Bissell 1132A Symphony All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop (4 Mop Pads Included)

I have 4 small kids. I have been using this for the past 3 days, love it more each time. My floors never felt so clean. So rewarding to use it actually!

I really hope it lasts because it is right now too good to be true. I was nervous getting it due to the mixed reviews, but I’m actually very glad I did.

By the way it is heavy so it helps in the mopping action to mop up the dirt. The vacuum steam combo works pretty well, however I always try let the vaccum hit the dirt before the mop part does so I vaccum / steam in a forward motion. Make sure you actually press the steam setting, the buttons can be finicky. It will light up if you did it right.

I opted for the steam mop vs the cross wave. I don’t have time to clean rollers and dirty tanks. This one is very easy to maintain, you just change the microfiber mop, empty the canister, fill with clean distilled water. It dries fast which is a bonus for kids who run around the house and mess up the floors, right after you just mopped!

You can use disposable pads to mop places like the bathroom, it comes with it’s own attachment.

I’m praying it lasts because it’s making my life easier:)

As with anything, there are good things about this product and some things I would improve upon. I’ve had it a couple months now, and absolutely adore it. I’ve been able to get rid of my old vacuum and mop (though I kept my Roomba… a necessity for anyone with dogs as far as I’m concerned). It took me a little bit to figure out how to get the steam started because the instructions aren’t really clear on it. Turns out my problem was that the water filter has to be completely flush with the machine to work, which I mention below.

Pros:
–Vacuum works well. I primarily wanted this to replace my non-steam mop, which would leave strips of dog hair and lots of water residue on the floor. This does great at picking up between Roomba cycles. I love my Roomba, but it’s hit or miss on what I call “getting drunk” and stuck places mid-cycle, or running out of battery before a full clean.

–Fast, light steam cycle. I have bamboo floors which are sensitive to moisture, but the machine uses very little water and the floor dries quickly. It doesn’t take the machine long to warm the water for steam.

–Gets stuck on spots up easily. I used to have to use elbow grease with my old mop, but this will lift the spots up if you leave it on the spot a little longer than the rest of the floor.

–Disposal tank cleans easily. Since water is involved, the debris picked up doesn’t empty as a normal vacuum contents would. However, this is very easily negated by the ease of rinsing the tank in the sink. Honestly, I prefer this anyway so you don’t get gross stuck on who-knows-what living in the tank.

–4 mop pads are the perfect amount. I never run out. I usually have 1-2 to wash, leaving me with at least 2 ready to go at any given moment.

–Compact design. Doesn’t take up much storage space.

To be aware of:
–The filter that works with the steam/water portion dislodges occasionally. It’s minimal, but enough to stop the machine from producing steam. It’s really easy to push it back in, and the amount of time the 2 in 1 has saved me makes it worth the minimal trouble. I have an extra child-proof fridge lock that I’m going to attach which will eliminate the problem altogether.

–I can’t speak for those who aren’t cleaning floors frequented by 2 large dogs, but sometimes the vacuum portion gets clogged with dog hair. The whole bottom portion of the vacuum comes off and it’s super easy to clear the clog. Can’t say the same for my old Dyson, where I had to get creative with pipe cleaners.

–It’s a little difficult to clean rugs. I have low pile rugs, so I can’t speak about more carpet-like rugs. The corners of my rugs aren’t secured to the ground, so it’s not the easiest to keep them secure when steaming them. The machine doesn’t push as easily on rugs, either. HOWEVER, I got this so I wouldn’t have to scrub the rugs on my hands and knees so this is something I can overlook. It takes next to no time to do the hardwood in my house, and not too long for the rugs. (I’ll also say that if you look at the pictures of what this actually is, you can most likely deduce that it’s not going to glide like a vacuum would on rugs.)

–You have to press down the button on the handle in addition to the steam level in order to have it steam. Not a huge deal, but after a bit your hand gets tired of gripping. It really only takes me 10 minutes to do the entire house, so, again, not a big problem for me. If you have arthritis, this may not be your best option.

This machine arrived a day early and it is absolutely amazing – with three large dogs and a cat, plus a 2 year old who visits regularly, it is a life saver! I love how it feels so clean and even without using any scent discs, it smells clean and fresh! I used it on vinyl, ceramic tile and wood floors – so very, very pleased with this machine. Highly recommend it!

UPDATE: It died – the steam no longer works on this, very disappointed.

We have purchased three of these – two of the complete ones (the next level up) and the basic Symphony. Both of us have Fibromyalgia and these have been a life saver. We have one on each level of our home and in the over two years of use we have yet to encounter any issues with near daily use.

They’re lightweight and the suction is more than enough in our house to pick up the shed fur from our animals (dogs and cats) and the debris left behind by a very active toddler. I have recommended them to family and friends repeatedly.

Excelente producto trabaja muy bien, es mejor que una sirvienta, aspira y trapea muy bien, deja los pisos excelente, una gran compra.

Really took some time looking at different model. I made the right choice. Steam feature cleans well without leaving the floor wet. Great for tile. I am kind obsessed with using it to be honest.

8 months later…the steam function failed. I called Bissell and they tried to sell mea new one with a 10% discount. Said trigger on unit was defective. After explaining I only had unit 8 months, gent tried to go by the manufacture date for warranty. Super dissatisfied. Unit was nice, bu defect within trigger. Do not buy!! Customer support is horrible and barely audible due to agents being outsourced to another country and language barrier.

We have 3 young toddlers, and laminate “hardwood” in all the rooms, except the carpeted living room and we love the Symphony, it makes our life easy! Having read reviews complaining about how differently the Symphony maneuvers from regular vacuums, I figured that would be my biggest hang up with the machine. However, it took maybe a couple times to get the maneuverability mastered; it sort of works like a paint roller would, working in a “w” formation along the floors tends to be the easiest for us. It easily picks up larger bits like Cheerios, dried bits of food, & popcorn and across our short weave carpet it easily does quick jobs, picking up crumbs and smaller bits (without the steam mop head attachment on the machine of course.)
If a floor surface is particularly covered in crumbs (looking at you kitchen floor!) we do a quick vacuum only, then use the vac and steam option together but most of the time, we use the vacuum and steam option together and it works great!
I like to use the scrubby pad on the kitchen floor with low steam, and the bathroom tile with high steam.
I use the non-scrubby pads on all the other laminate floors with low steam. In my opinion, the low steam temperature has not created a problem with lifting or bubbling of our laminate (that being said, our laminate isn’t under any kind of warranty either so I don’t feel constricted in our choice of what to clean it with.)
We clean the dirt cup with each use and then monthly, rinse the the filter and sponge under warm water– has not lost suction at all.
Downsides: it won’t replace a mop entirely as the head doesn’t fit in the small spaces of our home like down the side of the toilet nor underneath the bathroom vanities. Even with the Symphony is tilted to it’s lowest point, it’s still maybe 8-10 inches tall, unlike a mop head which is maybe an inch tall and can get into those smaller spaces.
That’s a very small downside though. We recommend it to everyone we know 🙂