does anyone have a carpet steam cleaner?

[Okie_girl]

I'm thinking about getting one for my dad for Christmas (believe it or not, he's expressed interest in having one!). If you have one, do you think it works well?

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

I have a Bissell (can't remember exactly which model)...I LOVE it! It is easy to use, but you do have to vacuum first, because it won't pick up debris. The pet hair in my carpets clogged it at one point...I just had to clean it out. I bought it almost 3 years ago when my new puppy was potty training and I couldn't stand the "accident" spots. So glad she is an adult now and out of that phase!

Also, if you happen to have pets, the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is amazing. It Is just a little handheld vacuum but it sucks up the hair really well! I think they are only about $40. I actually won mine in a raffle...best prize ever!

 

[Okie_girl]

Chloe, does yours actually heat the water? I've been reading reviews on Hoover and Bissell steam vacs, and it seems like the majority of the Hoovers don't have heaters in them. Do you use it more for spot cleaning, or overall carpet cleaning? Do you think it would work on carpet that is fairly dirty?

I'll have to check out the pet hair eraser. With 7 cats and 2 dogs, you bet I've got animal hair! I had all my carpet ripped out a few years ago and went to hardwood floors, but still, there's tons of hair on the furniture.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

Chloe, does yours actually heat the water? I've been reading reviews on Hoover and Bissell steam vacs, and it seems like the majority of the Hoovers don't have heaters in them. Do you use it more for spot cleaning, or overall carpet cleaning? Do you think it would work on carpet that is fairly dirty?

I'll have to check out the pet hair eraser. With 7 cats and 2 dogs, you bet I've got animal hair! I had all my carpet ripped out a few years ago and went to hardwood floors, but still, there's tons of hair on the furniture.

The one I have is the Bissell ProHeat Multisurface 2x. (Although I've never used it for any surface other than carpet.) I bought it at Target for about $179.
It does heat the water. There is a separate "power" button and "heat" button on the front. You do put hot water in it though, and then I guess it keeps it heated while in use.
I have used it both for spots and overall cleaning. For spots, sometimes it takes a couple passes over the spot, but you can see it sucking up all the dirtiness. There are different settings for high traffic areas, etc. In my previous apartment, the entry way carpet got really dirty, so I would use it to clean that.
I think it would work on dirty carpet. If it's REALLY dirty, it may just take a couple of sessions to get it clean. It definitely worked for me to clean up puppy stains! And you'd be amazed at how clean the house will smell after a carpet cleaning...I guess I never thought about how much smell the carpet keeps in.

 

[Okie_girl]

Thank you, Chloe! Sounds like that just might do the trick. I like that yours has settings for high traffic areas, etc. That's the issue at my dad's...the high traffic areas are pretty grungy. I will just let him know that he may need to do those areas a couple of times. Thank you so muc for the info!

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

Happy to help! Hope it does the trick for him.

 

[ame]

My dad also has several kinds of Bissel items. A big monster one, a medium sized one and then a "spot bot". He's in love with them all.

 

[geckodani]

I just replaced my old Hoover with a Bissel with the built in heater. HUGE difference. Bissel one not only cleans better, IMO, it's also a LOT easier to use. You've only got one tank to deal with instead of two. It's a lot lighter than the Hoovers as a result of the one tank in the base, as opposed to the Hoovers that have the tank in the handle. My Hoover was hell on my hands, Bissel is much kinder.

 

[swingirl]

I just replaced my old Hoover with a Bissel with the built in heater. HUGE difference. Bissel one not only cleans better, IMO, it's also a LOT easier to use. You've only got one tank to deal with instead of two. It's a lot lighter than the Hoovers as a result of the one tank in the base, as opposed to the Hoovers that have the tank in the handle. My Hoover was hell on my hands, Bissel is much kinder.

Does it recycle the dirty water? How often do you have to change he water?

 

[JewelFreak]

I have a Bissell too & it is great! It heats the water, you can do steam or heavier "washing." My old dog is a little incontinent & I had to do something -- bought it at Target several months ago, IIRC around $150.

Normal for carpet shampooers, you do need to vacuum well first (with dog hair at least). The tank gets full of hair just the same -- you simply empty it out & keep cleaning. It really does an excellent job -- hardly recognized my rug when I was done!

I use Bissell pet-stinky-remover shampoo in it -- I like that Bissell makes a number of different soaps for various needs.

Decided on the Bissell because they are the original carpet-shampooer maker & have long experience with them. With vacuums at least, Hoover always disappoints me; theirs do not last very long, seem to die w/in a few yrs. I was afraid their carpet cleaners would be similar.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Another Bissel ProHeat 2x owner here. I love the built-in heater. My first steam cleaner didn't heat the water and I love the built-in heater much more. I think I bought a refurbished model on Amazon for under $120.

