REVIEW – Earlier this year, my wife and I bought a Tineco iFloor 3 cordless wet-dry vacuum from Costco to replace our Roborock Dyad that bit the dust after one short year. We really like the iFloor 3 and still use it. However, Tineco offered the Floor One S7 Steam Vacuum for review and I jumped on it only because of the steam option. My wife is obsessed with keeping our tile floors clean and a steam function would add a level of sanitation we didn’t have before. Granted, the addition of steam (and some smart home features) jacks up the price which begs the question: Is the Tineco Floor One S7 Steam Vacuum upgrade worth it?
What is it?
The Tineco Floor One S7 Steam Vacuum is a smart, wireless wet/dry roller vacuum made for hard floors. Like all wet/dry vacuums, it has clean and dirty water tanks, a filter, and a soft, washable roller. The Floor One comes with a charger stand that can also self-clean the roller after use—more on that later in this review.
There are three steam modes built into the Tineco Floor One S7: Steam, Steam Burst, and Auto. Other features include a Wi-Fi signal, clean and dirty water tank levels, roller tangle warning, battery level (and steam preparation) countdown, and a self-clean light. All of this info is on a circular LED color screen at the top of the unit. A dirt-monitoring light goes around the circumference of the LED. It can sense the amount of dirt being sucked up. The light ranges from bright blue (Small amount of dirt) to bright red (a lot of dirt).
An ergonomic handle contains both the on/off and steam selection buttons. When the self-standing Floor One S7 is pushed upright, the motor cuts off—a handy feature that saves on battery life.
Everything that needs periodic cleaning is removable. Tineco includes an extra filter and roller for those extra dirty jobs. An included brush is good for cleaning out the dirty tank’s hard-to-reach places.
Specs
- 3-In-1: Vacuum. mop and steam clean
- Cordless
- Two steam modes
- Brush cleans itself while mopping
- 284° Fahrenheit steam
Design and features
The first thing I noticed about the Tineco Floor One S7 is how much of an upgrade it is over our iFloor 3—maybe too much of an upgrade. This thing performs all kinds of cleaning and keeps a record of what it’s done!
Using the Floor One S7 is fairly easy to grasp, although I don’t use all the features that I’m sure Tineco wishes I would use. When cleaning, I like to keep the steam setting on—that is why we upgraded—all the time. The advantage of that is deeper cleaning. The disadvantage is reduced battery life. In fact, I can watch the battery percentage drop precipitously as I clean. The Floor One S7 does not have a removable battery, so if it runs out while using, you’re out of luck until it’s recharged. It takes about an hour for the Floor One S7 to recharge.
Auto mode measures the dirt level as it cleans adjusting both water and suction accordingly. No steam is used in Auto mode.
I’ve used both the Steam and Steam Boost modes and don’t notice much difference in how the modes work or the difference in cleanliness. I usually just leave the setting on Steam mode. Either way, battery life is much shorter than Auto mode (no steam).
As I’ve said, battery life is the Floor One S7‘s weak spot. Heck, it’s the weak spot of every cordless vacuum (either dry or wet/dry) I’ve used. So, that’s no surprise. If this is your first purchase of a wet/dry vacuum, it’s something to keep in mind.
So, how does either Steam mode work? Quite well. Once the “steam clock” counts down indicating that the steam has reached its 284° temperature, it’s neat to see the steam coming out of the front of the brush roller cover. That lets you know it’s working. One benefit of steam is quick evaporation over an area just cleaned. It’s nice to have the floor dry quickly. Built-in headlights help show how clean and dry the floor is.
It’s fun to look at photos and videos on the Tineco website showing the Floor One S7 cleaning up thick, gooey messes. I would never use the Floor One S7 that way. If there’s that much of a mess, it’s easier to just wipe up as much as you can before using any wet/dry vacuum. It’s common sense. Plus, it’s way easier to clean the Floor One S7 after use if you wipe up the gunky stuff first.
Speaking of cleaning the Floor One S7 after each use (which Tineco recommends), I consider it a necessity. A couple of times, I let a few days pass before cleaning the Floor One S7. Big mistake. Unless the dirty water tank is cleaned right after use, it will reek after a day or so.
The smart part of the Floor One S7 is its link via WiFi to an app (Android and iOS). The app will let you update the firmware and change cleaning settings. Why you would want to change settings in the app and not on the Floor One S7 is beyond me. The app will also keep a record of any cleanings by compiling them into “Weekly Cleaning Reports”. It will also report the percentage of deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning. Then it tells you what a good job you’ve done. I don’t need affirmation from an app to make me feel better.
Is the app necessary? Other than firmware updates and 5 language self-cleaning uses, the app isn’t necessary. Speaking (pun intended) of languages, the Floor One S7 will self-clean the rollers after each use—and no, that doesn’t replace cleaning the machine. Self-cleaning will tell you—in five different languages—what it’s doing and LOUDLY. Even the lowest volume setting was too loud, so I turned it off.
What I like
- Well made
- Steam function works great
- Good choices in cleaning modes
- Headlights upfront
What I’d change
- Expensive
- App not necessary (but handy)
- Short battery life with steam
Final Thoughts
Although I have some nit-picky issues with the Tineco Floor One S7 Steam Vacuum, it’s a solid and useful hard floor cleaner. It performs as advertised and leaves floors as clean as possible. That’s especially good news if you are obsessed with keeping your floors clean. Just ask my wife.
Price: $649.99
Where to buy: Tineco and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tineco.
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So my question is is the battery replaceable when it inevitably dies? I was very disturbed to have to toss my previous tineco in the waste bin when the non-replaceable battery died don’t like adding E-Waste to the planet. Thanks.