BISSELL® Big Green® PET PRO Carpet Cleaner, 3288

We finally bought the Big Green Machine after renting the PetSmart version several times. All in all, this is a nice, easy to use carpet cleaner and I recommend it. More Detail: Unboxing: The cleaner is practically assembled when it arrives in its sturdy box. If you have trouble lifting heavy objects, it might be best to cut the bottom off the box and lift the box off, rather than trying to lift the machine out of the box. The accessory hose is in the box in the space between the cleaner and the box. Packed inside the waste bin is a sample of soap that you must remove. There are also a couple of other pieces of shipping material that need to be removed. I also found that the drain plug for the clean water reservoir was loose, so I tightened that up. The unit arrived in great shape with no visible damage to the packaging or the unit itself. This is basically the same unit as the commercial version, from what I can tell. I cant speak to the motors themselves, but it sounds the same as the rental version. The only things different are that the directions for use are not stamped directly on the machine, and there is no rental motor counter, which records the number of hours on the machine. Otherwise, quality, fit, and finish is almost identical to what Ive seen from the PetSmart rentals. Setup for use: Setup is fairly straight forward and easy. The bottom reservoir is for warm water and the cleaning solution. The cap is large and easy to put on and remove. That unit nestles down in the bottom, with a nozzle that allows the liquid to be drawn out for spraying. On top of that goes the dirty water receptacle, followed by the clear lid, which locks in place. You can see the dirty water as it is sucked up via the clear lid. The cord is heavy duty and long enough for all the uses I have. The only thing it cant do is reach from one end of our upstair hallway to the other, but it runs the full length of the house, so it is a long hallway! Use and Cleaning: The unit is relatively easy to move around. The large rear wheels make it an easy roll from place to place when you tip it back onto the wheels. The low center of gravity from the handles connection point at the bottom of the unit keeps it steady and even as you push and pull it across the carpet. It is a bit heavy to pick up via deadlift, but my relatively small wife can pick it up if she does it carefully. Shes not going far with it, mind you, but she was able to load and unload it from our SUV when we rented these. It has a nice grab handle on the front and the rear. The cleaner does a good job of getting the carpets clean and removing most of the moisture from the carpet. Our drying times have been relatively quick, which is good. You really dont want soggy carpets. I am giving four stars, however, because our particular unit seems not to spray well on the forward motion, or at least not as consistently as the rental versions did. It is spraying the cleaning solution, but one pass does not seem to wet the carpet enough. I found myself doing a pass up and back with the trigger depressed, and then two additional passes to remove the liquid. Drying time was still good. But, because it doesnt seem as effective with one pass only, Im holding a star back. It may be something that will improve with us, or it may just be this unit. It still cleans well. This unit needs a little help with heavy stains, as you would expect. We pretreat spots with Resolve carpet cleaner and a little light scrubbing. Then, going over the spots with Big Green it does a great job removing the stains. I make extra passes over high traffic areas or tough stains and it does make a huge difference. Ive mostly used the carpet cleaning system that came with my Kirby in recent years, but this is a superior clean than that one. Depending on the pile of your carpet and the amount of pet hair in your home, you will notice clumps of fibers/hair under the unit and in the waste area. At times clumps will become large enough that they will fall off the machine during use. Its not a big problem, and not unique to this cleaner. If you have a carpet or pets that shed, you can stop and clean it off periodically during use. Cleanup: As with all cleaners, cleaning the unit is essential to its performance. This one is easy to clean. The dirty water receptacle has a large opening and is easy to dump (I dump into the toilet) and rinse The clear lid takes a little work at the sink to get al the crevices cleaned out. Any leftover cleaning solution can be drained easily by unscrewing the plug on the bottom. Wipe down the outside and bottom of the unit, being sure to get clumps of carpet fiber and hair from the roller area, and youre all done. The handle folds down to save space vertically, should you need it. Complaints: As to complaints about drips; yes, when you stop cleaning and park the unit, there will be some dirty water spots I dont think its a leak, per se, but rather the liquid that get caught up in the roller assembly when everything is spinning and working. When it stops it drips. I keep an old towel handy and back the machine up onto the towel when I stop using it - problem solved. Overall: We purchased this for ourself because we had been so pleased with the rentals. It does a good job cleaning our carpets and controlling the odors from three dogs who sometimes have accidents. It really does leave the carpets cleaner and reduces odors, and were very pleased. Had I not had a slightly different experience with the rentals units, I might have rated it 5 stars. After a few more uses I will update my review as needed.

