A BEAST IN THE BEDROOM!!!!! (Bissell Power Steamer Deep Cleaner)

Name: indigojade

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Product:	Bissell Power Steamer Deep Cleaner
Date:	24/06/01 (2748 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cleans carpets deep down, removes stains and ground in dirt, refreshes the carpet pile

Disadvantages: makes you feel filthy when you see all the dirt removed!

After years of struggling to keep my carpets clean with an unwieldy two piece carpet cleaner I decided it was time for a new one! Imagine if you will my dusky rose pink carpets, only laid 3 years ago, and the incessant tramping of 16 assorted sized paws, 6 regular sized feet plus the visitors we have had over the years, plus the various spills and accidents that occur through everyday life with a 2 year old. All this adds up to a very grubby looking carpet! I used to use the old carpet cleaner at least once a month in the heaviest traffic areas, which used to take up to 2 hours PER ROOM! I thought the carpets were clean!

Enter the beast……………….

The Bissel beast as I have affectionately named it, looks very similar to a regular upright vacuum cleaner, with the exception of the two-water/fluid tanks. It is incredibly easy to fill each tank. To fill with cleaning fluid (450ml supplied as a trial size). Remove the fluid cartridge by pulling upwards gently, unscrew the top and pour the required amount into the chamber. Replace the screw top, and replace cartridge in the machine. This is the easiest encounter I have ever had – no mixing or diluting required, just put the neat cleaning fluid into the chamber, no spills no mess.

Filling the bucket with water is just as easy – remove the bucket using the built in handle, remove the lid and place bucket under the hot water tap until the desired level is reached. The bucket itself holds 1 gallon of water – not very much really but just enough to do one room. This may not sound like labour saving if you have to fill the bucket in each room, but believe me the combined weight of the machine (10kg) plus the water is VERY HEAVY!

Once you have loaded water and fluid into the machine, select which option you want the machine to perform either carpet cleaning or the tool option. The tool option is fantastic as you can clean your suite, stairs
, and car upholstery and carpets. The hose is the longest I have seen, even on cylinder models – this causes the only drawback the hose tends to flop about when using the machine to clean the carpets. This although a minor problem could be rectified with a better more secure on board clip feature.

To utilise the carpet cleaning setting of the machine, select the ‘type’ of clean you require either water only, ‘normal’ or ‘heavy soiling’. I used the heavy soiling option as I hadn’t cleaned my carpets for a fortnight and thought they could do with a good clean.

You first have to vacuum the area to be cleaned, this I did with the almighty Dyson, of which I have already extolled its virtues in a previous op.

I manouverd the machine into position – switched on, using the plastic coated power switch and away I went. There is a conveniently placed trigger mechanism on the handle to release the water and cleaning fluid onto the floor. This fluid is then ‘brushed’ into the carpet using the ‘power brush’ situated on the underside of the machine. As I drew back the machine to suck up the water I was horrified.

If anyone has used a Dyson for the first time, they will know exactly what I mean. The water that was sucked out of the carpet was that tell tale filthy brown colour! After one ‘sweep’ of the cleaner I could see a BIG difference in the colour of the carpet. I don’t mean a bit of a difference, I mean the carpet looked like new, another sweep brought MORE dirt out of the carpet. A third sweep brought nothing up but clean water!! It took me 30 minutes to clean the carpet in a 14ftx14ft room, 90 minutes less that with my old cleaner. The carpet looked so clean proved by no more muck coming out of the carpet! As I said before I used the whole one-gallon tank of water and all the fluid in just one room. This isn’t that excessive, bearing
in mind the amount of muck removed. The cleaner has cleaned so deeply it appears to have '‘refreshed'’ the pile in the carpet -–making it look brand new, and leaving it smelling really fresh.

Emptying the container is just as easy as filling it. Remove the water bucket from the machine, again using the handy handle to avoid spillage. You can see through the opaque plastic what has been removed from your carpet. To remove the foul water, simply tip the bucket and it will come pouring out, over the handy built in lip. The foul water is sucked back into the same bucket as the clean water, although the two never mix. The clean water is contained within a bladder, which empties with use, the used water is sucked back into the container – replacing the space the clean water leaves. I was amazed at what cam out of my carpets – not just the ‘mud’ but sand, animal hair and so on. I thought the Dyson was removing it all!!

All in all if you are looking for a new carpet cleaner, I can’t recommend this highly enough. It is easy to use, easy to fill, easy to set up. You will be amazed at the amount of dirt lifted out of your carpets, and the amazingly quick time it takes to do also. The carpets are slightly damp after use, but several passes with the cleaner just using the suction will dry it out in no time. No more getting up at 5 to clean the carpets and keeping the kids and animals out all day whilst it dries!!

The cleaning fluid provided with the cleaner is Bissell’s own – surprise surprise, this is the recommended cleaning fluid for use. I haven’t tried any other cleaning fluid, but non-foaming fluid for 3 in 1 machines should be ok. Having said that I will continue to use the Bissel fluid – widely available from Argos stores priced at £6.99 for 950mls. The trial size was 450mls, which was a reasonable amount, as I used the whole bottle for the downstairs rooms in my
house. The cleaner itself cost me £240 from a catalogue, but I have since seen it in Curry’s for £229. It may seem a lot to pay for something only used every few months, but in my eyes an absolute bargain!


The machine was a beast in the bedroom, banished stains and marks in the bathroom, drove dirt out in the dining room and lapped it up in the lounge not to mention killing germs in the kitchen and hauling up the pile of the carpet in the hall!

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