Bissell Symphony Review: A Powerful Bare Floor Cleaner

Few people relish the idea of cleaning their house. Although there can be therapeutic benefits from stepping away from your busy day to vacuum and mop in a Zen-like state, for most, cleaning is drudgery.

Taking a Cue from the Pros

Professional cleaners have figured out the secret to providing a thorough cleaning in the shortest amount of time — since, for them, time is money.  These professionals will tell you that the secret to efficient and effective cleaning is to clean an area only once per cleaning session.  One easy pro tip in this area involves cleaning from the top down, where you avoid having to re-sweep or mop a floor if you later wipe crumbs from a countertop.

 Another way to minimize cleaning time is to combine vacuuming with mopping.  Commercial flooring cleaners provide a one-step solution. If you’ve ever gone to your local all-night supermarket in the wee hours, you may have witnessed a cleaning crew member riding a contraption that leaves a shiny floor in its wake.

While these machines are not appropriate for home use, cleaning equipment manufacturers saw a way to make a simple home version for cleaning efficiency.

Home Cleaning Efficiency, Simplified by Bissell

Hardwood, tile, and laminate are all common flooring materials. For the most part, their care is similar. First, you sweep or vacuum loose dirt, pet hair, and dust, then you go back and mop to pick up stains and provide a clean shine.

But, who wants to clean their floors twice? With a large selection of two-in-one floor cleaners on the market, homeowners now have in their reach, the power and convenience of a commercial floor machine.

The Bissell Symphony is a  popular and affordable home floor cleaning machine.  It is reasonably priced, durable, and intuitive wet-dry machine. With the Symphony, you can combine the benefits of a bare floor vacuum with a steam mop. Here are all the details about this convenient floor cleaning product.

If you have pets you might be interested in our Bissell Symphony Pet review as well.

Bissell Symphony Features

Although it is a two-in-one floor cleaner, the Symphony allows for  three different cleaning-style settings.  You can use it  as a vacuum, a steam mop or both at the same time.  The ability to switch between modes is a helpful feature. In dual mode, you can get your floors clean in no time. Sometimes, however, you just want to quickly pick up some dust, or steam-away a sticky kitchen floor spill.

Vacuum Power

The Bissell Symphony vacuum features  powerful cyclonic action, ideal for collecting loose debris on hard surfaces.  It has just enough power for your hard floors, but likely is not a good solution for your carpets.

Whole-house vacuums can sometimes be overkill for hard floors, so if your floor cleaning is mostly limited to bare surfaces, the Symphony’s vacuum should do the trick nicely. Since the Symphony is not intended for carpets and rugs, there are not rotating bristles to turn off or on, as with single-function vacuums.

For some, this is an added benefit, as rotating brushes can scatter debris rather than help in the cleanup.

Full-Featured Steam Cleaning

The Symphony’s steam cleaning power makes short time of most hard flooring messes.  Steam is powerful, which means that you won’t have to buy a separate floor cleaning solution.  All you need to do is add water. This feature alone can save consumers hundreds in cleaning supplies. With steam, you don’t need those harsh and expensive chemicals.

 Steam powers through most common household stains, such as beverage spills and grime.  Mopping with a solvent or floor cleaner can often leave films and residues on hardwood floors. The Symphony’s steam cleaning pad avoids this, leaving nothing but clean flooring in its wake.

Combined Cleaning for Optimal Results

The Bissell Symphony truly shines, though, when you switch it into dual mode.  Its powerful vacuum leads the way, picking up even the smallest particles quickly before the steam mop pad hits the vacuumed area.  For anyone who has steam-cleaned their floors before, the combined action of the Bissell Symphony provides a welcomed benefit.

If floors have even a small amount of dust and dirt, the steam pad will quickly become grimy and less effective in giving an overall shine to your floors. With the vacuuming creating a clean slate,  the steam works wonders in polishing and removing sticky stains  and is not slowed down by dirt and dust.

The only drawback to the combined vacuum and steam setting is that this setup only works best in ideal situations, where you are cleaning a small amount of dirt and no major spills. Dried coffee, for example, might require repeated steam cleaning or a pretreating. In these cases, it’s likely better to vacuum, then return to just the steam cleaning function.

Warranty Information

The Bissell Symphony comes with a  limited two-year warranty.  If during the warranty period, the Symphony has any defective or malfunctioning part, Bissell will repair or replace the part or product.

Support

Since Bissell is a major player in home floor care, they have a strong customer support presence. The Bissell website contains product FAQs, video demonstrations and options for reaching out to both live and automated customer service options.

What We Love

The Bissell Symphony is a great product for those looking to quickly and completely clean their bare floors. At only  9.1 pounds,  it is light and easy to move from room to room. The steam pads do a perfect job of collecting grime and polishing surfaces.

The unit is  easy to fill with water,  and its  25-foot cord  is enough for handling large rooms without having to unplug and re-plug the unit constantly. Its  five-way adjustable handle  makes it customizable for different heights and uses.

What We Don’t Love

There are a few drawbacks to the Bissell Symphony. Some online reviews noted that the vacuum is  not as strong as many dedicated vacuum cleaners. 

As with other steam cleaners,  the mop can take some time to warm up to ideal steam.  Some users complained about the lack of durability, with steam water compartment leaking being a possible complaint.

Bissell Symphony vs Bissell Crosswave

The Symphony is not Bissell’s sole entry in the all-in-one floor cleaner market. For a little more money, you can pick up the Bissell Crosswave. Many of the features are similar, but here is a breakdown of the main differences between the Symphony and the Crosswave, so you can consider whether or not the more expensive model is worth the investment.

Crosswave Is a True All-in-One Product

The first, and probably the most significant difference is that  the Crosswave is a cleaning tool for all floors.  It handles hardwood, tile, laminate and other bare floors, but it also vacuums and washes rugs and carpets.

Crosswave Has a Wider Cleaning Path

 The Crosswave has a 12-inch cleaning pad versus the Symphony’s 11-inch pad.  That is not much of a difference, but the extra inch can add up over time and can help you steam through a room more quickly.

Worth mentioning is that the Crosswave Multi-Functionality comes with a noticeably bigger price tag.

Want more steam mops? See all of our steam mop reviews here.

Our Verdict on the Bissell Symphony