The most important adjetive for this machine is, AMAZING! First, Id like to recommend anyone researching this or any product... Read reviews. The good and the bad! Then, look for the trends in those reviews and from there, determine for YOU what is important versus what is not important. A handful of bad reviews that involve complaining about things that have nothing to do with the product specifically (i.e. packaging, delivery, etc) or a small percentage of reviews that have minor breaks or other minor problems versus the hundreds or better yet, thousands of great reviews on the same product, those bad reviews may need to be taken lightly. Unless, of course, those things are important to you. Do consider this. It doesnt matter how a product is made (assembly line or hand made), there will ALWAYS be faults. No matter the company or how good the product is overall. Obviously, the fewer problems the better but if you are seeing hundreds or thousands of good reviews to a few dozen or so negative, then that would be a reasonable percentage of errors with any good to great product. I know some people will have multiple bad experiences with the same product where others have no issues. There are a multitude of reasons that could happen but look for the overall, not just that one review. That said, I recommend and do this myself, but when looking for trends, if the bad reviews are all because something breaks but maybe its a different piece each time, then there may be an obvious trend. I would possibly take that into consideration. It may not make my decision for me, but the trend of what users say about the product is what Im looking for and its paid off for me quite well. Bottom line of what Im trying to say is, dont just look at one or two reviews and dont just look at the good or the bad, but rather review as best as you are comfortable with on both ends of the spectrum and decide what trends you find and how those trends impact your decisions. For me, reading actual buyers/users reviews are better in almost all circumstances then any lab testing or any company that does product reviewing. With that, I have started my research with company reviews, but in the end, WERE the end user! It is our perspective and experience that matters most. Id rather gain real world end user perspective then read an article that may or may not be paid for to make a statement one way or the other. On to my review. I have to say this first. When I was researching and reading reviews, my first thought, when I decided I was gonna make this purchase, was I hope my money doesnt go to waste, but if I get even one great cleaning, that is better than I could pay any over priced professional with a oversized vaccum in their van, that doesnt even lift out the dirt but just wets the floor and kinda cleans. Then ITS WORTH IT. I mean not to offended any professional out there but simple soaping the floor and suctioning it up isnt cleaning. Thats multiple experiences and eventually, history doesnt lie. Now, I did follow the recommendation of at least one reviewer in this review group that doubled up on the solution, and it worked. Im not recommending that for you. Just telling you my experience and what worked for me. Now I know you saw the pictures and probably felt ill just looking at that floor. Obviously, we thought so too. Its disgusting and thus we purchased the Big Green Machine. We can compare this unit to the many other ways weve tried to keep carpet clean in companies paid and products purchased and nothing else has come close to this. We have SEVERAL pets to which I wont mention how many but I will say I dont have enough fingers to count them all. We love our fur babies and other pets. We also like having a clean floor and clean house. The floor is the biggest battle in our household. Nothing is more off putting then walking into someones house and it wreaks of animal urine. But when its your own home and everytime you come home it smells. YUCK! Multiply that smell by 5 and and that is what anyone else coming into your home smells. Weve been there. We were just there. We didnt want to host anything because of the floors. But now, I can very happily and more than confidently say that weve found our cure. This machine is just straight up, Amazing. Ive never had a professional even come close to cleaning carpets as well as this BIG Green does. If I could find a professional to do this it would almost absolutely cost more than this machine, but I can get multiple uses out of this, as long as well cared for. You can see it for yourself in my posted pics. That dirty floor there is several months of pet stains because the moment we moved into this house my first dog discovered the location of the previous tenants dogs place within less than 5 minutes being in this home. We even waited outside with our dogs before going in to this house for the first time, while they all did their business and still she started this disgusting trend. So lets chalk it up to this. More than a handful of household free roaming pets and 11, thats right, ELEVEN months of this. So heres what we did. Machine arrived as