Bissell Symphony Pet Steam Mop and Steam Vacuum Cleaner for Hardwood and Tile Floors, with Microfiber Mop Pads, 1543A,Purple

I have had, and really liked, the Shark Pocket Steam mop for several months. But there were a few things about it that I didn't really love, and then...one day I was vacuuming my hard floor, preparing to steam mop it, when it hit me: why wasn't there a device that both vacuumed and mopped at the same time? I did some research - and guess what, there is! It's called the Bissell Symphony! :-)So, here are a few things to note about the Symphony, and also things that I like about it compared to the Shark.First, when your Symphony arrives, the box will feel very heavy (much heavier than the Shark). I expected it to be somewhat heavier, because it has a vacuum built into it, but I didn't expect it to be *that* much heavier! Fear not, because it turns out that a lot of that weight is the packaging (both the external box from Amazon, which is large, and the actual Bissell packaging). Once you are dealing *only* with your Symphony, it is much lighter - still heavier than the Shark, of course, but not horribly so.Second, I love that with the Symphony the steam isn't on automatically all the time, like it is with the Shark. With the Symphony there is a little trigger button in the handle that you hold down if you want steam. Some people may not like that (having to hold down the trigger) but it is inside the handle so it's very easy and natural to hold it down, but if you don't want steam you can just take your finger off the trigger. (So yes, you can use it as just a vacuum, or, for that matter, as just a steamer - the vacuum on/off button is independent of the steam, and vice versa.)Third, the buttons to adjust between high and low steam are right there on the handle. On the Shark, the buttons are down at the bottom, so that you have to bend down and around to the front of the unit to switch between steam levels. (To be fair, with the Shark there are also three steam levels (dust, mop, and scrub) - with the Symphony there are only two (high and low), but I have never found myself wishing for a third level with the Symphony.)Fourth, the Symphony will actually stand up and stay here you put it. In other words, if you need to stop for a bit, or when you store the Symphony, it is free-standing. With the Shark, you need to secure it, or hang it up, or be very careful resting it against a counter or wall, because it does not lock into an upright position - the head always swivels.Fifth, I *love* how easy Bissell has made it to add water to the Symphony! And you can do it from a standing (the Symphony) position! You just flip open the little water 'door' on the back of the unit, and pour your water in. With the Shark, you have to lay the thing on its side on a counter or table, unscrew the cap, and then use a funnel or else pour the water in veeerrrry slooooowly because the opening is so small (otherwise you'll get water everywhere).Sixth, that Bissell had the foresight to team up with Swiffer to make it so that you could use a disposable Swiffer pad with the Symphony is just pure genius! With the Shark you can only use the reusable mop head covers. Now maybe that's all you *want* to use, but having the option to use either is brilliant! (In case it isn't clear how you use the disposable Swiffer pad, there is actually a second, replacement head that snaps on to the bottom of the Symphony - it is just like the other head *except* that it has a hinged rim that you open - put the Swiffer pad on - and then close the rim down over the Swiffer pad to hold it in place. And switching between heads is as easy as it gets - you step on a tab to remove (release) the one head, then set the Symphony down on top of the other head, and it just snaps into place!So, the big question is, how does it clean?How does it clean??? See that picture?? YUCK! :-)It's absolutely *brilliant* being able to mop (steam mop) and vacuum all at once. And if you find a place on your floor where you have a bit of extra solid stuff on the floor that you need to vacuum up (hey, it happens, especially with pets and kids), just take your finger off the steam trigger, vacuum it up, and then start steaming away again!And yes, the handle can be adjusted to go under tables, under beds, etc..Now, we have a lot of shedding going on here, so yes, it *has* happened that at the end of mopping there may be a tiny fine line of wet pet hair that didn't get picked up (you know, like happens *whenever* you mop in a house with lots of animals, no matter how much you have swept and vacuumed first)...seriously, that has happened only one time, in one spot, and I just picked it up with a paper towel. Given that the 'lingering wet pet hair after mopping' *always* happens, with any type of mop (I think that after I sweep or vacuum, the dog and cat go behind my back and shed on the freshly swept floor *just* so I can have pet hair on the mop! .. "Wow, all of our hair has disappeared, she'll be so sad, let's go put some back on the floor right now!"), I'm not going to fault the Symphony for that - especially given what a fine job it does, and, compared to pretty much anything else!

I wanted to give it a while of using before I reviewed, and now I can say that I TOTALLY LOVE THIS THING for my linoleum flooring! I bought this after the Bissel steam mop I got for Xmas back in '10/'11 (when it first came out and hubby got the hint that it was in his best interest to stand in line to make my day) fell over and the handle shattered, and was using the spin mop I had until I decided that anything that made the hated chore of mopping of the floor easier for my piece of mind was worth the price. I also bought a second set of mop heads because I have 2 dogs and enjoy doing laundry just slightly more than cleaning floors.Anyhoo, when it arrived it was really easy to put together and I kicked the hellhounds... errr, furbabies... out of the house to give it a whirl. First thing I noticed is that the vac does not have powerful enough suction to pick up the larger bits of dog food off the floor, but that's fine because I'm used to having to sweep up all the leaves and twigs and nature-y type things they drag in anyway. After a good sweeping I was off. First pass forward I used the vac to suck up any hair/dust/whatever before holding the button for the max steam, then back and forth twice before moving it over to lather/rinse/repeat.After I went over the whole floor I looked at the pad, and whew-wee... DIS-GUST-ING! I tossed that pad into the washer and put a new one on for another pass... and while not as black as the first one it was still really gross. At this point I side-eyed the back-up spin mop that was now destined for the trash (and the door that was keeping my dirt loving trolls outside), then put a third pad on and refilled the reservoir for another go.Still pretty grungy, but definitely not as gross. I was beginning to wonder if I was pulling dirt out of the floor that was ground in before we even bought the place 20 years ago. Stuck a 4th pad on and decided to go for one more round. Finally I felt I had the floor clean enough, and was able to uncurl my toes from grossing out at what my feet had been walking on when I THOUGHT my floor was clean *shutter*. Luckily it was dry outside so I didn't have to also give the dogs a bath when they came back in. After mentioning to the family that I had mopped the floor they commented that it was "oohh... soft and smooth" on their bare feet, though I don't know if that was just because they wanted to make me feel good to prevent me from telling them to do it next time.Anyway, overall it gets a toes up from me. Yes, the vac is loud... it's a vac on a hard floor. Yes, the suction is not as powerful as a standard vacuum... this is not a household vacuum, but a chance to suck up the little bits that don't mop up before they get waterlogged. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to move it back and forth... but considering I like the option of having it sit and steam the heck out of spots that are sticky or engrained, I wouldn't want a self propelled option.Is it worth the price? Well, I've never had to use 4 pads in one day again so...

Purchased a used one to save money. Water poured out as soon as you dumped it into the tank. Luckily they gave me a refund back. Which is why I’m giving 4 stars.Purchase a new one and you’ll have no worries as I love mine and I’ve owned one in the past.

I love this way more than I thought I would. It is easy to use. The suction is powerful, the steam output is satisfactory, and the noise level is not as bad as I was expecting from other reviews.