Carpet cleaners are one of those things you don’t need… Until you desperately need one. And the key to getting tough stains out of nice carpet is to work fast. That’s why I having a carpet cleaning machine on standby is a great idea. In this review I’m going to test out the Bissell SpotClean Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner on both carpet and upholstery in my home and I’ll also take a look at how it compares to another Bissell product, the Little Green Pet Pro.
Bissell SpotClean Pro carpet & upholstery cleaner
Summary
Bissell SpotClean Pro is a handy and capable machine. For anyone with pets or kids and carpet, having some type of emergency system for cleaning up spills and stains is pretty much a must. Since the alternative is pricey commercial cleaners, or needing to replace your carpet, rug, or even some upholstery, I think a carpet cleaner is a pretty wise investment.
Pros
- Cleans well
- Useful attachments
- Strong suction
- Easy to clean & maintain
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Heavy (but still portable)
- Operates loudly
Hands-on review: Bissell SpotClean Pro
Inside the box you get:
- The machine itself with 5-foot hose + 20-foot power cord
- 3-inch Tough Stain Tool
- 6-inch Stair Tool
- 8-ounce trial bottle of cleaning formula
Seeing as Bissell aimed to make this carpet cleaner portable, the machine itself weighs just 13.25 pounds—let’s not pretend that light but it’s definitely movable.
What’s the difference: Bissell SpotClean Pro & Bissell Little Green?
If you’re surfing around and comparing other Bissell devices, you might be wondering what the differences are between something like the spot clean pro compared to the little green pet pro.
In a nutshell it’s the attachments. The pet Pro has at least one different attachment designed, according to Bissell, to better power pet stains from carpet. In essence though if you look at these two machines side-by-side they are absolutely identical. You don’t need to worry about stressing out about which machine to pack since you can easily swap the tools among the machines, and even buy additional tools and accessories if you seem to be missing something you feel you need. The water tanks are identically sized, and really the only other small difference is the type of carpet cleaner that is included with your purchase.
What is Bissell SpotClean Pro good for?
What can you clean with this machine? While the SpotClean Pro is classified as a carpet cleaner, it can also clean other areas like your stairs, upholstery, rugs, and the interior of your car. This carpet cleaner isn’t advertised as specifically great for pets, but can still do a great job of getting pet stains out of the carpet.
Set up & preparation
Job one is to fill the clean water tank with about ¾ of a gallon or almost 3 litres of water and add 2 ounces of cleaning solution. You can use hot water (maximum 140°F/60°C) then set the tank back onto the device. The included 3-inch tough stain tool is good for more narrow spaces such as vehicle seats and chairs. The wider 6-inch stair tool is, as you might have guessed, great for cleaning stairs and larger carpeted or upholstered spaces. Each attachment simply clicks onto the hose and is ready to use.
When you’re ready just plug it in and hit the power button.
How well does Bissell SpotClean Pro clean?
To clean a spot, hold the attachment nozzle about an inch away from the spot before you press the spray trigger button. Cleaning solution will be sprayed onto the surface, and you can then use the bristles of the brush to slowly scrub stains away.
On easy spills, the SpotClean Pro lifted them up and cleaned the area quickly and easily.
If you have a spot with a bad stain, the 5.7-amp suction power can lift it even better if you hold the attachment on it and apply some downward pressure.
Removing red wine.
The key to successful carpet cleaning is to get to stains like coffee and red wine fast, or to apply a pre-treater or soda to keep them from setting.
How does the Bissell Spot Clean Pro work?
I let coffee set in before cleaning it and while the SpotClean Pro did a good job of removing most of the stain, it’s not a miracle worker. You might need special carpet spot-treaters to get any residual staining.
I found that a combination of the strong suction, a pre-treater or a special spot cleaner and a couple of passes was often enough to tackle most carpet stains.
I will add that the Bissell spot clean pro is quite loud when it’s turned on. This is probably no surprise to anyone who’s used a carpet cleaner before, but it is quite noisy as it really needs to be to generate enough power and suction to truly lift out set in stains. But just be warned.
Rainie, TGC’s #1 pet.
I also used the SpotClean Pro on upholstery. While it makes a pretty wet mess of the furniture during the cleaning process, once everything dries it looks a lot better. Perfect for your pet’s photo shoot!
Don’t forget: how to do cleaning & maintenance on SpotClean Pro
While it would be so much easier to just put the machine in the closet after you’re done, maintenance is key to the longevity of this carpet cleaner (and any other one).
You should rinse off the brushes and allow them to fully dry. In addition, Bissell also recommends you suction clean water out of a sink, bowl or bucket to rinse the hose out. Doing this will also prevent any lingering junk from hiding inside the machine and rotting, creating bad smells.
Finally, empty and rinse the dirty water tank and wrap the hose and the power cord on their respective sides of the base using the brackets.
Overall review: Bissell SpotClean Pro carpet cleaner
Overall the Bissell spot clean pro is a handy and capable machine. For anyone with pets or kids and carpet, having some type of emergency system for cleaning up spills and stains is pretty much a must. Since the alternative is pricey commercial cleaners, or needing to replace your carpet, rug, or even some upholstery, I think a carpet cleaner is a pretty wise investment.
For that reason, the $164USD/$199CAD price tag for the Bissell SpotClean Pro seems like a bargain. Of course, you will have to replenish your cleaning solution bottles, but all of these are priced around $20USD/$26CAD.
The SpotClean Pro cleans well, and the attachments it comes with are useful, and I could certainly opt to buy more if I ever need to. Cleaning and maintaining the machine takes just a couple of minutes and doesn’t feel like a chore.
So what are the downsides? The machine is a bit on the large and heavy side, and it operates quite loudly. However I think both of those things are necessary to its effective operation so it’s hard to really mark Bissell down for this. In short I can definitely recommend the Bissell spot clean pro to you if you need to keep a carpet cleaner at home on standby.
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