Bissell HydroWave Carpet Cleaner review: it’s ultra-compact, yet still cleans your carpets
OUR carpets tend to take a beating no matter how often we seem to be out of the house; after getting tired of the grub, I decided to give the Bissell Hyrdowave a spin.
It’s sleek, it’s small and it promises the power of a full-size carpet cleaner in one compact, good-looking package.
At the time of writing, Bissell HydroWave was available to purchase, however, it has since been discontinued but you can buy similar models from Bissell.
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Pros:
- Easy setup
- Multiple modes
- Deep clean mode makes it feel like a professional clean
Con:
- Heavy when tank is full
- Extremely compact
- Not easy to use on stairs
Bissell HydroWave review: Performance
The Bissell HydroWave is set up in a very similar style to the CrossWave, and it’s very straightforward – the carpet cleaner mode turns on when you select one of two cleaning modes.
You can choose from Express Clean for easy spills and a quick clean or Deep Clean for something more intense that gets deep into the carpet fibres.
The CleanShot pre-treat helps to remove embedded stains – it helped to fade the fake blood stain (from a Halloween several years ago) that was still very evident on a child’s bedroom carpet.
One interesting feature about the carpet cleaner is that it doesn’t respond to wooden floors – I tried turning it on in my kitchen to see what it would do on the wood flooring, and the answer is nothing; it needs a carpet or rug surface to activate.
I was particularly impressed by how quickly you can clean an entire carpet.
In Express mode, you can treat a new stain right away and clean a room in a matter of minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to dry completely.
Deep Clean mode takes around an hour to dry off but will get the carpets smelling lovely and looking clean and fresh – like you’ve had a professional carpet cleaning.
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Bissell HydroWave review: design
The most impressive feature of this carpet cleaner is its petite size.
It weighs just 5.6kg, so you should be able to clean the stairs with it, too (although I struggled a bit with the positioning of the HydroWave on the stairs).
It’s also powerful (385 watts) for such a compact item.
The telescopic handle can be extended, and the whole apparatus measures just 31cm (w) x 112cm (h) x 38cm (d).
That means it’s easy to tote around and can also be stored in small cupboards (a storage tray is included).
The design features a cord that extends up to 6 metres and LED lights that turn on at the front when you’re cleaning, helping you see into dark corners.
Just like the Bissel CrossWave, the HydroWave has two separate tanks: one to fill with clean water and cleaning formula and the other to collect dirty water and debris.
The front of the device houses a spinning, motorised XL brush roll with 10 rows of DirtLifter power bristles, which remove dirt from carpets.
Cleaning the machine is fairly straightforward. A comb is included to help clean the brush roll, and the tank washes out easily.
However, it does need to be cleaned fairly frequently, after every few rooms or so.
What attachments do you get?
The HydroWave includes a docking tray, brush roll, and 750ml bottle of carpet cleaning solution. It also comes with a five-year warranty.
Bissell HydroWave review: final verdict
Before testing the Bissell Hydrowave, I was becoming despondent by how bad my house was looking.
The carpets, in particular, were always a source of anxiety when attempting Zoom yoga sessions during the lockdown period.
Thankfully, the Hydrowave has been a welcome addition to the household.
It has the benefit of making any room you use it in look (and smell) a hundred times better in minutes.
The Express mode is especially easy to use since the device practically floats across the floor.
But the Deep Clean does leave that satisfying, deeply embedded-in-the-carpet-fibres cleanness that makes you want to clean the whole house (so it can match your pristine carpets).
It’s also a real treat to give the house a top-to-bottom clean—so necessary when a whole household is home practically all the time—whenever the need arises and without losing a day to domestic labour.
I have been cleaning my carpets with this device multiple times a week instead of just once a year. And it shows.
On the downside, even though the device is compact, it’s quite heavy when the tanks are full.
As such, it’s not particularly easy to use on the stairs.
Also – be warned (and this is a recurrent issue with carpet cleaners I’ve used in the past): bits of carpet get formed into dustballs during the cleaning process, so you’ll need to pick up after yourself in addition to cleaning out the machine after use.
Where can I buy Bissell HydroWave in the UK?
Unfortunately, the Bissell HydroWave has been discontinued, so since the Hoover is no longer produced and it will take some serious hunting to find one sites like eBay are probably your best place to start if you’re dead set on getting your hands on one.
Is there an alternative to Bissell HydroWave?
While the HydroWave is no longer produced, luckily, there are plenty of alternative options for a high-quality hoover that will leave your carpet feeling brand new.
Bissell creates a wide range of hoovers, so they’re a great place to start. They’ve made some serious improvements since.
If you’re not interested in a Bissell Hoover, companies like Shark, Hoover, and Dyson also create top-notch vacuums, so we rounded up a couple to help you start your search.