BISSELL® Big Green® PET PRO Carpet Cleaner, 3288

Sure, it’s loud, it’s bulky, it’s annoying to have to stop and empty the bucket of nasty water/refill the clean water, it’s kind of a pain in the butt to get up and down the stairs. And yet, this carpet cleaner works SO much better than the cheap ones you can buy at Target/Walmart! I got tired of renting Rug Doctors and getting charged way too much because I kept it two or three hours past my return time and decided it was much more economical to buy my own (and less of a hassle). I initially planned on getting the rug doctor but decided to do a little research and ended up buying this one because it was about $100 cheaper and as far as I could tell they were really similar in function and results. I ended up being much happier with the Bissell when comparing both brands. Bissell vs. Rug Doctor: 1. The Bissell fits under the outer rim of my pool table (standard 9’ table), which the rug doctor did not. Believe it or not, this makes a huge difference in a room with a pool table! 2. The Bissell is easier to deal with the water containers - both the clean and the dirty buckets. 3. The attachment is easier to attach to the Bissell than the RD (granted, neither machine makes this task hard). 4. As loud as the Bissell is, it still seems a lot quieter than the RD. The rug doctor did a weird rumble when releasing the solution that made the entire room feel like it was vibrating - It felt like a loud bass on the first floor when the RD was being used upstairs! 5. Bissell will clean going both forward and backward. RD will not. This seems like a no-brainer, tbh. 6. This last one is a bit subjective, but it seems to me that the Bissell simply does a better job overall and gets the carpet cleaner than the RD. 7. Bissell feels lighter (I don’t remember the actual weight of either machine). Honestly the only advantage I can think of for the rug doctor would be a slightly larger water/waste tanks, meaning you have to refill and dump the tanks less often. However, I somehow seem to get more area cleaned with the Bissell amount of water than I did with RD. At the very least, I would say they are near even as far as area coverage per tank water refill. In conclusion, both products are far superior to the other options (non-commercial) on the market, but this one is the best of the two. TLDR: The Bissell is cheaper and (imo) works better in many ways than it’s main Rival, Rug Doctor. I highly recommend this product. *Pro Tip: DON’T pour your dirty waste water out into your bathtub! Especially if you live with pets. If you do dump it in the tub, you’ll be digging out the clumps of mystery hair gunk that stopped up your drain with a coat hanger shortly afterwards.* Your welcome. :)

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.

It really disgusts me how poorly made many of todays products are. I like to buy something for life. I prefer to spend more to get something that I wont have to replace in a few years time. Heck, I still drive a 17 year old car I bought new in 1997--it doesnt look so great anymore, but it gets me around, its cheap to own and maintain, and hasnt left me stranded! The Bissell carpet cleaners are a good example of this. In the late 90s, I had purchased one of the Bissell carpet cleaners. While I was using it maybe once per year, there was a span of a few years where I didnt use it at all. So it is not like I used it that often. Over the years, one by one, something else would break on it. Or it would leak. Or the bearings would start wailing like a banshee (which screams cheap imported bearings to me). The last straw was earlier this year when the container of detergent kept coming out steadily, and was completely drained after running the cleaner for 10 minutes. I was not alone either--I know a few friends/family personally who bought a similar machine and they, too, had it only last them a few years. Fed up with Bissell, I looked at the others. Yet here on Amazon, just about all of the cleaners (Hoover, Bissell, etc.) has similar reviews--cheap plastic, leaks, early failures, just total junk. Yet this Bissell 86T3 stood out as having a five-star rating, with hundreds of votes. The more I read, the more I realized that I needed to give this machine a try. I was going to rent one from Lowes, but a Warehouse Deal came along that made it irresistible. It showed up yesterday, courtesy of FedEx. In the evening, I tried it on a high-traffic area in the family room, which has an off-white low-pile carpeting. It still has a couple of streaks, but man, is it ever bright! I havent seen it this clean since I moved into this house four years ago. The old Bissell lightened it a bit, but this one totally took control and sucked up a lot of dirt. (One area is a run between the kitchen and back door, and the other is the area around my work desk.) I may go over a few spots again now that I am more used to the machine. Today I tackled a bedroom (including a mattress) and the living room. And again, it pulled up muck that poured out of the waste container in a dark grey color. And yes, its like the other reviews have said: the carpet does not take long at all to dry. This 86T3 has serious suction! (The other Bissell couldnt suck up a dead gnat.) Moving furniture around, I was able to use a large fan to dry off the carpet in about a half hour. The carpet isnt exactly new looking, but it looks way better now. It always amazes me how much gunk hides in our carpets! Construction--the plastic is thick and heavy, in the main body and in the tanks. Fully loaded, its a bear to lift. But like others say, cart it around or lift it without the tanks to make things easier. It is also a bit difficult to steer but you get used to moving it in longer strokes to make up for it. I tried the hand tool in the bedroom to get in some tight corners, and the hose is long and sturdy, with no worries about kinking it like the cheaper Bissell cleaners. I likely would not have paid full price for this, but even if I had to pay more than the Warehouse Deals price, at least I am more confident that this cleaner will last me a while.

