The Crosswave has saved my sanity with two dogs, one a new puppy! I sure did wonder about the grout lines though...They are lower than the tile and it's just natural for dirt to end up there. A great video! Thanks!
I just watched this guy for the first time. Brilliant. Seriously, brilliant. No bs, straight forward, honest, on the f’n money review. I hate bs, I’d work with this guy anytime. Thank you for an honest, great review. I have the Crooswave, I’ve been in my hands and knees with heavy duty grout cleaner, this guy is right on.
I'm with you Ke Pari! I thought the exact same thing. I too had to write a quick review for him and say a big thank you. RU-vid is so full of crappy content, made by crappy people trying to make money by selling a false idea of an even crappier product. This guy was a breath of fresh air. A genuine guy. So instead of getting to the end of the video feeling frustrated, conned and totally time wasted, you actually feel good and have learnt something! 😊 I wish more content creators would take a leaf outta this guy's book.
Totally agree!! I'm going to have mine extracted then buy a sealer. I'm the buyer of a house where the woman had it built was a tight a$$ or the builder ripped her off on every design aspect.
This guy is the heavyweight champion of his field. He should start reviewing cars and movies and everything on this planet. I would watch and I have carpets in my house
Thank you for this superb lesson on how to clean floors! Very professional review of Bissel Crosswave without useless experiments with broken eggs and honey! Dispite the Bissel amateur cleaning, with cold water and a flat roller, I agree with your conclusion: The worst extractor will always be better than the best mop, and this is a mop killer! I will follow your advices to complement bissel cleaning!
This guy knows what he's talking about. I learnt so much just now. Anyone lucky enough to access his services are truly onto a good thing. Every now and then you stumble upon a really talented and passionate professional like him. Trust worthy, informative, respectful, polite, efficient, thoughtful, thorough, smart and most of all 'real'....there is nothing worse than watching someone who doesn't know what they're talking about, lying to you about some crappy product or service, just to reel you in and gain viewers or make money from the sponsorship. I really enjoyed watching you and want to thank you for your video.
You have so much expertise. I can see how you could set up a cleaning academy online and people could find trained cleaners through you around the world.
A kid in my class at school's Dad had a cleaning company. He said that whether the economy's good or bad, things still get dirty, so it's a very stable business.
I must have epoxy grout because my 7 year old floor does not have dirty grout even in high traffic places. This video told me all I need to know and was very pleasant to watch. Great job.
This was super helpful. I came up with my own little system very similar. I use a multipurpose cleaner like the 409, the I scrub with the hard scrub brush part of my steam mop (leaving the pad off) and then I finish with the cross wave to clean it all up. It does a very good job. My grout gets black and this method will restore it very well. Thanks for all the tips. This was super helpful. And made me realize my search for an easier solution is probably futile. Lol.
Buy a Harbor Freight $29 steamer and steam/lightly brush the grout. Use a sponge mop as you go and the grout is cleaned perfectly with little effort. I did three full bathrooms (two master sized) in less Han half a day. No chemicals or abrasives used.
This is exactly what I do, but I also use a shop vac (I have 2, one regular size and a smaller one), and immediately pull the dirty water into the shop vac and the floor is 99% dry and I LOVE IT!!! My tile floors are in every room except the bedrooms (wish I had that tile that looks like wood flooring there, but alas, the bedrooms are carpeted). I also have pets.... I thought it was hopeless to keep the tile floors really clean, and I couldn't afford a quality hard floor cleaner machine, so this method replicates it and believe it or not, it is fast!
You are a human encyclopedia in the cleaning industry! Thank you for this post - very very enlightening with useful and applicable info that laypersons and professionals can utilize. Have a great day 😀
I LOVE my Crosswave. It helps keep the floors clean between deep cleans, picks up pet hair, dirt, and cleans the grooves in the tile with no extra effort. That small dirty water reservoir is great for people with back problems. Nobody with physical ailments wants to lug around anything heavy. Frequent emptying is vastly preferable to handling a heavy vessel.
By the way, thanks SO MUCH for the very informative videos. You explain things completely and clearly, and follow the natural order of steps without getting off track . Succinct, entertaining, and instructive! Good job, mate!
