Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet wet and dry vacuum review

Just as triple chocolate has more allure than double, a wet and dry vacuum that can steam clean into the bargain is extra appealing for those with multiple hard floors. Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is such a cleaner, allowing you not only to leave your standalone vacuum and mop in the cupboard, but a separate steam cleaner too.

Equipped with LED headlights for spotting dirt and hair, and a base that allows the brush roll to clean itself after use, it’s billed as Bissell’s most powerful CrossWave cleaner, packing in 1100W of corded power.

Design & Build

• 820ml clean water tank
• 7.5m power cable
• 5.67kg/12.5lbs weight

It’s no surprise that the shape of the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet borrows heavily from Bissell’s heritage of vacuum cleaners and carpet cleaners. It looks similar to an upright vacuum cleaner, complete with hooks at the back for the 7.5m cable and controls located on the upper handle. These comprise two buttons: one for changing the mode and one for on/off, plus a trigger to release water and cleaning fluid from the 820ml tank.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Thoughtfully, the mode button is within reach of a thumb, so you can switch without letting go of the handle. Plus, the button for self-cleaning is further down on the carry handle, so you don’t hit it by accident. Its size and weight aren’t dissimilar to an upright either – at H111.8 x W27 x D25cm, and 5.67kg/12lbs, you’ll need to find a decent space for it.

Down at the business end of the cleaner, you’ll find the brush roll, which does the manual work, aided by cleaning solution and/or steam. It’s made from a soft mop-like material that’s studded with hard bristles and shielded by a clear cover.

Above that, there’s a trio of LED headlights – great for brightening dark corners – and a dirty water tank. Although physically larger in size than the clean water tank, the dirty water tank houses a dry filter and strainer for capturing large particles and hair, so its capacity is only 640ml.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Performance & Features

• Fast steam heating
• Noisy in use
• Self-cleaning mode

Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is primarily designed to tackle the clean-up jobs any pet owner will be familiar with – muddy paws, hair, dander and accidents – but it’s not limited to them. Its trio of modes cover a range of mess, with the hard floor mode listing coffee, grease, cooking splatters and human hair as its targets, steam covering sticky mess, pet mess, wine and heavy soiling, and area rug encompassing pet hair, crumbs, dirt and interestingly, confetti – presumably for pets who are party animals.

We tested the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet with seeded jam (sticky, textured mess) and mustard (smooth mess that can leave residue) left to sit for an hour, as well as oil (greasy mess) on a vinyl floor. In the hard floor mode, the majority of oil was lifted but the floor was still slightly greasy to the touch and needed wiping. The hard floor mode also lifted the mustard easily but left residue behind. We switched to the steam mode, which helped to remove this but a tinge still remained.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

We were, however, surprised by how quickly the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet heated up for steam. The instructions stated around 30 seconds but we found it to be faster. What could be clearer is when it’s ready to use in steam mode. Instead of changing colour, so that it can be understood at a glance, the icon on the display glows on and off then becomes solid. We remained in steam mode to clean up the jam and the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet performed excellently. All the jam was gone and no stickiness remained to the touch. 

Overall, we found the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet quite heavy to push around, and noisy. Bissell states that its noise is 75dB, but as it prevented normal conversation, we felt it to be more intrusive. We also struggled with the cable and found it awkward to move around. What we did like was that the headlights become brighter when the trigger for cleaning solution is pressed, making it easier to get into a rhythm of washing the floor, then sucking up excess water when the trigger was released.

After cleaning up the hard floor, there was debris stuck inside the cover and on the brush roll itself, so it was a good time to run the self-cleaning cycle before tackling other surfaces. Cleverly, the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet detects when it’s on the base as the self-cleaning button illuminates. We ran two cycles of self-cleaning as after the first one, some mustard and jam still remained. This second cycle made it fit for use again.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Having no rugs, we tested it on a small area of carpet that had mud and pet hair on it, in the area rug mode. It lifted both well, and although there was some pet hair left behind, we were pleasantly surprised how much had reached the dirty water tank. The strainer within it caught most of the hair in clumps. This was more effective than when we initially emptied the dirty water tank, as the strainer didn’t catch most of the seeds as the holes were too large.

Perhaps the biggest quibble with the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is the amount of cleaning required after use. In addition to the self-cleaning, the brush roll needs to be rinsed, cleansed and left to dry on the base. The same applies for the filter, which also needed debris removing. Its dirty water tank, strainer and lid had to be rinsed and air dried. There’s no brush to assist with washing and while this may only have taken 10 minutes (including reassembly once dry), if you’re cleaning a small area, you may end up spending more time on maintenance.

Price & Availability

If you’re in the UK, you can buy the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet from direct from Bissell, where it’s available for £349.99, down from its RRP of £399.99. It’s available at the same price from Currys and for £400 from Selfridges.

It’s also available in the US, although it’s a slightly different model from the one we tested. It’s priced at $399.99 but you can currently buy it for $349.99 from Bissell.

We have more recommended models in our round-up of the best wet and dry vacuums.

Should you buy the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet?

Part vacuum, part mop and part steam cleaner, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet gets much right. It’s well-designed, easy to use, tackles most mess and, while you may need to use lots of steam on stubborn marks, the fact that it’s an option puts it head and shoulders above hard floor cleaners that rely on a mopping action alone.

However, while the self-cleaning cycle is a handy addition, the level of maintenance required after every use lets it down. For an almost £400 price tag, you’d hope for a brush to clean away debris manually, while running the self-cleaning cycle should be sufficient to keep the brush roll ready for use. That said, if you can live with keeping a machine spotless so it can keep your floors in the same condition, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet offers more than some.