BISSELL® Big Green® PET PRO Carpet Cleaner, 3288

I just got this last night and tried out a small high traffic area on my floor, we bought the house in June and was thinking about replacing the carpets. after just one pass, Im not sure if they look new but they look, feel and smell clean.!!!! good -This machine weights 50 lbs or so, you might think this is bad but it is very good, you dont have to push or pull up for the machine to clean or suck up the water, in short - no extra effort on your part. -it is very easy to push and pull, the large tires in the back really help with this - my wife is able to use it, and she has back issues - filling and emptying the water is very easy - floor is very dry even after 2 passes - attachment is easy to attach and use. - pulled up lot of hair out of the carpet, did leave strings on the floor but it sucked them up just fine - chocolate stain that was dried in for 3 months cam up in 2 passes could be better (nit picking here) - the trigger for the water is only on the right side of the handle I wish it was on both - some kind of laser grid to project on the floor, if carpets are dirty its easy if they are not so dirty you may have trouble seeing where you have cleaned already - wider clean path seems to only clean between the back wheels , the right side seem to clean closer to the edge then the left side - in a high traffic area where the padding has wore down, it will miss spots so you may have to go over this area at many different angles what to watch for make sure to follow the directions for cleaning, specially for your first time on your carpets to get them nice and clean pull in trigger and push, then still holding trigger pull back on the same path, then release trigger and push on the same path again, then pull on the same path. (that 4 pass on one path 2 with trigger and 2 without) When i read this i thought it would take forever, but it does no take that long and in heavy soiled area it does work much better, also the 2 passes with no trigger are the suction and drying passes they also do some cleaning too. I tried one pass of and it did not clean as well, for light areas or touch up one pass would be fine, the machine seems to do the most cleaning when you push with the trigger pulled. so if you just need to touch up i would say push with trigger in then push without the trigger to get the best results. if you need it to dry faster make an extra push or 2 with the dry pass Im very happy with this machine thus far and will update this if i find anything else out. the above is from only about one day of use. UPDATE: MAY2013 I have used this many times, in the high traffic areas its about 1 time every 3 weeks, then rest of the time is justs catch up before company comes over to knock out the pet dander in the house we have about 2500 sq feet of carpet and i can do all of it in about 1.5-2 hours, I have found if you just hold the trigger in a push down a path then pull back the same path, its still cleans 80% of what the above does, and you can get 100% if you just move slower. this floor is still very dry as long as you finish a path with a pull pass. It take 1.5-2 hours to dry and not get wet socks and 2.5-3.5 to dry where you feel with your hand its dry. IF you want an area to dry faster i just make one pass over the carpet to suck up more water (usually do this when it run out of clean water) if you put a fan on the damp area it will dry amazing fast. good luck and happy cleaning :P

When we moved into our apartment five years ago, the carpet was brand new. However, between several cats missing the litter box and leaving hairball presents, and a husband who is so accident prone he practically needs a sippy cup, it had gotten so bad that walking around inside made the soles of my feet disgustingly black. I bought a Bissell Spot Bot several years ago to try to curb the problem, but, as the name suggests, its not enough to care for larger areas. Every weekend I would debate renting out a Rug Doctor machine, but at this point the whole apartment needs refreshed and I didnt want to hassle with renting and returning a machine every weekend for the next two months. Instead, I invested into this behemoth, and (at least so far) Im very glad I did. Its very easy to use, easy to clean out, and easy to refill again. It also came with 4 sample bottles of their Professional cleaning formula. One tank full of water uses less than one of those small sample bottles, so your first 4-5 tanks are basically free. The tank is large enough that I can make several soaking, deep-cleaning sweeps over about half of a 10x10 room. A casual refresh of the carpet probably wouldnt even use a full tank. I can clean and refill the machine in about ten minutes, so getting an entire room done doesnt take long at all. Longest part of the whole process has actually been moving furniture around! Photos show one room before and after cleaning, including a section with sticky soda spots, and a section that had a dark gray patch of dirty foot traffic. The suction is great. Making a few suction-only sweeps over a freshly cleaned area leaves the carpet dry enough that its totally air-dried after just a couple of hours. After the carpet has dried, Ill do a quick run over it with the vacuum to fluff up the fibers, and the carpet feels brand new again. It is a relatively heavy machine, and because of the length of the handle its not very useful for right spaces. If youre older or have back/shoulder issues it can be very difficult to use the machine. If youre a couch potato like I am, prepare yourself for a decent workout. It also dont clean flush into corners, so be prepared to get on your hands and knees with the house attachment to scrub at the 1-2 margin along the walls, if those are in need of being cleaned. Be careful not to overspray with the hose onto latex paint, as the cleaner will cause it to bubble and peel. If you have pet urine stains I highly recommend pre-existing treating with Natures Miracle, especially if its soaked through to the foam layer. Between what well save on our security deposit, and what we would have spent in renting a machine, this purchase has already paid for itself about three times over. Ive read some concerning things about the longevity of this machine. After six tanks over three sessions its still like new. Ive bought Bissell products for decades because theyve been sturdy, reliable, and performed well, and its it hope that this machine will do the same, but only time will tell.

