The Crosswave has saved my sanity with two dogs, one a new puppy! I sure did wonder about the grout lines though...They are lower than the tile and it's just natural for dirt to end up there. A great video! Thanks!
This guy is the heavyweight champion of his field. He should start reviewing cars and movies and everything on this planet. I would watch and I have carpets in my house
You have so much expertise. I can see how you could set up a cleaning academy online and people could find trained cleaners through you around the world.
A kid in my class at school's Dad had a cleaning company. He said that whether the economy's good or bad, things still get dirty, so it's a very stable business.
Buy a Harbor Freight $29 steamer and steam/lightly brush the grout. Use a sponge mop as you go and the grout is cleaned perfectly with little effort. I did three full bathrooms (two master sized) in less Han half a day. No chemicals or abrasives used.
This is exactly what I do, but I also use a shop vac (I have 2, one regular size and a smaller one), and immediately pull the dirty water into the shop vac and the floor is 99% dry and I LOVE IT!!! My tile floors are in every room except the bedrooms (wish I had that tile that looks like wood flooring there, but alas, the bedrooms are carpeted). I also have pets.... I thought it was hopeless to keep the tile floors really clean, and I couldn't afford a quality hard floor cleaner machine, so this method replicates it and believe it or not, it is fast!
You are a human encyclopedia in the cleaning industry! Thank you for this post - very very enlightening with useful and applicable info that laypersons and professionals can utilize. Have a great day 😀
I have a steamer with wand attachments. I get on my hands and knees using a gardeners foam knee pad and steam the grout, loosen with a grout brush and wipe away with cleaning rag. After the first time, I was able to completely return grout to original color. I do this weekly and it goes quickly now that the scrubbing is minimal. I rent an apartment and have 2 relatively small bathrooms and a kitchen. I keep dirt off the floor with vacuuming daily (primarily because I have a cat and insects are common in apartments in central Texas). My steamer was $200 and worth it as I'm able to also clean the oven, bathtubs, sinks, mop boards and keep mold (again humid central Texas) off my window ledges. I don't use chemicals.
What a great video! Sound, presentation & editing are excellent. Not wasting my time for even a second. Yours will be my go-to channel for floor cleaning help. Many thanks 🍻
soap(foamedl soapy /sudsy water) and hydrogen peroxide using a foam and not cloth to apply to the group to avoid scratching and abrading the grout that can cause more diet and mold to grow inside(you can add salt in the hydrogen peroxide to bleach the dark grout and kill fungus)
They're not all made the same, though. I've had some that were as effective as strapping a potato to the end of a long handle. The one I have now is great, though.
Steamer, shop vac, a carpet cleaner that has a rotating brush (or a brush on a pole) and a pressurized sprayer landscape sprayer. Most of those we already have.
Thank you 🙏 For those of us who are autistic & struggle with loud noise, this machine is a no go from my autistic perspective & need for quiet machine noise. Think similar to the quiet noise from an electric car motor / engine noise that is waaaaaaay quieter compared to a diesel or petrol combustion motor / engine 🙌👂
11:55 finally after watching 2 videos and over 20 minutes of footage, something that is actually useful in the cleaning of grout without hiring someone else.
Thanks so much for this video! I’m always a bit bewildered & exasperated by written instructions (I’m a doer!) Had to back it up a few times 😂😂 Now I’m ready to tackle my 100 year old floors!
I use really HOT water and I let it sit in that grout for 30 seconds turning water on and off. That's been a huge help with my grout. But prespraying is a great idea. This machine has taken me less scrub time big time
Even after a year of this machine vinegar and a splash of dawn dish liquid works great! As got grout I have a pee pee dog and I go over once or twice with squeezing the handle to let the vinegar cleaner get in there then I come back in about 2 minutes and the machine sucks up alot of dirt and the pee is gone. I still use the machine and after a year find it easy to clean and way better than a mop and broom.
I think the one thing to point out is that on a 120 volt unit, something has to be left out. If you have heat, you can't have suction. The heating element requires the full 1800 watts or it will take too long to reheat. If you have suction that uses up around 800 watts. I rented a steam cleaner which had a compressor and heater but no suction. It made things terrible because I had to constantly stop and mop up the dirty water.
I've never liked the concept of mops. Only bought one a couple of years ago when a cleaning lady I hired insisted. Seems like it just moves dirty water around. Yuck! I got a Hoover Floormate about 20 years ago. Like the Bissel, It has very small tanks and takes forever to clean my floors. Then I bought a steam mop (with lots of the fabric mops). I found it picked up dirt left over after the Hoover. So, I retired the Hoover. Today, I steam mopped the kitchen. Then, brought the Hoover out of retirement and it picked up even more dirt. While the grout might (?) look a bit better in places, it is still a problem. The carpet upstairs will be professionally cleaned next week and while he is here, I'll ask how expensive it would be to professionally clean the tile on the first floor. In the past, I've tried my tiny steamer, an electric grout brush and brush cleaner. Incredibly time consuming and I didn't really see a real difference.
I use to have the same brand years ago in a bigger machine, it heated the water, proheat I think its called. Yes the dirty tank fills up quick, I use to carry a large bucket around so I didnt have to walk all the way to the sink to empty it in a large house
I totally agree with the feedback and also add on it that bissell machine make lot of sound so get yourself good noise canceling machine / headphones for your ears. I only use this machine to dry my garage area which is located in the north face of the house .
I would definitely redesign this Bissell machine by removing the clean water tank and making a dirty water tank as big as both or more. This way you can spray as much water and cleaning solution as you want on your floors and then sucking it all up.
That's why they aren't hiring you at Bissell!! Haha, they want people who buy their machines to regularly buy those bottles of cleaning solution, and their mixing instructions determine the rate at which people would go through it.
I just bought a crosswave for its ability to pick up liquids and solids at the same. With cats one tends to get those mixed messes a lot. My grout is brown to begin with, so I'm ahead of the issue.
