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Published July 31, 2026. Updated October 10, 2026.
The steam cleaner for grout worth buying is the Dupray Neat at $179.98. It publishes 50 psi, a 54-ounce tank, up to 50 minutes of steam and a two-year warranty. Its own FAQ says regular tap water is fine. The McCulloch MC1275 at $169.99 is the same tool class for $10 less, and it publishes 45 minutes. The Bissell PowerFresh Deluxe at $114.99 is a steam mop, not a steam cleaner for grout. It is also the only one of the three whose maker sells you the water.
Every price and specification below was read on the makers’ own sites on 31 August 2026.
I’ve spent plenty of time scrubbing grout, and the lesson is the same every time. The tool matters less than whether the steam reaches the line.
How much does a steam cleaner’s water cost per tankful?
Bissell’s product page for the PowerFresh Deluxe recommends distilled water. It names its own Eucalyptus Mint Demineralized Water (32 oz.) as the example. Bissell says that prevents mineral buildup and prolongs the life of the machine. The page also warns that tap water “may lead to mineral deposits, which can clog the steam system.”
That bottle is $7.99 for 32 ounces on Bissell’s own store. The tank it fills holds 19 ounces. Here is what that works out to, using only numbers Bissell publishes.
| What one tankful costs, on the water the maker asks for | Bissell PowerFresh Deluxe | Dupray Neat | McCulloch MC1275 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank capacity, per the maker | 19 oz | 54 oz / 1,600 ml | 48 oz |
| What the maker says to put in it | Distilled, “like our Eucalyptus Mint Demineralized Water”; tap water warned against | “Use regular tap water only,” with distilled or demineralized water suggested for very hard water | “Although we recommend using distilled water, you may use tap water depending on the hardness of your water” |
| Does the maker sell that water? | Yes: $7.99 for 32 oz | No | No |
| Cost of one tankful of the maker’s own water | $7.99 ÷ 32 = $0.2497/oz; × 19 = $4.74 | Not sold | Not sold |
| Cost of one tankful on tap water, per the maker’s own permission | Not permitted without a warning | $0.00 | $0.00, subject to your water hardness |
| Gallon-equivalent price of the maker’s water | $7.99 × (128 ÷ 32) = $31.96 | n/a | n/a |
Why does one Bissell bottle never fill the tank twice?
One more piece of arithmetic will annoy you at the sink. A 32-ounce bottle divided by a 19-ounce tank is 1.68 tankfuls. Two full tanks need 38 ounces. So a single bottle of Bissell’s water can never fill the machine twice. The second tank of any cleaning session opens a second bottle.
This is not a Bissell-only habit. Consumer Reports’ steam mop buying guide notes that many manufacturers encourage distilled water, because tap water contains minerals that build up in the mop over time. What separates these three is that two of them say tap water will do. One of them sells you the alternative.
The wider economics of mop refills and pad lock-in sit on their own page. See the true floor bill across mopping systems rather than repeating it here.
How much pressure does each steam cleaner publish?
Dupray publishes 50 psi, or 3.5 bar, for the Neat. McCulloch publishes no psi figure for the MC1275 at all. So the two numbers cannot be compared head-to-head.
McCulloch’s own FAQ explains why, for two of its other machines. It tells owners of the MC1375 and MC1385 that the boiler builds to 58 psi. The pressure drops to roughly 29 psi once the steam trigger is held, and McCulloch says that is normal. Half the headline number is gone the moment the tool is doing its job.
So a published psi can be a closed-trigger figure. Neither Dupray nor McCulloch states the condition its number was taken under. No one is publishing a working pressure for the machines on this page. Rank on it if you like. Just know you are ranking two numbers that may not have been measured the same way.
McCulloch’s MC1275 page has a smaller version of the same problem. One line describes ordinary water heated to over 200ºF. Another on the same page says ordinary water, heated to over 212ºF. That is twelve degrees apart on one page for one product. And 212ºF is the boiling point at sea level, so the two claims are not describing the same thing.
Which steam cleaner runs longest per tank?
