Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop

What is the Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop?

The Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop is a low-cost steam cleaner that can be used both as a mop and as a handheld cleaner. The inclusion of a variety of tools means that you can use it to clean hard floors and carpets, tiles and windows, as well as sofas and curtains and any finer details in your kitchen or bathroom.

While pricier mops may clean hard floors more efficiently with fewer watermarks remaining, the Russell Hobbs Neptune is a great multi-functional appliance at a very affordable price.

More than just a mop, you get a lots of accessories in the box

Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop – What you need to know

• Hard floors – The mop cleaned textured wooden floors and tiles efficiently, but left watermarks, requiring some further drying/polishing. Cleaning dried-up food from smooth tiles resulted in bits of residue, but worked better when using a steam mop detergent
• Grouting – Using the crevice brush in handheld mode, this cleaner restored darkened grouting back to its gleaming white state, both on kitchen and bathroom floors
• Other surfaces – The window/upholstery tool got rid of most of the staining on a red sofa and cleaned windows with very little residue remaining. The carpet glider helped to refresh the carpet but didn’t remove stains

Related: Best steam cleaner

The Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop design and build – It feels slightly flimsy as a mop, but can stand up on its own

The Neptune mop is easy to assemble and take apart, although the stick can be a bit fiddly to slot into the main unit. The stick is lightweight aluminium, with plastic white and turquoise features, also reflected in the plastic body of the main unit and mop head. While this mop doesn’t have the sturdiest of builds, it’s freestanding – and, despite some wobbling, surprisingly difficult to knock over.

It’s a bit wobbly but this steam mop can be freestanding

The stick can only attach to the back of the steamer, for mopping purposes. This means it can’t be used to extend the front of the steamer, acting as an extension for overhead cleaning. In the main, this isn’t a problem – but it would have been nice to have the ability to reach high windows.

Since the opening of this steam cleaner’s water tank is located on the belly of the appliance, the manual suggests laying the main unit upside down to fill. But this makes it difficult to gauge the water levels in the tank, which are only visible through the transparent plastic on the other side of the steam cleaner.

It can be a bit fiddly to top up the water tank

I found it helpful to hold the main unit upright, but had to take care not to spill water on the appliance itself. The filling jug provided is useful here – I’d say it took just under one and a half jugfuls to fill the tank to the MAX line.

The steam control dial features five markings, indicating off, on, and three further steam settings, the last of which is “max”. An indicator will light up red when the steam cleaner is switched on, and turn green once it’s ready to use.

The controls couldn’t be easier to use

The cleaner heats up from cold in 30 seconds. To let out steam, either the trigger on the stick or the button next to the handle on the main unit needs to be pressed down continuously.

Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop attachments  – Ships with a variety of tools, so you can steam-clean your entire home

The main mop head comes with a detachable pad that could be a tad more absorbent. On several occasions, it left behind watery streaks and pushed around some spilt tomato sauce.

The main cleaning cloth is easy to attach and remove for cleaning

The mop head also has a removable carpet glider – a plastic frame that stops the mop pad from catching on the carpet, gathering up any loose fibres without hindering the steam.

The other attachments – all in dark grey plastic – proved to be very useful, both in terms of quantity and quality. The window cleaning tool is transformed into an upholstery tool with the addition of the washable upholstery pad. The bristles of both the crevice and the round brush are durable enough for vigorous scrubbing.

Since it’s made of plastic, the scraper tool proved a little ineffectual with certain burnt-in stains on a ceramic hob, but the detail nozzle could reach the trickiest of corners.

There’s a wide range of accessories for tackling lots of different jobs

You need to use an accessory joint and the jet nozzle to attach any tools to the main unit. While it isn’t entirely intuitive, the manual provides both handy diagrams and written instructions for quick assembly. Furthermore, there are guides for changing the built-in water filter and removing limescale.

Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop performance – Great results across multiple surfaces

I used the Russell Hobbs Neptune steam cleaner on a variety of surfaces with good results overall.

I started with mopping part of the bathroom floor, where dust was wedged in the surface of textured tiles. I could see the dirt being removed and pushed along, requiring some additional wiping. However, the tiles hadn’t been that clean in a long time, despite frequent vacuuming.

Floor test: Dirty floor (left) vs Clean floor (right) – move slider to compare

The mop head was easy to move around and pivot for access into tighter nooks. It also successfully cleaned the wooden floor in the hall. The only issue was watermarks – the mop pad seemed to push water around rather than absorb it. However, those streaks were easy enough to polish off with a dry cloth.

I kept the steam cleaner on the medium setting for only lightly soiled hard floors, but turned it up to “max” when using the carpet glider. It didn’t manage to entirely remove some stubborn stains from my rug, but it did make the colours a bit brighter.

Next up, I did a comparison test, mopping up some dried tomato sauce with and without some detergent (Russell Hobbs Alpine Steam Mop Detergent) from smooth kitchen tiles. After about a minute of slow mopping without the detergent, some remnants of the sauce remained, alongside a red sheen on the tiles.

Using the detergent within the same time resulted in less residue and no red shine, as well as a pleasant smell. This indicates that with more stubborn stains, as well as smellier – or less hygienic – spillages, it might be useful to include a cleaning agent.

Tomato test: Dirty carpet (left) vs Clean carpet (right) – move slider to compare

While the mopping didn’t improve the condition of the grouting between the tiles, using the special crevice brush did so successfully. I tended to use the minimum “on” setting on the dial here, since the steamer already emitted enough water.

Grout test: Dirty grout (left) vs Clean grout (right) – move slider to compare

I then turned my attention to the window/upholstery tool with upholstery pad, which I used at the medium setting. It managed to remove most of the staining on one corner of my sofa and get rid of lots of dirt, judging by the state of the pad.

Sofa test: Dirty sofa (left) vs Clean sofa (right) – move slider to compare

Removing the upholstery pad, I was ready for some window cleaning. After a clean, the window was left shiny and mostly streak-free. I had less luck with my shower screen; steam alone could do little for the main issue of limescale (a common issue with the hard water in London).

I was faced with the same problem when trying to clean the corners of my sink with the detail nozzle. The steam cleaner was more successful at reducing dirt and oils on my ceramic hob, but the plastic scraper tool didn’t quite cut it here for burnt-in bits.

Oil proved a bit of an issue for the round brush, as it struggled to clean my oven – it felt like something stronger than steam was needed. Yet, overall, this steam cleaner performed well when tackling anything that could realistically be cleaned with just some hot water.

Should I buy the Russell Hobbs Neptune Multifunction Steam Mop? 

If you’re looking for an affordable multi-functional steam cleaner, it’s difficult to find another with as many options at this price. But for a bigger tank and a sturdier frame, you could also try the slightly pricier Black & Decker FSMH1321 7IN1 Steam Mop.

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