I think you just convinced me to replace my tile no matter the cost. it It's just not easy to clean, keep clean or convenient and it's expensive. Why do people still use tile again? Seriously what's the upside?
Is any flooring easy to clean or keep clean? It's cheaper and more durable than wood, nicer than laminate, and easier to maintain than carpet. Plus, unlike carpet, the average home owner can clean it on their own, with decent results, very inexpensively, without having to hire a professional or rent any fancy equipment. And unlike wood it never needs to be refinished. I think in the long term you can't do better than tile.
Do you think the bissell spin mop would clean the tile & grout good? Can you do a review of that one too? It's really popular choice amongst cleaning TH-camrs right now.... I'm curious if it really does anything 🤔
I’m assuming you’re talking about the Spinwave? Is that correct? If so it’s just a mop with no rinse or extraction capability so it’s going to have all of the same liabilities as any other mop but with a much higher price tag. It might be good for scrubbing the grout but you’ll still need to rinse the dirt out some how. Otherwise you’ll just be spreading it around like any other mop
I hope you can help me. I live in an apartment and my kitchen floor is driving me nuts. The building won't replace the floors and they are old, dirty with no shine. They laid peel and stick, but didn't bother to push them together. So there are gaps and if I don't scrap out the gaps every few months, I get baby cockroaches. Yes I know GROSS. I'm 65 and it's getting to hard to spend hours on my hands and knees to clean every gap. My dog won't eat her kibble unless I check it first. Did I mention this is the 3rd layer of flooring. Tiles are loose and I glued them. Can I use my Little Green Steam machine and a shop vacuum to clean these gross gaps. HELP!
I looked at Home Depot today for the Bona floor cleaner and it didn't say 'neutral ph' on the label like I saw elsewhere. are all the Bona floor cleaners neutral ph, even if it doesn't say so on the label? thank you!!!!
Hi, I just watched another tile cleaning video and he said do NOT use Acidic cleaners because it strips away at the grout. Degrading it. What are your thoughts on that?
That is true. Acidic cleaners will dissolve the calcium in the grout and for that reason I recommend not using acidic cleaners during routine maintenance cleaning. However, in a restorative cleaning when you’re trying to bring the grout back to a like new condition, very often acidic cleaners are the only thing that will remove stains and get the grout clean. With a proper maintenance routine you should be able to go 18- 24 months between major restorative cleanings and if you need to use an acidic cleaner during those cleanings it will be safe for the grout. It’s when the floor is cleaned weekly or daily with vinegar or other acidic cleaners that you see degradation of the grout. And of course you never ever use acids on natural stone like travertine, limestone, and marble.
Is there a machine that a DIYer can buy that you do reccomend which is effective for deep clenaing hard tiles and grout etc that isnt super expensive, now in 2024?
Thank you for the fair warning. I will not be purchasing ANY BISSELL. Also, you advised us from using Acidic products, just ones that are NEUTRAL. Has that changed? Can you review the Dupray, McCullough or Light N Easy. I need a grout cleaner - aggressive steamer. Can you follow-up again because the steamer uses steamed water? Your 1st video was very useful to me. Thanks for helping because my grouts need help and I've been using vinegar or bleach based diy cleaners. Then I would follow with hot water. Poxy grout? hmmmm, what's that? Our tile has been down for 13 years and it's time to update. Are you in the USA? Let me know if you come to see Elvis in Memphis, I may have a job for you?
There was this really great product that could clean anything even flat painted walls but they stopped producing it. I've since found that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works very well. I'm not sure that there is a whole video in cleaning walls but I'll think about it.
I can up the ante! My painted walls are ‘sand’ textured, which ‘grab’ fibres. The kitchen is a mess because of steam/oil etc. Any ideas apart from standing on the bench with a bucket & scrubbing brush? I’ve searched for a tool for years so that I can clean them more frequently.
I've used 409 and let it dwell for 20-25 mins. Grout still isn't absolutely clean. I've always used a steam mop on this tile floor. Any other suggestions???
Apply the alkaline cleaner (409) let it dwell, scrub the grout, rinse it, apply acidic cleaner, let it dwell, scrub the grout, rinse it, apply the alkaline cleaner again, let it dwell, rinse it. I just made a video about the whole restorative grout cleaning process that you can watch
It's become increasingly clear to me that domestic grade appliances of all sorts (including kitchen small appliances) are usually overpriced and underperforming. Whenever i've been able to find affordable small scale commercial equipment, it's shown to be drastically better at whatever it does. I've found small dry steam extractor units that are suitable for home cleaning but, still a 3k price tag. Any suggestions? I'm also trying to find somewhere a good quality flat mop system of commercial quality however, they dont make it easy for you on commercial cleaning websites to put a whole kit together. Domestic grade flat mops are just junk, that falls apart in no time, and also usually dont come as a system....so you end up with a flat mop and nowhere to wring it properly. Spin mops....sigh....need a rinse; not rpms on drying a mop.
Very informative!! But on your last video, you said to not use ans alkaline solution but you are using on this one. Did I miss something? 🧐 I also wanted to ask you, what is the best way to clean hardwood? And should we stick to a neutral ph as well? Thank you!!
When doing a deep, restorative cleaning you need to use alkaline and/or acid cleaners. But in between restorative cleanings you want to avoid them and stick with neutral cleaners. Bona makes a good hardwood floor cleaner and it is neutral pH.
You could extract the floor with a shop vac but it's not gong to work as well as using an extractor that actually sprays out water to rinse the floor while it's extracting. There will be more steps involved but if that's what you got then go for it.
On grout l try to stay away from heat. Heat opens the pores of the grout helping it to release but get drawn back in. Cold water first let's the dirt come up and off into the hydrofolic sponge and there is no cleaners or chemicals that have to be cleared. After cleaning a small area with a damp sponge rubbing hard on the grout lines then dry immediately with a terry bath towel. I have pictures using only water and a well broken in tile sponge. Wish l could post the before and after results here. I have 30 years experience as tile setter, refurbisher.