I bought this machine because we are moving and I wanted to clean my carpet as we moved out. I thought my carpet was clean but it picked up a lot of dirt. It did a good job cleaning the carpet. I like it didn’t leave my floors overly wet and had good suction power.

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.

I would buy this product all over again. It is excellent on my carpets. I use it all the time with two large older dogs. Even the foot traffic makes the carpet dirty. PROS: ~This machine seems to put less water into the carpet than other machines Ive rented. ~The suction takes more water out of the carpet so the carpet dries faster ---even when I run over the same area time and time again to clean up a doggie accident. ~The machine works better than other carpet cleaners Ive rented/borrowed from family. I went over stains that Id previously cleaned with a rented Rug Doctor and it didnt get rid of them completely as they were old, but theyre quite noticeably better. ~The moving handle makes this comfortable for people of different heights to operate this. Other machines Ive used arent very comfortable. ~Filling the tank with water/solution is a lot less mess than other machines Ive used as the fill tank is removable. Machines Ive previously used you have to fill a bucket and then pour it into the machine and the suction fittings always got in the way which meant spilling (and solution is expensive!) ~The spinning dial makes it easy to see when youre out of water as it stops spinning. Yes, the sound the machine makes changes also, but if youre listening to music, or in the zone cleaning you may not notice that. The dial frequently catches my eye when it runs out as it is a spinning circle cut into quarters that are black/white/black/white. ~The clear tanks make it easy to see about how much of the cleaning solution tank youve used and how close to full the dirty tank is. ~I use my machine at least twice a week for spot cleaning. I clean my entire house, rotating rooms over a couple of days about every 3 weeks. The carpets do not appear to have any damage or wear from the machine. ~Dog hair is easy to remove from the bottom of the machine after using, and its easy to get out of the two parts to the dirty tank. Some of it also clumps on the floor when doing the cleaning so its easy to pick up while going. (Yes, I vacuum before, but even my Dyson doesnt get it all. We have large dogs who shed a lot year round.) ~The handle folding down makes it easy to store under shelves or hanging clothing in a garage/closet. ~It came assembled, well packed, and with a small bottle of original solution. Ready to go after removing a few cardboard inserts! Cons: ~Weight of machine is higher than that of the machines Ive rented in the past. HOWEVER, the tanks can be removed to transport it and its manageable. ~The dirty water tank can be a mess to empty. If you dont wait a few minutes for the water to settle when you lift it off it will drip dirty, water on you or your carpet/floor If you dont tilt it just right when dumping it, youll again have a bit of a mess on the bathroom floor and possibly yourself.. (I think Rug Doctors tanks from the machines Ive rented are easier to empty with less mess and theyre not in two pieces. The top piece here also drips when you remove it to dump the other tank, which means having to sit it in the tub or on the floor.) After cleaning the carpet I always clean the bathroom floor and tub as the dirty water gets on them. ~The dirty water tank, if not set just right, will not collect water. Once youve used the machine a few times its pretty easy to tell when you have it on right, but twice I emptied an entire tank without realizing it wasnt sucking up the water. (The dirty water tank handle when left up blocks part of my view at my height and I cant see if its sucking up the water.) This machine is well worth the price. I checked a LOT of sites and stores where it was available (including the Bissell site). Other than a no longer active Black Friday sale it was cheapest to purchase here on Amazon. I was very hesitant to spend this much money on a carpet shampooer. Its a LOT of money, but having used it a lot (two large elderly dogs create a lot of messes, not to mention foot traffic from humans and dogs alike.) I promise it is well worth the money. I would buy it even if it was $100 more knowing what I know now. I use it with the 2x Pet Stain & Odor Formula. Other people have said it was odorous or blue in color. It is clear and it does not smell at all. The only smell I ever have is when I go over a fresh urine/vomit spot and it only lasts a few seconds when you first go over it, and when you empty the dirty water tank. This cleaning solution works excellent. I have a small bottle of original formula that came with the machine, but I purchased the pet formula when I got the machine so I have not used it and compared. Id rather stick with what I know works. (The cleaning solution I found for the best price on Bissells site. Buy 1 solution get a second for 20% off, they frequently have % off codes which also give free shipping, and you get a 10% discount with a members points account, which is free. The discounts stack. I got 2 60oz bottles for $32 and some change today after tax and free shipping. Last time I bought them I had a slightly lower discount and paid $34.)

