NYT Wordle today — answer and hints for game #1,014, Friday, March 29

It’s time for your guide to today’s Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.

Don’t think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.   

Want more word-based fun? My Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, which remains the best of all the main Wordle alternatives.

SPOILER WARNING: Today’s Wordle answer and hints are below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to see them.

Wordle hints (game #1014) – clue #1 – Vowels

How many vowels does today’s Wordle have?

Wordle today has vowels in two places*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Wordle hints (game #1014) – clue #2 – first letter

What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?

The first letter in today’s Wordle answer is R.

R is a surprisingly uncommon starting letter. Despite ranking third overall in Wordle, it’s merely the 11th most likely to begin an answer.

Wordle hints (game #1014) – clue #3 – repeated letters

Does today’s Wordle have any repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters in today’s Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.

Wordle hints (game #1014) – clue #4 – ending letter

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

The last letter in today’s Wordle is M.

M is a middling ending letter: it ranks 13th in this regard, and only completes 42 Wordle answers overall.

Wordle hints (game #1014) – clue #5 – last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here’s an extra one for game #1014.

  • Today’s Wordle answer is a kingdom.

If you just want to know today’s Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I’d always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We’ve got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.

If you don’t want to know today’s answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don’t say you weren’t warned!


Today’s Wordle answer (game #1014)

Wordle answer for game 1014 on a yellow background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.5
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot’s score: 3
  • Best start word performance*: STALE (2 remaining answers)
  • My start word performance: MORAL (3)

* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words


Today’s Wordle answer (game #1014) is… REALM.

A couple of weeks ago I had a frustrating game when the answer was TOXIN. It was frustrating because TOXIN had been my random start word only a week before. Well, history has repeated itself in even more annoying fashion.

Why? Well, REALM was my start word only two days, for STUNG. I’d resigned myself to never scoring a 1/6, but I was so close here. OK, so I wasn’t really close at all – whether I was two days out or 200 days out is irrelevant, the fact is that I did not begin with the right word. But psychologically it felt closer.

Still, I scored a 3/6 anyway, so it wasn’t a disaster. And I very nearly scored a 2/6 – because my actual start word, MORAL, left only three possible solutions!

That was far from an unusual occurrence today, either. STARE, the third most popular opener in the world, left the same number, as did LEAST. STALE was better still at 2/6. CRANE, TRACE and CRATE (all 9) and SLATE (8) were great too. It was one of those days where a good start word really made a difference. 

Without one it will have been more difficult, because that M at the end of REALM is not particularly common: as I show in my analysis of every Wordle answer it ends only 42 of Wordle’s 2,309 original solutions, which means that it ranks 13th in that regard. On the other hand, R, E, A and L are all mega common, hence the good results for those start words.

I only found two of the three possible answers that were open to me – ALARM and REALM. The other, WordleBot said, was LAMER. Hmmm. I suppose that is a real word, but I’d be a bit annoyed if it was an answer. 

Anyway, it wasn’t today at least, so it’s irrelevant here. I played ALARM as the more common word and though it wasn’t right it confirmed that the answer had to be REALM. If only every day were as simple as this. 

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s Wordle hints (game #1013)

In a different time zone where it’s still Thursday? Don’t worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1013, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

  • The first letter in yesterday’s Wordle answer was S.

S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle’s 2,309 answers. In fact, it’s almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.

  • There were no repeated letters in yesterday’s Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.

  • The last letter in yesterday’s Wordle was K.

K is much more common at the end of a Wordle answer than at the start, and in fact ranks ninth overall in this regard.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here’s an extra one for game #1013.

  • Yesterday’s Wordle answer is to utter.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1013)

Wordle answer for game 1013 on a yellow background

(Image credit: New York Times)

  • NYT average score: 3.4
  • My score: 4
  • WordleBot’s score: 3
  • Best start word performance*: PARSE (3 remaining answers)
  • My start word performance: DRANK (9)

* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words


Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1013) was… SPEAK.

I am ANNOYED. At myself, rather than at Wordle/NYT, because my mistake today was all of my own making. Playing a random start word rarely gives the great results that always using CRANE or SLATE or STARE does, so when an opportunity like today’s arrives (I had only nine remaining answers) I really should grab it and score a 3/6. That I didn’t is entirely my own fault.