Excellent Video, and you make it easy to understand by talking clearly. Thanks for that. Do you have an opinion of comparing the Crosswave to a Shark S7000 or S7001 with rotating pads and steam compared to the Crosswave non-steam and spinning brush? Thanks a lot.
Thanks! I haven’t tried the Shark but I did try Hoover Floormate and I like it a lot better. It still doesn’t get to the grout but it cleans better than the crosswave
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Ok, thanks a lot. I should have said I was more interested in the general cleaning perspective. I know grout is tough, usually only get it clean by elbow grease vs. cheaper machines. Thanks again.
Brilliant video.also wet dry vacuums are pretty cheap to suck up the dirty water after scrubbing .i am a floor sander from Oz, I have 30cm Beige ceramic tiles, fair few need replacing due to chips cracks, seems like or looks like these particular ceramic beige/cream ceramic tiles are shown in most videos regardless what country they are in, in your experience do they differ very much in color? Cheers.
Not until you put them side by side and then all of a sudden they look nothing alike. I've seen people have great success patching chips and cracks in these tiles with nail polish. When it's done right you can't even tell.
Drying the floor is not the point nor really even relevant. Tile and grout dries very quickly without intervention. Extractors like the Crosswave rinse the floor which is essential for getting the floor clean.
Thanks for sharing. We just installed marble tile and the grout lines in the shower are filthy. I can’t seem to find a great cleaner that works and is gentle enough for marble. Help!
I was crazy enough to listen to a tile store that putting 4x4 natural marble tiles on my shower floor would be great. NOT! My tiles keep staining and so does the grout. I’ve got well water with a whole house filter system and softener. Still stains. Ready to rip out the shower and start over. Did you say epoxy grout would be good for a shower?
Ok, so now I'm totally confused 🤔. I have an old tile floor in my bathroom. The small hexagon shaped tiles. Sooooo lots of dirty grout. I did try with great success scrubbing a small section with a mix of baking soda, white vinegar, water and a bit of dish soap. But is that combo going to eat at my grout???? Thanks 👍
Not at all because the vinegar is acidic and the baking soda and dish soap are both alkaline so they will neutralize each other diminishing the efficacy of all three chemicals.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Ok , great, so now I need to find out what kind of grout sealer to use. Ive done some research and found some spray on grout sealers. Do you know anything about those? I want to be sure I'll be able to get the extra sealer off the tiles, and the floor NOT be SLIPPERY to walk on. Thanks
I've never used the spray kind so I don't know much about it. It seems like it would make an awful mess. Sealer on the tiles won't make them any more slippery but it will leave haze on the tiles that will be harder to remove once it's dried. I made a short video about how I seal grout. You can check it out: th-cam.com/users/shortsh2L2XVpqgJY?feature=share and in the description of that video there are links to what I use.
Ugh! Grout is a 4 letter word in my house. Thank you we appreciate you taking time to make this video! Question: a tile guy that gave me a bid to clean my tile said he also offered a service ($600) to do an "acid wash" on the grout & then paint my grout-it would have a 10 year warranty. I'd like to hear your thoughts? Thank you. New subscriber here :-)
To start with, your grout is always going to get dirty no matter how it’s sealed - painted or otherwise. Sealer will prevent the grout from absorbing the dirt and getting stained and it will make it easier to clean. With that in mind, you will likely want to have your grout professionally cleaned at least once or twice or more in the next ten years. My experience with painted grout has been that when I clean it with high pressure, hot water, it tends to strip the paint off the grout. Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if it stripped it completely and uniformly. But it never does. It usually removes it from the higher traffic areas and leaves it everywhere else. And even in the higher traffic areas it doesn’t end up removing it completely. And so you end up with an awful, patchy looking floor and the only options at that point are to re-paint the grout, setting up this same problem for the future, or re-grout. Thanks for watching!
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Thank you! We had it professionally cleaned this week and the grout is stained darker in high traffic areas (30 yrs old). Any suggestions?? You guys are awesome
It’s hard to offer suggestions without knowing more about the floor. But knowing that it’s 30 years old leads me to believe that the grout may be permanently stained. Acid cleaning might help with some of the staining but regrouting might be the only way to achieve a uniform appearance. Painting/color sealing would also achieve a uniform appearance but, as I said before, be aware of the future challenges inherent in going that route.
@@azhotmom Clorox gel toilet cleaner the one that clings, let it sit for at least 30mins then spray with Lysol cleaner and scrub with scrubber that shaped like a pentagon hard work but it definitely works and make sure you put a thick amount in the grout that makes difference and you will know it’s almost done when the gel starts to lighten and foam because it’s penetrating the grout and loosening the dirt
The Bissell Crosswave is not designed to clean filthy grout, nor does it claim to be able to. What it is excellent at is a once over on a large area which is lightly soiled. So for example, cleaning your whole house laminate, vinyl or tiled floors. Far better than using a bucket and mop and leaves floors 'almost' dry which is very important as you do not want your laminate flooring for example to get too wet.
I agree that it was not designed to clean filthy grout and that it is a superior alternative to a mop and bucket for maintenance cleaning. But the Bissell website says, "Get your hard floors cleaner than you could have ever imagined!" in the first sentence of the description of the Crosswave. That is a bold claim. I have a vivid imagination and the Crosswave fell far short of my expectations and a lot of other peoples expectations as well.
It's so hard to answer that question because there are many variables to consider. What type of flooring is it? What are you trying to accomplish - maintenance, restoration? How has the floor been maintained up to this point? There just isn't a one size fits all cleaner especially for tile flooring.
I have a travertine shower floor that is turning white around the edges most notable against the back wall opposite the body sprays. We have a water softener so I am thinking this may be a soap deposit. I have had a grout cleaning company clean it but it never completely comes off and then it comes right back. If he can't fix it, I sure can't. What would you advise to do to bring this floor back to the stone color?
