Tineco S7 Steam – vacuum, mop and steam in one pass (cleaning review)

The Tineco S7 Steam is a rechargeable battery-powered vacuum/mop with steam. It can kill 99.99% of germs and remove dried-on stains. In short – it is the one you want.

After a few weeks of use, I can confidently say that the Tineco S7 Steam is not just good, it is a necessity. My wife noticed a significant difference, commenting that our hardwood and ceramic tile floors looked and felt cleaner than when we used the Tineco S7 Pro vacuum/mop with its cleaning solution.

Why steam, and can you use it?

Steaming up to 140°, using water only, acts as a germicide and cuts grease and grime. It is fine on:

• 100% sealed (varnished) hardwood timber floors and parquetry. If the ‘polish’ is starting to come off, we recommend a repolish before first use. Make sure the stream and water settings are at their lowest level.
• Ceramic, cement, porcelain, and stone tiles. It can be used on Marble with low water/steam settings. Its effectiveness on grout depends on how ingrained the dirt is and whether the roller brush can reach into the grout lines.
• Outside balcony or pool area tiles. If these are really dirty, pressure cleaning is advised to bring them to a stage where steam cleaning can make a difference..
• Engineered or stone benchtops – clean by steam and kill germs.

Don’t use steam on

• Laminated timber floors: Many modern floors are laminated—a thin, faux timber or printed plastic layer over a composite wood substrate. Steam can cause the laminate and edges to lift.
• Engineered, composite or MDF (chipboard) timber floors – a conglomerate of timber particles, stain, and glue. Steam can cause the edges to lift.
• Waxed floors: Steam melts wax, causing a gluggy mess. Some floor polishes are only tolerant to 50° heat.
• Unsealed timber: It can be OK, but the edges can swell.
• Painted floors: Can cause paint bubbles
• Any ‘peel and stick’ DIY floors
• Cork tiles
• Linoleum (OK if you avoid the joins) and solid vinyl (ditto).
• Carpet: It is not a carpet or rug cleaner.

Only use this device on floor surfaces that you are 100% sure can be steamed. If in doubt, contact your flooring provider.

Have we scared you off steam?

Fortunately, the Tineco S7 Steam can also be used as a vacuum/ mop without steam, offering the best of both worlds.

But don’t believe any sales pitch that it can be used on all hard floor surfaces. Do your homework or buy the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro – an upgrade to an already good vacuum mop – it is pretty good, too.

Australian Review: Tineco S7 Steam vacuum/mop

Website	Tineco AU Site Manual
Price	$1199
From	JB Hi-Fi
Warranty	24-months ACL on unit and 12-months on accessories
Made in	China
Company	Tineco (Est. 1998) is part of Ecovacs (Deebot). In 2019, it launched in the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
More	CyberShack Tineco news and reviews CyberShack Cleaning news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

First impression – Pass+

It is a Tineco Floor One plus steam.

Let’s position this

• Excellent wet/dry vacuum mop (based on S7 Pro), cutting one-pass cleaning time in half.
• Steam when you need it
• Self-propelled wheels forward and friction back.
• Only needs water
• 50-second steam boiler prep
• Steam makes floors dry fast
• Self-cleaning is highly effective
• Headlights
• Voice prompt
• iLoop colour readout
• Base, charger, filter, extra brush roll, and cleaning brush
• 4.89kg plus 800ml water – over 5kg

The caveat is that it has a relatively short battery life of up to 40 minutes (vacuum/mop) and 20 minutes (vacuum/mop/steam). Then, it charges for 4-5 hours before it can be used again.

In rough terms, that is about 50m2 per use with steam.

Modes and iLoop – Pass+

iLoop smart sensor automatically increases suction and steam power when it detects more dirt. The iLoop display will turn red and increase power in dirty areas. The display will return to blue after spending extra time in that area. It is amazingly accurate, so do not ignore it.

• Auto mode: Enables the iLoop smart sensor technology to adjust suction and water based on debris automatically it detects (same function as S7 Pro)
• Steam mode: Preparing steam takes 20-50 seconds. Six holes evenly spray steam directly onto the floor in front of the rotating brush.
• Boost Steam Mode: Preparing steam takes 20-50 seconds. This mode reduces the six holes to two sprays for higher-intensity steaming, which is good for heavy-polluted areas.
• Suction Mode (via App) for wet vacuum. We were unable to find this setting.

MHCBS System – always using clean water – Pass+

Dirty water is recycled with an internal brush scraper that continually washes and rinses with fresh water at 450 RPM. Depending on how dirty the floor is, the suction power ranges from 15 to 30 air watts. 

App – Pass

The app does not serve an essential function as the device does not need firmware updates.

Area – Pass

Given the battery life and size of the clean water tank (800ml) and wastewater tank (720ml), they can clean an area of about 50m2 on steam and nearly twice that without.

Edge clean – Pass+

It cleans on both sides to as close as 5mm – excellent.

Pets – Pass+

It will generally pick up short hair. Longer pet hair may need a vacuum first. Most importantly, it is excellent on ‘widdles’, leaving a sanitised area with no smell.

Maintenance – Pass+

At the end of each cleaning session, refill the clean water tank, empty the wastewater, and rinse the container with water.

Dock the device and press the self-clean button. A fresh water and steam cycle cleans the brush and vacuum throat/tube. A centrifugal air-dry process dries the roller to prevent mildew growth or odours.

You can remove the brush roller and ‘squeegee’ and rinse if necessary. After four runs, we found that the auto clean was all that was needed.

You can use tap water as it has a scale removal system.

There is little to go wrong here, as the motor and roller are the only moving parts.

Noise – Pass

70dB maximum

 Power – Pass, but remember it is designed for 20/40 minute use.

It uses new pouch cells – safer than Li-ion cylinder cells – with 3X longer recharge cycle life.

Commercial Use

While it is not warranted for commercial use, it could handle 50m2 tiled areas in a retail store.

CyberShack’s view – Tineco S7 Steam – vacuum, mop and steam in one pass is perfect if you have steam-compatible floors

We first encountered stream in Eufy’s somewhat revolutionary Eufy Clean Mach V1 Ultra – an excellent vacuum/mop and steam cleaner (now $999). This device is comparable to the Tineco S7 steam, although each has its strengths, making it impossible to call which is best.

I suspect Tineco S7 Steam has nailed the self-cleaning better, and it gets our buy recommendation.

Ratings 82/100

For 2024 ratings, we use a 70/100 pass mark to allow more headroom to reward excellence or class-leading. For earlier reviews, deduct 10 points for a reasonable comparison.

• Features: 85 – vacuum/mop/steam and excellent self-clean
• Value: 80 – it seems a fair price for what it does
• Performance: 85 for steam, 80 for vacuum/mop
• Ease of Use: 80 – Simple to use, but with a 20-40 minute clean time, 50m2 area, and 4-5 hour recharge, you need to plan. Easy to clean.
• Design: 80 – looks like a keeper, and Tineco has good support

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