The frustrating thing is that SPEAK is by most measures a simple Wordle to solve. It has an average score of 3.4, which makes it the easiest since CLONE on March 7. It starts with the most common starting letter and contains the two most letters in the game in A and E (see my analysis of every Wordle answer for more on that). Yes, it ends with a K, which is not a common letter in general, but it is in the top 10 for ending letters.

What’s more, that K turned green on my first guess, courtesy of DRANK. It also gave me a yellow A, and as I said above reduced my possibles list to nine. That was one of the best results today; STARE left eight, and PARSE three, but otherwise they were all in double (or triple) figures.

The problem for me was that I somehow missed SPEAK, STEAK and TWEAK as answers. I found BAULK, plus CAULK (which I knew was a past Wordle answer) and KAYAK (ditto). I also came up with BLEAK and CLOAK. I didn’t find AMUCK or BATIK (I have no idea what that even means) either, but I’m less worried about them than I am about SPEAK, STEAK and TWEAK. Their omission was a glaring error that directly led to my below-par score.

Based on the words I’d found, I played BAULK – because it would guarantee a solve in 3/6, and could even have given me a 2/6. But that logic was flawed, obviously – it would only guarantee a 3/6 if I’d found all of the options, and I hadn’t.

Playing STEAL would have solved it in three no matter what, and that’s what WordleBot suggested. Instead, I had to watch in horror as all of my words were ruled out. I looked again and realized my mistake: I still had three words to pick from. Fortunately, playing STEAK would guarantee success on the next guess at worst (for real this time), and that’s what I had to settle for when the T failed to change color, meaning that SPEAK was the solution.


Wordle answers: The past 50

I’ve been playing Wordle every day for more than two years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday’s answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.

  • Wordle #1013, Thursday 28 March: SPEAK
  • Wordle #1012, Wednesday 27 March: STUNG
  • Wordle #1011, Tuesday 26 March: MAYOR
  • Wordle #1010, Monday 25 March: SALLY
  • Wordle #1009, Sunday 24 March: TOWEL
  • Wordle #1008, Saturday 23 March: RISEN
  • Wordle #1007, Friday 22 March: DECAY
  • Wordle #1006, Thursday 21 March: SHADE
  • Wordle #1005, Wednesday 20 March: LINGO
  • Wordle #1004, Tuesday 19 March: ABIDE
  • Wordle #1003, Monday 18 March: SPELT
  • Wordle #1002, Sunday 17 March: SNORT
  • Wordle #1001, Saturday 16 March: TOXIN
  • Wordle #1000, Friday 15 March: ERUPT
  • Wordle #999, Thursday 14 March: SINCE
  • Wordle #998, Wednesday 13 March: LOCAL
  • Wordle #997, Tuesday 12 March: HEAVE
  • Wordle #996, Monday 11 March: PESKY
  • Wordle #995, Sunday 10 March: GRASP
  • Wordle #994, Saturday 9 March: CHEER
  • Wordle #993, Friday 8 March: EARLY
  • Wordle #992, Thursday 7 March: CLONE
  • Wordle #991, Wednesday 6 March: TEARY
  • Wordle #990, Tuesday 5 March: HUNCH
  • Wordle #989, Monday 4 March: FLAME
  • Wordle #988, Sunday 3 March: STATE
  • Wordle #987, Saturday 2 March: URBAN
  • Wordle #986, Friday 1 March: FORTY
  • Wordle #985, Thursday 29 February: IMAGE
  • Wordle #984, Wednesday 28 February: DEVIL
  • Wordle #983, Tuesday 27 February: SENSE
  • Wordle #982, Monday 26 February: OFTEN
  • Wordle #981, Sunday 25 February: SMITH
  • Wordle #980, Saturday 24 February: PIPER
  • Wordle #979, Friday 23 February: APART
  • Wordle #978, Thursday 22 February: HEAVY
  • Wordle #977, Wednesday 21 February: BUILD
  • Wordle #976, Tuesday 20 February: MATCH
  • Wordle #975, Monday 19 February: PRICE
  • Wordle #974, Sunday 18 February: RIDGE
  • Wordle #973, Saturday 17 February: PSALM
  • Wordle #972, Friday 16 February: STASH
  • Wordle #971, Thursday 15 February: ASCOT
  • Wordle #970, Wednesday 14 February: TALON
  • Wordle #969, Tuesday 13 February: SCRAM
  • Wordle #968, Monday 12 February: PASTA
  • Wordle #967, Sunday 11 February: NEVER
  • Wordle #966, Saturday 10 February: FRIED
  • Wordle #965, Friday 9 February: STIFF
  • Wordle #964, Thursday 8 February: PLACE

What is Wordle?

