Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum review — easy cleaning for wet and dry messes

The Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum may have converted me to a steam mop evangelist. This machine is a lightweight steam mop and vacuum that does the trick on pets' and people's messes alike. It has several different mop pad options, giving you everything you need to tackle everything from dusty pet paw prints to unidentified crud on a tile floor.

The Bissell Symphony is designed to clean sealed hardwood, ceramic, linoleum, granite, and marble floors and, thanks to its compact size and easy-to-fill tank, it's just as simple to use as any manual cleaning option. 

I don't dread getting it out of the closet or maneuvering water into the tank. It's simple, the mop pads are easy to put on, and, most importantly, it cleans just as well as any of our best steam mops. The fact it can vacuum while steam cleaning is the icing on the cake.

Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum review

What I thought of the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum

I'm in the midst of a major home renovation. And I have a cat. That means my floors are covered in dusty cat paw prints and/or inexplicable shoe marks 99% of the time. For example, the bathroom was finally finished this week, and the white floors were anything but.

That means the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum (available on Amazon) could not have arrived at a better time. Staring at all the post-renovation muck paired with cat fur, dust, random drywall crumbs, and who knows what else, all I wanted was to clean my bathroom floor. After a few passes of the Bissell Symphony using both the vacuum and the steam mop, my bathroom floor was sparkling clean. And, yes, I mean the vacuum and the steam mop were working at the same time. It's the best of both worlds. You don't have to vacuum first and then steam mop. You can do it all in half the time.

This lightweight machine is so easy to use that I even questioned whether I was using it correctly at first. This can't be it, right? Except it is. It's so simple and, yet, it gets the job done.

Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum specifications

• Model name: Bissell Symphony™ Pet All-in-One Vacuum and Sanitizing Steam Mop
• Dimensions (in): H46 x W11 x L9.75
• Weight (lbs): 10.6 lbs
• Water tank size: 12.8 oz
• Power: 1100 Watts for Steam / 400 Watts for Vacuum / 3.3 Vacuum Amps

Setting up the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum

My least favorite part of trying any new appliance is the assembly. I don't want to spend an extended period of time reading instructions and comparing diagrams. I want to go from unboxing to using in minutes. 

Bissell must have heard me loud and clear. I usually read taking a vacuum out of a box, but this one came right out. It was snugly tucked inside the box with corrugated cardboard, but there wasn't excessive packaging. When I saw how few parts there were, I let out a sigh of relief. 

All I had to do was plug the body into the foot and the handle into the body. That. was. it. Then I put water into the easy-to-fill tank using the included pitcher, and we were ready to clean.

Using the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum

We've already covered how this steam mop and vacuum has the easiest assembly ever. Well, it also came with a mop pad already on the mop head. Seriously, there's no way to make life easier when it comes to using a vacuum.

The Bissell Symphony Pet has a 25-foot cord and a compact size, which makes it incredibly easy to maneuver around most spaces, particularly if you have a small home like I do. I plugged it in, already having filled the tank with water, then waited the directed 30 seconds to let it warm up.

I then selected one of two heat settings — I went with high steam, which is designed for bigger messes. You can choose Low Steam for delicate floors or more daily cleaning. At this point, if you wanted to just steam, you would pull the steam trigger, and you'd be off to the races. However, I obviously am always looking to maximize my cleaning time, so I also turned on the vacuum button. This instantly starts the vacuum, while the steam mop does require the trigger. Then a quick step on the foot release, and this hard worker is cleaning up liquid residue, dust, fur, and crumbs from the floor. I found this lasts for about 15 minutes before the water runs out, which is typically longer than I need for any of my spaces.

I found the washable soft mop pad nearly always does the trick, though it's a nice option to have the washable scrubby mop pad on hand for bigger messes. I only pull out the disposable mop pads if there's a food mess that I just don't want to deal with afterward.

The only thing I noted was that this isn't great at picking up human hair and, while the steam cleaning is great, it's clear that the vacuum is a secondary function. It works — and I would not want to give it up — but it's not as powerful as a standalone vacuum.

Cleaning the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum

One thing that threw me off when it came to cleaning the vacuum was that I expected the tank in the front to fill with steam residue but, no, this steam mop and vacuum does an awesome job of keeping wet and dry separate. This makes cleanup super easy.

The mop pad and tray can be removed with the Quick Release™ Tab. The two reusable mop pads can both be washed in the washing machine on warm with liquid detergent. 

The dirt tank is emptied by unlocking it from the front of the machine, and then using the rod in the middle of the tank to push out any debris. The filter should also be cleaned regularly and replaced every six months.

Is the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum right for you?

At $129.99 on sale, the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum is a great deal for an appliance that does two things at once. If you have messy pets or tend to have a lot of muddy shoes or spills in the kitchen, then this will do the trick. This is the perfect steam mop and vacuum to keep right in the kitchen, ready to spring into action after a messy day of cooking or baking. It'll clean up liquid and dry messes, leaving your hard surface floors looking sparkling clean.

Plus, I can't overstate how easy it is to set up and use. That alone is a reason to choose this over other options on the market. Bissell made this to be user-friendly, and they succeeded.

Good to know

Instructions
The steam mop and vacuum includes a 16-page manual that includes clear, concise instructions and images at every step, as well as a quick start guide and a super easy-to-follow sticker on the side of the steam mop and vacuum. 

Warranty
Bissell provides a two-year limited warranty against defects in material or workmanship. 

How we tested the Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Vacuum

Bissell sent me this steam mop and vacuum, and I tested it for several weeks on bathroom tile and hardwood floor. I put it to the test with our renovation mess, and I used the following criteria during the vacuum testing process: 

Unboxing: I looked at the packaging and noted how well it protected the steam mop and vacuum during shipping. I also evaluated how sustainable it is.

Operation: To determine how well the steam mop and vacuum worked, I looked at its suction, strength, and ability to use steam to clean up messes.

Ease of use: I looked for a user-friendly experience from setup through cleaning, and Bissell delivered. I compared the instructions versus the actual experience and, also, how comfortable and lightweight the steam mop and vacuum is to use.

Ease of cleaning: Cleaning can be a nagging task when it comes to a steam mop and vacuum, so I looked at how easy it is to wash the mop pads and clean out the dirt tank.