This post is sponsored by eBay
“How do you keep your house clean with a big dog?!” is a question I get on the daily. I’ve addressed it here when I talked about all my loves, errr vacuums. (It takes an army), but it always comes down to you have to love your dog/children/lived-in-life more than you hate the mess that comes with them. Which we enthusiastically do. I also happen to enthusiastically love cleaning and there are definitely a few things that make it MORE fun. When BISSELL saw we included them in our all-star line-up awhile back, they asked if we would share what we have, how we use them and what we love about them.
We have two — count ‘em, two — BISSELL vacuum cleaners, both of which we bought certified refurbished on eBay (more on that here),but essentially they come direct from the manufacture and are tested and verified to work like-new. We got the ICONpet in September 2019 and the Crosswave in May 2018 and neither has ever called in sick, if you get what I’m saying.
You’ve heard of the upstairs vacuum and the downstairs vacuum, but our BISSELL’s actually serve two different purposes. Two cleaning *moods*, if you will (And I will…)
Now, we have a big, lovable hairy dog, three active kids, and plenty of construction and remodeling going on every day. If I didn’t love to clean and secretly enjoy to hum of our two BISSELLs, our house would be a mess. I’m not (but I kind of am) making a case for you to get both of these.
Candidly, here’s what I like about the ICONpet High-Powered Cordless Vacuum:
- You don’t have to plug it in. I never trip over the cord. You just charge it up (you’ll mount the charging station to a wall near an outlet), and it stays powered for up to 40 minutes. The higher power modes cut down on those minutes, but this vacuum rarely takes more than a few minutes to do the job. (I use lower power modes on lightweight area rugs.)
- It can change into a hand vac when I want to vacuum the couch or the stairs or the curtains or anywhere else Willow’s hair has landed. The also cordless motorized TurboBrush tool lets me roam all over the house, cleaning anything I can reach.
- There’s a Tangle Free Brush Roll that traps pet hair (and all of our hair!) without wrapping around the vacuum.
- There’s a removeable dirt canister that’s easy to dump and doesn’t stimulate by gag reflex.
- There’s a light on it :) This is the big thing that kind of puts it above my other vacuums. The light just makes it easier to see dirt. Period. It swivels and swerves, and I can see under EVERYTHING.
The CrossWave Pet Pro is unlike any other vacuum I have and it’s a critical addition to my line-up because:
- It’s a wet vac! I fill up the tank with water, add the multi-surface pet formula (pet-friendly, kid-friendly, earth-friendly), and then go to town. It scrubs off paw prints, dirt, food — you name it. You’re vacuuming AND washing your floors at the same time. It feels like the future. I find this especially helpful for wet/dry messes like spilled cereal, vomit (I’m sincerely sorry), the mess around the dog’s bowls. Gaggggg.
- You can wash area rugs with it. It gets them all sudsy and everything. There’s a button that says “hard floor” and one that says “area rug.”
- There’s a two-tank system, so the dirty water isn’t swimming around with the cleaning solution. #genius
- It smells so good. This gets its own bullet point. It smells like the room has an air freshener in it when you’re done.
Vacuuming is one of those chores that ranks high on my list because of the instant gratification, satisfaction, smell, vacuum lines, clean floors, time to put in my headphones and clean—I mean, what’s not to love! Linked a few below from eBay for a great price if you want to snag one!
Love your entire blog, Julia!! I swear- having a good (couple) of vacuums really is essential! I am always shocked at the amount of dust/dirt that builds up in my vacuum after just a FEW uses! I make sure to clean my vacuum regularly to help keep it in tip-top shape. :) One other thing that really helps is scheduling semi-regular carpet and upholstery cleanings. I do hire this out because it’s so exhausting to tackle myself and I’m always really happy with the results I get with the company I have used for 5+ years!
Omg yes! We love Bissell products. All of my essential cleaning machines were by Bissell for the last 11 yrs. Back in 2011 we were the first family to live in a renovated townhome so we invested in the Proheat 2x Select Pet shampooer. Move out inspector said if we hadn’t told her, she never would’ve guessed we had a dog. That machine is almost 10 yrs old and still works amazingly. Fast forward to us buying our first house 2 yrs ago with a grand total of 4 kids and a dog. First thing I bought was the Crosswave since it’s wood look porcelain tile throughout except the bedrooms. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world. I use it everyday….I mean there are 4 mini humans in here after all lol…
Our home is so small but vacuuming is a major stress in my life… especially with lockdown, we really only have time to do it once a week and by then the floors are so bad. Between my hair, 2 cats and a toddler its gross how much mess there is. My biggest issue is that our cylinder vacuum gets clogged with dust and hair very quickly. I need to empty and clear out the dirt multiple times in our tiny home… is that normal or is it just my vacuum cleaner?
In the market for a good vacuum! Do you like the Bissell vacuums more than your Dyson?
I love our Crosswave on our stone and tile floors – it’s so satisfying to see the dirty water fill up. Gross, I know.
Question, how and where do you wash Willow? I’ve been considering the Bissel BarkBath for my bath hating pup. If you want to check that one out, would love to be influenced. ;)
It really does satisfy and gross you out at the same time. ????