When I first bought my home, there were some pet stains that the owners could not remove. I did not have time to clean it myself, so I hired a professional cleaning company. Needless to say, I was not impressed. So I rented the Rug Doctor and after several passes, I was able to remove the stain. I continued to rent the Rug Doctor over the years for my carpet cleanings and had been pleased. The last time I used one, I did notice the carpets were somewhat stiff. I am going to attribute this to the fact that I may have used too much cleaning solution. Then spring came around again and I wanted to clean the carpets again. I had stains from drinks, heavy traffic areas and again some pet stains. I own two lovable cats, who sometimes like to leave love spots. I went to my local grocery store to rent the Rug Doctor and they did not have any machines available. I went to several other stores and could not find one. Someone told me to try the Home Depot or Lowes. I went to Lowes and they had the Bissell instead of the Rug Doctor (RD). Never having used one and very unsure that it would perform as well as the RD, I decided to give it a try. First off, I noticed the rental rate was higher due to the deposit required. I loaded it into my car and home I went to give it a try. I am not sure if it is lighter or easier to maneuver than the RD when removing from my car. I followed the simple instructions and off I went cleaning the carpets. One of the things I noticed was the cleaning solution is applied in both the forward and backwards movements. Cleaning was pretty straight forward and exactly as I expected. First mistake I made was dumping the dirty water. I slipped and dropped the dirty water all over the floor. Quick fix, use the vacuum aspect and suck up the water. Another positive I noticed was the filling of the water. No more filling a large bucket and dumping it into a smaller fill slot. You fill the bucket, which removes and add solution, tighten the cap and place it back on the Big Green. No more water saturated lines on the carpet when I pour too fast. Place the empty container that will collect the dirty water on top, secure the latch and off you go. I have read that people are experiencing clumps of dirty hair, etc when using the Big Green. The ONLY times I notice this is when I fail to vacuum my carpets thoroughly first. I also noticed that the suction is somewhat better than my vacuum, so it is picking up cat and human hairs (that vacuum cleaners can and do miss) and depositing them on the carpet. No Problem, just pick them up. As a note I noticed this as well with the RD, so it is NOT a specific problem to the Big Green. You must vacuum before using the cleaner. The other major positive was the drying time using the Big Green. It is MUCH less than the RD. So I purchased this on 6/22/12 and opted for next day delivery. I ordered this mid-morning to mid-afternoon I believe and by 9am the next morning I had my Big Green. Less than 24 hours for shipping! I opened the box, removed a few cardboard packing materials, removed the bottle of solution from the tank, filled it with water and off I went. No more than 15 minutes total from unpacking to cleaning. No assembly required!!!! I am happy with my purchase. If you are familiar with using a RD, the Big Green is similar in size and maneuverability. This is not a small upright vacuum size. For me it seemed to maneuver easier than the RD. It removes stains, leaves your carpets feeling great and dries faster than any other cleaner I am aware of. The Bissell cleaning solutions smell nice and are not over powering. Pros: cleaning capabilities Less drying time Carpets feel soft ease of use Cons: cost, rather expensive but worth the cost for thorough deep cleanings

I never leave reviews however this rug and upholstery cleaner deserves one..Last year I spent over 800.00 getting my carpets cleaned by a professional only to have the stains come back within a month. I bought this after reading the reviews and I am completely blown away...I shampooed my carpet over a month ago and it took all the stains out, .y carpet dried very quickly and the stains have not returned. I also have cats and one decided she was going to start peeing on my soft furniture...I used the upholstery brush with the urine cleaner that comes with it and the smell is completely gone...stop spending money on professionals and just get this ...you will not be sorry!