Yes, it is expensive, but forget buying the smaller, lesser machines. Unless, that is, you are someone who doesnt have a space for a machine this large. I have now had this thing for over four months and it has saved my carpet. I have 7 cats. Running over a great swath of cat vomit with this machine is like taking an eraser to a chalk board. Sweep sweep sweep and it is gone. I no longer cringe when my senior cat, Toby, has a problem. Because I know the solution is just sitting there in my closet. I had a room upstairs filled with over 50 birds (I was breeding canaries), and a tortoise in a house. I got out of breeding birds and found a better place for the tortoise, and then I found myself staring in horror at the carpet under the two aviaries and the tortoise house. I had several inches of accumulated bird dander and seed dirt under the aviaries. The tortoise had dumped her water repeatedly and the red substrate I had as her bedding got wet and soaked into the carpet under her house to the point it was literally black. I tried my smaller Bissell and it really did very little. I saw this machine and hated the price. But I bought it anyway. It is literally on my top five purchases EVER in my life. It took 10 repeated shampoos to get that carpet in that room looking like new. Which it does, by the way. I cant even believe it--even the black carpet under the tortoise house looks new. You cant buy into those pictures that show a filthy floor and a path of perfect cleanness behind the machine like its done this with one swipe. It takes repeated shampoos. I used over an entire bottle of cleaner to get that room to the point that the water in the tank was finally clean. Anyway--if you are chewing your nails at the price, dont. Better to get a machine that does the job at the start, then get lesser machines that kinda sorta do the job, until you one day throw up your hands and go for the big one. You save money in the end to not buy the smaller machines. Unless, as I said, you dont have the space. Or maybe you live alone and you arent very strong. This thing is rather heavy. But I find when I want to take it upstairs, its easier to remove the two tanks first. Also, Bissells anti-urine odor product that goes with this machine is very effective. My Toby liked to pee on my carpet in one spot until I found premium cat litter to get him back to using his box. My entire condo smelled like pee after the first shampoo as this machine drew up all the nasty stuff from the carpet pad under the carpet in that area. After the second shampoo I wasnt smelling urine anymore. At all. And now when I walk into my condo I no longer smell that disgusting smell. So do I recommend this machine and the products that go with it. Hell, yes! Best investment I have made since I bought my home.

