BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam Vacuum Review

The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam feels decently well-built. Its body is made mostly from hard plastic, and it has an aluminum wand with rubberized floorhead wheels. Overall, it feels pretty similar to other models in BISSELL's CrossWave lineup; the plastic used in its construction sounds somewhat hollow when tapped, yet the appliance itself is rather heavy. Thankfully, it's also quite easy to take apart and reassemble.

The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam is reasonably easy to maintain. While there are a few parts that need periodic cleaning, they're easy to access.

• Dirt compartment/Dirty water tank: You can unlatch the dirt compartment by pressing down on the release button and then simply pulling it out. Make sure you remove any large debris stuck in the dirt compartment's strainer. You can wash the dirt compartment underwater if there's a significant amount of dirt built up. The vacuum filter is above the dirt compartment, and you should make sure that it's put back in place before refitting the dirt compartment. The compartment also features a 'Floater' component that disables suction in case of liquid or solid debris overflow.
• Brushroll: The brushroll is easy to access, only requiring that you lift the clear plastic brush roll window to access it and pull it free. While it's advertised as being an 'Anti-Tangle' brushroll, long hair can get wrapped around it, forcing you to use a pair of scissors to cut it away. This unit has a built-in 'Clean-out Cycle' feature that spins the brushroll and soaks it with water and cleaning formula only when the appliance is set on its provided cleaning tray, where a small indicator light will illuminate to let you know you can activate the cycle. Still, the manufacturer recommends cleaning the roller manually every now and then. You also shouldn't run the cleaning cycle more than twice in a row. You'll also need to remove the roller to have it dry at the end of every cleaning session.
• Filter: The filter sits in a slot in the cover of the dirty water tank. The filter has an attached screen to trap any fine debris or small strands of pet hair. You can remove it by pressing the release handle. You should wash the filter with warm water and mild detergent after every cleaning session.
• Clean water tank: The water tank is located at the back of the vacuum body and is easy to lift free of its housing. It features two separate markings for both water and detergent levels, one for small areas and the other for large areas. First, fill it up to the desired water level, and then add the required amount of detergent for the size of the room you're planning to mop. Make sure to empty the water tank after every use.

Any parts that you wash under water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before reinstalling them.

This unit incurs moderate recurring costs.

• Brushroll: The manufacturer recommends replacing the brushroll every six months to maintain optimal cleaning performance. You can buy a replacement here.
• Filter: You should replace the filter every three months. You can buy a replacement here. An antimicrobial filter is also available for reduced bacterial buildup and can be found here.

Note: The mopping component of the vacuum incurs a separate set of recurring costs.

• Cleaning Solution: A 64oz bottle of formula is expected to last for roughly three months, depending on your usage habits. Multiple types of cleaning formulas are available. There's the 'PET Multi-Surface with Febreze' formula, which can be used on bare floors and carpets and produces a Febreeze-like scent, the 'Hard Floor Sanitize' formula, which, as the name implies, is intended for use on surfaces like hardwood or tile and eliminates bacteria, and the 'Clean Out Cycle' formula, which is only meant to be used for the machine's self-cleaning cycle and will inhibit bacteria and mold growth on its brushroll.

This vacuum isn't too hard to store. It comes with a 'Clean-Out and Storage Tray' that you can position it on to let it dry after mopping, and there's even a separate slot to place the brushroll and filter to dry. You'll need to wind up its power cord manually, which can be a tad tedious as the cord itself is a little stiff.

The dirt compartment is decently well-sized. It's actually bigger than that of some other conventional stick vacuums, like the Shark Stratos UltraLight. There's a max fill line that lets you know when it's full when vacuuming. A separate mechanical floater component automatically shuts off the suction motor if the dustbin is overfilled with water, though it can erroneously trigger due to water sloshing around in the dustbin or solid debris forcing it upwards. To resolve this issue, you'll need to turn the vacuum off to let the floater drop back into its neutral position.

• BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam
• Vacuum body
• 2x filters
• Clean water tank
• Clean water tank screw cap
• Dirty water tank/Dirt compartment
• Dirty water tank lid with floater
• Debris strainer
• 1x multi-surface brushroll
• Brushroll window
• Various accessories
• 1x 8oz Multi-Surface Pet with Febreze Formula bottle
• 1x 8oz FreshStart™ Clean Out Cycle Formula bottle
• 1x 8oz BISSELL® Hard Floor Sanitize Formula bottle
• Vacuum tray
• Manuals

This appliance's range is adequate. The power cord is long enough to allow you to clean most rooms without swapping outlets. Unfortunately, its wand doesn't extend or retract, so you might find it hard to find a height that suits your preferences.