I loved my Hoover but decided rather than rent a commercial cleaner I’d just buy it and the price seemed reasonable. Did some research and the Bissell rated well. It cleans well and pulls the water out so the carpet is dry within 2 days. It will pay for itself. I’m pleased.

We had usually hired professional carpet cleaners for years, twice a year, each visit about the price of this cleaner, just to have the carpets dirty again in a matter of days or weeks. I made an executive decision, said enough, and looked for the machines with the top reviews, regardless of price. This one came out near the top despite not being the most expensive. My wife was skeptical but when she saw the results she was won over. Adapter for upholstery cleaning a big plus. And trial size cleaning solution bottles included makes it easy to use right out of the box. But water does need to be changed after every 20-30 mins (half a large room) of use. Other than that, well worth it!

After owning a little green and having that ultimately break after 7 solid years of pet and kid ownership, I was looking for a replacement. We already had a traditional upright cleaner, but the hose/commercial cleaner combo caught my eye on the Big Green. We wanted a little more HP than the little green could offer from the hose. I also knew that to get the best you have to spend the best and laid out 4 large for the Biggen. Machine comes fully assembled which a rarity these days. Out of the box and onto cleaning in about 5 min. Construction: This thing is built like a tank. Thick, HDPE, and ABS plastic in most places with very little pieces of the cheap crack prone plastics used in the lower models. Thick, heavy cord with plenty of length. Solid no frills handle. A single switch! ON/OFF. Any questions? Tanks are of superior quality com paired to the standard uprights you find in department stores. I know because 1 went tumbling down an entire flight of stairs full of solution with zero breakage. Tanks lift right out of the machine with no latches to mess around with. There is not a single piece you touch that feels like the bean counters were looking over an engineers shoulders on this one. Vacuumm is of commercial grade and will rival most shop vacs. Lights dim when you turn it on, indicating the power within. Design: Commercial, and heavy. I can totally see this machine being rented or used by professionals, and it shows as soon as you start using it. Locating the pivot for the handle at the wheel axle was genius compared to the horrible Rug Doctor design that tips constantly. This machine cut my time by 2/3rds over our old upright. The water tanks are easily twice as large and allow you to clean MULTIPLE rooms before attending to the tanks. Our old upright would have to be changed about 2-3 times per room. Hose attachment works great with about 3-4 times the suction of the Little Green. The hose brush is also about 2X as wide which makes cleaning stairs and your auto go much faster. It also accepts Bissels standard brushes so you could swap out a narrow one for tight spaces if desired. No provisions for hose storage. I am neutral on this. It would be nice, but we had this on our old upright and removed it. I can see why they didnt put them on this. Hoses can be a pain while cleaning carpets because they tend to fall off. With the commercial theme of this vacuum, professionals would not mess with such a large hose falling off. Another nice feature is the flow wheel that spins when water sprays. This gives you instant feedback if the vac is spraying or not. No spinny, no water. This would help diagnose a pump failure if one ever happened. Cleaned carpets dry in about 1-2 hours depending on pile length. They used to take about 6 hours to dry. Negatives: Clean water tank runs out about twice as fast as the dirty tank. I dont know why Bissel engineers can never get the golden ratio right with these things. From my experience, you always need a much larger capacity water tank than dirty because of how much water is retained in the carpets. While this machine certainly leaves the carpets dryer than our old machine, it is not even a close call on what will run out first. I tried rolling the machine down my stairs like a dolly. The handle locks in upright position so I didnt think twice about it. WHAT A MISTAKE! The upright handle lock gave way sending the dirty tank full of dirty water tumbling down my stairs. Luckily I have the machine to clean it up and the tank didnt damage anything. I then see a handle on the front of the machine for lifting. This machine is fairly heavy and I am a grown man, but having to carry this machine full of water anywhere is not fun. The handle lock should be able hold the weight of the machine and tanks for a machine costing 4 large. Not a major flaw, but I cant see a single women operating this machine if she had to navigate a flight of stairs. This is a mans machine, or a womens machine in a rancher. Hose is about 4 stairs too short on length to cover an entire flight without having to carry the machine to the other end. Conclusion: This is a solid machine that instantly proves its worth in how much time it saves you cleaning your carpets. Yes, it is worth the price when you can clean 1200 ft^2 of carpeting in 2 hours. That used to take me all day. Minor quibbles as stated above, but shes got it where it counts. Great suction, wide cleaning path, easy to operate, cleans better than anything Ive used before, and saves you time. If you value having clean carpets dont waste your money on lessor products. They are too much of a pain to use which causes you to use them less. This machine is so easy and fast that you wont dread cleaning them.