If you’re on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you’ve not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it’s the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm last year and is still going strong in 2024.

We’ve got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.

What is Wordle?

Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it’s in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it’s not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh? 

It’s played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times’ Crossword app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free. 

Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.

What are the Wordle rules?

The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.

4. Answers are never plural.

5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.

7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.

8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.

9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.

10. All answers are drawn from Wordle’s list of 2,309 solutions. However…

11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won’t be right (see point 4 above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.

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Quordle today – hints and answers for Friday, March 29 (game #795)

It’s time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I’m still playing now, more than two years after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it’s fun, but also difficult.

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today’s Wordle answer, you’ll probably need some hints for this game too. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #1 – Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #2 – total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

The total number of vowels across today’s Quordle answers is 8.

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #3 – repeated letters

Do any of today’s Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #4 – total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #5 – uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today’s Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #6 – starting letters (1)

Do any of today’s Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today’s Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2+2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you’re not ready yet then here’s one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #795) – hint #7 – starting letters (2)

What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?

• R

• S

• R

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #795) – the answers

Quordle answers to game 795 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today’s Quordle, game #795, are…

  • RUMBA
  • SLICE
  • RAZOR
  • SLEEP

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Daily Sequence today (game #795) – the answers

Quordle daily sequence answers for game 795 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today’s Quordle Daily Sequence, game #795, are…

  • EXERT
  • DECRY
  • FLOAT
  • CIVIL

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #794, Thursday 28 March: PINEY, WEDGE, VIVID, ODDLY
  • Quordle #793, Wednesday 27 March: QUALM, CIVIL, CRUDE, GOUGE
  • Quordle #792, Tuesday 26 March: LINER, SCARE, VALID, DRUID
  • Quordle #791, Monday 25 March: SLUNG, GRILL, SETUP, SHOCK
  • Quordle #790, Sunday 24 March: WIDER, ICILY, FREAK, ATONE
  • Quordle #789, Saturday 23 March: AGENT, CELLO, TENOR, REGAL
  • Quordle #788, Friday 22 March: WOUND, TOUCH, SOUTH, LOGIC
  • Quordle #787, Thursday 21 March: SNAIL, TRUTH, MERIT, MOSSY
  • Quordle #786, Wednesday 20 March: SNAIL, GUMMY, HURRY, STIFF
  • Quordle #785, Tuesday 19 March: DRAIN, DIRTY, VALVE, PARRY
  • Quordle #784, Monday 18 March: BENCH, SNAKE, PENCE, CLASP
  • Quordle #783, Sunday 17 March: THETA, QUALM, CACHE, CROWN
  • Quordle #782, Saturday 16 March: TUBER, SUGAR, STRIP, TRIAL
  • Quordle #781, Friday 15 March: MARCH, FLANK, TEETH, DITTY
  • Quordle #780, Thursday 14 March: RESIN, DINGY, PLAID, BERET
  • Quordle #779, Wednesday 13 March: GLASS, HOUSE, FINAL, EXIST
  • Quordle #778, Tuesday 12 March: IDYLL, FAITH, RECUT, SASSY
  • Quordle #777, Monday 11 March: GRAND, GAUDY, FUNKY, BOOST
  • Quordle #776, Sunday 10 March: ENVOY, STUDY, SMACK, TREND
  • Quordle #775, Saturday 9 March: YOUNG, WHACK, FRILL, GLOOM

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It’s played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode – which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! – and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements – specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it’s difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle’s Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can’t blindly throw letters at it and expect to win – you’ll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That’s the case in Wordle too, of course, but it’s even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won’t want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options – you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe – but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you’re faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options – for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH – you’ll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It’s risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it’s the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure – you simply don’t have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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Questions raised over Temu cash ‘giveaway’ offer

The section receiving the most scrutiny states that “except to the extent prohibited by applicable law”, participants give the company consent to use and publish their “photo, name, likeness, voice, opinions, statements, biographical information, and/or hometown and state” for advertising or promotional purposes.

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FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years

Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character.

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Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet wet and dry vacuum review

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

  • Self-cleaning brush roll
  • Hygienic floor cleaning
  • Headlights
  • Three modes

Cons

  • Noisy
  • Cable can be limiting
  • Lengthy maintenance after each use

Our Verdict

If you’ve found cordless hard floor cleaners lacking, Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet wet and dry vacuum might appeal. It packs in more power than a battery-powered model, so you won’t run out of charge before you’re done, and steams floors hygienically clean. Sadly, its convenience doesn’t extend to maintenance: you may find that the time you save on separate vacuuming and mopping is spent cleaning the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet itself.