Thanks for great videos, could you please tell me what do you think of the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Vacuum Clean Robot Wash Fill Dock Auto Mop Washing Self-Emptying Self-Refilling 5100Pa Electric Mop. Have tried the Tineco but it is so much work having to empty dirty water tank and going back for auto clean and then running out of clean water, takes way too much time to do all that
The same way you clean any other grout. Epoxy grout is just plastic instead of cement like traditional grout so it’s much, much, much easier to clean. You don’t have to do anything special to it and you don’t seal it
Does anyone know how much professional cleaning costs? I have +/- 2000 sq ft of tile in my house. Should I expect to pay a flat rate or an hourly rate?
I have had the same problem in addition to the fact that the water is never hot enough and the water goes everywhere. I would prefer a steam cleaner with a vacuum but no one makes one. You have to hire a floor cleaning company. I find that extremely frustrating. I have four cats and a dog and the litter gets everywhere and there is no good cleaner to keep the floor clean. The steam Pocket mops clean the floor well but just pushed the dirt into the grout. I find it frustrating that Bissell Hoover nobody can come up with a steam cleaner that vacuums.
It's a start, but I don't think the S5 Steam is really a steam cleaner. The Tineco website says that the steam is for sanitization. It doesn't say anything about using the steam to actually do the cleaning, it still uses water to rinse the floor. Plus you have to press the button and then 30 seconds later the steam comes out and I would imagine it only lasts for a few seconds. It seems like it's just an upgraded spot mode which is not a bad thing but if you're looking for a machine to steam clean and extract I think it's still a few years away.
I said that in reference to maintenance cleaning. Alkaline and acidic cleaners are essential in restorative cleaning which should be done once every 18 - 24 months. You should only use neutral cleaners in daily, weekly, monthly routine maintenance cleaning.
We had “slate” porcelain tile put in the master bath when it was remodeled.The grout is a chocolate brown color that matches color in the tile. I never have to scrub the grout because of the color.
Hes very good and professional. But can i ask a million dollar question? While your a professional and need hear to clean the best, why not boil some water and fill it into tank, rhis way you get a much higher temp, then see the results. Hmmm
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro well you know you dont put it in boiling, but it'll be higher than the tap just under 140° like it says. Then youd have better results. Let's split the million lol 😆 😅 😂
The Crosswave has saved my sanity with two dogs, one a new puppy! I sure did wonder about the grout lines though...They are lower than the tile and it's just natural for dirt to end up there. A great video! Thanks!
This guy is the heavyweight champion of his field.
He should start reviewing cars and movies and everything on this planet.
I would watch and I have carpets in my house
You have so much expertise. I can see how you could set up a cleaning academy online and people could find trained cleaners through you around the world.
A kid in my class at school's Dad had a cleaning company. He said that whether the economy's good or bad, things still get dirty, so it's a very stable business.
It can be with a solid base of good customers.
Buy a Harbor Freight $29 steamer and steam/lightly brush the grout. Use a sponge mop as you go and the grout is cleaned perfectly with little effort. I did three full bathrooms (two master sized) in less Han half a day. No chemicals or abrasives used.
Your comment was more useful than this video. thank you
This is exactly what I do, but I also use a shop vac (I have 2, one regular size and a smaller one), and immediately pull the dirty water into the shop vac and the floor is 99% dry and I LOVE IT!!!
My tile floors are in every room except the bedrooms (wish I had that tile that looks like wood flooring there, but alas, the bedrooms are carpeted).
I also have pets....
I thought it was hopeless to keep the tile floors really clean, and I couldn't afford a quality hard floor cleaner machine, so this method replicates it and believe it or not, it is fast!
EXACTLY! What I do. Use a microfiber pad mop really picks up the dirt as it lifts from steamer.
Do you have a model number for the steamer?
@@Vetgirl254 PS3888, ir looks like a small tea pot with a nozzle you can add attachments to including an 18" hose with a brush.
You are a human encyclopedia in the cleaning industry!
Thank you for this post - very very enlightening with useful and applicable info that laypersons and professionals can utilize.
Have a great day
😀
This is the most well spoken and thoroughly explained video I have seen on TH-cam period!
I have a steamer with wand attachments. I get on my hands and knees using a gardeners foam knee pad and steam the grout, loosen with a grout brush and wipe away with cleaning rag. After the first time, I was able to completely return grout to original color. I do this weekly and it goes quickly now that the scrubbing is minimal. I rent an apartment and have 2 relatively small bathrooms and a kitchen. I keep dirt off the floor with vacuuming daily (primarily because I have a cat and insects are common in apartments in central Texas). My steamer was $200 and worth it as I'm able to also clean the oven, bathtubs, sinks, mop boards and keep mold (again humid central Texas) off my window ledges. I don't use chemicals.
Whats the name
Geez I have a steemer too and have never tried it. I guess I'll pull that baby out and get busy.
I have a Dupray Neat and I love it!
What a great video! Sound, presentation & editing are excellent. Not wasting my time for even a second. Yours will be my go-to channel for floor cleaning help. Many thanks 🍻
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is JUST the video I wanted to see from you! Thanks!!!!! 👍🏻😊
Glad I could deliver!
This is the most well spoken and thoroughly explained video i have seen on grout cleaning! What a champ. I can tell you are a master of your trade.
Best explanation of cleaning the floor I’ve ever heard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great review. Usually people only talk about how they clean it but I love the comparison.
soap(foamedl soapy /sudsy water) and hydrogen peroxide using a foam and not cloth to apply to the group to avoid scratching and abrading the grout that can cause more diet and mold to grow inside(you can add salt in the hydrogen peroxide to bleach the dark grout and kill fungus)
Thanks for sharing, very informative, I wanted to buy a steam mop floor. But after this video, I don't think so. Thanks again. 😊
Glad I could help.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro you got a new subscriber.
Welcome aboard!
