BISSELL® Big Green® PET PRO Carpet Cleaner, 3288

First, I am an engineer .... which means I analyze everything. I was concerned about the hand tool portion of this product, but I neednt be. It worked very well. This product not only gets the carpet deep clean, it sucks out nearly all the moisture from the carpet and allows it to dry in no time. Seriously, by the time I got to the other end of my living room, the side I started on was already dry. The tanks (clean and dirty) are super easy to use. I prefer to fill and empty in my laundry room wash tub and these both work great in there. The unit has a little spin indicator when you are applying solution. This is great since you always know the moment you are out. The cord wrapping mechanism is the best I have ever seen in a product. Super easy and fast. Yes, it is more expensive than the typical cheap model, but it is worth it in spades. Additionally, the materials this thing are made out of are super durable. It is built like a tank and I expect many years of use. It is a bit heavy compared to the consumer models, but it is oh so much better at getting the job done. It is worth the little extra space it takes up in the closet and the fact that I have to move it up and down stairs for my wife to use on different floors (it is a bit much for her). At the end of the day, I am a consumer where the most important thing for me is does it work well and last a long time. Everything else is secondary.

Don’t regret spending the extra money for such a nice carpet cleaner works great for pets

I used this product to shampoo my carpets which are a lower loft high traffic carpet made by Shaw with a pad with a waterproof barrier. I shampooed several smaller rooms, a large family room and set up stairs. I was very pleased with the ease of use of the product. It was easy to figure out. I like the separate clean water and dirty water tanks. It really did get the carpets clean and does have good suction to bring water back out of the carpet. It is rather heavy so maneuvering on a full flight of stairs was challenges. It is slightly wider that a standard stair width so if you dont have a landing mid way down it may be challenging to use this on stairs. The only other items I would change is the clarity of the viewing window that shows the water as its being sucked back into the machine. The plastic is more milky versus clear making it hard to see at times how much moisture and how clean the moisture is coming back into the machine. Overall I would recommend this product if you are looking for something that is better than your standard consumer grade carpet shampooer but not so burdensome as a shampooer you might rent from home store.

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.

I am a 3 fur baby owner with a carpeted living room stairs and hallway. In the process of buying this home. Until the papers are signed, I need to have a clean carpet!! Having 3 dogs, accidents happen. I was using the Bissell petpro steam cleaner. I have been using them (yes them- I own 3). Using these machines 3 sometimes 4 times a week. Having a living room over 600 sq feet.. it was worth $$. They all worked well. I needed something to work AMZING!!! this is the AMAZING machine!! The carpet is almost immediately dry, or damp. It is my new go to!! ! I was worried about weight but it rolls pretty easy Large tank is a big plus! I would highly recommend, and while not the cheapest carpet cleaner out there, I find it basically works like a professional. Thank you Bissell!!!

When it came time to do the Spring Cleaning this year, I decided to purchase a new carpet cleaner. The Hoover Platinum had served me well, but keeping the machine clean was a pain, it left the carpets pretty wet and the resulting shampoo residue led to the carpet getting dirty much quicker. When I started researching new cleaners, the Bissell quickly rose to the top of the list. The primary reasons were the simple, easy to clean design, powerful motors and all of the excellent reviews from fellow shoppers at Amazon and across many sites on the Internet. I was not disappointed. The cleaner arrives in a large box, fully assembled. This model also includes an upholstery tool with a pretty long hose. Other than removing a few pieces of cardboard from the base and inside the dirty water tank, it comes ready to go. I love the overall design of the unit. It is manufactured of rubbermaid-like plastic that looks like it will hold up fine. Unlike other consumer cleaners, such as the Hoover Platinum, there are not a bunch of fancy lights and other bells and whistles on this one. It is simply the base cleaner, a clean water tank, dirty water tank and top that directs dirty water into the tank. The power cord is 25-feet long, enough for a large room without going back and forth to the wall to disconnect and reconnect it to other outlets. The machine is ugly when compared to the fancier consumer models, but I cared much less about that than how it worked and the simple design that makes it ugly also lets it work well and be easy to maintain. Using the unit could not be much simpler. Fill the water (bottom) tank with hot water from the faucet and the right amount of cleaner (water tank cap is also a measuring cup), re-attach the dirty water tank on top and you are ready to go. This unit dispenses water and cleaner while moving both forward and backward if the button on the right handle is depressed. The instructions advise you to make a forward and backward pass while dispensing water and a without pressing the button to suck up excess water and heat dry the floor. I followed the instructions, but made a second dry pass just to get the carpet as dry as possible...Im not at all convinced that second pass made a difference and it is absolutely not required. In my experience, the water tank is adequate to clean about 80-90 square feet of carpet, depending on the number of passes you make and how much you overlap. With a single pass and a 2 inch overlap, I got about 90 square feet between fills. Having used 5 or so different carpet cleaners from Bissell and Hoover, at all ranges of pricing, I am very impressed with the Big Green. It did a great job cleaning the carpet. Its strong suction led to the carpets being dryer after cleaning than any until I have ever used or seen used, rental and professional cleaners included. In fact, during the cleaning, the Bissell was regularly deposing small balls of hair and fur that 4 passed with my Dyson did not get out of the floor and the Dyson has excellent suction. The carpets took about 2 hours to dry in a 68 degree Fahrenheit room with the ceiling fan circulating air and the windows open. The Bissell also cleaned up several stains in the carpet that were left by my Hoover. That said, I am also using a new cleaner, the Bissell Pro brand so it is hard to say if that is due to the shampoo or the machine. There is a handy flow meter than is directly driven by water flowing past that lets you see when the tanks are empty or if there is still water in the carpet that needs extracting. This unit is heavy and bulky. It is not much heavier than my Hoover Platinum, but the extra bulk of the design makes it harder to carry up stairs. Doable but folks with less upper body strength might need help. Emptying the Bissell is easy. Pull the black handle on the cover forward, remove the cover (I tilted it off from the back to keep from dripping on the floor) and then carry the tank to the toilet for a dump. One thing to note here is that a significant portion of the top of the dirty water tank is exposed. While the water level in there is 1 1/2 or so from the top after using a full water tank, those who are balance challenged may want to push the machine close to where they plan to dump to avoid spilling on the way. After dumping the dirty water, it is a good time to fill the clean since it is on the base of the machine below the other tank. This process is simple as well. Lift the handle and pull the tank up from the machine, open the lid and use it to measure the amount of shampoo to add then fill the tank to the line, which is basically a completely full tank. One thing I appreciated is that water does not drip when the tank is removed, even though water is drawn from a valve at the bottom of the tank. The only downside to the design of this tank is that the bottom is not at all flat, so you cant just sit it in the sink and get a full tank. Not a big deal, but some may find it the weight of a full tank a little hard to hold below the faucet. The Upholstery nozzle and host is nothing special as far as design goes, but the suction from the Bissell motor lets it work like a champ. I used it to clean carpets and it worked very well. Would be nice if there was a way to mount it to the machine but the design does not allow that and it is something I am willing to deal with. Cleaning the unit when done is a snap. Rinse out the tanks and the top cover and then use a towel to wipe it all dry. The handle folds down to minimize the space this takes, but it is a bigger unit so plan on dedicating a spot for it. Overall, this gets a strong recommendation from me. Its roots as a commercial rental machine help this shine in the home. The design is simple and easy to learn to use. There are not a lot of bells and whistles to break down...the only indicator is a simple flow meter not some fancy electronic gadget. And it works and works very well. Exactly what you would expect if you shelled out $50+ dollars to rent one.