Price When Reviewed

£399.99

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Just as triple chocolate has more allure than double, a wet and dry vacuum that can steam clean into the bargain is extra appealing for those with multiple hard floors. Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is such a cleaner, allowing you not only to leave your standalone vacuum and mop in the cupboard, but a separate steam cleaner too.

Equipped with LED headlights for spotting dirt and hair, and a base that allows the brush roll to clean itself after use, it’s billed as Bissell’s most powerful CrossWave cleaner, packing in 1100W of corded power.

Design & Build

  • 820ml clean water tank
  • 7.5m power cable
  • 5.67kg/12.5lbs weight

It’s no surprise that the shape of the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet borrows heavily from Bissell’s heritage of vacuum cleaners and carpet cleaners. It looks similar to an upright vacuum cleaner, complete with hooks at the back for the 7.5m cable and controls located on the upper handle. These comprise two buttons: one for changing the mode and one for on/off, plus a trigger to release water and cleaning fluid from the 820ml tank.

Bissell CrossWave controls

Bissell CrossWave controls

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Bissell CrossWave controls

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Thoughtfully, the mode button is within reach of a thumb, so you can switch without letting go of the handle. Plus, the button for self-cleaning is further down on the carry handle, so you don’t hit it by accident. Its size and weight aren’t dissimilar to an upright either – at H111.8 x W27 x D25cm, and 5.67kg/12lbs, you’ll need to find a decent space for it.

Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is primarily designed to tackle the clean-up jobs any pet owner will be familiar with

Down at the business end of the cleaner, you’ll find the brush roll, which does the manual work, aided by cleaning solution and/or steam. It’s made from a soft mop-like material that’s studded with hard bristles and shielded by a clear cover.

Above that, there’s a trio of LED headlights – great for brightening dark corners – and a dirty water tank. Although physically larger in size than the clean water tank, the dirty water tank houses a dry filter and strainer for capturing large particles and hair, so its capacity is only 640ml.

Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam headlights

Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam headlights

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam headlights

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Performance & Features

  • Fast steam heating
  • Noisy in use
  • Self-cleaning mode

Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is primarily designed to tackle the clean-up jobs any pet owner will be familiar with – muddy paws, hair, dander and accidents – but it’s not limited to them. Its trio of modes cover a range of mess, with the hard floor mode listing coffee, grease, cooking splatters and human hair as its targets, steam covering sticky mess, pet mess, wine and heavy soiling, and area rug encompassing pet hair, crumbs, dirt and interestingly, confetti – presumably for pets who are party animals.

We tested the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet with seeded jam (sticky, textured mess) and mustard (smooth mess that can leave residue) left to sit for an hour, as well as oil (greasy mess) on a vinyl floor. In the hard floor mode, the majority of oil was lifted but the floor was still slightly greasy to the touch and needed wiping. The hard floor mode also lifted the mustard easily but left residue behind. We switched to the steam mode, which helped to remove this but a tinge still remained.

Jam, mustard and oil on a tiled floor

Jam, mustard and oil on a tiled floor

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Jam, mustard and oil on a tiled floor

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

We were, however, surprised by how quickly the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet heated up for steam. The instructions stated around 30 seconds but we found it to be faster. What could be clearer is when it’s ready to use in steam mode. Instead of changing colour, so that it can be understood at a glance, the icon on the display glows on and off then becomes solid. We remained in steam mode to clean up the jam and the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet performed excellently. All the jam was gone and no stickiness remained to the touch. 

Overall, we found the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet quite heavy to push around, and noisy. Bissell states that its noise is 75dB, but as it prevented normal conversation, we felt it to be more intrusive. We also struggled with the cable and found it awkward to move around. What we did like was that the headlights become brighter when the trigger for cleaning solution is pressed, making it easier to get into a rhythm of washing the floor, then sucking up excess water when the trigger was released.

Perhaps the biggest quibble with the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is the amount of cleaning required after use

After cleaning up the hard floor, there was debris stuck inside the cover and on the brush roll itself, so it was a good time to run the self-cleaning cycle before tackling other surfaces. Cleverly, the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet detects when it’s on the base as the self-cleaning button illuminates. We ran two cycles of self-cleaning as after the first one, some mustard and jam still remained. This second cycle made it fit for use again.