I love my long handled grout brush.
It is fast and easy to keep grout clean without needing to kneel ! 😃
They're not all made the same, though. I've had some that were as effective as strapping a potato to the end of a long handle. The one I have now is great, though.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro which one do you like? I don't see one in the product list above.
Both these vids on cleaning tiles and grout are excellent, thanks. Subbed.
Thanks for the sub!
Me too!!
Steamer, shop vac, a carpet cleaner that has a rotating brush (or a brush on a pole) and a pressurized sprayer landscape sprayer. Most of those we already have.
Thank you 🙏 For those of us who are autistic & struggle with loud noise, this machine is a no go from my autistic perspective & need for quiet machine noise. Think similar to the quiet noise from an electric car motor / engine noise that is waaaaaaay quieter compared to a diesel or petrol combustion motor / engine 🙌👂
11:55 finally after watching 2 videos and over 20 minutes of footage, something that is actually useful in the cleaning of grout without hiring someone else.
I'm sorry the free content wasn't bespoke enough for your unique situation
Super helpful video! Thanks for the simple explanation and neutral perspective.
Your welcome!
This was eye opening on the best way to clean. Thank you!!
Thanks so much for this video! I’m always a bit bewildered & exasperated by written instructions (I’m a doer!) Had to back it up a few times 😂😂 Now I’m ready to tackle my 100 year old floors!
Thanks for this information. I would not buy this now. I had planned to. Now I will not waste my money. 👍
Excellent video. The best on the subject!
I use really HOT water and I let it sit in that grout for 30 seconds turning water on and off. That's been a huge help with my grout. But prespraying is a great idea. This machine has taken me less scrub time big time
Vacuuming is the key with these type of mops even though they are advertised as an all-in-one
Even after a year of this machine vinegar and a splash of dawn dish liquid works great! As got grout I have a pee pee dog and I go over once or twice with squeezing the handle to let the vinegar cleaner get in there then I come back in about 2 minutes and the machine sucks up alot of dirt and the pee is gone. I still use the machine and after a year find it easy to clean and way better than a mop and broom.
I think the one thing to point out is that on a 120 volt unit, something has to be left out. If you have heat, you can't have suction. The heating element requires the full 1800 watts or it will take too long to reheat. If you have suction that uses up around 800 watts. I rented a steam cleaner which had a compressor and heater but no suction. It made things terrible because I had to constantly stop and mop up the dirty water.
I've never liked the concept of mops. Only bought one a couple of years ago when a cleaning lady I hired insisted. Seems like it just moves dirty water around. Yuck! I got a Hoover Floormate about 20 years ago. Like the Bissel, It has very small tanks and takes forever to clean my floors. Then I bought a steam mop (with lots of the fabric mops). I found it picked up dirt left over after the Hoover. So, I retired the Hoover. Today, I steam mopped the kitchen. Then, brought the Hoover out of retirement and it picked up even more dirt. While the grout might (?) look a bit better in places, it is still a problem. The carpet upstairs will be professionally cleaned next week and while he is here, I'll ask how expensive it would be to professionally clean the tile on the first floor. In the past, I've tried my tiny steamer, an electric grout brush and brush cleaner. Incredibly time consuming and I didn't really see a real difference.
Why not dump boiling water on the floor after the cleaner soak, then suck it all up with the Bissell?
I use to have the same brand years ago in a bigger machine, it heated the water, proheat I think its called. Yes the dirty tank fills up quick, I use to carry a large bucket around so I didnt have to walk all the way to the sink to empty it in a large house
Keeping a bucket nearby is a great idea
I use to clean houses, one was a hoarder house so you come up with some worthy ideas :)
I totally agree with the feedback and also add on it that bissell machine make lot of sound so get yourself good noise canceling machine / headphones for your ears.
I only use this machine to dry my garage area which is located in the north face of the house .
Good point. It is very loud.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro I am highly blessed to have your logical and scenitific reasoning with visual chart. You are true teacher of your profession.🙏👍
I would definitely redesign this Bissell machine by removing the clean water tank and making a dirty water tank as big as both or more. This way you can spray as much water and cleaning solution as you want on your floors and then sucking it all up.
That's why they aren't hiring you at Bissell!! Haha, they want people who buy their machines to regularly buy those bottles of cleaning solution, and their mixing instructions determine the rate at which people would go through it.
Great teacher - clear thinker !!
I couldn’t get past the color on those kitchen cabinets!
What about the upright Hoover carpet cleaner? It's got 5 rotating brushes, it extracts, and has a large recovery tank. I think I'll give that a try!
Idk. I haven’t tried that one 5 brushes does sound like an advantage over the Crosswaves single brush but only if the can get down to the grout.
I just bought a crosswave for its ability to pick up liquids and solids at the same. With cats one tends to get those mixed messes a lot. My grout is brown to begin with, so I'm ahead of the issue.
Cats, dogs, kids. It's seldom that messes come neatly separated
I think you just convinced me to replace my tile no matter the cost. it
It's just not easy to clean, keep clean or convenient and it's expensive. Why do people still use tile again? Seriously what's the upside?
Is any flooring easy to clean or keep clean? It's cheaper and more durable than wood, nicer than laminate, and easier to maintain than carpet. Plus, unlike carpet, the average home owner can clean it on their own, with decent results, very inexpensively, without having to hire a professional or rent any fancy equipment. And unlike wood it never needs to be refinished. I think in the long term you can't do better than tile.
I have a desiderio steam cleaner. Cleans walls, floors, etc., etc. No chemicals needed. Just water steam from the unit.
You mentioned the crosswave not heating, but I’m unaware of any commercial floor auto scrubber that has a heating system?
Very informative, I totally relate to all your comments
If you were a regular Joe homeowner, what machine would you buy and use on your tile floors?
If it were between the Crosswave and the Hoover Floormate I would choose the Floormate
Is there a better option than those two machines?