quoted at time of purchase. That very next available day off, Saturday, I carefully went through the included manual and honestly, this machine looks like it could or should be difficult, but it truly isnt. Very easy to unpack, assemble, dis-assemble, and re-assemble again. Thats important as you will have to empty this unit and refill with clean solution every one gallon. VERY easy to push/pull. Dont leave solution in tank or in machine. Keep all parts clean and dry when in storage. Thats how Ive best kept any product that uses liquids with electrical devices. Never store liquids in the machine or attachments when not in use. Unfortunately sometimes that means tossing any leftover portions unless you wish to find another way to store the liquid. Diluted solution is not recommended to be put back in with concentrate as number one, it likely wont fit, and number two, youll ruin the concentration level of the original solvent. Next, I went to work on the floor. Now, I do have to say many people and these products suggest to pretreat. I did NOT pretreat. I wanted to see how this product (with double amount solution) would actually hold up. I started with a small space (4 x 4 landing) and immediately could see the difference. Then when I started the first trip down the hallway, my wife suggested to take before and after photos. Thats what you find above. My process with doing this was to make a forward pass (I divided the hallway into 3 sections. Moving side to side the up. Closest, middle, furthest). While moving forward, I moved the machine steady at about 1 inch a second or slower. I know that seems slow but look at it. It works well. Then on the backwards pass/pull, I moved at the same pace where the carpet was heavily soiled, but where it wasnt pet stained I went about 3 inches per second. This may sound slow but consider that you have to let the solution get into the carpet and let the machine do its job. No product can do that if you rush through it. And dont force it. Let it do it job. You just steer it and place solution accordingly. On the forward pass, I held the trigger to spray the entire distance, then on the backwards pull I only held the trigger where stains resided. The suction is at the very front of the unit and collects everything on the backwards pull. Where heavy solution was applied, another slow pass, without pulling the trigger, will gather up about 95% of the moisture. That said I did make 2-3 passes forward and back with applying solution where the stains were prominent. Which was a strong majority of the hallway. The first pass really did the job better then great but considering the nature of the stains, I wanted to be more than thorough. This hallway measures about 4 wide by 23 long and took about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. But, boy was it worth the time, money, and effort. The bedroom is my young daughters who struggles still with door knobs and thus her room is open for her, by which the pets in the house took full advantage. Still not good but they did keep most of there spotting to the hall way. Her room was just as, if not more important than the hallway to get cleaned for her benefit and sanitary health. Once I was done with the cleaning process, I emptied the dirty and clean water tanks and rinsed thoroughly. Then I put about 1/2 gallon of plain water (No solution) in the fresh water tank and ran that over the clean floor by spraying the water just as if I were cleaning the floor. I didnt use the full half gallon. I ran enough water through until I felt the solution was pretty well cleaned out. Probably a total of 1-2 minutes of total trigger squeeze. This was to allow fresh water to run through the machine to clear out the solvents in the lines that carry the solution from the clean tank to the sprayer nozzle. I cant confirm this was or was not long enough. Just going on experience to avoid damage of the unit while in storage. Once that was all done. The carpet was completely dry by the time we went to bed. So probably 4 hours or less. Its been 2 days since I did this and spots have NOT magically returned. This is a major win. I will try to update this post after a total 1 week has passed to see if it still holds. If so, Id call this an absolute winner, where other products have completed the job or professionals have left and within two days spots have returned. That has not yet occurred in this case. Also, to resolve the pet issue, we placed a very solid metal baby gate to block the dogs from going back upstairs without us, during the day, until its all our bed time. We work from home, so the dogs hang with us throughout the day. They sleep. We work. They have always and continue to go out at least 8 or more times daily or whenever they sit at the door and whine. Love em, but now we can live easier without never disappearing pet stains. Weve been renting in this house for almost a year and in our previous home we sold, we had hard floor, for a reason, and will do the same when we buy again in the next 6 months or less. Clean floor + landlord = No loss. Happy research hunting and good luck with your floors.

