Tineco Floor One S7 Stretch Steam review: A clean sweep

Impressive performance. The S7 Stretch Steam fared very well in our cleaning tests. It sucked up debris like oats and sugar with ease, and the 140°C super-heated steam was a godsend for lifting sticky spills. As it steam-cleans, it flushes clean water through the system, and sucks up the dirty water into the tank, so you’re actually sanitising your floor, not moving dirty water from room to room. Even though it took a while to heat up on the first use (a little over a minute, which is in line with Tineco’s claims), it effectively lifted multiple sticky spills and gave my floors that signature sparkly clean feeling. 

It effortlessly passes over large and small debris, and the smooth drive technology gives it a lightweight feel. It almost glides along the floor; all you need to do is guide it to where you want it to go. The amount of effort it takes to direct the vacuum across the floor compared to a run-of-the-mill stick vacuum is like night and day. It gives me hope that even on days when my muscles are sore from the gym, I can still give the living room a once-over. 

iLoop smart sensors. This sensor literally puts your dirty floors under a spotlight. As a pet parent, it’s both confronting and satisfying seeing how much fur, dirt, and grime accumulate over the course of a day or two. I especially love using this little LED light for pinpointing specific areas that need extra attention, like those tight corners and edges, which can sometimes go untouched if you delegate the task to a robovac. 

These sensors aren’t a one-trick pony, either. They auto-detect any debris or spills in the vacuum’s path, and will adjust water flow and suction accordingly. A red ring will form at the top of the vacuum to let you know there’s something in its way, then it’ll gradually turn blue once you’ve cleaned it.

Reaches awkward nooks and crannies. Measuring in at just 13cm high, the Tineco Floor One S7 Stretch Steam uses a lay-flat design so you can get underneath low-lying TV cabinets and coffee tables without having to move them. The lay-flat design, combined with swivel technology, makes it the perfect choice for navigating those awkward nooks and crannies. 

You have to clean the tank after every use. Such is the life of a pet parent; if you vacuum or mop every single day, cleaning and drying the tank is another thing you’ll need to keep on top of. Unless you want to be greeted with the most heinous-smelling concoction of pet fur, grime, and dirt, you have to empty it after every cleaning session. 

It’s a relatively easy task, though, and the S7 Steam has a new three-chamber system that separates the solids from the liquids, so you won’t have to begrudgingly separate the wet hair and fur that may get caught in the filter. It does run its own self-cleaning cycle too, so a little interaction with the swamp water is a reasonable tradeoff.

It takes some adjusting to not reach for a cleaning solution. While it’s clearly a benefit that the S7 Steam doesn’t need a cleaning solution like other products in the Tineco range, it still felt strange. Maybe it was my mopping trauma resurfacing, but I didn’t feel as if my floors were 100% clean at first. However, the S7 Steam proved that there was no reason to question its abilities. The proof is in the pudding, and my sparkly floors were a testament to how it can go above and beyond the average mop.

The piping hot steam both dissolves stains and truly sterilises your floors, and the anti-tangle roller cleans itself with the centrifugal drying system. So there is no way you could be dragging contaminated or dirty water through the house, because the design of the vacuum actually prevents it.