Lifestyle

How We Keep Our Floors Clean with A Big, Hairy Dog (and 3 little kids)

May 24, 2018

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This post is sponsored by BISSELL

We get a lot of questions about how we keep our home clean with a big, hairy dog like our sweet Willow romping around. I usually smile and say, “We just love her more than we hate the hair.”–which is, I mean, best practice. But the truth is, we didn’t have any big secrets. We didn’t find a product we absolutely loved that felt easy and fast. We probably did the same as every pet owner and used multiple tools, cleaners and vacuums and sometimes got down on our hands and knees. But! This spring BISSELL came out with a new product, CrossWave Pet Pro, that we’re actually over-the-moon about, and it. works!

Willow is not allowed on the furniture, but she has free reign in the other areas of the house, plus dog doors, which means she comes and goes from inside to the backyard all day long as she wishes, carrying a lot of dirt with her. BISSELL’s CrossWave Pet Pro vacuums and washes hard floors and area rugs at the same time! No multiple tools or even attachments–the smart touch controls make it easy to switch between cleaning hard floors and area rugs.

And you wash and vacuum, which is very convenient for the messes Polly makes under her highchair, too. Or the bowl of cheerios Faye spilled this morning. Or that area under Willow’s raised dog bowls that is sometimes a gross concoction of hair, food and water. (sorry for that visual–just trying to be real) This vacuums that all up while washing it at the same time!

It’s really straightforward to use. Determine whether you want to clean a large or small area (I count the floor in our living room/dining room and kitchen as a small area) and then fill up the tank to the line with water. Then add the multi-surface pet formula–a specialized cleaning formula that is safe for pets and kids, earth friendly and concentrated (hence mixing it with a LOT of water). It removes dirt, mud, paw prints and all those other messes that happen around home on the daily – so easy.

And get this–the Multi-Surface Pet Brush Roll is tangle free for hair up to 8″–they really thought of everything.

This next photo is really gross, so proceed with caution, especially if you are eating. This is what the tank looked like after a cleaning the other day.

Gaaaagg. There’s a two-tank system that keeps the clean water/formula mix and dirty water separate so you’re always cleaning with fresh water and formula. And what you’re seeing here is the strainer in the dirty water tank that separates and traps pet hair (and all the other gross stuff) for easy emptying.

And because we can’t end on that gross (but strangely satisfying) photo, here’s Willow being the best model in the world.

And another reminder of why all the extra hair and dirt is 100% worth it. Willow makes our home and our family. And it’s nice to have a tool that allows us to focus on that more.

You can pick up your own BISSELL CrossWave® Pet Pro right here!

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What do you think?

  1. Kim says:

    they prob don’t make this flooring anymore, but do u mind sharing what kind of flooring it is and the name of it if u know? thx!

  2. Furniture says:

    Woo! this is awesome! I need to buy this one. Can you please tell me that it works on sofas as well?

    • Chris says:

      We haven’t tried it on a sofa. There aren’t attachments that come with it, so you’d probably have to lift the whole thing onto the couch to get it. Which a person could try, I suppose, though I don’t think that’s the intended purpose.

  3. Stephanie says:

    Um, I know this is supposed to be about the vacuum but…where did you get your slides?

  4. Petra says:

    I need it! Our boarder collie / black lab mix is an angel but sheds like you wouldn’t believe. And she’s always got dirty paws (especially since we are living with an unlandscaped front yard, currently. Dirt is everywhere). What a wonderful product.

  5. Bea says:

    How often do you use this?

  6. Brittney says:

    I know the formula says it is safe for let’s and kids, but if you didn’t want to use it, could you just use water? I’d like to use my own blend that I make for my floors. IT looks like you add tinge formaula to the water jug, is that correct? Or is t something that you have to click in to the vacuum? #nervousmom

  7. KathieB says:

    That looks like an awesome machine. I have a Hoover Windtunnel vacuum that says it is especially good at getting up pet hair. My dog is about 1/3 the size of Willow and her hair fills the “canister” every few minutes… and then it is difficult to remove it. My question is what are you experiencing with the Bissel for the dry vacuumed stuff?

    Thank you!

  8. Kensley says:

    We bought a crosswave when we moved into our new house about 6 months ago! We have white marble look tile with white grout and a big black dog as well! I was absolutely terrified of what it would look like with him living here! I’m happy to report that in high traffic areas we have normal wear on the grout, but for the most part the crosswave has saved my life! I kind of wish I would have waited for the pet specific version, but it doesn’t sound all that different from the original, and I’ve used it multiple times a week since moving in. Next time I need cleaning solution I’m totally going to order the pet kind!

  9. Eydie says:

    I think that is terrific And definitely want one!

  10. Blu says:

    I need this! I have two little munchkins!

    http://www.liveloveblu.com

  11. Do you think this would work on long hair carpet?

  12. Michelle says:

    Do you worry about the formula with your sweet babe crawling around?

  13. On you vacuum and clean, what do you do with the dirty water and filth mixture to get rid of it?

  14. cindy g says:

    that looks great ! i’ve been looking for a relatively easy way of cleaning large area rugs .
    do you worry about water being trapped between your area rugs and the flooring ?

    thanks for the review !

  15. Cindy says:

    In the third to last photo, the one where Willow is sitting by herself, she is posing for the camera just like you do, Julia: with her head tipped slightly to the side! Love this. She was truly meant to be part of your family.

  16. holly says:

    What do you do with the gunk from the strainer? Pick it out by hand?

  17. Courtney says:

    This sounds awesome, and we just happen to need a new vacuum! I know not everyone loves sponsored posts, but I trust when you recommend something so I actually appreciate them. Thanks for all you do!!

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