Dupray’s own Neat product page publishes up to 50 minutes. That is five minutes longer than the McCulloch’s published 45, from a tank six ounces larger.
| Published by the maker | Bissell PowerFresh Deluxe | Dupray Neat | McCulloch MC1275 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price on the maker’s own store | $114.99 | $179.98 | $169.99 |
| Heat-up | 30 seconds | 8 minutes | 8 minutes |
| Continuous steam | Not published | Up to 50 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Pressure | Not applicable | 50 psi / 3.5 bar, condition not stated | Not published for this model |
| Warranty on the product page | Not stated | 2-year limited | 2-year |
| Other published figures | 19 oz tank | 54 oz / 1,600 ml tank | 48 oz tank, 1,500 W, 16 ft cord, 18 accessories |
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Bissell does not print a warranty term on the PowerFresh Deluxe page. Both canister makers print two years on theirs. That is the cheapest machine here carrying the least written commitment. It is worth $10 of thinking before you save $55.
Is a steam mop a steam cleaner for grout?
A steam mop is a flat head on a stick. A canister steamer is a pressurized boiler with a hose and small attachments. Both make steam. Only one of them puts that steam into a channel a few millimeters wide and below the surface of the tile.
The Bissell’s SpotBoost brush is built into the flat head. So it works on a stain sitting on top of the tile and cannot reach a recessed grout line. That is a design decision, not a defect. Bissell is clear about the surfaces the machine is for.
One caution about the word sanitizing, which is in the Bissell model’s own name. Consumer Reports’ guide says some manufacturers claim their steam mops sanitize under controlled test conditions. Whether they kill germs depends on several factors, including the temperature of the steam and how long the mop is in contact with the floor.
The EPA’s consumer guidance on pesticide devices is worth reading alongside that. Device makers do not submit their claims or efficacy and safety data to EPA before selling a device. An EPA establishment number on a package does not mean EPA has reviewed the product for safety or efficacy. None of the three publishes a test, a lab or an organism behind any germ claim. Treat all three as cleaning tools. Check your flooring maker’s own steam guidance before you point any of them at a floor.
Which steam cleaner should you buy?
Dupray Neat: the pick for grout
At $179.98, this is the most expensive machine here and the one that publishes the most. It has a 54-ounce tank, 50 psi, an 8-minute heat-up, up to 50 minutes of steam, a two-year limited warranty, and brush and nozzle attachments made for detail work. Its FAQ says tap water is fine. That is the only permission on this page that saves you money.
Skip this if your job is a weekly pass over open floor. Waiting eight minutes for steam to clean a kitchen is a poor trade against thirty seconds.
McCulloch MC1275: the cheaper canister
At $169.99, it has a 48-ounce tank, 1,500 watts, a 16-foot cord, 18 accessories and a two-year warranty, and it’s in stock on McCulloch’s own store. It publishes five fewer minutes of steam than the Dupray and no psi figure for this model. It also prints two different water temperatures on one product page.
Skip this if you want the maker to have answered the pressure question before you buy. McCulloch answers it for the MC1375 and the MC1385 and not for this one.
Bissell PowerFresh Deluxe 1806: the wrong machine for grout
At $114.99, it loses this comparison, and it deserves to. Steam in 30 seconds is a real advantage, and nothing else here comes close on speed. But it is a flat-head mop aimed at open sealed floors, and it publishes no warranty term. It is also the only machine on this page whose maker warns you off tap water and then sells you the alternative at a gallon-equivalent of $31.96.
Skip this if the reason you are shopping is grout, a shower corner or a bathroom fixture. Buy it if your floors are large, sealed and open, and you want to be cleaning inside a minute.
What this page still cannot tell you is how hard any of the three pushes steam while you hold the trigger. One maker publishes a static figure, one publishes none for this model, and the third machine has no pressure to speak of.
Before you buy any of the three, go and look at your grout. If the lines are darker than the tile but the tile is clean, you have a detail job, and a mop will not fix it. If the whole floor is dull, you have a floor job, and the canister is eight minutes of waiting you do not need.
More in the Cleaning category, including why tank size decides between two spot cleaners and wet dry vacuum mops priced by the cordless minute.