My only complaint about consumer-grade steam cleaners is the small water container. I only steam clean one room in my house, but I feel like I have to change the water every 2 minutes. I don't think there is any getting around that, though.

 

[tyty333]

I have a Hoover. I would give it 3 stars out of 5. Its heavy and leaks water when you try to dump the canister with the
dirty water in it. Its better than nothing and does clean your carpet but one that didnt drip as much and wasnt as
loud sure would be a lot nicer. I will probably buy a different brand/model when I have to replace it.

 

[Okie_girl]

Ame, I think the midsized one (vacuum cleaner sized) would be perfect for my dad. I'm glad to hear your dad loves all of his!

Geckodani, thanks for the Hoover/Bissell comparison. I was leaning towards the Bissell anyway, but your recommendation has cemented that decision.

JewelFreak, thanks for your comparison as well. I had a Hoover vac once, and I would agree with your assessment. Mine was great for about a month, after that, it had very little suction.

NEL, thanks for your testimonial as well. I think Bissell ProHeat is the way to go! Big Lots has a refurbished model in their sale ad this week, I think it was around $120.

Tyty333, thanks for the info on your Hoover, that confirmed for me (again) that Bissell is the way to go!

 

[iugurl]

I am going to butt in, and ask a question of my own . Does anyone's steam cleaner work on stairs? I didn't know if only certain models can fit or have an attachment that will clean stairs? Thanks.

 

[TooPatient]

We have the ProHeat also. Loved it in the fully carpeted apartment! Now in the house, it gets much less use (almost no carpet).

The only thing I didn't care for when I was using it often (weekly or so) was the water tank. The clean water was in a rubber bladder sort of thing and the dirty water filled the tank around it (so bladder of clean water was in dirty water). The cat fur and stuff would clump and stick to the bladder so I had to pick it off.

The water heated nicely and did great on spots. It came with attachments (I think for furniture or stairs?) but I have never used them.


Liked it so well that when it sucked up a cat toy and fried the motor (I didn't realize there was a problem since it kept sucking up until the end), we went out and bought another.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

I've heard a lot of great things about the Bissel Pro Heat. My uber picky friend has one and swears by it. I almost bought that one but ended up with a larger Rug Doctor model instead-- I think it cost around $600 or so. I bought it because my dog had some kind of week long virus and proceeded to vomit and poo all over my cream colored Berber area rugs--it was awful and I was totally freaked out. The Rug Doctor only works great if you use low foaming carpet shampoo or else it looses suction. The water tank holds a lot more than the Bissell, but because of that it is heavier. It has separate clean and dirty water tanks. No water heater but honestly you don't need one. It does have a long hose for both a stair and upholstery tools. It does a nice job of cleaning carpet but not as good as the carpet cleaners who come out to your house, it's close but not quite as good. It is nice not to have to schedule a carpet cleaning and take care of spots whenever they happen.

I do stll want to buy the Bissell, just to compare and see if it works better.

 

[Karl_K]

Bissel ProHeat is great
However it is not a replacement for professional cleaning in the midwest with road salt and cinder ground into the carpet, but it will keep it cleaner than vacuuming alone and extend the time between pro-cleanings.

 

[Okie_girl]

Thanks for another Bissell Proheat recommendation, TooPatient and Karl_K. I think that is definitely the way to go.

MyDiamondSparkles, I think if your uber picky friend is pleased, then surely it will work for my dad!

 

[rubybeth]

My parents had a Bissell machine for years, used it for everything from carpet to car upholstery. I borrowed it every few months to clean my apartment carpet. A few things broke on it over the years, and finally, it got the point where it was more cost effective to get a new machine than fix. They replaced it with a professional-grade Rug Doctor after doing some research. HOLY COW does that thing do a good job! It works waaaay better than the Bissell. And here I thought the water was disgusting coming out of that thing, looking at the water that comes out of the Rug Doctor is horrifying.

It has an attachment for upholstery, too, and would work on narrower stairs (my parents have wide stairs so it actually worked to use the regular carpet cleaner on their stairs). I used it to spot-clean some coffee out of a wool rug just a couple days ago, worked like a charm. I'm excited to use it in the spring after another Minnesota winter; our hallways gets gross even with rugs in the main apartment entryway and entire hallway between our door and the outside door. I'm excited to get a house and have wood floors, but I'll still want a Rug Doctor for my rugs.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

Hey Ruby, I am just curious if you think the Rug Doctor extracts enough water out of the carpet? It's the one thing that bothers me most about that machine is that it seems to leave the carpet really damp requiring the use of fans to dry it. I've read the owners manual front to back so I don't think it is anything I'm doing incorrectly.

I'd also love to know about the Bissel and how damp it leaves the carpet?