Bissell Spinwave R5 review: heed the red flags

Robot vacuums are enticing because they let you keep your home clean without the work. But these home helpers can be expensive so it's important to choose the right one since you're going to be paying for it. There are literally dozens of choices when it comes to robot vacuums, and one of the most familiar vacuum brands has released a new vacuum and mop robot; the Bissell SpinWave R5. In this review, I'll put the bot to the test in my home see what it does well and what it struggles with, how well it cleans overall and how easy it is to set up and operate. I'll wrap things up by letting you know if I think this is a good investment for your home.
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What is Bissell SpinWave R5?
The rage in robot floor cleaners right now is to have a single device that both vacuums and mops. That's the promise of the Bissell SpinWave R5. This bot can do both tasks at once and it promises over two hours of run time on a single charge. The SpinWave R5 has dual spinning mopping pads and the ability to add cleanser to the mopping tank, while the vacuum suction is rated at 2,000Pa. I think it's worth pointing out the 2000 Pa of suction is actually quite low. Many of the newer robot vacuums and even dual vacuum and mop bots are offering five and 6000 Pa of suction which should be particularly effective on carpet and rugs. I will wait for my dedicated carpet testing to judge if Bissell has missed the mark here by not amping up the suction.
What’s in the box?
There are numerous parts and accessories included in the box. You get the SpinWave robot with the good sized 550ml vacuum dustbin already installed. There is a large, multi prong corner brush, which is unlike any other, I have seen, featuring both long and short bristles, which I hope will result in a better ability to feed scattered debris into its vacuum rollers.
A second mopping plate is also included. That houses a 440ml water tank and two round microfibre mopping pads. The charging, cleaning and docking station is made up of the charging base, docking tray (to keep the mopping pad from wetting the floor), and a power adapter. You'll also get ads and a small bottle of cleaning formula.
Set up
To get set up and ready, Place your bot on the charging base to get powered up. Meantime, you’ll need to download and sign into or sign up for the Bissell Connect app. The app will walk you through getting your bot connected to Wi-Fi and that took me just a couple of minutes.
When the Bissell SpinWave R5 is fully charged, press the start button to begin cleaning. When the robot goes out for the first time it will begin to create a map of your home. For me, to create a format, I actually had to send it out twice, but after that, I had an accurate map of my space. Once the space is marked that gives you the ability to use room, specific or zone cleaning.
How to use Bissell SpinWave R5
With this robot, to some extent, you need to choose whether you want to vacuum, or vacuum and mop at once.
If you only want to vacuum, ensure the large dry dust fan is installed in the bottom. The dustbin is a good size and will hold quite a bit of debris. If you want to mop, or vacuum mop together, you need to switch out the dry dust bin for the mopping plate.
If the mopping plate has been installed the dust bin size is cut down drastically. That's because the space is needed for the water tank for the mopping pads. In my experience with this spot if you have a multiple pet home or things are a bit on the dirty side, it's a good idea to run the vacuum first and then take care of the mopping. If your home is not as dirty or dusty, you can probably get away with using the marking plate with its smaller dry dust bin.
Key Features
Vacuum and mop at once
With the mopping plate installed it's possible to both vacuum and mop at the same time. The capacity of the dry dust bin is quite small, but the trade-off here is you're getting debris removed and the floors washed at once.
Room & Zone cleaning
I discovered that this robot has limited ability to clean by room. Does not seem to allow you to divide rooms or label them, what it is, do is allow you to do what's called zone cleaning. This requires you drawing a box around the space, you wanted to clean and then starting the robot. And I was only able to do this on demand; I was not able to schedule any zone specific cleaning.
When it comes to scheduling, I was able to create daily and weekly schedules for the robot, but the schedule only allowed me to clean the whole house not specific rooms or zones.

[@jshoe2490]

great review, good insights as to strengths and weaknesses

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks very much!

[@zicaKpablo]

I got for $149. I can't sync with the app on my phone.. And how do I know if it's indeed is charging, should I turn it on to do so, like the instructions say? I've had two other brands without issues.

[@ASMRPeople]

Perhaps you got a good unit mine is trash. On average it goes 5 to 10 minutes before it says cleaning fluid low. They then have to disconnect & reconnect the tank several times to get it to work. When they say avoids carpets what they mean is it will only go a few inches onto carpet before turning around.

[@user-ku1np8bs8n]

I just ordered the SpinWave R5 So pleased that I came across the review so that I can better understand the bot that is gonna come in the mail. What a wonderful and thorough review you made!! Just marvelous I’m just one person with no pets so the limited vacuum aspiration isn’t a dealbreaker. The mopping seems good and I like the fact that the mop pads can be tossed into washer and then dryer. I think its convenient Oh and this 549.99 dollar product? I was able to get it for 220.99 before tax at Best Buy’s online store! 241 after tax if my memory is serving me right. So I can’t complain in that regard 😏

[@user-ku1np8bs8n]

Also, you got a subscriber! I just adore your way of communicating and breaking down the features 😊

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks for watching!

[@dankelley9361]

Great honest & frank review. The box states vacuuming & moping, so this one is a definitely poor product that should be avoided at any price.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks, agreed!

[@reggie2803]

Great review. However, Bissell should go back to R&D to develop something much better. They need to lower the price on this model.

[@KingLovensky]

Great review and actually it’s on sale at Walmart just for $149 saving $400

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Nice! Thanks for letting me know 👍

[@maybenot007]

So which robot do you recommend ??

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Right now I'm loving Ecovacs Deebot X1. amzn.to/3EdTNKm

[@ronm6585]

Thanks.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks for watching 🙂

[@bean9005]

I got one for 150 so if it somewhat okay it’s a good deal but for 550 I would think that’s wayy overpriced

[@ediecantor7003]

Just try to replace the side brush with an identical one! Bissell doesn't sell ANY brushes, rollers etc. Generic brishes have only shorter brushes.

[@Vork29]

Well I got it on sale for 220 so I’m happy

[@KC-yw7lz]

It’s now on sale for $149 at Walmart

[@felixyu2792]

149 now on walmart 😂

[@camwoo7143]

This has a mind of it's own. Also 0:20 is a lot of money! That must be $700 CDN!

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Right!? 😂

[@MPN196]

👍👍👍

[@d.julian8337]

A great laugh.✌️🍷😎

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

😂😎