I was able to purchase a Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro Through Amazon’s treasure truck. I was so excited when it arrived. I had some concerns as I wasn’t sure how good of the vacuum it would really be. In this review, I’ll go over what came in the box, how well it works, and show you a video of my cat judging it. You should hear how noisy it is (not terribly), and see how well it cleans (pretty well depending).
To start off with I decided to measure the box. It was almost 13 inches each side and almost 27 inches tall. The total package weighed in around 14 pounds.
I loved the box because of the shadow dog and cat on it. I also had no idea that Bissell will donate money on each of the purchases of their pet products.
A lot of thought was put into the packaging. Like I mentioned before, I love the design of the box itself. When I opened it up I noticed that everything had a place and it was fairly easy to empty everything out. There was an extra beater bar, two small containers of the cleaning solution, the tray to store it on, a container to funnel the water into the tray, and a small pitcher to pour water in. More on this later. There was also a bottle for holding the cleaning solution.
After pulling out the accessories and the cardboard keeping everything in place, I got to the actual machine.
The Crosswave is a corded cleaning machine. The cord is very long (25 feet). I pulled out the handle and then tried to get the actual vacuum out. It wasn’t too difficult, but I did have a little bit of a struggle trying to get it out because the box so firmly held the Bissell in place. Friction. We meet again.
Once I got the vacuum cleaner out, I was able to snap the handle in place. You had to look for a small black button, press that in, and then pushed down the handle until you heard a firm click. I weighed the Bissell Cross wave without the fluid container, and it weighed 10 pounds.
But How Does It Clean?
I hadn’t cleaned my floor in a few days, and my cats are really messy eaters. I’d also spilled some flour. And something had leaked from my recycle bag. All in all, I thought it would be a great test.
It was easy to fill the cleaning solution. One thing I really liked is that it gives two sets of lines. One is for a shorter cleaning, and the other is for a longer cleaning. I used the lesser amount, because I only wanted to clean the kitchen floor.
The Bissell is quite easy to turn on. You get to choices of buttons. The hard floor does not use as much fluid when you press the triggger. The area rug squirts out more fluid. I started with using the hard floor button and only pressing the trigger when I was coming to someplace that seemed like it needed extra cleaning. I gave that up pretty quickly and held down the trigger the majority of the time.
It did a good job of cleaning. But some of the stuff didn’t come up too easily. I switched over the area rug and it did a better job of cleaning. I tested the floor and it was damp where I used hard floor, and it was a little wetter in the area where used area rug. But there was no standing water or anything.
Overall the floor was completely dry within 5 minutes. And I do think you did a better job than using a wet cleaning cloth attached to the bottom of one of my Swiffer.
I’ve since cleaned two more times and the floor looks a lot cleaner.
I was also surprised at how well the actual vacuum worked on hard floors. It picks up kibble a lot better than my Dyson.
However, it’s not a replacement for a household vacuum.
There is no power-assist, so moving it across carpeting isn’t easy. Also, I couldn’t figure out how to use it on the stairs easily. It does clean carpeting well, but I won’t give up my regular vacuum for quick cleaning any time soon.
Also, don’t use it to clean up self-clumping litter. Trust me on this one.
How Easy Is It to Clean?
Cleaning it out takes a few extra steps than a stick vacuum, but it’s worth it.
I don’t have to take out the beater bar and cut longhair off of it. You set the Bissell Cross Wave on its docking tray, turn it on, lean back the handle so the brush roll is engaged, and then slowly pour water into the mat. The machine washes itself. I felt it did a great job of cleaning the beater bar.
I then cleaned out what was left in the main fluid container, and then pulled out the cup where the liquid and debris get deposited. It was very easy to just rinse out everything, let it dry, and then put it back together again.
I forgot to take pictures. I may update and show that.
All in all I’m really glad I bought this, and I’m going to look into buying one for my daughter. It is a great job on hard floors, and she’s in a nice apartment with hard flooring and no stairs.
Things I Love
The two-tank technology is awesome. I know I’m cleaning the floor with fresh water rather than pushing dirt back over the floor. And the floor isn’t sticky after due to too much cleaning solution.
The hair and other big stuff gets trapped making it easier to pick out and throw away (or compost) instead of being poured down the sink.
The tangle-free brush roll is truly tangle-free.