I bought this because I have 2 small dogs and they like to pee on the carpet. I always clean up the pee when it happens, and I pre-treated with spray carpet cleaner and let sit for about 5 minutes before using the “Big Green”. The first time I used it, I filled the cleaning tank to the fill line and added two capfuls of cleaning liquid. I only cleaned one small bedroom fully and a hallway, and then spot cleaned in a few other places. I quickly realized I did not need that much cleaning solution. The 2nd time I used it, I used 16 cups (1 gallon) of warm/hot tap water and only one cup of cleaning solution since I planned to only spot clean some pee and vomit. I still had atleast half of the cleaning detergent left over. I say this because you don’t need to waste the detergent and only plan on enough for the job you are doing. Overall it did a really nice job cleaning and I was very pleased with the product. The photos show where my dog ate “toadkill” and then puked it up later that day. There is some shadowing in the photos, but there is no stain left after cleaning. Pros and cons listed below: Pros- cleans carpet very well, easy to use, easy to maintain, great suction, carpet dries quickly, the hose works great on stairs and upholstery Cons- super heavy to carry up/down stairs. I take all the clean/dirty reservoirs off and then carry just the machine. This reduces weight a little bit. - this thing is HUGE and I haven’t figured out where to store it yet- the machine costs a lot, but I think I will save money and have cleaner carpets in the long run, so look at it as an investment. - again this machine is heavy and I can only use it for about 15 minutes before my back starts to get uncomfortable. - you do need to spend about 5 to 10 minutes cleaning the machine after each use to keep it in good working order. - it is hard to aim the sprayer on the hose directly on the surface, but if you hold it about 3 inches away from the surface, it is easier to spray the hose correctly and you can see exactly where it sprayed the cleaning solution - both times I used it I vacuumed first, but there was wet lint that collected on the surface of my carpet. I just bent over and picked it up, or continued to go over the spot until it was suctioned up, so not a big deal. Overall, I love this machine and will most likely use it for spot cleaning every week, and full carpet cleaning quarterly. Definitely recommend for pet owners.

I just got this machine. Previously I had a blue rug doctor, with attachments. I had read the reviews on this machine, they were great, rightly so. The rug doctor with attachments was noisier an option and since this came with the attachments, was less $$, went forward and back, along with the reviews...why not? I am so lucky to have gotten this and not the rug doctor again. This is less cumbersome, does a better job and moves in both directions!!! Seriously, by pass the rug doctor and get this. Fyi I had my rug doctor 4 yrs, very happy to have this machine now!!!

