Let’s talk about The new Bissell Crosswave. It sweeps and mops at the same time, but is it worth the high price-tag? I have been using mine for many weeks so I decided that it was time for me to share with you all what I think about it and to even give you a few tips on what I have learned with it so far. This review will be pretty extensive, so I will break it down into sections so that you can skip ahead if you want to.
*Please note that when I do a product review it is always for a product that I have purchased myself so that you get my unbiased and honest opinion.*
I am a firm believer that if you have unrealistic expectations when you buy something, then you are obviously going to be unhappy with the purchase right from the start, go figure…lol.
This review should dispel any illusions so that you fully know what you are getting yourself into if you do decide to buy one too.
Like I said before, I am going to break it down into sections so that you can skip ahead if you need to. Those sections are as follows:
- How easy is it to put together fresh out of the box?
- Before and after, how well does the Bissell Crosswave clean?
- How well does it do on white tile with white grout?
- Would I dare use it on wood floors?
- Will it save you any time or money?
- Tips/Suggestions for use.
- Tips for cleaning the machine when not in use.
- Wrap Up. How I feel about it and a bit more.
Let’s start with the first one.
I neglected to take pictures of this one, I apologize.
Sometimes we mommy bloggers have epic mommy brain and the things that we wanted to do just don’t happen. Anyway, here it goes:
How easy is it to put together a Bissell Crosswave fresh out of the box?
It is simple! You don’t even need a screwdriver or anything to put it together simple. Everything just snaps into place and you are good to go. It seems like it would also be pretty easy to take apart if you needed to make it compact to move it or something.
There is a tiny little white rubber membrane in the handle (located behind the solution tank) that you can push on in order to have it release…it is similar (or exactly the same concept 😉 to the little button on a tent pole that you push in to release it, it’s just a little hidden under the membrane. On to the next topic now.
Before and After, How well does the Bissell Crosswave Clean?
I let my floors get a little dirtier than usual in order to show you how well this thing works.
So the before pictures are the next four pictures. It is what it looks like if I leave the floor dirty after last nights dinner and then feed the kids banana bread for breakfast… so here in the first two pics is the banana bread gore in all its glory.
Yuck! There is also some dried on ketchup and yogurt on the floor too.
It gets kind of hard to see very well on this wood looking tile because it just hides so darn much (I LOVE this tile by the way and am really going to miss it when I move at the end of the month), so I took a bit more of a close-up for you all to see.
I think that you can click on any of the images if you would like to see it in full size.
Before you start you have to go around and pick up anything that you would not expect a regular vacuum to pick up, except for anything wet of course, this thing will take care of that.
Basically you just need to remember that it is still a vacuum and you shouldn’t expect it to pick up anything much larger than a macaroni noodle or a nickel.
The next picture is of the stuff that I knew that I would need to pick up before I could start.
Now here are the after pictures! My floors have never been this clean on a regular basis since before I had kids…
My favorite thing about the Bissell Crosswave is that it sucks up everything and the floors are actually clean when I’m done, rather than using a standard mop and just sloshing dirty water around on the floor.
Don’t the floors look great? Please keep in mind that this machine is meant for everyday type cleaning.
It is not going to give you the same amount of scrub that you get when you clean your floor on your hands and knees with a scrub brush.
However, I have noticed that if there is something on the floor that is kinda stuck on there I can either bend over and scratch it off a little bit and then go over it again, or I can go over it a few times and then it will gradually get cleaner every time that I use the Crosswave on it.
How well does the Bissell Crosswave work on white tile with white grout?
The tile in my entryway is white with “white” grout (it’s in quotes because the grout looks white for about a minute…if you are thinking about putting white grout in an entryway just don’t do it, it is a hassle and probably the worst idea ever!).
Anyway, here is what the tile looks like before it was cleaned.
Then After. I gave it time to dry too so that you could accurately see what the grout looked like afterwards.
From another dirtier area, here is the before.
Now the after. As you can see it does a pretty good job.
It won’t make your grout sparkling white, but I have noticed that I haven’t had to hands and knees scrub it nearly as much since I have been using the Crosswave.