This is a somewhat heavy appliance. It's comparable in weight to some conventional upright vacuums we've tested, such as the Kenmore Intuition Bagged, and can be a bit of a nuisance to repeatedly bring up and down long flights of stairs. On the upside, most of its weight sits low to the ground, so it isn't too fatiguing to hold or push around for longer cleaning sessions.

This is a corded vacuum without a battery.

This vacuum doesn't have that many quality-of-life features. There are three surface settings that you can select with a handle-mounted switch: 'Area Rug,' 'Hard Floor,' and 'SteamWash.' In 'Area Rug' mode, it dispenses the most amount of detergent to refresh rugs and carpets, as per the manufacturer. 'Hard Floor' mode is largely the same, just with less detergent, and is intended for use on sealed hard floors like tile flooring. Finally, 'SteamWash' releases the same amount of detergent as in the 'Area Rug' setting but also blasts the brushroll with steam when the trigger is pressed.

Note: The floorhead's built-in light is always on, but it only gets brighter when the trigger is pulled.

This appliance comes with no extra accessories aside from its drying rack.

This appliance provides good debris pickup performance on hard floors. It's capable of handling a wide variety of debris types, though some bulkier types of material can get caught at the back of its floorhead and swept backward. You'll also need to do a bit of extra cleanup along walls and in corners.

This appliance performs poorly on high-pile carpet. Its fluffy brushroll provides minimal surface agitation and can't lift finer material like sand that's been pressed into carpet fibers. Thankfully, it does a good job of clearing away bulky material like cereal, though you'll likely need to make another pass to clear away medium-sized debris like rice.

This appliance's performance on low-pile carpet is bad. As with its performance on high-pile carpet, it really struggles with finer debris. However, in this case, it also has a hard time clearing away larger material, which can get caught at the front of its floorhead and pushed around rather than being sucked up.

Pet hair pickup on low-pile carpet is poor. The vacuum's fluffy roller can't dig into carpet fibers to lift away enmeshed strands of hair.

Real-world suction performance is good. This appliance is more powerful than the fairly similar BISSELL CrossWave Pet Pro and can better lift debris in cracks and crevices.

This vacuum's airflow performance is okay. The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam isn't necessarily powerful enough to lift heavily embedded debris from carpets or rugs, like a powerful corded model such as the Miele Complete C3, but it offers enough airflow to lift medium-weight debris.

This vacuum is somewhat loud. At roughly 80 dBA, it's very difficult to hear anyone talking nearby or any other background noise while it's running. Since there are no power adjustment settings or attachments that would impact airflow, you won't notice any significant differences in how loud this vacuum gets.

This isn't a very maneuverable appliance. Not only is it heavier than the BISSELL CrossWave Pet Pro, but its floorhead is also considerably harder to pivot, making it a challenge to clean around chairs and tables. Its head also has a limited range of articulation and is somewhat bulky, so you can't really use it to clean far under TV stands or sofas. It also gets caught on thicker area rugs, forcing you to turn the vacuum off to remove the obstruction.

This vacuum doesn't have a handheld configuration, so it isn't suitable for vacuuming pet hair on furniture.

The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam is ineffective in sealing in allergens, which can bypass its filter and escape from its exhaust.

When used in its' Hard Floor' mode, the BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam does a great job of lifting away debris in cracks. Its soft roller can dig into shallower crevices and pull away lightweight debris.

The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam does an excellent job dealing with stains on bare floors when using its 'SteamWash' function and with the PET Multi-Surface with Febreze formula. To use the 'SteamWash' setting, you'll have to wait for the appliance to warm up and start producing steam, at which point the indicator light on its floorhead shifts from flashing orange to a solid orange. From there, you can pull the trigger on the handle, which releases a blast of steam. The HydroSteam is capable of completely clearing away a dried-on stain within a few back-and-forth sweeps, but a more efficient method of cleaning would probably be keeping the unit in place over the stain and letting the surface agitation from its brushroll and steam do the work of lifting up any debris. It's worth noting that the PET Multi-Surface with Febreze formula produces a pretty strong detergent-like scent, which might be a little overwhelming for some.

Cleaning stains without the PET Multi-Surface with Febreze formula takes a few more passes, but ultimately results in similar results. The manufacturer recommends making two passes in the 'HydroSteam' mode and any remaining passes without; you can see the result of five water-only passes here and nine water-only passes here.

This appliance does a great job of sucking up water. It leaves the surface slightly damp but has no trouble clearing the water as a whole.