Bissell CrossWave in self-cleaning mode

Bissell CrossWave in self-cleaning mode

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Bissell CrossWave in self-cleaning mode

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Having no rugs, we tested it on a small area of carpet that had mud and pet hair on it, in the area rug mode. It lifted both well, and although there was some pet hair left behind, we were pleasantly surprised how much had reached the dirty water tank. The strainer within it caught most of the hair in clumps. This was more effective than when we initially emptied the dirty water tank, as the strainer didn’t catch most of the seeds as the holes were too large.

Perhaps the biggest quibble with the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet is the amount of cleaning required after use. In addition to the self-cleaning, the brush roll needs to be rinsed, cleansed and left to dry on the base. The same applies for the filter, which also needed debris removing. Its dirty water tank, strainer and lid had to be rinsed and air dried. There’s no brush to assist with washing and while this may only have taken 10 minutes (including reassembly once dry), if you’re cleaning a small area, you may end up spending more time on maintenance.

Price & Availability

If you’re in the UK, you can buy the CrossWave HydroSteam Pet from direct from Bissell, where it’s available for £349.99, down from its RRP of £399.99. It’s available at the same price from Currys and for £400 from Selfridges.

It’s also available in the US, although it’s a slightly different model from the one we tested. It’s priced at $399.99 but you can currently buy it for $349.99 from Bissell.

We have more recommended models in our round-up of the best wet and dry vacuums.

Should you buy the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet?

Part vacuum, part mop and part steam cleaner, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet gets much right. It’s well-designed, easy to use, tackles most mess and, while you may need to use lots of steam on stubborn marks, the fact that it’s an option puts it head and shoulders above hard floor cleaners that rely on a mopping action alone.

However, while the self-cleaning cycle is a handy addition, the level of maintenance required after every use lets it down. For an almost £400 price tag, you’d hope for a brush to clean away debris manually, while running the self-cleaning cycle should be sufficient to keep the brush roll ready for use. That said, if you can live with keeping a machine spotless so it can keep your floors in the same condition, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet offers more than some.

Robot Vacuums and Cleaning

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When will Godzilla x Kong be available to stream, rent or buy?

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the latest instalment of the MonsterVerse, filled with full-scale fights, absurd one-liners and unexpected reveals.

Whilst epic blockbusters like this are perfect for a trip to the cinema, you may be wondering when you’ll be able to watch the Titan and Great Ape team-up from the comfort of your own home. Here’s everything we know so far. 

You can also find out whether Godzilla x Kong has a post-credits scene, and when we expect tickets for Deadpool and Wolverine to go on sale.  

How to watch Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire now 

You can’t yet watch Godzilla x Kong, because it releases in cinemas tomorrow, 29 March 2024. If you want to get your tickets you can do so from Cineworld, Odeon and Vue in the UK, and AMC and Fandango in the US. 

Watch the official trailer below:

If you want to watch it at home, then you may be in for a little wait.  

When could Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire be released on VOD? 

Warner films typically come to digital platforms first, rather than streaming services and DVD. 

There’s been no confirmation on when Godzilla x Kong will be available to rent or buy. Warner Bros. movies usually release on VOD around six to eight weeks after their cinematic debuts. However, this time can vary depending on box office performance.  

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire releases on 29 March 2024. So, if it follows the typical pattern, we should see it land on VOD platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Google Play around middle-to-late May 2024.  

When could Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire be released on DVD/Blu-ray? 

Like the digital release, the date of the physical release of the latest MonsterVerse film has not been confirmed.  

DVDs from Warner usually come not too long after the VOD drop. If our prediction of the VOD release is correct, then a May/June DVD release of Godzilla x Kong is possible

King Kong in Godzilla x Kong

King Kong in Godzilla x Kong

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

King Kong in Godzilla x Kong

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

When could Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire be released on streaming services? 

Warner Bros. films typically come to streaming services last, following the VOD and DVD launches.  

The dates of when a film can land vary wildly depending on how well they do in cinemas. For example, the box office hit Barbie landed on Max five months after its run in cinemas, whilst Aquaman 2 took just two months. 

Therefore, predicting a date for the streaming release of Godzilla x Kong is quite difficult. The earliest it could be released is in late May, but equally it could be much later in the year.  

The box office figures over the coming weeks should give a good indication of when you’ll be able to stream it. As it’s a Warner film, it will almost certainly come to Max in America and Sky/Now in the UK. 

Streaming Media

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