Do not hesitate. This machine is spectacular. I just ran it over a living room pile carpet that I cleaned last week with a rented Rug Doctor Wide Path. My new Big Green actually did the job this time and, get this... with less than half the cleaning formula and water. Here are some things that you will like about the Bissell 86T3 (in no particular order...): 1) Easy to see flow indicator for clean water / fluid tank - gives you clear indication of tank status and when its time to dump and refill. 2) Cleaning brush rotates at all times and is motor driven - not only while cleaning fluid is being dispensed - and it does a very thorough job. 3) Because of #2 above, cleaning happens while machine is moving forward or backward. You have the option of working a heavily soiled spot back and forth a few times, sure. 4) Machine is easy to move in both directions - as comfortable as moving a (littler heavier than usual) vacuum cleaner. Handle is at comfortable height for my 6ft tall frame. Much easier to handle and heft around than Rug Doc. 5) Both tanks remove for SUPER EASY disposal and filling (and relocation of entire machine) 6) Cleaning water and formula is dispensed very sparingly so the +/- 1.75 gallon cleaning fluid / water tank lasts much longer than Rug Doc 7) Bissell cleaning formulae do a much better job than any others I have used and only small amounts are needed - really !! 8) Upholstery hose / brush is super easy to attach and detach (right on top - easy access), and it works very well. 9) Because fluid is applied sparingly (which it should be!!) - carpet is left much dryer when you are done. 10 ) I ran this over a (pre-treated with Bissell formula) barf spot that seemed to be stuck forever in my sons bedroom Berber carpet. Rug Doc did not touch it. Big Green vaporized it into new condition. Incredible!! 11) Big Green construction quality, ergonomic layout...everything.... is about as close to perfect as I can imagine. 12) Replacement parts for Big Green are very easy to obtain !!!!! 13) Suction power for carpet and upholstery brush hose is strong and effective. Very little water / formula left behind and drying time is short. 14) Air warmed by passing over vacuum motor is directed down towards carpet to aid in the drying process - very smart design. Here are some things that you *might* think are drawbacks... 1) Brush is narrower than Rug Doc. - Yeah, only a little bit and I thought it would annoy me, but I did not notice or care at all. 2) Machine is heavy. - ALL commercial quality carpet machines are heavy. This one is very easy to handle, however. To make this machine lighter and easier to move to another area - simply take out the clean and dirty water tanks and move them individually, then the vacuum base unit, to the new area. Cleaning your carpets is a great way to get s little exercise. 3) Cant clean right up to the edge. - True ! About 1 of the edge cannot be reached in upright mode. I have yet to see an *effective* upright machine that actually cleans carpet and goes right to the edge. Youll need to use the upholstery brush and some elbow grease for the edges - no matter which machine youre using as far as I know. 4) Machine leaves blobs of carpet fuzz - True ! Every so often a small (like 1/2 a teaspoon sized?) blob of carpet nap fuzz will be left behind when changing direction of travel in upright mode. This is to be expected when running a rotating brush head over pile carpet. In the course of cleaning a 20 x 20ft room, I received about 5 of these blobs. The blob can easily be picked up by hand and thrown away, or vacuumed up when the carpet is dry. This is a minor, minor issue and is far outweighed by the clean and fresh carpet result that you will achieve. And, contrary to what other reviews have said, these blobs do not create an additional stain / cleanup burden. 5) Some online reviewers have claimed that 86T3 has only one motor, where the BG10 has two. - I have not disassembled my own machine to investigate, but I believe this claim is false. My understanding is that the BG10 has an elapsed time meter and a slightly different power cord arrangement that lends itself to being a commercial rental machine - but is otherwise identical. I do really wish that Bissells online information on this subject were more definitive, but...marketing channels and all that. Its interesting to note that the 86T3 has a 5 year warranty, versus 1 year for the BG10. Definitely a head scratcher - but in my view its a non-issue. 6) I wish that Bissell had included a mesh storage bag for the upholstery hose / brush. - A teeny tiny pet peeve thats easy to remedy. I have used three different types of carpet cleaner: 1) Rug Doc (rental), 2) Hoover upright (owned), 3) my new Big Green. Big Green wins hands down and renders the other two as close to useless in my first-hand experience. I am giving away my hoover upright. Not one gram of buyers remorse for the Big Green. Got a question? Please feel free to ask. No - I do not work for Bissell, nor do I own their stock. Are they even publicly traded ??

