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8 best electric cleaning brushes to take the elbow grease out of scrubbing

We tried TikTok-viral brushes on tiles, sinks, hobs, shower screens and other surfaces

Zoe Griffin
Monday 27 January 2025 15:58 EST
Tools such as the SonicScrubber have gone viral on TikTok, with more than 35 million views
Tools such as the SonicScrubber have gone viral on TikTok, with more than 35 million views (iStock/The Independent)
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If you want to clean deeper around taps, hobs and along grout lines, without expending any extra energy, the best electric cleaning brushes could change the way you do your chores.

The beauty of an electric cleaning brush is that it can remove a huge amount of dirt, while you barely have to lift a finger. If you think that sounds good, you’re not alone – the SonicScrubber electric cleaning brush has gone viral on TikTok, reaching more than 35 million views.

If you’ve ever fallen down a #CleanTok hole or watched a few cleaning videos on TikTok, you might have seen electric cleaning brushes being used to clean a variety of items, from bathroom tiles and sinks to toasters and even trainers.

Push a button and the brush oscillates several times a minute, similar to an electric toothbrush, to dislodge dirt you might not have been able to shift with elbow grease alone.

Some electric cleaning brushes have extendable handles, so you can use them to reach tricky spots, while others are more compact and therefore easier to store. Prices start at around £10 and range to upwards of £60, but how much should you pay and which model will really make a difference to your cleaning routine? We’ve put several designs to the test, to bring you our pick of the best electric cleaning brushes to add to your cupboard.

How we tested

The brushes were put to work in our tester’s bathroom
The brushes were put to work in our tester’s bathroom (Zoe Griffin/The Independent)

We tested each brush for a minimum of two weeks, using each model on a variety of surfaces, including tiled walls, bathroom fixtures, kitchen countertops and grouting. For consistency, we used the same cleaning products, so we knew it was the brush making the difference and not our sprays and liquids. To measure durability, we ran each brush for extended cleaning sessions, checking for battery life and power as well as comfort levels in our hands. Noise levels were noted during operation, and attachments were tested for effectiveness across surfaces. This helped us work out which devices could clean the most areas in our home and which offered the best value for money.

Why you can trust us

The Independent’s round-ups feature only products that have been tried and tested by the team. For this review, veteran IndyBest reviewer Zoe Griffin has tested electric cleaning brushes in her own bathroom, using them as you would, over a prolonged period. Well-versed in assessing home appliances and cleaning products, Zoe has written about everything from electric heaters to cordless vacuum cleaners and has had a wealth of testing experience to draw on while assessing the products she reviews.

The best electric cleaning brushes for 2025 are:

  • Best overall – Scrub Master electric cleaning brush: £29.99, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best budget buy – Lakeland electric cleaning scrubbing brush: £14.99, Lakeland.co.uk
  • Best for reach – JML hurricane spin scrubber: £39.99, Jmldirect.com
  • Best battery-powered option – SonicScrubber electric cleaning brush: £22.99, Amazon.co.uk

Scrub Master electric cleaning brush

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review Scrub Master electric cleaning brush
  • Best: Overall
  • Weight: 1kg
  • Brush heads: Eight
  • Speed settings: Two
  • Battery life: One hour
  • Maximum power: 450rpm
  • Why we love it
    • Multiple brush heads
    • Extendable
    • Ergonomic grip
  • Take note
    • Main unit made from plastic

With eight different brush heads, this tool can clean pretty much any surface. The smallest brush effortlessly dislodged dried-on dirt from around the taps and plughole of our bath, while the medium brush helped us clear soap scum from shower screens and mildew from grout lines – areas that typically require serious elbow grease.

As we have a glass shower screen, we did have some reservations about using electric tools to clean it, as we feared breaking it, but this device has two power speeds and we tended to use the lower speed of 380rpm unless we were using it on a surface such as tiles or a stovetop, which were sturdy enough to take 450rpm. Using the attachments, we cleaned tiles, sinks, bathtubs, shower trays, shower door frames, and our hob. The fibre sponge attachment looks just like a regular abrasive sponge, except it can be attached to the power unit to make it motorised. We really loved using it on the hob, as it kept our hands clean and we didn’t have to come into contact with the usual grease and sauce splatters.

It was also a luxury to be able to stand up and clean the bath, rather than having to crouch down and scrub. We liked that this tool reached right up to the ceiling, too, so we could clean between every single wall tile easily. The rechargeable battery lasted for a full hour, and we found the device lightweight and comfortable to grip.

