The Bissell Spinwave – is it the hard floor cleaner you’ve been waiting for? Find out in our 2023 review.
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At first glance, you may think the Bissell Spinwave 2039A is a steam mop. But it’s not. It’s an electric-powered spin mop that works like a mini industrial floor scrubber. It scrubs and polishes with counter rotation from two cleaning pads.
People with back pain appreciate the self-propelling movement that requires less physical strain than other manual mops. There are a few drawbacks, however, including price. It’s on the high end of the spin mop price range. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Why choose a Spin Mop
A spin mop:
- Keeps your hands dry and clean. The spinning action, whether powered by the mop or bucket means no more bending over to wring out the mop by hand.
- Doesn’t leave excess water. You can spin out as much or as little water as you want from a spin mop or even use them as a dry dust mop.
- Lets your floor dry quicker. Since they don’t leave big puddles behind (unless that’s what you want), floors dry quickly, which is good for sealed wood that is sensitive to water.
- Has reusable and washable cleaning pads. Most of them do, anyway, which is super handy, creates less waste, and ensures you always have a clean pad on hand.
It’s also kind of fun to watch the mop head spin around like a caffeinated carousel.
What do you get with a Bissell Spinwave 2039A
The Spinwave comes with 2 scrubby pads and 2 soft touch pads. It also comes with two 8 oz. bottles of multi-surface formula cleaning solution.
Key features:
- Power spin pads: They work in pairs and spin together in opposite directions. This eliminates the need to run the mop in all different directions to scrub away stubborn stains. Remember Mr. Miyagi’s advice to the Karate Kid? Wax on (clockwise), wax off (counter-clockwise). It’s kind of like that.
- On-demand spray: The spray trigger on the handle lets you control how much solution gets onto the floor. Use as much or as little as you like.
- Auto-stop: When you stand the mop upright, the spinning action stops, and you can leave it standing there to move furniture or answer a phone, etc.
- Self-propelling /swiveling: It’s not technically self-propelled, but the spinning action helps you push it with very little effort. The swiveling head maneuvers around furniture and gets into corners well.
- Machine washable & dryable cleaning pads: Pop them in the washing machine or top rack of the dishwasher to clean them (don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets).
- 2-year limited warranty: Bissell will replace any parts that break or malfunction under normal conditions except for those you must replace regularly, such as cleaning pads. It doesn’t cover breakage from user negligence, self-repairs, or any other unauthorized use (see user manual).
A note on the self-propelling action: Some customers have noticed that the self-propelled movement can get out of control if you’re not careful. Less water in the tank means less weight to help hold the mop steady, so keep that in mind.
Product Dimensions
The entire mop head area is about 14 inches across. In the middle, it’s a few inches tall, so the whole mop head may not fit under very low clearance furniture. The pads stick out about an inch on either side, so it’s fairly easy to clean right up against cabinets, sinks, etc.
- Weight – 11 pounds
- Cord length – 20 feet
- Cleaning tank capacity – 28 oz.
- Power rating – 0.9 Amps
Cleaning Pads
Two types of pads come with this mop – soft touch and scrubby. The scrubby ones are obviously for heavy-duty cleaning. The scrubby ones have bristles for breaking up stubborn, sticky stains but are still gentle enough to not scratch sealed floors. The soft-touch pads are designed for light-duty mopping and dry mopping/polishing.
Once you’re done, you can wash the pads in a washing machine or top rack of the dishwasher then air dry them or put them in a dryer. Just remember to NOT use fabric softener or dryer sheets, as that will diminish their absorbency. With proper maintenance, the pads should last several months up to a couple years depending on how often you use them.
If you’re looking for something to clean grout, the user manual states that it will clean “shallow grout”. Deep grout lines may be a challenge to clean with the Bissell Spinwave. One homeowner suggested using a little foot pressure to help the bristles get down in there.
Cleaning solution / tank
The tank holds up to 28 oz. of Bissell cleaning solution. First you add water to the water fill line, then add your cleaning solution. On the tank, you’ll see fill lines for both small and large areas so this can help you not waste solution.
While you can use tap water, some customers have noticed swirl marks and streaks on their floors. If you notice this, try using filtered/distilled water instead. Also, warm water (not hot) is recommended for better cleaning performance. There is no water heater on the machine.
Is the Bissell Spinwave 2039A right for you
Here’s a quick rundown of the pros and cons discussed above to help you decide.
- Good for light and heavy duty mopping
- Self-propelling and light for less back strain
- Swivel head
- Two counter-rotating mop heads
- Reusable/washable cleaning pads
- Comes with 2 extra pads and 2 bottles of cleaning solution
- 2-year limited warranty
PROS:
- Can be hard to control
- May leave streaks/swirls
- Price (~$100)
- Must use only water or Bissell cleaning solution/water
- Hard to fit behind toilets and under very low furniture
- Not good for deep grout
CONS:
FAQ
Here are some questions homeowners often have about this and other spin mops.