I would have given this a five star review had it not been for the lame directions. With the exception of one wall to wall carpet in my bedroom, the rest of my rugs are rooms sized rugs and I have two dogs - one of which is old and has become incontinent. I have previously rented a rug shampooer from Lowes and after I buy the cleaner it usually costs over $80. After you pay to rent the machine, you still have the hassle of loading in your truck and then have to get it back on time not to mention you dont know what kind of filth it has been used on prior to you using it. As it turns out, the Big Green Machine is the exact same machine I have been renting. At the cost of $400 it more than pays for itself after four uses. Plus, I dont have to spot clean accidents and cringe between rentals thinking about the residual germs and dirt I wasnt able to get up. It really does do a fantastic job. I cannot stress the importance of vacuuming your rug immediately before you use it. I vacuumed my living room rug right before I used it but the bedroom rug had been vacuumed a couple of days earlier so I tried to cut corners and it was a mistake. The hair I couldnt see would collect into nasty wet globs and interfere with the suction of the machine. Even the rug I had vacuumed immediately before shampooing still had hair on it the shampooer pulled up but didnt interfere with its operation. It just goes to show how powerful the cleaning is. But as to the directions.... Since I had used the same machine several times before I was already familiar with the basics. The manual that came with the machine was limited (10 pages) in information. You would think for $400 you would get a little more detailed info. Just about everything I have ever brought will give you bold instructions on what you need to do before you use it the first time. This did but it was only safety instructions to keep from getting electrocuted or injured. The box said it included three trial size bottles of cleaner but I couldnt find them. Instead there was a random piece of packing cardboard in a plastic bag (picture attached) by itself so I assumed it was a factory mistake and that the bottles of cleaner were supposed to have been in that bag. I followed the directions in order and filled the tank with water and cleaning solution, put it on the machine and then put on the dirty water tank as it said on page 4. Page 5 told how to clean your carpet and gave tips. The first tip was to remove the cardboard cutout from the foot. I looked down and saw a little piece of cardboard sticking out from the foot area and pulled it and it came off. My thought process was it must be a small piece of cardboard since it wasnt mentioned in the directions until after it tells you how to fill the tank and put it together to start using and it, plus you cant turn the machine on its side after you fill the tank and, again, it was only mentioned as a TIP. So, after removing the cardboard I started cleaning my rug but after a while I looked at the dirty water tank and the amount of water in the tank didnt seem appropriate to the amount of solution I was applying. I continued to go over and over the rug trying to suck up water and after a good while stopped and looked up troubleshooting. It said check the rollers so I removed the tanks and turned the unit on it side and there was my problem - a LARGE piece of cardboard that stretched from one end of the base of the machine to the other. I would hardly call getting that thing out of there a TIP - It should have been clearly stated as BEFORE USING OR FILLING THE TANK BE SURE TO REMOVE THE BIG A*# PIECE OF CARDBOARD FROM THE FOOT OF THE MACHINE. But at least I had found out the problem and was now able to suck up dirty water. The dirty water tank filled and now it was time to go outside and empty the dirty water. Imagine my amazement - and embarrassment (neighbors were walking by) - when I poured out the water and out came the three bottles of cleaner AND a huge piece of cardboard. I definitely looked like the proverbial dumb blonde. It wasnt until later when I looked at the Whats in the box section that I saw the very last thing mentioned was the cleaner was in the dirty water tank. Who would have thought?! I had made the mistake of looking at the outside of the box to see what was in it and never bothered to look at that part of the manual. Plus, the manual showed pictures of what was inside the box and since I glanced over the pictures, I didnt think I needed to read a description of the very last thing mentioned which was the three bottles of cleaner. My advice to Bissell would to please change your manual and include: BEFORE YOU USE FOR THE FIRST TIME! 1. Turn the unit on its side and remove the large piece of cardboard from the foot of the machine. 2. Open the dirty water tank and remove the three small trial size bottles of cleaner and the large piece of cardboard from the tank. Like I said earlier, the machine works great but I could have been saved a lot of time and aggravation had those two small but important steps been included prominently as BEFORE YOU START items in the manual. But the machine does work great!

