Cleaning the floor can be a big job, especially if you’ve got a lot of square footage to cover. For me, one of the slowest parts of cleaning the floor and the one I skip the most often is mopping. I’ll vacuum until its spotless, but I’m not as relentless with my mop.
One of the reasons why I skip the mop is because mopping takes more time than vacuuming. It’s also a dirtier job, and this is why I was so interested in the Bissell Crosswave Wet Dry vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner that lets you tap the handle to switch to a mop? And it cleans your area rugs too? Sign me up.
Here’s a look at the Bissell Crosswave Wet Dry vacuum cleaner, what it can do, and how it works.
Appearance and features of the Bissell CrossWave Wet Dry vacuum cleaner
The Bissell CrossWave is a lightweight, corded vacuum cleaner with a twist. It’s a multi-surface vacuum that vacuums and washes your floors and area rugs at the same time.
- Made from durable plastic so its lightweight
- Has SmartClean Fingertip Controls so you can switch from vacuuming to hardwood to mopping
- Two tank system is similar to what you’d see in small carpet cleaners; one holds clean water while the other holds dirty water
- Has two brushes you can use to clean the floors or get deep down into carpet fibers
- Swivel head lets you maneuver around furniture
- Uses Bissell cleaning solution to get your floors and carpets clean and fresh
How the Bissell CrossWave Wet/Dry vacuum works
The Bissell CrossWave looks like a standard vacuum cleaner, but there is a water reservoir that you fill up with clean water and cleaning solution. If you choose to mop with the vacuum, you just pull the trigger to activate it and it will spray cleaning solution on your floor or carpets. It then sucks up the dirty water and pulls it back into the holding container.
Testing out the Bissell CrossWave Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner
If all you did was vacuum with the Bissell CrossWave, I think you’d be happy with its performance. However, there’s so much more to the Bissell Crosswave that if all you did was vacuum, you’d be missing out on some amazing features.
Setting up the Bissell CrossWave is easy. Before you use it you’ll need to add water and multi-floor cleaner to the tank. There are indicators on the tank as to how much water and how much cleaner you’ll add.
Unlike standard vacuums, the Bissell CrossWave has two buttons on the handle: one for carpets and one for hardwood, floors, tile, or laminate. Underneath the handle is the trigger to active the mop.
I have many area rugs in my house, so I was very eager to test out the carpet cleaner on the Bissell CrossWave. I have a Bissell SpotBot already so I knew that the products work well, but first I needed to vacuum.
Vacuuming with the Bissell CrossWave
The Bissell CrossWave pulled an extraordinary amount of dog hair off of my area rug. I was actually pretty surprised at what it did remove, because I had just vacuumed and I really thought it was cleaner than that. It has great suction and you really notice it when you’re vacuuming carpets. I found it kept the suction for both plush carpets and shorter pile.
Mopping the floor with the Bissell Wet Dry
The beauty of the Bissell Wet Dry vacuum cleaner is that you don’t have to stop cleaning for any reason. You can go from vacuuming your carpets and floors to mopping your floors, all with the touch of a button.
I switched from rugs to hardwood floors and got all the little pieces left by the pets and the kids, then I pulled the trigger and started mopping. If you’ve ever had to get your sink or a bucket ready to mop your floors, you need to try the Bissell Wet Dry. It just saves so much time when you don’t have to get out a mop, and the floors were really clean after.
Cleaning your area rugs with the Bissell CrossWave vacuum
Once I had mopped my floors I was ready to tackle my area rugs. You have to do this part of your cleaning very slowly. If you don’t glide slowly over the rug, you don’t have time to disperse the solution and remove the dirty water.
I started with a small kitchen carpet that seems to catch everything that falls onto it. I went over it and a few of the stubborn stains quite a few times and the Bissell did remove them. I think for a somewhat dirty carpet, it would stand up fine. For that particular kitchen carpet, I’m going to have to tackle it a few more times to get it really clean.
The best part of this vacuum as a carpet cleaner is that you can just clean your floors and carpets without really soaking them. The vacuum pulls the dirty water into the holding tank so you can really see how dirty your area rugs are. Honestly, it kind of scared me. I definitely had no idea just how nasty my carpets were thanks to my dogs.
Cleaning up the Bissell CrossWave
Once the Bissell CrossWave is finished cleaning your carpets and floors, you’ll need to clean the vacuum cleaner itself. Thankfully, this is an easy task.
You can remove all the parts of the Wet Dry vacuum cleaner by popping off the top of the swivel head, taking out the brush, and removing the tanks that hold the dirty water and the carpet cleaner. Everything is easy to rinse in the sink, and then you just let it dry overnight before you use it again.
You might be tempted to put the soft brush in the dishwasher or washing machine. Avoid this temptation: it’s not meant to go into either of these appliances, and a quick rinse and dry will clean it up like new.
Overall thoughts on the Bissell CrossWave Wet/Dry vacuum
Everyone who has a house with hardwood and area rugs should have one of these vacuum cleaners. It cleans the floor without you having to squeeze out a mop and put dirty water back on your floors, and you can switch back and forth between the vacuum and the mop with just a touch of a button. My son dumped a bunch of soda on the floor and I blasted right over it with the vacuum, completely avoiding the sticky mess I would normally from just wiping or mopping.
It has powerful suction and the holding tank doesn’t plug up when you’re tackling a big cleaning job. Overall, I see no downsides to this vacuum at all, and if it continues to clean at the same level, it would be a wise vacuum investment for anyone’s home.
You can find the Bissell CrossWave Wet Dry vacuum cleaner on Best Buy right now.
