Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Pet vs Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe

Analysis

A thorough examination of the differences between the HydroSteam and the PowerScrub in six different categories.

The PowerScrub has less measured suction at the hose (for spot cleaning) but significantly more measured suction at the base (near the vacuum motor) and the nozzle (at the bottom of the cleaner head – for upright cleaning).

Winner: PowerScrub

Despite having less measured suction at the base and the nozzle, the HydroSteam performed better than the PowerScrub in our upright stain test.

This can mostly be attributed to the fact that it uses steam in addition to water and soap to clean (the PowerSrub only uses water and soap).

The table above lists the number of passes it took each cleaner to clean each stain. A score greater than 10 indicates that the stain wasn’t cleaned after 10 passes (we ended testing after 10 passes). The higher the score past 10, the darker the stain that was left behind.

For example, both cleaners scored greater than 10 for the tomato sauce stain, meaning they both left behind some staining after 10 passes. The Hydrosteam left behind a slightly ligher stain (11) than the PowerScrub (12) though.

The Hydrosteam also cleaned the ice cream, caramel syrup, and chocolate syrup stains faster than the PowerScrub.

One big positive for the PowerScrub is that it didn’t spread the stains as much as the Hydrosteam while it cleaned. Take a look at the screenshot below. Note how much more the Hydrosteam spread the tomato sauce and the ice cream stains after X back and forth passes.

Winner: HydroSteam – even though it spread stains more as it cleaned, it cleaned most stains faster than the PowerScrub.

After our stain test we measured the moisture level of the carpet that was cleaned. Because it uses significantly more water to clean, the Hydrosteam did leave the carpet significantly wetter than the PowerScrub after cleaning.

Winner: PowerScrub

Both cleaners have relatively large water tanks, but the HydroSteam uses more water to clean, so it cannot cover as large of an area as the PowerScrub before you need to refill and empty its tanks.

Winner: PowerScrub

The Hydrosteam’s dirty water tank is easier to clean because it has less nooks and crannies to clean.

The PowerScrub’s brush assembly is easier to clean because it can be removed (for rinsing and washing) by pulling it out of the cleaner head, without using any tools to do so. The HydroSteam’s brushrolls cannot be removed without a screwdriver.

Winner: Tie – certain parts of the HydroSteam are easier to clean and certain parts of the PowerScrub are easier to clean.

Both models can be used to spot clean. They both come with an 8 ft. long hose and multiple spot cleaning tools.

The PowerScrub did perform slightly better in our spot cleaning test though.

Winner: PowerScrub

Other Notes and Features

The HydroSteam uses steam in addition to soap and water to clean stains faster.

The PowerScrub uses multiple small rotating brushes (instead of large brushrolls like the HydroSteam to not spread stains as much while it cleans.

Winner: Tie – each model has unique features that helped it perform better in our tests in different ways.

Verdict

Our bottom line recommendations.

The HydroSteam cleaned stains faster than the PowerScrub in our upright stain test, but it spread stains more as it cleaned.

It also left carpet wetter after cleaning, and it requires you to refill its clean tank (with soap and water) and empty its dirty water tank (of dirty water) more frequently than the PowerScrub.

The HydroSteam is also significantly more expensive than the PowerScrub.

All things considered, we generally recommend the PowerScrub over the HydroSteam. Neither of these models is a bad option but we think the PowerScrub is a much better value overall.