@@philjr8439 I haven't found one yet, but I'm looking
How do you clean grout that is getting moldy on shower walls? I've tried many ways but no combination has worked.
Do you think the bissell spin mop would clean the tile & grout good? Can you do a review of that one too? It's really popular choice amongst cleaning TH-camrs right now.... I'm curious if it really does anything 🤔
I’m assuming you’re talking about the Spinwave? Is that correct? If so it’s just a mop with no rinse or extraction capability so it’s going to have all of the same liabilities as any other mop but with a much higher price tag. It might be good for scrubbing the grout but you’ll still need to rinse the dirt out some how. Otherwise you’ll just be spreading it around like any other mop
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Thanks!
I hope you can help me. I live in an apartment and my kitchen floor is driving me nuts. The building won't replace the floors and they are old, dirty with no shine. They laid peel and stick, but didn't bother to push them together. So there are gaps and if I don't scrap out the gaps every few months, I get baby cockroaches. Yes I know GROSS. I'm 65 and it's getting to hard to spend hours on my hands and knees to clean every gap. My dog won't eat her kibble unless I check it first. Did I mention this is the 3rd layer of flooring. Tiles are loose and I glued them. Can I use my Little Green Steam machine and a shop vacuum to clean these gross gaps. HELP!
I looked at Home Depot today for the Bona floor cleaner and it didn't say 'neutral ph' on the label like I saw elsewhere. are all the Bona floor cleaners neutral ph, even if it doesn't say so on the label? thank you!!!!
What about uaing a steam cleaner followed by a wet vaccuum? Would that be effective? How soon would you vaccuum after steaming?
Thank you for all the information
Hi, I just watched another tile cleaning video and he said do NOT use Acidic cleaners because it strips away at the grout. Degrading it. What are your thoughts on that?
That is true. Acidic cleaners will dissolve the calcium in the grout and for that reason I recommend not using acidic cleaners during routine maintenance cleaning. However, in a restorative cleaning when you’re trying to bring the grout back to a like new condition, very often acidic cleaners are the only thing that will remove stains and get the grout clean. With a proper maintenance routine you should be able to go 18- 24 months between major restorative cleanings and if you need to use an acidic cleaner during those cleanings it will be safe for the grout. It’s when the floor is cleaned weekly or daily with vinegar or other acidic cleaners that you see degradation of the grout. And of course you never ever use acids on natural stone like travertine, limestone, and marble.
Retro said it himself on his other video. Vinegar was going to be my next choice so I'm glad I seen that.
Is there a machine that a DIYer can buy that you do reccomend which is effective for deep clenaing hard tiles and grout etc that isnt super expensive, now in 2024?
I guess you are in America?? Here in Canada I seem to find anyone who does this in my area.
Thank you for the fair warning. I will not be purchasing ANY BISSELL.
Also, you advised us from using Acidic products, just ones that are NEUTRAL. Has that changed?
Can you review the Dupray, McCullough or Light N Easy. I need a grout cleaner - aggressive steamer. Can you follow-up again because the steamer uses steamed water?
Your 1st video was very useful to me.
Thanks for helping because my grouts need help and I've been using vinegar or bleach based diy cleaners. Then I would follow with hot water.
Poxy grout? hmmmm, what's that? Our tile has been down for 13 years and it's time to update. Are you in the USA? Let me know if you come to see Elvis in Memphis, I may have a job for you?
He said in another comment that when you deep clean you use the aggressive cleaners, but for maintenance you use the neutral ones.
Hi there, my bissell crosswave doesn't spray water
How can I fix it
Best review ever .thanks
How do you clean walls? Can you make a video on that?
There was this really great product that could clean anything even flat painted walls but they stopped producing it. I've since found that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works very well. I'm not sure that there is a whole video in cleaning walls but I'll think about it.
I can up the ante! My painted walls are ‘sand’ textured, which ‘grab’ fibres. The kitchen is a mess because of steam/oil etc. Any ideas apart from standing on the bench with a bucket & scrubbing brush? I’ve searched for a tool for years so that I can clean them more frequently.
Got it for 150! Can't wait
Wow! That's a deal!
I've used 409 and let it dwell for 20-25 mins. Grout still isn't absolutely clean. I've always used a steam mop on this tile floor. Any other suggestions???
Apply the alkaline cleaner (409) let it dwell, scrub the grout, rinse it, apply acidic cleaner, let it dwell, scrub the grout, rinse it, apply the alkaline cleaner again, let it dwell, rinse it. I just made a video about the whole restorative grout cleaning process that you can watch
Could you use the tineco cleaner and review it?
It's become increasingly clear to me that domestic grade appliances of all sorts (including kitchen small appliances) are usually overpriced and underperforming. Whenever i've been able to find affordable small scale commercial equipment, it's shown to be drastically better at whatever it does. I've found small dry steam extractor units that are suitable for home cleaning but, still a 3k price tag. Any suggestions? I'm also trying to find somewhere a good quality flat mop system of commercial quality however, they dont make it easy for you on commercial cleaning websites to put a whole kit together. Domestic grade flat mops are just junk, that falls apart in no time, and also usually dont come as a system....so you end up with a flat mop and nowhere to wring it properly. Spin mops....sigh....need a rinse; not rpms on drying a mop.
I've noticed that too. When it comes to floor cleaning equipment there doesn't seem to be anything between $500 and $3,000.
I have polished porcelain tiles. What are safe cleaning products to use on these? I am assuming DIYs with vinegar is a no no?
Very informative!! But on your last video, you said to not use ans alkaline solution but you are using on this one. Did I miss something? 🧐
I also wanted to ask you, what is the best way to clean hardwood? And should we stick to a neutral ph as well?
Thank you!!
When doing a deep, restorative cleaning you need to use alkaline and/or acid cleaners. But in between restorative cleanings you want to avoid them and stick with neutral cleaners. Bona makes a good hardwood floor cleaner and it is neutral pH.
Can you use a shop vac to clean the floor?