I think that has more to do with the dirty water getting sucked up instead of getting left in the grout to dry into a dark line.
Which means that this momma has had a bit less work to do, Hallelujah! I need that now more than ever now that all the cleaning is totally on my shoulders.
Would I dare use it on wood floors?
This part would really depend on the current condition of the floor. If it were brand new to three year old wood floors, I don’t care if it is sealed properly or not, I don’t think that I would dare use it on them.
However, if they are wood floors that are properly sealed and already have quite a few scratches, then I would go nuts cleaning with this thing and have no qualms about it if it put a few light scratches on the wood.
If the floors are not sealed properly, I would not dare use it at all. It would just damage the floor and that would be costly to have to replace them rather than being able to sand and reseal.
There is a special brush that goes to the machine that is just for wood. It will be a bit more gentle so make sure to get one if you decide to use it on wood. You can find those here.
Will it save you any time or money?
Will it save you any time, yes it very well should. It takes me about 2/3rds the amount of time to use the Crosswave as it would take me to do the normal sweep and mop on about 400 sq ft of tile.
Keep in mind that I am pretty particular about how clean it looks so that is even with going over a few places a few extra times. This also includes the couple of minutes it takes me to clean the machine when I am done with it. Will it save you any money?
That is another thing that depends on your situation. I am currently too cheap to hire a cleaning lady when I am already paying for an assistant to help me with my website, so splurging a little on the machine was totally worth it to me.
It saves me enough time (and time is very valuable) that this busy momma feels like it is saving me lots of money by not needing to hire someone to do it for me. In that case, it will pay for itself anywhere from two to four times per year.
I’m just hoping that it will last for a year or two and then it will have really saved me quite a bit of money.
This product is definitely what I would consider a luxury item but one that I have grown very accustomed to over the last few weeks and I am pretty sure that I will cry the day that it does decide to go to Bissell Heaven.
Tips/Suggestions for use:
The first tip that I am going to share with you all is actually the biggest problem that I have with the machine…but keep in mind that it is one of those user errors. It is not an issue with the machine per say.
The thing that I like the least about the machine is that if you leave it filled with anything in the cleaning solution tank and then go about your business and forget about it.
It will sometimes leak after a few hours. Like I said, this is more of a user error thing, and that is because I think it was more meant to be used to clean all of your floors and then promptly cleaned and put away…without the tanks full of anything.
However, since I have several small children that make lots of messes throughout the day, I sometimes like to keep it handy and ready to use whenever I need it.
I have noticed that if I put it on the little tray that it comes with, the tray will catch any liquid that may leak out if I do forget to clean it out right away.
Just don’t leave it out in the tray overnight, without cleaning it out, and you should be good. The next picture is to show you how much it leaked after a few hours one time.
That could really damage your floors so USE THE TRAY when it is not in use.
Since it has a rug function, I like to use it on the carpet just next to the hard floors. Keep in mind that I vacuum that carpet sometimes twice daily so it is basically just getting a surface clean when I do this.
I would not recommend doing this if you have lots of pets or really long hair as it could clog your machine.
I do love doing this though as I am always feeling like the carpet right there is always getting a bit dirtier because we get the tile so dirty sometimes and it gets dragged onto the carpet. The rug function on the Bissell Crosswave is actually pretty cool.
I have always thought that having a rug in a dining room or just under a table where food is served was really gross and kinda dirty… but now that I have the Crosswave to do some wet cleaning on a rug I might actually consider putting a pretty rug under a table some time.
Who would have thought that a cleaning tool would ever change that opinion? Not me, I’m pretty set in my ways so I am kind of excited to try having an under table rug someday.
This machine does not do well around toilets or vents and you shouldn’t expect it to because it is just as wide as my other vacuum.
So, I have slightly switched up my cleaning routine to include wiping down the floor around the toilet any time I clean the toilet…which was not a hard transition.
When I am cleaning around the vents I just use a wet rag or disinfectant wipe and “mop” around there too.
Since there are quite a bit of chunky things that get picked up by the Crosswave and I have a septic tank, I make sure to use the non disposal side of the sink to drain the yucky tank and then I gather everything that didn’t go down and throw it in the trash.