I have previously owned a Bissell but it wasnt a deep cleaner. After reading the reviews and Amazon running this on a lightning deal, I purchased it. After vacuuming all the carpets, I started this machine up. I have used a Rug Doctor and thought that it did a fair job. This machine BLOWS a Rug Doctor out of the water. It came already assembled, all I had to do was remove all of the packing material and lift the handle. My first impression: 1. While heavy, it maneuvers very easily. Much easier than the Rug Doctor. I attribute this to the fact that the handle pivots forward and back like a vacuum cleaner does rather than being stationary. 2. I liked that you didnt have to fill a bucket or other tank to fill the clean reservoir. The clean tank comes out of the machine to be filled. 3. This thing SUCKS! I mean that in a good way. When using the RD (rug doctor) the carpet always stayed wet for hours. With this machine, even with spraying in a forward motion and then again when pulling backwards (so 2 applications of solution with only one removal), on a second pass to remove the water, there was very little left in the carpet. 4. I LOVE that I can see the water that has been pulled out of the carpet. It lets me know just how much water is being put down and how much is being pulled back out. 5. The machine does tell you when you are out of solution and its easy to see the level by looking at the tank. Its similar to knowing how much milk is left in the carton thru a frosted surface. 6. Dumping the waste water is fairly easy. The only downside is that once you remove the top portion (where you see the water being sucked into the waste tank) there is nothing really to hold onto when dumping the tank since the handle is on the top part. 7. Even after thoroughly vacuuming the carpet, this machine found hair that my commercial vacuum did not get out of the carpet. 8. We do have a cat and dog. The dog is very stubborn and if anything hits the floor, she either will try to eat it or cover it up by peeing on it. There was a single spot that after treating with an enzyme solution and cleaning with the RD, there was still an odor. After a single pass with this machine, the odor was gone and there was no longer a strange feeling to that part of the carpet. 9. When using the RD, I felt that I had to go over the carpet several times, keeping in mind that all of our carpet is under 3 years old. With this machine, I could tell with my bare feet that there was a definite difference to how the carpet felt after just one pass. 10. The carpet was dry within 3 hours even in the areas that I had made a forward and backwards pass. Our carpet has a pretty deep pile as well. About 3/4 of an inch in length to give you an idea of what type it was used on. 11. The only problem that I had was operator error. When I filled the tank the second time, I did not get them lined up exactly right and it would put water down but nothing was being pulled back up. I unhooked the latch, reseated the top tank and viola! Back in business. So far I have not found any downsides to this machine but I will check back in after the next time I use it.

I purchased my Big Green during the 2016 Black Friday Sale for less than two-ninety. With three dogs and household members who never wipe their feet, I have struggled to keep cream colored Berber carpets and old 70s brown high-low shag clean. I have owned a Hoover branded cleaner and another Bissell which both worked OK, but there always seemed to be oversaturation of the carpet and minimal extraction. Thus the purchase of this model in hopes of faster drying times with positive, clean results. These are my impressions after unpacking and using this cleaner the first time. ☆ The Big Green was well packaged in a heavyweight cardboard box. Cleaner, cleaning hose + attachment for upholstery and User Guide were included with the option to register by mail (included card) or online or by phone. ☆ I found bits of cardboard everywhere, and a small bottle of Bissell Pro Cleaning Solution in the dirty water tank. Check the cleaner carefully all over before using (in the rollers, in the tanks...) to make sure you get all the packing materials out. ☆ The User Guide is clearly written and includes a photo which labels all the cleaners parts. ☆ The Big Green is big and boxy, but stores away much easier than those without foldable handles. ☆ The Big Green is heavy, and my shoulders and arms were tired after using it. There is no machine assistance to propel it forward and backwards. ☆ The trigger which dispenses solution is well placed under the handle where your right index finger would be. There is some resistance, and the flow indicator on the top of the machine makes it easy to monitor. ☆ This was much easier to maneuver on Berber carpet than on shag high-low. ☆ It was easy to tell how much solution was in each of the tanks by glancing at the side of the tanks, although knowing when you are out of cleaning solution is tough at times if you dont look there. ☆ Dumping out the dirty water is easy and I did it frequently to avoid the machine being heavier than it had to be when working with it. ☆ Taking a room in 6-8 lengths would be ideal. ☆ On a flat surface (like Berber carpet) it was easy to feel the suction and know that water was being extracted from the carpet. A little tougher on uneven surfaces. ☆ The power of this cleaning machine is noticeably better than the sub-two hundred dollar machines Ive used before. Im glad I bought it, as its certainly as good as any rental pro machines Ive used in the past. ☆ Pre-treating spots on your carpet prior to using this machine will make all the difference where pet or other stains are concerned. You may still have to go over those areas a few times, but this machine has the power to pull them out. ☆ There was never too much water and solution sprayed onto my carpets using this machine, and it extracts the solution very well. Overall, Im pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to others for home or office. It should be noted that in the case of lighter colored carpets that have not been cleaned for a long time or have existing high traffic or pet stains, a second cleaning may be needed to achieve the desired effect. I found streaks after the carpets dried and in places like the entry and where the dogs had had accidents, I did need to reapply pre-treatment and shampoo again. When used with Bissells Pro Deep Cleaning solution, the Big Green does what it promises and is easy enough to use frequently if desired. It stores easily into a standard closet (with the handle conveniently folding down) and the directions for use are clear. If you arent looking for a magical fix to carpets that need replacing, you should be pleased with the results you get from this product. ------------------ -------------------------- NOTE: instead of using the Bissell pre-treat, you may want to consider this product that works wonders!