I can tell your a true professional just by the way you explain the information. I really appreciate your videos. I would love to see you look at something like the Hoover style cleaners.
I have a steamer with wand attachments. I get on my hands and knees using a gardeners foam knee pad and steam the grout, loosen with a grout brush and wipe away with cleaning rag. After the first time, I was able to completely return grout to original color. I do this weekly and it goes quickly now that the scrubbing is minimal. I rent an apartment and have 2 relatively small bathrooms and a kitchen. I keep dirt off the floor with vacuuming daily (primarily because I have a cat and insects are common in apartments in central Texas). My steamer was $200 and worth it as I'm able to also clean the oven, bathtubs, sinks, mop boards and keep mold (again humid central Texas) off my window ledges. I don't use chemicals.
Well this explains why the grout came out so beautifully when we had it professionally cleaned. I always vacuum the tile. My OCD can't stand the idea of flinging dirt and dust around with a broom. Brooms are ok for outside. But inside I've always felt like a vacuum cleaner does a much better job. Now I know exactly why. Score one for my OCD! Haha
What a great video! Sound, presentation & editing are excellent. Not wasting my time for even a second. Yours will be my go-to channel for floor cleaning help. Many thanks 🍻
I have one of these machines. The manufacturer does sell a plain brush (without microfiber). My observations: 1. It can’t effectively clean grout, even with the special brush. 2. There is about 1/8-1/4 inch gap between the wall and the roller which the machine can’t clean. 3 The machine is best suited for everyday quick/light cleanup jobs.
I agree, I cannot either. I have come to the conclusion that it is due to the fact that when my fioor was put in,, it was never sealed. It does make all the difference in the World to have that grout sealed. It was not I who put it in, so how was I to know. Have a Great Day.
Thank you for this video and the other grout cleaning one. I've been going a bit nuts with how to get my grout clean myself. Steam mops, Bissell steamshot, cleaning solutions, diy cleaners, a crosswave, multiple brushes, attachments etc...lol I feel like I'm the "before" person in an infomercial. Anyway, this video has helped A LOT! Thanks!
I have gone through 2 of these and I am on my 3rd. I recommend buying the least expensive unit, as the extra bells and whistles are not needed. This unit is great for a light wash. I feel like the best use of this is in conjunction with pre cleaners and a long stick floor brush to agitate before first mopping up without pressing the solution trigger, then passing over it a few times with the water solution to extract the dirt you’ve lifted. This unit is not a stand alone for deep cleans but a helpful alternative to a microfiber flat mop head. Careful not to use a cleaner with a surfactant- as the mop head will hold the suds and it will be impossible to fully rinse. Again, I prefer to use just clean water- as you recommend.
I bought mine (very recently) because it saves me hauling out the vacuum as well BUT for really tough stains and stuck on gunk, nothing beats my Shark steam mop. Also the Bissel does a great job on my door mats which get quite disgusting and I like that I can freshen them up while I vacuum them. I also have a new Bissel (pet) vacuum which is excellent on cat hair on my carpet. I wish I knew they also made a steam Crosswave though it's quite pricey.
Thank you 🙏 For those of us who are autistic & struggle with loud noise, this machine is a no go from my autistic perspective & need for quiet machine noise. Think similar to the quiet noise from an electric car motor / engine noise that is waaaaaaay quieter compared to a diesel or petrol combustion motor / engine 🙌👂
Thank you for the tips! Bissell just camr out woth a crosswave+steamer and im tempted to try that. The regular crosswave is an amazing alternative to mopping, but does nothing for the grout other than rinse out the dirt once you have manually scrubbed it. It seems to be ok with acid (i use bleach regularly and have had no issues) but cannot tolerate a lot of foam as it will build up in the dirty tank and get to the motor.
Whatever on the grout lol just love that it vaccums and mops in one step!! It has excellent suction component so picks up everything! A splash of Dawn dish soap does the job in light of no heating elemenr!!
soap(foamedl soapy /sudsy water) and hydrogen peroxide using a foam and not cloth to apply to the group to avoid scratching and abrading the grout that can cause more diet and mold to grow inside(you can add salt in the hydrogen peroxide to bleach the dark grout and kill fungus)
This is your second video that I’ve watched, and I trust you 100%. I’ll be watching any other RU-vid videos you made. In fact, if you live near me, I’ll just hire you to do the work for me!
