Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Pet Review

Analysis

A step by step breakdown of the HydroSteam's performance.

The Hydrosteam was measured to have very low suction at the base, the hose, and at the nozzle.

The table above describes the number of passes it took to clean each stain. For example, it took the Hydrosteam 7 back and forth passes to clean the peanut butter stain, which is a better than average results.

The Hydrosteam scores an “11” for the tomato sauce stain because it left behind some light staining after 10 passes (testing ends after 10 back and forth passes). Note though that the average is “11.3” (some models left an even darker stain which scores “12” or higher), so the Hydrosteam actually performed slightly better cleaning this stain than average.

Overall, the Hydrosteam performed very well in our upright stain test.

As I just mentioned, it was an above average performer cleaning the tomato sauce and peanut butter stains.

And it was a well above average performer cleaning the ice cream, caramel syrup, and chocolate syrup stains.

After the stain test we measured the moisture level of the carpet over which the carpet cleaner traveled back and forth to clean each stain.

The Hydrosteam left the carpet the wetteset of any carpet cleaner we tested.

After taking this initial reading, we then ran the carpet cleaner back and forth over the same strip of carpet for three additional “dry” passes. During regular cleaning the cleaner dispenses soap and water on the forward pass and maximizes extraction on the backward pull. During these three additional “dry” passes it would only extract without dispensing any liquid.

In any case, after these three additional “dry” passes we took another reading, and this reading also came back “wetter” than average.

The Hydrosteam has fairly large water tanks but it uses a lot of water to clean, and because of this it has a very limited are of coverage before you need to refill its clean water tank and empty its dirty water tank.

You can remove the Hydrosteam’s front nozzle for decent access to clean around its two brushrolls. Unfortunately, you cannot remove the brushrolls themselves very easily. On this model (and most other Bissells) you have to use a screwdriver to remove them. And so you’ll usually just remove the front nozzle and clean around the brushrolls without removing them.

The Hydrosteam’s dirty water tank is also easy to clean. It comes apart very easily which gives good access to clean all of its parts.

The Hydrosteam can be used as a spot cleaner. You can connect a hose to a port on the front of the cleaner and connect a spot cleaning tool to that hose.

The model we bought for review included an 8 ft. long hose and two spot cleaning tools – a 2-in-1 pet upholstery tool and a 6 inch stair tool.

In our spot cleaning test, the Hydrosteam’s performance was average.

Other Notes and Features

The Hydrosteam uses steam in addition to soap and water to clean. It was the only carpet cleaner we tested that had this functionality.

Using steam definitely helped this model’s performance in our tests. Recall, it was tested to have very low measured suction. However, it still performed very well in our upright stain test, especially cleaning syrup stains, because it uses steam (in addition to soap and liquid water) to clean.

Verdict

Our bottom line recommendations.

The Hydrosteam cleans up stains very well, but it requires a lot of water to clean.

Because of this (high water use) it leaves carpet very wet after cleaning, and it requires that you refill and empty its water tanks very frequently.

The Hydrosteam is also very expensive.

All things considered, we generally don’t recommend this model. There are better options out there that clean up just as well (or better), leave carpet drier after cleaning, and don’t require you to refill and empty their tanks as frequently. Our current recommendations are listed here.