Hi, If you are in a big hurry, skip this review, it is long and involved, written by a guy who has cleaned carpets in many houses (mine and as a landlord) for many years - and is a retired engineer. Spoiler Summary - Super sturdy, heavy and semi-hard to pull because it is sucking down so hard pulling up dirty water and dampness. I like it. Introduction - I have owned a half dozen or more carpet cleaners for 20+ years, mostly lower priced Hoovers. This is a review after buying this Bissell and using it for 3000 square feet and two sets of carpeted stairs.I chose it after reviewing many alternatives focusing on the suction capability. Many shampooers leave the carpet pretty wet, even after secondary dry passes that dont pull much of the water out. This not only leaves dampness, but dirty water you are trying to remove. First Blush - Sturdy delivery box, and sturdier machine. This machine looks more industrial than many lower priced ones - more like something you would rent at a grocery or rental place.No assembly required - nice long cord, large tanks to allow you to keep going. Set up - As I dragged this upstairs, I realized this is significantly heavier than others I have owned. But do-able (I am 140 pounds, 60+ years old now). You have to mix the solution into the water. Usage - The instructions say to push away and pull back a strip while releasing solution, then repeat the push/pull without solution (dry mode). I repeated these steps in really black or high traffic areas. Doing so with my carpets, which looked okay, yielded almost coal black return tank water with dirt in the bottom of the tank. I did this washing, then, per room, I repeated the same steps as above with clear water for a complete rinse cycle. The water looked less dirty, but I called that good enough. Result - These carpets look better than they have in a long time. I am impressed. Pluses - (1) The machine is very heavy duty, so are the tanks. It sucks very well. Once I didnt seat the receiving tank well so suction was compromised, I pulled back 3 feet and thought wow, this thing has just gotten way easier to pull. Then I reseated the tank and felt again the strong resistance to pulling return. (2) I am an anal engineer. On one rinse cycle, after the carpet was damp from washing, I measured the amount of water I spit out and the amount that was sucked back in. The machine pulled back around 75% of what it laid out. You may think, wow, I would have guessed that you would get back all you lay down. No, you do not, with any cleaner, as it seeps into the carpet. But this 75% was way more than I have seen in the past. Plus, my carpets dried in 1/2 the time. Minuses - This thing is pretty heavy and pulls hard. I dont think my 105 pound 60+ year old wife could lug it up the steps, or use it for long. Other - It would be nice if the soap was separate, so you could toggle between wash and rinse. It is not, you put two tank capfulls of solution in the tank. I got around this by working with the solution, then, as mentioned above, repeated with plain water.It would be nice if you could turn the beater brush on and off, to give the carpet a break when you are just trying to suck up the solution. Oh well. You do have to keep an eye on this spinning disc on the top that indicates solution flow, to tell when you are out of solution, as the tank is so heavy duty, you cant easily see the level as you use it. No big deal, as this spinning beanie disk is in your line of sight as you work. Overall - I like this unit and am glad I bought it, and it works better than the last 5 - 10 units I have purchased.