really impressed.

As you can see from the before and after shots, all the orange grime was lifted, and all but the most stubborn of mould spots was removed.

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I’m still working my way through the full set of attachments, but overall, the Vax Steam Fresh has made a very strong impression. It’s not without its quirks. Some of the handheld tools take a bit of effort to push onto the concentration nozzle, and lining everything up with the little arrows can feel slightly fiddly at first. A few attachments can also twist into slightly awkward positions as they are added (the grout brush being a prime example), which takes a bit of working out.

That said, once everything clicks into place, the Vax is addictive to use. You’ll find yourself wandering from room to room, eyeing up bits of dirt just to see what the steam can do. And there is onboard storage for your plug and a few of the tools. Not all will fit though.

The floor mop head is a particular highlight, and the scrub pad attachments are excellent too, adding a bit of extra bite to the steam cleaning power. Using the Vax Steam Solution seemed to boost results further, helping lift stubborn dirt while leaving behind a fresh, lemony scent that makes the whole room feel cleaner.

There’s also a good amount of flexibility in the floorhead, making it easy to glide under low furniture like sofas when needed.

Cleaning the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home

Looking after the Vax Steam Fresh is pretty simple. As it's a simple mop rather than a steam-cleaning vacuum, there's no dirty water tank to deal with. I just made a point of rinsing out the clean tanks every so often.

The pads themselves are very easy to wash. They are attached with velcro quite tightly, so you might want to hold it down with your foot and then pull the steamer away to remove it. Then it's just a case of popping the pad in a washing machine at 40 degrees or lower. You can use detergent to clean the pad but avoid fabric conditioner or bleach. I popped it on a quick wash and here's the before and after.

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The only other job you really have is to replace the hard water filter every few months. This is the only job I've really struggled with as the filter is packed tight and you really need to give it a yank to get it out. In the end, my husband had to do it for me and we worried we were going to break the machine. You are provided with a spare in the box for your first replacement.

Should you buy the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home?

In a word: yes. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Vax Steam Fresh Total Home, particularly if you can pick it up at a discount (it’s often around the £100 mark).

Its ability to shift really ground-in dirt from tiles and my hob's pan supports really blew me away. Add to that its lightweight design, low maintenance and quick heat-up time, and it seems far less hassle to grab for a quick clean than hauling out a traditional mop and bucket.

Replacement parts seem reasonable, and even the cleaning fluid can be picked up for a reasonable price. I like how easy it is to disassemble for storage, and the power it delivers. The only real downsides are the hard-to-remove filter and the slightly tricksy tools, but in general it's been a joy to live with.