First of all, check:
- Did you use fabric softener or dryer sheets when washing the pads? Those will greatly reduce the absorbency.
- Is the pad already saturated with water/dirt? If so, it won’t be able to absorb any more. Try replacing with a clean/dry pad.
- Is the pad too dry? Believe it or not, if a pad is TOO dry, it may not absorb or move across the floor well. Try misting the pads with water before mopping to prime them for better performance.
Mop Tips & Tricks
I’m so excited to try the Bissell Spinwave spin mop! I’ve been wanting to get one for a while now and I’m glad I can finally try it out!
Can use use Bona floor cleaning solution? I would think it’s a good as the Bissell, since I already have Bona.
This spin floor mop leaves swirl marks and residue. It’s terrible. I’m returning. Far too expensive when my mop and bucket can do a better job!
My issue is one of the spin-disks stopped spinnoing after around a year … the screw threads on the plastic disk became stripped and this caused damag to my oak hardwood floor.
Mine too! Why is this happening? I see they sell replacement discs but that doesn’t seem fair that I’ll have to replace these once a year.
you need to buy a replacement disc, I had to replace mine. Easy to change, just held on by a screw. Note which disc it is as they are different for the right, & left side
Bissell Newwave is jerky & difficult to control.
In more ways than one, the BISSELL Spinwave Plus is the same Spinwave mop as the BISSELL Spinwave. Sure, it improves upon a couple of things here and there, and it does give you more cleaning solution and two extra mop pads, but there isn’t a lot else that you’re going to find.
Will the spin mop polish hard wood floors
I cannot get the handle to snap into the body resulting in having this thing fall apart every time I need to pick it up. Any secret to getting the handle to latch into its base?
I am soooooooo frustrated with that exact same problem. Just unpacked it and handle will not snap into place. Have tried all the suggestions that I could find. Evidently a common problem, but not one that I paid to have.😩
I just had to push it a little harder and it clicked into place
I LOVE this thing!!! I have used it 3 times. BUT, today the left spin stopped going fast and then pretty much not at all. I re positioned the pads,. changed them, and nothing helped. When not touching the floor it spins fine. Put it on the floor, little to nothing. Lean it off that side a little, spins better. What happened? and how do I fix it? I pulled on the spinner, checked the screw……didn’t hit it on anything………….what do I do here?
Same issue with mine….any help?
The screw is loose. I tighten mine just a little bit.
My sprayer will not work. Any ideas
The screws coming loss. You have to tighten it.
One of the spin pads stopped on my 20391 which is an older version of the one on this page 2039A. There are black round plastic pads that are tightned and held in place with steel screws – th epads provide the cleaning action. I bought mine in 2017 so it is 4 years old this year (so it is out of warranty). I use it around 4 times a year. I notice last time that a) the pad that was not working correct had black residue all around the place that lines up with teh screw – this screw holds the black round plastic pads mentioned at the top of this post, b) very next time I used the 20391 … I looked closely and here is what I found — the female threads in the black plastic disk were severely damaged qnd stripped so that it this no longer held the pad onto the body of the mop / cleaner. The pad that was damaged was completely damaged and unusuable junk I just purchased the 2039A because this rotating mop does a good job on my oak hardward floor. UNFORTUNATELY, the previous one caused damage because the screw holding in the rotating disk that became damaged was completely disengaged and scratch the living crap out of my oak hardwiood floor.
My sprayer stopped working completely. WTH
I cannot get the bottle out of the spinwave, help.
Pull hard.
We are having the same problem, hard to get bottle out. Any
Suggestions besides pull harder?
I like this better than a Swiffer as it does a better job on tile (although cost more too), but do not think it does as good job on grout lines as I would like.
Pads are pretty pricey but if you go on to eBay you can find some really good deals on them
Does this review also apply to the SpinWave Plus, 20391? Are you compensated by Amazon?
Can this be used on vinyl plank flooring?
I use it regularly on my vinyl plank flooring. It does a decent job.
Very Impressed. I cannot scrub floors due to ill health and found the ordinary sponge mops did not really clean the floor. Very pleased at my first attempt with this machine. Only got one bottle of cleaning solution with it though.
Can you purchase more pads and how much are they
I was excited about this machine! Used it twice and was terrific. Just tried to use it yesterday and it started smoking and smells. What the heck!!
Call their customer service line – they are prompt and will replace it within warranty, especially if you just got it. Mine was 3 months old and one of the screws popped out of the disc for me and the screw from the other disc wouldn’t go in either, so they replaced the whole mop. I got it delivered in 2 days. I’m back in action, regular mops do nothing for my vinyl plank flooring.