The humble mop is getting a change, as steam cleaning arrives in a portable gadget that can apply hot water to pretty much anything. You already know by now that technology changes everything: from phones to TVs to fridges and yes, even mops.

You might wonder why the mop even needed to be changed, and the answer could well be improvements to cleaning on the whole.

Warm water and cleaning product can definitely take care of a floor, but if you’re not a fan of chemicals and rest in the knowledge that very, very, very hot water can effectively clean by killing a good portion of bacteria. It’s not for everything, and may affect untreated wood poorly (so check to see whether your floors are sealed or need a new coat), but if you’re not a fan of chemicals, they can definitely do a job.

The problem with the technology is often time. Specifically in how long a portable boiler can go for.

It’s like the problem of carrying around a large and powerful motor for a small stick vacuum: the bigger and more impressive you make the technology, the more of a problem it becomes for the battery life. Eventually something has to give.

Tineco might have an answer for some of that, launching a generation of its steam mopping technology, a gadget that we’ve previously given a Best Pick to because of how both easy and effective it once was.

While the previous S7 grabbed our attention, the latest take is the S9 Artist Steam Pro, a model that not only skips a digit, but also offers a variation off without the Steam, just in case you were a little confused.

What makes this different, however, is a more capable battery life ranging from between 75 and 110 minutes of run time (dependent on the modes), plus a new approach to its boiler that increases the steam’s temperature.

Using superheated steam, Tineco is able to get the temperature to 230 degrees Celsius, effectivelty cleaning without chemicals using clearly very hot temperatures. There’s even a scrubbing mode to scrub stains in a reverse brush rotation, another approach to help clean.

Like its other units, the system is built with something the company calls “SmoothDrive” which essentially works a little like a robotic vacuum system, helping to move forward, left, and right without a lot of effort, and there’s a vacuum inside, as well, sucking up debris and liquid into different places plus sensor that adjusts the suction and water flow accordingly.

The idea is that the S9 Artist Steam Pro essentially becomes a floor cleaner of all types and isn’t “just a mop”. However, it’s one that can do both, and can also lie flat to get under bookcases and couch, because those are places that typically get a lot of dust and not a lot of cleaning.

“We’ve spoken to Australian consumers, and know that run time, noise and the reliance on harsh chemicals are frustrations and concerns holding households back from truly effortless, deep cleaning results,” said Jade Tang, Country Manager for Tineco in Australia and New Zealand.

“This new edition S9 Artist Steam Pro was engineered to solve all three at once, giving Australians more power, more flexibility and more peace of mind that the floors in their shared home living spaces are hygienically clean,” she said.

The price might be the thing holding some people back, which will see the S9 Artist Steam Pro released for $1499, making it a pricey cleaner.

Granted, it’s about half of what a high-end robotic vacuum cleaner costs, so clearly it’s a price you need to take into perspective with everything else. However, folks who are keen will see the mop and vac hybrid in stores shortly, found at Bing Lee, The Good Guys, JB HiFi, and Harvey Norman, alongside Tineco’s online presence.