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Stardrops The Pink Stuff miracle scrubber brush set

Best electric cleaning brushes IndyBest review Stardrops The Pink Stuff miracle scrubber brush set
  • Best: Budget buy
  • Weight: 200g
  • Brush heads: Four
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: AA batteries
  • Maximum power: 10,000 oscillations per minute
  • Why we love it
    • Cleaning paste included
    • Pretty colour
    • Worked on multiple surfaces
  • Take note
    • Not eco-friendly
    • Requires disposable batteries

At less than £20, and with two tubs of cleaning paste included in the price, we were constantly looking for a catch while testing this model but couldn’t really find one. It’s small in size but it’s still capable of oscillating up to 10,000 times per minute, which is more powerful than other brushes of a similar size. It comes with four brush heads, so we were able to use it to clean sinks, plugholes, shower heads and ovens as well as tight crevices and delicate surfaces. We even tried it on muddy trainers and it got rid of most of the dirt, so we just needed to wipe them down with a sponge afterwards.

The cleaning paste that comes with this brush is mild and non-abrasive, so it can be used on a variety of surfaces. We couldn’t fault its capabilities when it came to tackling mud, dirt and stains but it’s not an eco-friendly option in so far as it’s not fully biodegradable.

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Lakeland electric cleaning scrubbing brush

Best electric cleaning brush Indybest review  Lakeland electric cleaning scrubbing brush
  • Best: For grip
  • Weight: 240g
  • Brush heads: Four
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: Four AA batteries
  • Maximum power: Unspecified
  • Why we love it
    • Ergonomic design
    • Comfortable to hold
    • Three-year guarantee
  • Take note
    • Needs four batteries

With an ergonomic design and textured grip, this small cleaning brush from Lakeland was one of the most comfortable brushes we tested – particularly during longer cleaning sessions. The set includes a round brush head and a pointed attachment, making it ideal for sinks, taps, and tiles. We used it to clean grout lines, bathroom basins, and kitchen surfaces, and it performed exceptionally well on everyday dirt and stains. While Lakeland doesn’t specify the power of the motor, it was by far the best of the small brushes we tested, when it came to cleaning trainers and football boots, which was useful in our household with four young children.

At £14.99, including a three-year guarantee, it’s insanely good value for money, especially if you think of it as £5 a year or a fraction of a penny per use. However, bear in mind it takes four AA batteries, so, you’ll need to keep paying for those.

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Bosch universalbrush electric cleaning brush

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review Bosch UniversalBrush electric cleaning brush
  • Best: Rechargeable option
  • Weight: 330g
  • Brush heads: Two plus two sponges
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: 45 minutes
  • Maximum power: 215rpm
  • Why we love it
    • Lightweight
    • Great on glass
    • Made trainers look like new
  • Take note
    • Only one speed setting

Small in size but powerful in operation, this Bosch brush weighs just 330g. There are only two brush attachments – a big head for larger surfaces and a small toothbrush-sized head for crevices – and it doesn’t have an extendable handle but what it lacks in features it makes up for in power.

The rechargeable device took about 45 minutes to charge and then lasted for 45 minutes of extreme cleaning. It delivered a steady power of 215rpm, which was more than enough to scrub limescale off our bathroom tiles, clean burnt-on food from our oven trays, and freshen up white trainers. With the white sponge attachment and a little all-purpose cleaning spray, it took us around two minutes to make muddy white trainers look like new. We were also impressed by the microfibre pad, which is designed especially for glass. This buffed our shower screen brilliantly, making all watermarks disappear, and it did a significantly better job than we usually do manually.

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Beldray deep clean scrubber turbo brush

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review Beldray deep clean scrubber turbo brush
  • Best: For sinks and taps
  • Weight: 270g
  • Brush heads : Four
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: Four AA batteries
  • Maximum power: Unspecified
  • Why we love it
    • Easy to store
    • Lightweight

Not much bigger than an electric toothbrush, this Beldray device doesn’t look that impressive at first glance but don’t underestimate it. It’s excellent value and it comes with four different attachments. We used the pointed cone brush to clean around taps and showerheads, effortlessly removing limescale and watermarks. The large bristle brush worked well on tiles and grout, while the small round brush is more suited to home appliances such as hobs. Our favourite, though, was the smallest soft bristle brush attachment, which is gentle enough to use on delicate surfaces. It worked wonders on the inside of our washing machine, getting into the gap between the rubber and the door.

There’s only one speed setting, however and Beldray doesn’t share how powerful it is, but we sensed it was less powerful than other models we tested, as we needed to use more physical force to dislodge dirt. However, this brush is perfectly suited for delicate tasks for which precision is key.