You could extract the floor with a shop vac but it's not gong to work as well as using an extractor that actually sprays out water to rinse the floor while it's extracting. There will be more steps involved but if that's what you got then go for it.
On grout l try to stay away from heat. Heat opens the pores of the grout helping it to release but get drawn back in. Cold water first let's the dirt come up and off into the hydrofolic sponge and there is no cleaners or chemicals that have to be cleared. After cleaning a small area with a damp sponge rubbing hard on the grout lines then dry immediately with a terry bath towel. I have pictures using only water and a well broken in tile sponge. Wish l could post the before and after results here. I have 30 years experience as tile setter, refurbisher.
Excellent Video, and you make it easy to understand by talking clearly. Thanks for that.
Do you have an opinion of comparing the Crosswave to a Shark S7000 or S7001 with rotating pads and steam compared to the Crosswave non-steam and spinning brush? Thanks a lot.
Thanks! I haven’t tried the Shark but I did try Hoover Floormate and I like it a lot better. It still doesn’t get to the grout but it cleans better than the crosswave
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Ok, thanks a lot. I should have said I was more interested in the general cleaning perspective. I know grout is tough, usually only get it clean by elbow grease vs. cheaper machines. Thanks again.
By the way thank you for these videos they great 👍 also I really like it that you don’t ask for subscribing and thumbs up 👏👏👏you get my two thumbs up
Thanks
Brilliant video.also wet dry vacuums are pretty cheap to suck up the dirty water after scrubbing .i am a floor sander from Oz, I have 30cm Beige ceramic tiles, fair few need replacing due to chips cracks, seems like or looks like these particular ceramic beige/cream ceramic tiles are shown in most videos regardless what country they are in, in your experience do they differ very much in color?
Cheers.
Not until you put them side by side and then all of a sudden they look nothing alike. I've seen people have great success patching chips and cracks in these tiles with nail polish. When it's done right you can't even tell.
Thanks!
Thank you!
If you´re gonna spray detergent and then schrub anyway, isn´t a shop vac cheaper and more effective for drying the floor?
Drying the floor is not the point nor really even relevant. Tile and grout dries very quickly without intervention. Extractors like the Crosswave rinse the floor which is essential for getting the floor clean.
Nicely done! Thx.
Best way to clean grout on vinyl planks?
The Matador is your own opinion. I have several Clarks and the Old Imperial 24" that is older than you that I highly coveted.
Good for you
Also, I’m not sure you know what “covet” means
Thanks for sharing. We just installed marble tile and the grout lines in the shower are filthy. I can’t seem to find a great cleaner that works and is gentle enough for marble. Help!
Stone Pro makes a product called Shower Scrub that’s strong enough to remove hard water from glass but it’s safe for marble.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro thank you!
I was crazy enough to listen to a tile store that putting 4x4 natural marble tiles on my shower floor would be great. NOT! My tiles keep staining and so does the grout. I’ve got well water with a whole house filter system and softener. Still stains. Ready to rip out the shower and start over. Did you say epoxy grout would be good for a shower?
Epoxy grout is good for everything! It can’t be stained and it always cleans up like new. A shower floor is the perfect place for it.
Ok, so now I'm totally confused 🤔. I have an old tile floor in my bathroom. The small hexagon shaped tiles. Sooooo lots of dirty grout. I did try with great success scrubbing a small section with a mix of baking soda, white vinegar, water and a bit of dish soap. But is that combo going to eat at my grout???? Thanks 👍
Not at all because the vinegar is acidic and the baking soda and dish soap are both alkaline so they will neutralize each other diminishing the efficacy of all three chemicals.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Ok , great, so now I need to find out what kind of grout sealer to use. Ive done some research and found some spray on grout sealers. Do you know anything about those? I want to be sure I'll be able to get the extra sealer off the tiles, and the floor NOT be SLIPPERY to walk on. Thanks
I've never used the spray kind so I don't know much about it. It seems like it would make an awful mess. Sealer on the tiles won't make them any more slippery but it will leave haze on the tiles that will be harder to remove once it's dried. I made a short video about how I seal grout. You can check it out: th-cam.com/users/shortsh2L2XVpqgJY?feature=share and in the description of that video there are links to what I use.
Ugh! Grout is a 4 letter word in my house. Thank you we appreciate you taking time to make this video! Question: a tile guy that gave me a bid to clean my tile said he also offered a service ($600) to do an "acid wash" on the grout & then paint my grout-it would have a 10 year warranty. I'd like to hear your thoughts? Thank you. New subscriber here :-)
To start with, your grout is always going to get dirty no matter how it’s sealed - painted or otherwise. Sealer will prevent the grout from absorbing the dirt and getting stained and it will make it easier to clean. With that in mind, you will likely want to have your grout professionally cleaned at least once or twice or more in the next ten years. My experience with painted grout has been that when I clean it with high pressure, hot water, it tends to strip the paint off the grout. Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if it stripped it completely and uniformly. But it never does. It usually removes it from the higher traffic areas and leaves it everywhere else. And even in the higher traffic areas it doesn’t end up removing it completely. And so you end up with an awful, patchy looking floor and the only options at that point are to re-paint the grout, setting up this same problem for the future, or re-grout. Thanks for watching!
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro Thank you! We had it professionally cleaned this week and the grout is stained darker in high traffic areas (30 yrs old). Any suggestions?? You guys are awesome
It’s hard to offer suggestions without knowing more about the floor. But knowing that it’s 30 years old leads me to believe that the grout may be permanently stained. Acid cleaning might help with some of the staining but regrouting might be the only way to achieve a uniform appearance. Painting/color sealing would also achieve a uniform appearance but, as I said before, be aware of the future challenges inherent in going that route.