No need for clogged pipes. On that note, I have a great post on Money Saving Tips Through Septic System Care post that some of you may want to read if the topic applies to you.
Some other things to note, that I don’t have pictures for.
The Crosswave only sucks things up when you are pushing forward. Plain and simple you just have to push forward if you want it to suck anything up.
If you are ever cleaning with it and it starts making kind of a roaring noise at you. Don’t be alarmed.
That generally just means that the holding tank is full and needs to be emptied. Just turn it off, empty it and refill the cleaning solution if you need to, and then turn it back on and get back to it. The “roaring” should be gone.
I have noticed this same sound when using Bissell carpet shampooers in the past, I’m kind of wondering if it is designed to do that on purpose so that you know it is time to empty your machine.
If you hold the trigger for a few seconds or so before you try to start cleaning with it, that should get the cleaning solution flowing so that you are not just vacuuming the floor.
When you go to leave the machine free-standing make sure that you hear it click before you walk away…or it will fall over and you’ll be sad.
If you want your floors to dry faster, release the trigger and go over it again just using it like a vacuum. That will pick up any excessive amounts of water and will really cut down on the drying time.
Don’t forget to clean it out and let it dry properly when you are done. I go over that more in the next section, but please keep in mind that you don’t want your machine to get moldy or mildewy…yuck!
I really like the smell of the cleaning solution that comes with the machine. However, I do prefer to fill it with water and then use cleaning vinegar instead of the suggested cleaning solution.
I don’t know if that voids the warranty on the machine, so keep that in mind if you do decide to go the vinegar route too.
I just prefer to not use chemicals and I know the vinegar does such a great job with my floors!
Tips for cleaning the machine when not in use:
Honestly, I use this thing so much that I don’t really ever totally put it away unless we are having lots of company over. I found that if I keep it in a corner of the kitchen that is the best spot for me and the rhythm of my home.
That way I can use it any time that I need to, but don’t have to drag it out every time.
This is what it looks like when it is on its tray ready to be cleaned after use…or just where I set it between uses if I am going to keep using it throughout the day.
I have found it easiest to add the water to the tray from here near the back.
I just make sure not to fill it over that little max fill line that you can see in the front.
Then I tilt the machine back a little and turn it on. Tilting it back activates the brush and it usually cleans the brush well enough that I don’t even bother to pull the brush out and wash it by hand (unless I just cleaned a bathroom that is really germy).
See in the little window how dirty it was before?
Then how clean it is after… You gotta remember to clean it every time. I forgot once and it took it a little while to look this clean again.
Cleaning it each time only takes a couple of minutes but it will make your machine last much longer, which will save you money in not having to replace it quite as soon.
When I am done cleaning I like to just leave the little door open that goes above the brush. You can take the brush out to dry but I prefer not to because I’m kinda lazy.
It dries out just fine like this. I just remember to snap it shut in the morning before the kids mess with it.
Then I lay out the rest of the pieces to dry overnight and it is ready to use the next day!
Wrap up and a bit more:
If you couldn’t tell, I LOVE my Bissell Crosswave! It is one of the few gadgets that I have bought that I didn’t lose interest in within a week or two.
It’s been five or six weeks since I started using it and I still get excited every time I get to use it.
I forgot to mention earlier that it is pretty light weight. It would be a good solution for anyone that may be elderly or disabled that would still like to be able to sweep and mop their own floors. Anyone that can operate a vacuum should be able to use it.
I do however suggest getting them some non-slip socks and maybe making sure that they aren’t going to struggle too much if left to use it alone.
I do think that the current price is a little high, but I’m sure that it is just because it is shiny and new and there isn’t another product out there like it so once the new wears off I wouldn’t be surprised if the price were dropped by $50 or more dollars.
Anyway, that was my two cents about the Bissell Crosswave (two cents, three thousand words, same diff, lol ;).
I bought mine here, and if you decide to go that route and purchase it through my link the cost for you remains the same but I receive a small commission on everything that you have in your shopping cart.
I thank you in advance if you buy through my affiliate link! Have a great night everyone and please make sure to share this post via social media! ~Sarah
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