Checking Our List #31: BISSELL Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Brandy!}

My husband will attest to this (probably too strongly) but I'm not very good at being a neat freak. It's like I want to be one... but I'm just too lazy. It's so much easier to just ignore the mess rather than put in the work to do something about it. Not to mention that my kids will just replace all of the dirt by the next day anyway, right?

But I really do want to have a cleaner home, it just seems that I need easier ways to accomplish that. Instead of letting the dishes pile up, I'll quickly put them into the dishwasher after each meal (as well as, ahem, teach my daughter to do it for me). And instead of not wanting to pull out the broom to sweep up the crumbs and then an entire separate mop and bucket to wash the floor, I'll turn to the people who mean clean: BISSELL.

With a wide selection of vacuums, deep cleaners, bare floor cleaners, cleaning formulas, sweepers and more, BISSELL has been finding ways to make your home a cleaner place for more than 130 years. This family-owned corporation has developed and created the world's best cleaning tools and has one (quite a few, actually) that will fit your needs. If you're not sure where to begin, they even have a great Find Your Perfect Match section to get you started!

As I was still trying to get away from the hassle of a broom and mop, I couldn't wait to see how well BISSELL's Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner would work for me.

A powerful steam mop and sweeper all-in-one, I love the idea of picking up dirt and debris while cleaning with steam all at the same time... and without chemicals! This is definitely the type of convenience and versatility that I need on my road to my goal of keeping my house a cleaner, safer place for my family.

Arriving in its own thin, compact box, I pulled out the parts and was surprised (and pleased) to find that assembly was going to be extremely easy.

Literally two screws later and I had the Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner completely put together and ready to go.

Putting this innovative machine to work was just as easy. As it weighs only 9.5 pounds, I had no problem lifting and carrying it to where I knew needed cleaning the most: my kitchen floor. And when I got there, I appreciated the 30-foot cord that allowed me to plug this in just about anywhere and not have to move to closer outlets as I proceeded through the room.

Even though the Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner can do both steaming and cleaning at the same time, I followed the manual's suggestion of using just the sweeper first to clear off the pieces of... well, all kinds of stuff that was probably on my kitchen floor.

With a simple flip of the brush switch and then the power switch, the blue ready light came on and it began to pick up everything in its wake. The swivel head made it easy to maneuver into any tight spaces or under the cabinets with ease and I could already see the dirt being pulled up into the container. In fact, even though it really hadn't been that long since I swept, the Steam & Sweep still managed to pick up everything that I had previously missed.

Even though I wasn't happy to see what had been all over my floor, I like the inclusion of the clear window into the dirt container to get a view as to how much mess you were living in. When it came time to empty it, all that was required was to lightly push the Dirt Bin Release button (with your hand or foot) and the entire cleaner comes off, leaving the bin waiting on the floor.

After dumping out the dirt and snapping the pieces back together, I moved on to the steam cleaning, something that was also definitely needed.

This time all that was required was to fill the water tank (it is recommended to use distilled or demineralized water instead of from the tap) and you're all set for steam. The Steam & Sweep is designed to clean just about any hard flooring such as ceramic tile, vinyl, marble, stone and sealed hard wood and, if you follow the specific instructions, will not only clean but sanitize as well.

In order for that, BISSELL states that you have to "leave the Steam & Sweep over the area for a minimum of 15 seconds, but no longer than 20 seconds," which I thought was fairly specific, but as I was looking forward to a germ and bacteria-free floor, it was worth it.

Instead of dirt, now it's just all steamy in there!

When you're done steaming, simply dump out any remaining water and pull the mop pad off of the bottom (it attaches with Velcro) and throw it right into the washing machine. I appreciate that the Steam & Sweep comes with an extra mop pad, meaning if I haven't gotten around to washing the first one by the time I clean the floor again, there is another waiting.

Hmm. Dirty much?

The BISSELL Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner truly is lightweight, convenient, easy-to-use and an all-around worry-free machine to have. The only regular maintenance that it might need is to check that the bright green grains in the filter haven't turned blue (which indicates that it needs changing) and you're set for floors that are clean and sanitized in one easy step. My floors sure have been cleaner since this arrived and its great to be able to do both steaming and sweeping at the same time!

Retailing for $139.99, this and many of BISSELL's great products are available right on their website or at a wide selection of online and retail store locations across the world. If you or someone you know is a neat freak (or has aspirations to be one!) or just wants a fast and simple way to clean, the Steam & Sweep would be a great holiday gift. And, thanks to the generosity of BISSELL, one person will be able to give the gift of clean, because...

One lucky person will win a Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner from BISSELL!

To enter to win: Visit BISSELL and tell me the name of another of their high quality products you would like to own.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry if you head over to A Mom's Balancing Act and enter to win a BISSELL Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner over there as well!
1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow BISSELL on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook.
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the Holiday Gift Guide giveaways (Checking Our List giveaways ONLY) running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Checking Our List 31: WIN a BISSELL Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner (ARV $140)! #thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/fVlejN #giveaway #win

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you have our Checking Our List {Holiday Gift Guide 2010} button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and BISSELL. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on December 30th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.

A big thank you to BISSELL for providing a Steam & Sweep Hard Floor Cleaner for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.