When it comes to purifying the air or filtering your water—you know, really insignificant tasks that don’t have an impact on your health and well-being at all—these products are spectacularly disappointing.
The worst steam mop: Shark S1000
Score: 5
What is there to say about this model except the negative? It might have the words “steam mop” in the name, but it’s lousy at producing steam and not very good at mopping. The Shark Steam Pocket S3501 struggled to clean stains off ceramic tiles in our lab and earned a low score in our steam-rate tests.
One of the best steam mops: Kenmore S200 Series SM2060
The rest of the best: See the best steam mops from our tests.
The worst air purifier: EnviroBiotics Biotica 800
Score: 13
The EnviroBiotics Biotica 800 has relatively high annual costs, which include routine filter replacement, and it doesn’t even do its job well. We found it’s completely ineffective at removing dust, smoke, and pollen at both its lowest and highest speeds.
One of the best air purifiers: Blueair Blue Pure 311i+ Max
The rest of the best: See the best air purifiers from our tests.
The worst water filter pitcher: Soma Water Filter Pitcher
Score: 25
The Soma Water Filter Pitcher is the lowest-rated pitcher in CR’s ratings. With an unbelievably low score for flavor and odor reduction, the Soma fails at two of the essential tasks of filtering. It doesn’t have a filter indicator light, either, so good luck figuring out when you need to replace the cartridge.
One of the best water filter pitchers: Brita Denali with Elite Filter
The rest of the best: See the best water filter pitchers from our tests.
The worst humidifier: CarePod Cube Plus
Score: 28
Sure, the CarePod Cube Plus is energy-efficient, easy to use, and quiet. But it’s a humidifier that doesn’t humidify enough, so nothing else matters. Our testers found its water output over 24 hours to be a measly 1.1 gallons—not enough to humidify the 500 to 999 square feet of space it’s supposed to handle.
One of the best humidifiers: Levoit Classic 300S
The rest of the best: See the best humidifiers from our tests.
The worst dehumidifier: Frigidaire GHDD5035W1
Score: 29
In areas where many high-performing dehumidifiers struggle—noise and accuracy of the humidistat (which measures moisture levels and tells the unit when to turn on and off)—this Frigidaire excels. But when it comes to the reason you buy a dehumidifier—removing moisture from your room—this model flat-out flunks, coming nowhere near its claimed 50-pint daily capacity.
One of the best dehumidifiers: Honeywell TP70WKN
The rest of the best: See the best dehumidifiers from our tests.
The worst carpet cleaner: Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC
Score: 31
Mediocrity is the name of the game for this Hoover carpet cleaner. In our lab tests, it proved to be lackluster at removing stains from carpets, and it left behind dampness after cleaning. It received a middling rating for convenience, but it falls below average in other major metrics.
One of the best carpet cleaners: Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro Plus 3588F
The rest of the best: See the best carpet cleaners from our tests.
The worst space heater: Black+Decker BHRO608
Score: 38
Keep your socks on; this heater takes forever to do its thing. Among personal heaters, it ranks low for both heating a room and heating an individual within 15 minutes. That’s enough to take it out of the running, but those aren’t its only problems. This model’s surface can become so hot to the touch that it actually burns.
One of the best space heaters: Lasko Artisan Series CX16550
The rest of the best: See the best space heaters from our tests.
The worst robotic vacuum: Lefant M210
Score: 50
The best thing about the Lefant M210 robovac is that it’s relatively quiet and works well on bare floors. But that’s where its good characteristics end. In our labs, this Lefant earned mediocre scores for cleaning carpet, picking up pet hair, and handling edges and corners. But wait—there’s more (or should we say less). This robotic vacuum is also difficult to use, with one of the smallest dirt bins we’ve tested, and it can even scatter debris.
One of the best robotic vacuums: iRobot Roomba Max 705
The rest of the best: See the best robotic vacuums from our tests.