I should start this review by saying that my carpet is original to my house, which is 26 years old. I have had the carpets professionally cleaned and I have done them myself many times. I have owned several carpet cleaners in the past and really hesitated spending this much money for another. I have to say it is worth every penny! Seriously, it got out things I thought would never come out. My son had spilled Dr. Pepper behind a metal file cabinet in his bedroom, and of course didnt bother to mention it to me. It had set in for about six month by the time I found it, and the file cabinet had rusted on the soda. Not cool! So while I held out little hope, I pre-treated the stain with the cleaner that came with the machine (mixed with water) in a spray bottle. I let it sit around 10 minutes while I did other parts of the carpet. When I went over that area, almost all the stain came up, including the rust. I did go back and use the pre-treat again several times and each time more of the stain came up. There is a very faint rust stain that did not come out but you really have to be looking for it to see it. I found this machine to actually be more quiet than others I have used, which is not to say it isnt loud, because it is. But compared to other machines, even my husband commented that it was not as loud as the last one we owned. It cleans way, way better than other models I have tried and I didnt spend half my time running to the sink to empty and refill the tanks. I was blown away by the amount of water/solution that was sucked out of the carpet. Most other machines, even the professionals, leave the carpet so wet. Last time I had my Berber carpets cleaned it took 4 days to dry! With this machine it was mostly dried in 3 hours. I did have one spot that took till the next morning, but it was the area I went over several times. It was easy to operate and cleans on both forward and backward stroke. I also used this on my sofa, chairs, and an area rug with similar results. The hose is long enough to clean up the stairs, and the electric cord is long enough to not have to move it, at least in my house, very often. The Cons- It is heavy, which I guess is why it works so well but if you have stairs, you will probably have to carry it up in pieces like I did (machine, tanks separately). It did drip a little when I was carrying it to be emptied, which I hate, but every other machine I have owned has done the same...........Grrrrrrr! I dont like the water flow indicator. This little disk spins on the tank to show you the water flow. If you arent paying attention (I get into the zone when I clean and did this several times), you will be moving the machine around but no water/solution is being released. The way the tanks fit together make it a little difficult to tell when they are locked together. I was releasing solution into the carpet and nothing was coming back up. Had to turn the machine off, take the tank off and put it back on and fiddle with it to Lock it down. All of that said, I will and already have recommended this machine very very highly. Its really all about the clean!! The cons I listed are all small things that are more bothersome than real problems. I am please with my purchase and love that my carpet looks almost new again. Good for another 26 years??

Ive tried a variety of carpet cleaning machines. I dread carpet/rug cleaning!!!! I finally decided I needed to invest in something that worked WELL so got this machine. Wow it works!!! Even on a shag rug. The key I think is to pretreat any very dirty areas with the solution (dilute in a spray bottle or even in a hand held compression spray container...the kind you mix fertilize/weed killer in). If the solution can sit on the carpet/rug even for 10min it makes a big difference in how clean the carpet/rug will get. Then use the cleaning machine. It takes a few passes but it gets it clean. Take a bit of time going over the area several times if you want it almost dry. I cleaned a shag rug a few hours before I had company and it was clean and dry in a very short period of time. I went over the rug very well with just suction and it was almost completely dry. To get the last bit of perfect cleaning... Do a final clean with just hot water in the machine. Leaves the carpet/rug soft with no cleaning residue left in the carpet/rug.

