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DONโT โ get a Shark
Style: PowerFresh Steam Mop
This is one of my Top 10 Favorite Amazon Purchases. If you like short reviews, my second to last section is pretty much a summary of why I find the Bissell Steam Mop far superior to the Shark Steam Mop.
Iโve been trying to write more in-depth, detailed reviews with pictures and videos. On this steam mop, thereโs tons of great reviews and videos already and I donโt think I can make one thatโs better. I did want to throw my hat in the ring with those who LOVE this steam mop. My review will focus on how much more happy I am with this steam mop than with the Shark Steam Mops I had in the past.
โฆI Got a Shark!
Our house is about 2100 sq ft and every inch except for the garage and the kitchen area is ceramic tile. The kitchen area is laminate for now (i.e. steam-moppable). I remember thinking, I am never going to scrub these floors on my hands and knees. I was impressed by the infomercial and read many reviews on the Shark. The negative ones mostly mentioned about how the plastic shaft broke by putting too much pressure on it. This didnโt seem too bad to me, so I went ahead and purchased it new for about eighty to a hundred bucks at a local store around the time we moved in about 5 years ago.
โฆIt Worked Great โ Until It Didnโt!
I was delighted to find out how well the Shark cleaned the floors and was always careful to be gentle as possible to avoid breaking the plastic. I admit I didnโt 100% understand the difference between distilled and filtered water, so I always used bottled water. Iโll also admit that I am not a clean freak: I clean to relieve stress, for company, or when itโs getting really bad, even by my not-so-high standards. The first Shark lasted for several years of infrequent use. My mother accidentally broke it when cleaning once and replaced it with one from the second-hand store.
The one she purchased for me worked for a while. I think I got a third from the second-hand store as well. That one stopped working a few months ago. I tried another two from the thrift but neither worked. At this point, I was just about done with Sharks โ I didnโt see any at the second hand store and I wasnโt about to buy another one for full price. A few months ago we had houseguests coming, so I searched on Amazon for several hours and this Bissell appealed to me the most.
โฆHail Mary Pass! Fail.
I was about to purchase it but wondered if any of the literally 3-4 Sharks I had in my laundry room could be fixed. I read several articles on the Sharks not working due to being clogged with mineral deposits. I tried the pipe cleaner, the paperclip, and CLR; unfortunately, nothing worked. At this point, I decided to cut my losses and ordered the Bissell.
โฆHello Bissell โ Where were you all my life?
I was impressed by the Bissell immediately upon taking it out of the box. Here are my thoughts on the differences between the two:
โขThe Bissell is significantly sturdier and of a much higher quality than the Shark. I wish I would have taken side-by-side pictures, but I immediately trashed the Sharks upon using the Bissell for the first time.
โขThe water tank on the Shark is small. It is built into the unit, which is inconvenient when it comes to re-filling. The hole to pour water in is tiny. Itโs nice that they provide a tiny funnel, but thatโs just something else to store and/or lose and Iโd rather have an opening big enough where I didnโt need a funnel. The Bissell tank is much larger. It is removable and the opening is very easy to fill. We can mop so much more of the floor on one Bissell water tank than we could with the Shark.
**I am not sure if my other Shark issues were possibly caused by not using distilled water; I want to keep my Bissell for a long time, so I am making it a point to keep several gallons of distilled water on hand for those times when I am in the cleaning mood.
โขI find that the Bissell cleans just as well as the Shark, and I wouldnโt be surprised if it worked better and allowed me to clean it faster if I was able to do a side-by-side comparison. We havenโt used the scrubby brush yet.
โขThe Bissell stands up by itself; the Shark does not (if not propped against something, it will fall). I am definitely someone who has a tendency to knock things over so I wonโt be leaving the Bissell in a room upright for an extended period of time, but I find this very convenient when I am moving from room to room, or refilling the water tank. I may also get motivated one day to leave it running on the floor to try to clean the grout lines. There was no way to do this with the Shark.
โขMy mother was able to find many Shark pads at the second hand store. I still have about ten of them in a container, in hopes that Iโll find a way to be able to use them with the Bissell. Extra Bissell pads are expensive. I purchased a pack of 2 on Amazon, since if the cleaning bug hits me, I donโt want to be forced to wait to finish mopping until after laundering the pads. I wish the Bissell pads were cheaper, but the replacements did fit perfectly and work as well as the originals. I have no complaints about the quality. http://amzn.com/B00A6G37SU
โขI didnโt use and I have no intention of using fragrance disks. I donโt like artificial fragrances, although I do like essential oils. I read some people put a few drops in the water tank, and I bet they smell great, but I plan on just using water. My main concern is that the Bissell continues to work as long as possible, and I donโt want to add anything that could potentially clog or degrade the system.
**Edit: Please read the excellent comment another reviewer added regarding the warranty. I find this information very important.**
โฆLast Word
I feel somewhat hypocritical in being harsh on the Shark for not lasting longer when I did have my first at least two years for sure, and Iโve only had the Bissell a few months (so I donโt know for sure how long it will last). The difference in quality between the two, even at first sight, is remarkable, so I would be very surprised if the Bissell did not outlive the Shark. I will update my review if anything changes for the better or worse.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2015