Wow, thanks for review and the follow up to my comment on your last grout video! I have the cordless version and use a pretreatment. Your review is spot on with my experience. Thanks again
11:55 finally after watching 2 videos and over 20 minutes of footage, something that is actually useful in the cleaning of grout without hiring someone else.
Steamer, shop vac, a carpet cleaner that has a rotating brush (or a brush on a pole) and a pressurized sprayer landscape sprayer. Most of those we already have.
Thank you, I just purchased this machine and watched your video because of your expertise. Thank you for making a great review and giving some tips from a professional point of view.
Thanks so much for this video! I’m always a bit bewildered & exasperated by written instructions (I’m a doer!) Had to back it up a few times 😂😂 Now I’m ready to tackle my 100 year old floors!
I think the one thing to point out is that on a 120 volt unit, something has to be left out. If you have heat, you can't have suction. The heating element requires the full 1800 watts or it will take too long to reheat. If you have suction that uses up around 800 watts. I rented a steam cleaner which had a compressor and heater but no suction. It made things terrible because I had to constantly stop and mop up the dirty water.
They're not all made the same, though. I've had some that were as effective as strapping a potato to the end of a long handle. The one I have now is great, though.
I've never liked the concept of mops. Only bought one a couple of years ago when a cleaning lady I hired insisted. Seems like it just moves dirty water around. Yuck! I got a Hoover Floormate about 20 years ago. Like the Bissel, It has very small tanks and takes forever to clean my floors. Then I bought a steam mop (with lots of the fabric mops). I found it picked up dirt left over after the Hoover. So, I retired the Hoover. Today, I steam mopped the kitchen. Then, brought the Hoover out of retirement and it picked up even more dirt. While the grout might (?) look a bit better in places, it is still a problem. The carpet upstairs will be professionally cleaned next week and while he is here, I'll ask how expensive it would be to professionally clean the tile on the first floor. In the past, I've tried my tiny steamer, an electric grout brush and brush cleaner. Incredibly time consuming and I didn't really see a real difference.
Even after a year of this machine vinegar and a splash of dawn dish liquid works great! As got grout I have a pee pee dog and I go over once or twice with squeezing the handle to let the vinegar cleaner get in there then I come back in about 2 minutes and the machine sucks up alot of dirt and the pee is gone. I still use the machine and after a year find it easy to clean and way better than a mop and broom.
I bought a house where renters hadn’t cleaned the grout in the bathroom for guessing 15 years. Tried a steam cleaner. Nothing. Tried a dozen cleansers. The one that worked the best was liquid barkeeper’s friend. I left it on for 10 minutes or so and then scrubbed. Grout came up white, like new. Nothing else I used came anywhere close. Not bleach. Not oxy clean. Not vinegar.
I’m not surprised. Bleach, oxiclean and vinegar aren’t cleaners. Bleach and oxiclean are stain removers and vinegar is just spoiled wine. The Bar Keepers Friend though is a great cleaner and I always keep some around.
I’ve been trying to find the most effective of these machines available to the average consumer because my family is MESSY, especially my 7 year old son. We rent so I don’t know what the floors and grout are made of but I can’t stress enough about how extremely deep the grout is in the very large open kitchen/dining area. Coupled with an OCD mentality, I’m never satisfied with the methods I’ve used so far and I do want to stay within a more natural approach to cleaners. Could you possibly do a comparison of various DIY “chemicals” we could leave on the floors to do the “dirty work” before passing over with a Crosswave or like item?
I use to have the same brand years ago in a bigger machine, it heated the water, proheat I think its called. Yes the dirty tank fills up quick, I use to carry a large bucket around so I didnt have to walk all the way to the sink to empty it in a large house
I would definitely redesign this Bissell machine by removing the clean water tank and making a dirty water tank as big as both or more. This way you can spray as much water and cleaning solution as you want on your floors and then sucking it all up.
That's why they aren't hiring you at Bissell!! Haha, they want people who buy their machines to regularly buy those bottles of cleaning solution, and their mixing instructions determine the rate at which people would go through it.