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Lakeland turbo scrubber cordless bathroom cleaning kit

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review Lakeland turbo scrubber cordless bathroom cleaning kit
  • Best: For cleaning multiple surfaces
  • Weight: 890g
  • Brush heads: Four
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: 60 minutes
  • Maximum power: 220rpm
  • Why we love it
    • Long reach
    • In-built cleaning dispenser
  • Take note
    • Pricey

This is the most expensive electric cleaning brush we tested but it also had the longest battery life (just over 60 minutes) and impressive reach. Fully extended, it measures 112cm. We didn’t need to use any force at all while operating it, as it has a powerful 220rpm motor and it definitely made lighter work of cleaning, which means the kids would only have to stand there and move it around if you did want to delegate the job. The extendable handle also comes into its own for cleaning skirting boards, as we could walk around with it, rather than having to get down on all fours. Cleaning skirting boards manually often gives us a sore back, but that wasn’t the case with this electric cleaning brush.

We were impressed that it came with four brush attachments, including a side brush, which none of the other models we tested had. This side brush worked extremely well on those awkward right-angle corners around the edge of the bath but our favourite feature was the 50ml cleaning spray dispenser built into the handle. We filled this with a cleaning solution, pushed a button and it sprayed directly on the surface being cleaned. This enabled us to remove dirt, limescale and soap scum one-handed. Need to send an email while cleaning? Now you can. If it was a little less expensive, we’d give it five stars.

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JML hurricane spin scrubber

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review JML hurricane spin scrubber
  • Best: For reach
  • Weight: 800g
  • Brush heads: Three
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: Up to 60 mins (although around 50 mins for us)
  • Maximum power: 300rpm
  • Why we love it
    • Powerful motor
    • Less cleaning spray needed
    • 120cm reach
  • Take note
    • Slightly uncomfortable to hold

JML’s electric cleaning brush is called the hurricane, which is a pretty appropriate word to describe the chaos it wreaks on dirt and grime. It only has one power setting but, at 300rpm, it is 75-80rpm higher than other brushes we tested with a single speed setting. Admittedly we could feel some of the vibrations, which made it harder to hold, but it was super satisfying to see it dislodge dirt in seconds. If you can handle a little discomfort, it would significantly cut down the time you spend cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. We also used less cleaning spray when testing this brush, as its power alone was enough to dislodge dirt.

The brush comes with three interchangeable heads: a flat brush for larger surfaces, a round brush for curved areas such as baths, and a pointed brush for grout and corners. We found the 120cm extendable handle particularly helpful for scrubbing shower walls and reaching behind taps, without having to stretch, but we were most impressed by how it left our oven sparkling when we used the flat brush on the door and the pointed brush in the corners. Again, we didn’t need to use as much oven cleaner as we normally would, which was another plus.

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SonicScrubber electric cleaning brush

Best electric cleaning brush IndyBest review Sonic Scrubber electric cleaning brush
  • Best: Battery-powered electric cleaning brush
  • Weight: 212g
  • Brush heads: Four
  • Speed settings: One
  • Battery life: Four AA batteries
  • Maximum power: 10,000 oscillations per minute
  • Why we love it
    • Easy to grip
    • Powerful
    • Gets into tight corners
  • Take note
    • Noisy

If you’ve seen an electric cleaning brush on TikTok, it’s likely to be the SonicScrubber. Cleaning mega-influencer Mrs Hinch uses it for lots of household tasks, from cleaning her washing machine to her kitchen counters, so we couldn’t wait to test this one, to see if it lived up to the hype.

Powered by four AA batteries, the high-speed oscillating head vibrates at up to 10,000 times per minute. The noise is a little like that of an electric toothbrush but about five times louder. We found it so loud, in fact, it drowned out the radio.

It comes with multiple brush heads, including a small round brush for surfaces, a pointed brush for grout, and a flat brush for tiles. Our favourite was the grout brush, as there was something extremely satisfying about winning the battle against limescale without having to expend much effort. The brush was pretty black when done but all brush heads are dishwasher safe and it came out looking like new again for the next task. We’d highly recommend this brush to anyone who finds the physical exertion of cleaning difficult but enjoys the thrill of seeing sinks and tiles sparkle.

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The verdict: Electric cleaning brushes

Consistently powerful, with two speed settings and the most variety in terms of attachments, the Scrub Master electric cleaning brush offers a life-changing way to clean, for just £30. We liked that the extendable handle meant we didn’t have to climb on chairs or crouch down while cleaning, and the device can be used in smaller areas too. If you’re looking for something more compact, we found the SonicScrubber to be extremely powerful, if you don’t mind a little noise. Meanwhile, the Lakeland scrubbing brush is a solid (and quieter) option.

For more cleaning tech recommendations, read our review of the best robot vacuum cleaners

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