★★★★★ 5
BISSELL for the WIN! Comparison between Bissell and Oreck steam mops.
Style: PowerFresh Steam Mop
This is probably the best purchase I've ever made in terms of functionality, design, and cost.
I bought this to replace an Oreck Steam Cleaner that I owned for 2 years. When in failed, the cost to replace the parts were just $25 less than the cost of buying a new one (and the parts are only guaranteed for 30 days!) So I decided to move on and see what else was out there in the world of steam mops, and I am SO glad I did. I LOVE this Bissell!
First of all, the Bissell has a removable water tank. (The Oreck required you to lean the whole mop over and use a tiny funnel to get water into it's internal reservoir...messy!) The capacity of the water tank isn't as much as the Oreck, but one tank's worth was enough for me to mop 6 rooms and a hallway, so it was plenty.
The Oreck stands on it's own. This seems like something that all steam mops would do, but no. The Oreck only leaned against things, and of course, fell over a lot.
The mop head of the Bissell is about twice the surface area of the Oreck. This means that you are getting your floors cleaned faster!
Attaching the mop pads is SO much easier with the Bissell! The Oreck had 4 snap lock gator teeth that would hold the pad in place, which required holding the mop like you were riding a broom stick, while you wrestled with it, hoping you didn't get your fingers snapped by the gator teeth clips. The Bissell's mop pad just attaches with elastic that fits easily inside a groove. Done in seconds! The pads are machine washable, and seem to be high quality.
The Bissell mop head swivels! This makes it so much easier when you're trying to mop hard to reach areas. The Oreck was stationary, so you had to do the contortions necessary to reach out of the way spots. The Bissell's mop head moves with just a twist of your wrist.
The cords for both the Oreck and the Bissell are very long, which is helpful. However, the Oreck didn't have any real way to wind up the cord when you were done...the Bissell does. Super easy! The Bissell also has a little clip on the underside of the handle that holds the cord out of the path of the mop. This is a super handy feature that the Oreck does not have.
Both machines allow for variable steam output. The Bissell has 3 buttons for steam output, while the Oreck has a dial. My experience with the Oreck was that the steam output was almost always too much, on any setting, and would leave the floor wetter than it needed to be. The Bissell, even at the highest output, does not overwhelm the capacity of the mop pad.
The Bissell does not leave streaks like the Oreck did. The Oreck often just pushed dirty water around, much like a real mop would do, but the Bissell leaves everything clean. I suspect this is because the mop pad of the Bissell can retain more moisture before reaching the saturation point than the significantly smaller Oreck's pad can.
The Bissell does have scent pads that are put into a slot withing the mop pad. The Oreck sells essential oils that you can add to the water. I have personally not used the scent pad, as I have parrots that are sensitive to any fragrance. However, I will say that it's easy to tell that this would be a simple thing to add and remove.
As far as power to clean goes, the Bissell once again outshines the Oreck dramatically! I have 2 parrots, a German shepherd, a musician husband, and a teenage son. This machine is like the Magic Eraser of steam mops! While it cleans most spills/stains on the first pass, should you reach an especially sticky or difficult spot, simply park the machine on top of the stain for a few seconds, and then mop over it again.
Cleaning with the Bissell is FAST. The floor dries almost instantly. I have used this steam mop on genuine hard wood floors, tile, and two types of laminate flooring (the expensive kind and the cheap kind). It works perfectly on all of them.
I am not in anyway affiliated with Bissell, so believe me when I tell you that this is the best product I have ever purchased, and it has made my life so much easier. This is a BARGAIN. You will not be sorry with your purchase, you'll only be sorry you didn't buy it sooner!
PS: As with all steam mops...use distilled water. It will save you problems with mineral deposit build ups later. The distilled water is easy to find and super cheap...a gallon is about $1 and will last you many moppings.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2016