I have that exact Bissell machine for my floors and in my experience, it is not very good for any sort of deep or serious cleaning, especially for stains or messes that have had time to sit in. Whenever I try to use it on a very messy part of my floors it takes way too much hand pressure and elbow grease to make it work even KIND OF good, in order to justify even using it. One of the biggest draw backs of the machine is that the water tank is not big enough to use it on large areas without having to constantly stop to dump and refill it. I have three kids, four cats and three dogs so I do use it for brand new or recent stains and spills and it does a really good job when tackling those. The machine I use for serious cleaning is a hoover machine that is designed for carpet but works really good on my tile floors.
I had the same issue with stains with my bissell crosswave then I did a similar thing than what I saw in this video: pour some water (a few drops are enough) on all the stains(here he used a chemical cleaner but I don't), let it sit for a few seconds(just the time to mop other areas) and when I pass over them the stains come off right away...even when they are there for several days.so if you use a mild chemical it will be even easier. But in my reservoir I put the bissell product
wow great video, very eye opening. this is exactly why I don't like tile floor or counters. just bought a house that has tile in two shower enclosures, they will both be replaced eventually. luckily everything looks pretty new so I can live with it until we replace it. not looking forward to that mess.
I use really HOT water and I let it sit in that grout for 30 seconds turning water on and off. That's been a huge help with my grout. But prespraying is a great idea. This machine has taken me less scrub time big time
I totally agree with the feedback and also add on it that bissell machine make lot of sound so get yourself good noise canceling machine / headphones for your ears. I only use this machine to dry my garage area which is located in the north face of the house .
I have one of these and I don't really like it that much. The floor never comes as clean as I want unless I go over it with the steam mop after using the Crosswave. And it gets gunked up and spreads stinky dirty water all around if you don't change out the brush for a fresh one and wash out the tank all the time. It only comes with one brush, but I bought an extra one so I could change it quickly without having to wash it right away if I don't feel like it. I only like it for cleaning my bathroom because it's a small space, but it's kind of a waste in the kitchen, unless there's something like wet muddy footprints or the dog peed or something. It's convenient for messes like that, where there is loose liquid on the floor. But at this point, I basically just use it for pre vacuuming before I get out the steam mop. If I had it to do over again, I'd just get a steam mop that has a vacuum in it. The steam mop cleans a lot better because of the heat.
I have 4 dogs and a lot of white tile with white grout (we bought the house that way, not my choice), I've been searching everywhere for a somewhat affordable professional grade scrubber/wet vac that would work for household use. Especially after seeing this video, the Bissel Crosswave will definitely not stand up to what our house would put it through, or clean up after 16 muddy paws effectively. I do have professional cleaning a couple times a year, but it would be nice to have a high quality machine that's practical for regular people that could be stored in a closet.
There doesn't seem to be anything under $1,000 that will really get the grout clean. We've found that the Hoover Floormate, while not being great, is better than the Bissell Crosswave for maintenance between professional cleanings. We were particularly glad to have it the other night when our son spilled a whole bottle of Gatorade on the kitchen floor.
A shop vac with the right attachment make for an excellent "poor man's" extractor, A few more steps because you need to rinse with a separate tool but if you give me the choice between this crosswave or a shopvac + brush + mop for a deep clean I'm choosing the later.
I just cleaned my kitchen tile flooring today and used soapy water and a grout extended brush (like a broom). It took me about an hour and that's it. Not hard.
I think you just convinced me to replace my tile no matter the cost. it It's just not easy to clean, keep clean or convenient and it's expensive. Why do people still use tile again? Seriously what's the upside?
Is any flooring easy to clean or keep clean? It's cheaper and more durable than wood, nicer than laminate, and easier to maintain than carpet. Plus, unlike carpet, the average home owner can clean it on their own, with decent results, very inexpensively, without having to hire a professional or rent any fancy equipment. And unlike wood it never needs to be refinished. I think in the long term you can't do better than tile.
So your comparison is to professional grade cleaners and equipment the cross wave is a great product for someone who has kids and a busy life never had a problem with it or my steamer or my spin mop
