BISSELL® Crosswave™ 17859 All-in-One Multi-Surface Upright Vacuum

Ok, I have used multiple versions of the Hoover FloorMate for several years now. Finally, my FloorMate Deluxe went down, causing me to trade it in for the only available model, the FloorMate Edge. I was NOT impressed at all. I took that model back to BB&B, and although more expensive, the only other option was the Bissell Crosswave, so I decided to give it a shot. I have about 2000 sq ft of polished travertine stone floors throughout my house. We don't have children, but have three Welsh Corgis that are constantly tracking in dry grass, dirt, and of course all that shedding of hair (I swear we have new dogs behind the couches whenever we clean!). While waiting for BB&B to deliver the ordered Bissell Crosswave, I decided that I wasn't going to touch my floors until this thing arrived. The Crosswave arrived yesterday evening, I assembled it (fairly easy), and put it away in the garage. Today I decided I was going to give the Crosswave a try, and just clean the kitchen floor. I was so amazed of how much better this thing did versus the Hoover FloorMate, that I kept cleaning the rest of the house! The Pro's : 1. Very light and maneuverable - low profile base unit allows to get under couches and chairs. 2. Powerful suction and pick-up (I literally threw a couple of shelled peanuts on the floor and it pulled them right in!). Without even sweeping, it collected all the loose dog hairs, and even bunches (bunnies) under furniture. 3. The scrubbing bristles do an excellent job in comparison to the rotating brushes of the FloorMate. Stuck on grub came up with a few passes and picked up by the vacuum never to be dealt with again (as apposed to getting down on hands and knees to scrape because the FloorMate didn't cut it). 4. Collection of dirt and floor waste - With the Hoover FloorMate, I was able to dump the waste in the toilet and flush it away because it was mostly water and cleaning solution. This isn't the case with the Bissell Crosswave. Because it conserves using your cleaning solution or water, the waste in the collection bin is pretty dense, and I would NOT recommend attempting to flush it down your toilet, or you'll have another mess to clean up! 4. Uses less solution and water - Because of my high polished travertine, I won't use anything other than StoneTech Revitalizer, which costs appx $25 per gallon of pre-mixed solution. With the Hoover FloorMate I always felt as if I was just dumping expensive cleaner down the drain, literally, because it laid down so much solution without cleaning before it was picked up by the vacuum. With the Bissell Crosswave this isn't the case. I used two pints of Revitalizer with the Crosswave compared to a whole gallon with the Floormate. The Con's: 1. Has good width for floor coverage, but too wide to get between the toilet and tub. 2. Although great suction, bristle brush doesn't extend close enough to baseboards. 3. I would like to see either a brush with more bristles, or a brush that has more "positive contact" with the floor to eliminate more than several passes to remove stuck on grime. Conclusion: My floor was so clean, that a Paris Island Marine Drill Instructor would have been proud! I highly recommend others buying and using this product! And to the guy that reported having floor streaks after using the Crosswave, buy a better cleaning solution!