We (wife & I) have owned this Big Green for a few weeks now, and I have used it three times. We owned Hoovers top of the line carpet cleaner for three years prior to this purchase. Here is a quick comparison of the Hoover to the Big Green: > The Hoover is less expen$ive. (You DO get what you pay for, though!) > The Hoover is lighter, making it easier for my wife to use. Its only good point. > Big Green picks up dirty water LOTS better than the Hoover. in a word, Big Green Sucks (in a GOOD way)! It was tedious to try and pick up all (er, most) of the water laid down for cleaning with the Hoover. This resulted in days of drying time. Not good. > The hoover has an independent cleaning solution tank (for a total of three tanks), which means you can lay down as much cleaner as you would like, and then use the clear, hot water to rinse. Big Green only has two tanks, the clean water tank (which you add cleaner to), and the dirty water tank which is where all the dirty water gets sucked into. > Big Green is much faster. Because the Hoover does not suck nearly as well as Big Green, you must go excruciatingly (painfully... agonizingly... I could go on...) slow with the Hoover to recover most of the dirty water. I can clean carpets in 1/4 the time with Big Green, compared to the Hoover, simply because it has better scrubbing action, and suction! > The reason we ended up buying a Big Green after only three years of Hoover ownership, was the roller brush drive belt was worn and about to break. I tried to buy the drive belt from Hoover, but they are out of stock. A Hoover Customer Service person told me I could not back-order the belt, and I should just try back in a month (unacceptable!). The local Hoover dealer told me the belt is no longer made (out of production), and suggested I file a warranty claim, and in his experience Hoover would simply replace the unit with a (similar) brand new one. So, lets sum up the Hoover problems: 1) Doesnt work too well in the first place (slow, and poor suction); 2) Cant order a simple replacement part; 3) Hoover lied to me about the availability / discontinued status of the drive belt. 4) We didnt feel good about contributing a perfectly functional carpet cleaner to the land-fill because of Hoovers big-corporation attitude towards streamlined profitability at the consumers expense (They dont stock parts). We donated the Hoover to Good Will. What I like about Big Green: It does a better job cleaning carpets. It is much faster at cleaning carpets. It leaves the carpet much drier, resulting in less than a day needed for the carpet to dry (typically dries in 12 hours). My tips for Big Green Users: 1) Carpet cleaning is a patience thing, and cannot be rushed. If your head is in rush mode, drop carpet cleaning and go do something else, until your head is in the game. 2) Go slow and steady. Avoid sloshing the dirty water in the dirty water tank. Bissels dirty water tank is a two-piece design, which does not seal as well as it should. If you jerk the machine around, while trying to go fast, or get around obstacles, it WILL leak out dirty water, leaving dirty water spots! Slow and steady wins the race. 3) I have been using Bissels Pet Pro Oxy Urine Eliminator formula. and it gives great results. With time, I will try other formulas, and report back. We have an older cat and white carpets (need I say more?), which is why we are big fans of any oxy type of cleaning formulas. 4) Bissell recommends two caps of formula added to a tank of hot water. I now use between a 1/2 - 1 cap of cleaner. It works just as well with less cleaner formula. I have found that too much formula leaves the carpet stiff. And... Too much cleaner left in the carpet makes it attract dirt faster. < Straight from the Hoover instruction manual. 5) I use hot tap water in the clean water tank (per Bissells instructions). We keep our hot water at 140°, at the tap. I have not experienced any problems (with Big Greens flow indicator) using 140° water. 5) I overlap my cleaning passes by 1/2 width. 6) Bissells instructions say to hold the spray trigger and go out and back (one wet pass), then release the trigger, and go out and back (one dry pass). I make one wet pass, and then two dry (vacuum only) passes. 7) Bissell instructs you to continue to make passes until the solution being pulled up appears clean. I cant tell the cleanliness of the water as it comes up, but I keep making passes (in the same area) until the carpet looks clean. 8) I now add a rinse pass. after completely cleaning the carpet, I now add clear hot water (NO cleaning solution added) to the clean water tank, and I make a rinse pass over the entire carpet The rinse pass has no (well... minimal) overlap, and I do one wet pass, followed by only one vacuum pass. The rinse goes pretty quick. If you think you did a good job cleaning the carpet with cleaning solution, wait until you see how dirty the water is from the rinse pass! Dirt never rests... Summary: Yes, Big Green is pricey, and heavy, and it has its little quirks (the dirty water tank can leak, IF you are not careful). So far, it cleans carpets better than the several carpet cleaners we have owned and rented. Would I buy it again? Yes. In a New York minute. Time is valuable to me. Even though it has its little idiosyncrasies, it is the fastest, best carpet cleaner I have ever used. Yes, you really do get what you pay for. Recommended!

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!

I always rent the rug doctor to clean my carpets but figured i would just buy one so went Amazon.com to purchase a rug doctor but then i saw this bissel it had better reviews so thought i would give it a try. Well it had better reviews for a reason it cleans carpets better and destroys rug doctor on the length of time your carpet drys. I was renting a used machine so that might have a little something to do with it.