Ive had this machine for two weeks now and have really mixed feelings about it. It works well, with some quirks and some flaws. For quirks, it cleans really well, much like rental machines, but it leaves stripes. If you work from right to left, itll leave a 1 stripe. From left to right, itll leave about a 1 1/2 stripe. This is because the sprayer and vacuum area is wider than the brush bar by those amounts right and left. If your carpets are dirty and light colored, its really noticeable. You can go back over the areas, but the stripes will remain with each pass, but lighter until the carpet is so clean from repeated passes that its not noticeable. The beater should have been the same width as the sprayer and vacuum. Oh, and I found Zip Premium Carpet Shampoo. Its about half the price and worked better for me than the best Bissel stuff. For design flaws, I first want to say that unlike the home model cleaners made of clear plastics that harden and shatter with age, this machine is built to last. If you buy it with a credit card offering warranty extension, you get 5 years from Bissel and 2 more years. Its built to last to that level of service. Materials are good with service panels held with stainless screws allowing easy access for cleaning and repair. After every couple tanks, you do need to pick clear the bottom of carpet fiber debris as you would any machine. It doesnt require any disassembly, but you should also use some type of hooked tool to clean out the entrance to the vacuum to clear out debris clogs. No big deal. But for me, after cleaning 3 rooms, the machine started to squeal. I followed the manual and first checked the beater brush belt. There was some black, belt dust debris. The cogged belt pulleys were not aligned and the output shaft of the brush motor was making noise when rotated by hand. I corrected this by fully seating the cogged wheel bearing in its housing to properly align the belt and removed the motor to lubricate the shaft bearing which was making the noise. This should not have been required and really is beyond the scope of a typical buyer. The machine is very easy to work on, but you shouldnt be expected to do this type of service after a few hours. I like the machine, but am concerned that my fix is temporary and that damage may have already been done.. Ill probably return it in exchange for another. Despite the quirks, I like it and just hope that the motor problem was not a common occurrence. Edit: The motor noise came back so I called Bissel about getting a replacement motor. They said Id have to send in the entire machine for warranty repair. Since its still eligible for return to Amazon, Ill just do that and buy another instead.

I’d previously owned a Hoover carpet cleaner. The handle lock broke in the first couple months and it would spill nasty water whenever it was in use. It also just did a piss poor job. When I bought it, the reviews were positive. So, I was really skeptical when it came time to replace that crappy Hoover. From the very first seconds of use, I knew that this Bissell was money well spent. My carpets and rugs haven’t been this clean since they were new. I have two pre-teen kids and a black lab that make for some pretty gross messes at times. Now, muddy paws? no problem? Spilled juice? No problem! Kids didn’t let the dog outside in time? No problem. The only downsides are that I wish the spray button was a switch, and that the unit is pretty heavy. So pushing and pulling this thing around while having to keep your thumb on the button makes for a hand cramping experience after a few hours. But, the results are clearly worth it. This thing pulls out all the dirt and dog hair from the carpet. I went three passes with my Dyson before running the carpet cleaner and the Bissell pulled masses of hair up from deep in the pile. The pile beaters on this thing are impressive and make my vacuum’s look worthless. About that dog hair. No matter how much I ran into, the Bissell didn’t clog up and quit like my outgoing Hoover. Great unit, built stoutly, worth every penny.