@@azhotmom Clorox gel toilet cleaner the one that clings, let it sit for at least 30mins then spray with Lysol cleaner and scrub with scrubber that shaped like a pentagon hard work but it definitely works and make sure you put a thick amount in the grout that makes difference and you will know it’s almost done when the gel starts to lighten and foam because it’s penetrating the grout and loosening the dirt
@@TheNylah I've read that before and thought I'd try it. Later I read someone say not to use it, turned her floor blue. I'm confused
Can you recommend a steam mop that is more effective? And affordable?
The Bissell Crosswave is not designed to clean filthy grout, nor does it claim to be able to. What it is excellent at is a once over on a large area which is lightly soiled. So for example, cleaning your whole house laminate, vinyl or tiled floors. Far better than using a bucket and mop and leaves floors 'almost' dry which is very important as you do not want your laminate flooring for example to get too wet.
I agree that it was not designed to clean filthy grout and that it is a superior alternative to a mop and bucket for maintenance cleaning. But the Bissell website says, "Get your hard floors cleaner than you could have ever imagined!" in the first sentence of the description of the Crosswave. That is a bold claim. I have a vivid imagination and the Crosswave fell far short of my expectations and a lot of other peoples expectations as well.
What is the best floor cleaning solution you recommend
It's so hard to answer that question because there are many variables to consider. What type of flooring is it? What are you trying to accomplish - maintenance, restoration? How has the floor been maintained up to this point? There just isn't a one size fits all cleaner especially for tile flooring.
I have a travertine shower floor that is turning white around the edges most notable against the back wall opposite the body sprays. We have a water softener so I am thinking this may be a soap deposit. I have had a grout cleaning company clean it but it never completely comes off and then it comes right back. If he can't fix it, I sure can't. What would you advise to do to bring this floor back to the stone color?
It's hard to know exactly what's going on without seeing it but I would try this: amzn.to/3HSerTA
The bissell is fantastic
Fantastic is a bit of a stretch
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro for my purposes it is
Great video.
Thanks!
Great information
Thanks
What if you seal your tile every 3-4 months?? Would that help.
Assuming that you’re also cleaning your grout every 3 - 4 months before sealing it it would help. But I think it’s unnecessary
Thanks for great videos, could you please tell me what do you think of the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Vacuum Clean Robot Wash Fill Dock Auto Mop Washing Self-Emptying Self-Refilling 5100Pa Electric Mop. Have tried the Tineco but it is so much work having to empty dirty water tank and going back for auto clean and then running out of clean water, takes way too much time to do all that
I've never used one myself but I think that for $1,400 it should have better reviews than it does. Even some of the 5 star reviews are rather tepid.
Great information Thank you
Thanks
Bleach, hot water,dawn dish soap and a tootbrush. Clean grout. Lots of scrubbing but that’s all good.
Hydrogen peroxide is a better alternative to chlorine bleach as chlorine bleach is corrosive and can cause discoloration after just one use.
Use soft scrub with tooth brush to clean grout
That's what I use as well!
what is soft scrub?
And it also leaves streak marks
What type of vacuum cleaner are using during this video
ProTeam Super Coach
lot of great information but then you said....epoxy grout. Soooo how do you clean epoxy grout?
The same way you clean any other grout. Epoxy grout is just plastic instead of cement like traditional grout so it’s much, much, much easier to clean. You don’t have to do anything special to it and you don’t seal it
Does anyone know how much professional cleaning costs? I have +/- 2000 sq ft of tile in my house. Should I expect to pay a flat rate or an hourly rate?
Typically it would be by the square foot or by the room
I have had the same problem in addition to the fact that the water is never hot enough and the water goes everywhere. I would prefer a steam cleaner with a vacuum but no one makes one. You have to hire a floor cleaning company. I find that extremely frustrating. I have four cats and a dog and the litter gets everywhere and there is no good cleaner to keep the floor clean. The steam Pocket mops clean the floor well but just pushed the dirt into the grout. I find it frustrating that Bissell Hoover nobody can come up with a steam cleaner that vacuums.
I found that tineco actually has one, s5 steam, I'm quite curious about it.
It's a start, but I don't think the S5 Steam is really a steam cleaner. The Tineco website says that the steam is for sanitization. It doesn't say anything about using the steam to actually do the cleaning, it still uses water to rinse the floor. Plus you have to press the button and then 30 seconds later the steam comes out and I would imagine it only lasts for a few seconds. It seems like it's just an upgraded spot mode which is not a bad thing but if you're looking for a machine to steam clean and extract I think it's still a few years away.
Man, This is a great video. Thank you!
Thanks!
Boris Johnson with another banger video
didn't you say that using alkaline or acidic cleaners destroys the grout?
I said that in reference to maintenance cleaning. Alkaline and acidic cleaners are essential in restorative cleaning which should be done once every 18 - 24 months. You should only use neutral cleaners in daily, weekly, monthly routine maintenance cleaning.
i mean, for a home grade machine, the water did come up really dirty, so it did do that.
It's a good extractor it just doesn't scrub very well.
They warn about using other chemicals would this not matter if it's only going to the recovery tank? Just thinking of the warranty
Yeah it's ok I listened to the last minute lol
Yeah, if you're concerned about your warranty I wouldn't do what I did.
I hate my crosswave and sending it back to amazon. It’s so much maintenance in comparison to regular old sweeping and using a spin mop.
Totally understandable
We had “slate” porcelain tile put in the master bath when it was remodeled.The grout is a chocolate brown color that matches color in the tile. I never have to scrub the grout because of the color.
But that doesn’t mean the grout is clean it just means that it matches the dirt
Hes very good and professional. But can i ask a million dollar question? While your a professional and need hear to clean the best, why not boil some water and fill it into tank, rhis way you get a much higher temp, then see the results. Hmmm
Boiling water might damage these machines. You can Venmo me my million dollars.
@@HowToCleanLikeAPro well you know you dont put it in boiling, but it'll be higher than the tap just under 140° like it says. Then youd have better results. Let's split the million lol 😆 😅 😂
th-cam.com/users/shortsVSBneKN09SA?feature=share