I waited over 3 whole years to finally make this purchase. I watched every YouTube video possible and dug up as many reviews as I could. I felt that I knew all there was to know about the Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro because I did as much research as possible. I attempted to find unbiased reviews. I read as many reviews as I could on Amazon and any other website that sold the Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro.
The gist of what most reviews will tell you is this:
1. The Crosswave is not going to clean your floors perfectly. If they are really dirty you will still have some stuff left on the floor.
2. It's mostly for hardwood floors and very low pile rugs.
3. It's expensive even for what it does.
4. Most people feel it does not save that much time and they still like to vacuum first.
5. You need to dedicate some time to cleaning the Crosswave afterwards. A lot of people did not like this.
6. The water tank is too small.
7. The floors are still wet.
Ok, now that that is out of the way you don't need to scour reviews like I did. I'll tell you what my experience was. I'll address #1-7 and rebuttal based on my first impressions.
First, some factors you need to know... I have a long haired dog (husky mix) that highly sheds, a husband and 4 children. Two are teens, one is pre-k and one is 2 months old. I have a two story house and I bought this with only using it on the bottom floor in mind. Our previous solution was using a Dyson with a hard floor attachment to vacuum then mop with either a Hoover Floormate or a regular mop and bucket from Wal-Mart. We have probably 1,000 sq ft of dark tile downstairs. My tile is reminiscent of dark grey slate. We live in the desert and the dirt shows in the tile. We have one large low pile rug that actually an outdoor rug that we use inside. No one in my house likes cleaning and the floors do not get done enough.
When my Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro got delivered it had easily been weeks since the floor was mopped (gross, I know). It was likely a week since it had been vacuumed as well. I was excited to put it to the grueling test!
I put the water to the water line, then the included solution to the solution line. I turned the Crosswave on and it immediately propelled itself forward. I didn't expect that to happen but it is so light and has a brush roll turning so it makes sense. I pulled the trigger on the forward and backwards movement and then forward once more. Then I released it and slowly went back one last time to try to suck up as much water as possible. My initial though was "meh, it's ok". I had hyped this thing way up in my mind. After I finished the kitchen and looked at my floors I thought to myself , "that was actually pretty easy and way less time that vacuuming and mopping." Furthermore, I examined the floors and they were pretty darn clean especially with how nasty they were before. If I took extra time on spots where there were dried on spills I could get them up. The best part is I did not have to get down on my hands and knees and scrub anything.
Ok, time to address #'s 1-7.
1. Other reviewers claim: The Crosswave is not going to clean your floors perfectly. If they are really dirty you will still have some stuff left on the floor.
My experience- I had a very dirty floor. It picked up the clumps of dog hair and scrubbed off dried on who-knows-what! In order to get my floors wet enough to feel like it could do a good job I felt the need to keep holding the trigger down and go over the same spot up, down, and up again. This sounds daunting but I did not go slow unless I saw something stuck to the floor. I also used it on my low pile rug with no issues. It sucked up the larger trash that my 4 year left too. I did try to suck up a Double Bubble bubblegum wrapper and that was too much. I usually pick something up like that anyways but wanted to see what the Crosswave could do. Fixing that was as easy as popping the clear plastic off and pulling the wrapper out. It didn't even switch brush rolls since I only had the ones that came with it.
2. Other reviewers claim: It's mostly for hardwood floors and very low pile rugs.
My experience- I would have to absolutely agree with this. I don't really see the point in trying it with anything else. I guess if you had an apartment and you were limited on space you would hope for an all in one but I don't see this working. Even my Dyson Canister Vacuum does not do well on our high pile carpeting. You will definitely still need a traditional vacuum in addition to the Crosswave if you have any carpet in your home.
3. Other reviewers claim: It's expensive even for what it does.
My experience- As long as a I get a good solid few years out of it I'm OK with the price. Only time will tell here.
4. Other reviewers claim: Most people feel it does not save that much time and they still like to vacuum first.
My experience- I totally disagree. Even with my nasty neglected floors with husky mix dog hair it did an exceptional job! My husband thought the same thing and was trying to vacuum with the Dyson before I "Crosswaved" (lol, it's a word now ok!). I was trying to beat him to the hair while exclaiming, " the whole reason I bought this thing was to NOT have to vacuum first!" Besides, I bought the Pet Pro version in particular because it has the strainer for hair. I'll talk about that more in #5 right now.
5. Other reviewers claim: You need to dedicate some time to cleaning the Crosswave afterwards. A lot of people did not like this.
My experience- Yes, you do need to clean it afterwards but it does not take long at all. First, you need to pull the strainer and dump that. I have found that this is, unfortunately, not mess free. I had to use at least one finger to get the hair out. Then you dump the liquid down the drain and rinse everything. There are some crevices that more hair and dirt can get stuck in so again you're going to be using at least a finger to get it totally clean. Lastly, there is the brush roll which is "self cleaning". I guess this part depends on what you sucked up, how soon you will use it again and how sanitary of a person you are. I personally did not bother because I planned to use it again the next day, just sucked up normal things, and I guess I'm just not super sanitary like that!
6. The water tank is too small.
My experience- I'll admit this comment was the one that worried me the most. I don't want to be constantly stopping to dump water or add more. I already had a feel for what I'm OK with based on my Hoover Floormate. I could do my whole downstairs with that only having to dump and refill once. Then dumping again when I was done. I haven't had a chance to do my whole downstairs yet (2 month old over here!) but based on what I could get a feel for I think it will be the same with the Crosswave Pet Pro as it was with my Floormate so I'm not concerned.
7. The floors are still wet.
My experience- I will say that they are still wet but I figured that would happen. The reason I'm not surprised is because I know how my Floormate works and for the same reason the Floormate can't pick up larger pieces the Crosswave doesn't completely dry the floors. Let me explain, the Floormate can not vacuum and mop at the same time even though it is capable of both actions at separate times. The Hoover Floormate does, however, have a squeegee front. The squeegee front creates a nice suction and gets all of the water off the floor on the backwards pull. It's pretty satisfying actually. Due to this tight clearance with the floor the Floormate is incapable of picking up anything larger than a small crumb. The Crosswave, on the other hand, is capable of picking up much larger messes but does not have a squeegee front so you're completely reliant on the suction power to get the water up. I personally felt like it got a very good amount of water up and could walk on the tile shortly after. Mopping leaves a ton of water and takes forever to evaporate so I just don't understand this complaint. We do live in a dry desert so I'm sure that helps as well.
One last thing I remember noticing is it does not get that close to the walls when you're going by the walls. There's a 3-4" gap. I would either wipe this with a cloth or you can go head on in short strokes and it will clean that area.
I hope you found my review to be thorough and it will help you decide if the Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro is the solution for you. If I helped you make that decision and you want to purchase one please consider clicking through one of my links. I will get a small affiliate commission and it does not add to your purchase price! I paid for my own Bissell Crosswave and decided to make this review myself. I have no affiliation with Bissell at all. Thank you!
- Jackie M., AZ Mom of 4 plus a dog
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