Cleaning review
Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max Review: 98.75% on Hard Floors, 38% on Carpet
Gadget Review measured suction at 0.34 kPa, which is very low. On sealed hard floors that barely matters, and on carpet it is the whole story.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Bissell
Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max
Fair · researched from 3 sources
Close to perfect on sealed hard floors and close to useless on carpet, and the 0.34 kPa suction measurement explains both. If your home is tile, laminate or wood, this replaces a mop and a vacuum at once.
- Buy if
- Tile, laminate and sealed wood throughout · Homes with pets, at 89.5 percent hair pickup · Wet spills, which it cleans in the same pass as dry debris
- Skip if
- Carpeted homes, at 38 percent pickup · Stairs, which Real Homes says it cannot do · Long sessions, at 37 minutes against a three hour charge
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
Two numbers, one machine
Hard floors: 98.75 percent of debris removed.
Carpet: 38 percent.
Both from Gadget Review, and the explanation sits a few lines further down their own review: suction measured 0.34 kPa, which is very low by any standard.
On a sealed hard floor, suction is not doing most of the work. A spinning brushroll wets and scrubs, a squeegee wipes, and what is left has nowhere to hide. Weak suction is survivable.
In carpet pile, suction is the entire job. There is no squeegee action to fall back on, and 0.34 kPa cannot lift what is down in the fibres.
If your floors are tile, laminate or sealed wood, this is one of the more effective machines you can buy. If they are carpet, it is the wrong product and no amount of technique changes that.
The individual tests agree
Trusted Reviews ran the specific messes rather than a percentage: rice picked up completely without scattering, and flour along the skirting board leaving only a small trace, which they credit to edge performance 60 percent better than the previous model.
On carpet, their ketchup test came out mostly removed with a slight trace left, which they call acceptable on lighter stains.
Real Homes, testing laminate and rugs in a two-bedroom flat, rates it highly for pet hair and large debris.
Gadget Review's pet hair figure puts a number on that: 89.5 percent across surfaces.
Half an hour, then three hours off
Gadget Review measured 37 to 38 minutes of runtime and a 193 minute charge.
Trusted Reviews and Real Homes both report 30 minutes.
Trusted Reviews gives the version that is actually useful: an entire downstairs plus a bedroom and a bathroom on a single charge, with power left.
That is a flat or a small house. A large house is two sessions and an afternoon in between.
The tanks are small
Clean water and detergent: 0.83 litres. Waste: 0.55.
Trusted Reviews empties the waste tank several times in one cleaning session, which is the sort of detail that does not show up in a specification sheet and does show up every single time you use it.
There is a washable filter in the waste tank, and a self-cleaning brush cycle that runs from the dock. Real Homes rates that a real convenience and notes it is loud.
What it cannot do
Real Homes' three limitations are the honest ones.
Floors come up wetter than they would like, so there is a wait before walking on them.
At 5.22 kilograms it is heavy to carry and awkward to store.
And it cannot be used on stairs at all, which means it is an addition to a household's cleaning kit rather than a replacement for it.
Gadget Review adds that there is no HEPA filter and no attachments in the box.
How it scored
The overall 6.5 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Cleaning performance
Gadget Review measured 98.75 percent pickup on bare floors, 89.5 percent on pet hair and 38 percent on carpet. Trusted Reviews found rice picked up completely and flour cleared along skirting.
Value
Trusted Reviews scored 4.5 out of 5 and recommends it. Real Homes names the price a drawback. Gadget Review calls it competent on bare floors and a struggle elsewhere.
Build quality
A self-cleaning brush cycle through the dock and a washable filter in the waste tank. Gadget Review notes there is no HEPA filter and no attachments included.
Ease of use
Trusted Reviews reports the 0.55 L waste tank needing emptying several times per session. Real Homes finds it heavy to store, unusable on stairs and leaving floors wetter than hoped.
Battery
Gadget Review measured 37 to 38 minutes against a 193 minute charge. Trusted Reviews reports 30 minutes and a four hour charge, and cleaned a downstairs plus two rooms on one charge.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- Gadget Review measured 98.75 percent debris pickup on bare floors
- 89.5 percent pet hair pickup across surfaces per Gadget Review
- Trusted Reviews reports edge performance 60 percent better than the previous model
- Rice picked up completely and flour cleared along the skirting in Trusted Reviews' tests
- A self-cleaning brush cycle that runs from the dock
- It washes and vacuums in one pass, so wet spills do not need two machines
What we didn’t
- Gadget Review measured only 38 percent debris pickup on carpet
- Gadget Review measured suction at 0.34 kPa, which is very low
- The waste tank holds 0.55 L and Trusted Reviews empties it several times a session
- Real Homes says it does not leave floors as dry as hoped
- Real Homes reports it is heavy to store and cannot be used on stairs
- Gadget Review notes there is no HEPA filter and no attachments in the box
Specifications
| Hard floor pickup | 98.75 percent per Gadget Review |
|---|---|
| Carpet pickup | 38 percent per Gadget Review |
| Pet hair pickup | 89.5 percent per Gadget Review |
| Suction | 0.34 kPa per Gadget Review |
| Runtime | 37 to 38 min per Gadget Review; 30 min per Trusted Reviews and Real Homes |
| Charge time | 193 min per Gadget Review; about 4 hours per Trusted Reviews |
| Battery | 36 V lithium-ion |
| Tanks | 0.83 L clean water and detergent, 0.55 L waste per Trusted Reviews |
| Weight | 5.22 kg per Trusted Reviews; 11.5 lb per Gadget Review |
| Noise | 76.9 dB per Trusted Reviews; 75.9 dB per Gadget Review |
| Cleaning path | 9.5 in per Gadget Review |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
Gadget Review supplies the percentage pickup figures by surface, the suction measurement, the measured runtime and charge time, the weight, the noise level and the cleaning path width. Trusted Reviews supplies the individual debris tests, the tank capacities, the dimensions, a second noise measurement, the edge performance comparison and the emptying frequency, scoring 4.5 out of 5. Real Homes supplies real-world observations across laminate, rugs and pet hair, the drying criticism and the storage and stairs limitations. The three differ on carpet performance, with one measurement and two impressions, and the measurement is given priority in the verdict while all positions are reported.
What we read
Common questions
How well does the Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max clean hard floors?
Can it clean carpet?
How long does the battery last?
What is the maintenance like?
What are the practical drawbacks?
The bottom line on the Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max
Close to perfect on sealed hard floors and close to useless on carpet, and the 0.34 kPa suction measurement explains both. If your home is tile, laminate or wood, this replaces a mop and a vacuum at once.
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