Finally , after a long while, I used the Big Green Machine yesterday. I was impressed, really pulled the dirt out. I used it again today just on the high traffic areas and it pulled even more dirt out.

This is our third different carpet shampooer in the last three decades.. at least thats how I remember it. One was a Hoover with the five round spinning brushes which we lost in a house fire, and I cant remember the other It heated the water but got tossed because it eventually leaked. I will add that I worked for Electrolux one summer for some spare change when I was teaching so I have been around some pretty nice equipment and know how to clean carpeting. We have a new home now with some very nice, upgraded carpeting. We needed a new shampooer because we live on ten rural, burned-over acres with a lot of dirt and dust when it is dry and a good amount of mud when it is wet. We also have a rambunctious German Shepherd. With a sort of beach-sand, tan color deep, dense carpeting I want to keep clean I needed something that could do the job. I spent a good amount of time shopping and when I finally came near the end it came down to a choice between the Bissell Big Green and the Rug Doctor. I chose the Bissell. The pre-sale factors were the numerous reviews of the Bissell stated that it got the carpet really dry, it was easy to use, it was smaller, and came with the accessory hose, and cost less. I got a chance to shampoo the entry way at our front door. There is a vinyl area just inside the door, and beyond that is a carpeted area about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. Following the mixing directions I made about half of a tank of cleaner and followed the directions for use. Hold the spray button while walking forward and then back, then release the button and make a similar pass to pick up the cleaner. I did much the same for three small area rugs made from scraps of the same carpeting. One of those sits in the kitchen at my espresso bar and gets stained with coffee grounds, dripped coffee, and more. Also the carpet inside the utility room with a door to our attached garage. That one acts are a door mat from when I come in, sometimes with muddy shoes from working on our property, often with hand tools or when running our tractor and chipping burned brush and trees.. You can imagine what that one looked like. The results: I could not be more pleased. After just 8 months living in our new home it was astounding how much dirt Big Green pulled up. I made an extra pass or two to pull up as much of the cleaner as possible, and just after a couple of hours the carpet felt humid when I ran my hand over it, and in around four hours was dry. I vacuumed the carpet I shampooed this morning and you could close your eyes and walk on it and feel how much fluffier it is compared to the area I did not clean with Big Green. SUCTION: good suction efficiently applied to carpet is the key to an efficient shampooer. You can use a garden sprayer and a floor broom to loosen the dirt, but without a way to get that moisture and dirt up it is a waste of time. Big Green has an efficient brush roll that is easy to clean and by removing a few easy-to-access screws makes changing belts easy as well. And did I mention excellent suction! Even the hose and hand tool did a very good job on an old muddy footprint my dog left some time ago. With the other shampooers I would have to shampoo, then pick up that liquid, then put clean water to rinse the carpeting and it would still come up dirty, and then sty wet for a long time, sometimes being heavily humid still the next day. I had rented the Rug Doctor in the past and am so glad I got the Big Green. For a home owner, it surpasses the Rug Doctor in so many ways. It stores easily in a closet, the tanks are easy to fill and clean and attach simply and quickly to the base unit, the handle release can be operated by your foot, and the folding handle makes storing easy. Although it weighs around 50 pounds, it is not difficult to move and the weight keeps the business end on the carpet where it belongs. Have you really read this far? Just go buy the thing and enjoy your clean carpets!

I bought this to replace my aging Rug Doctor Mighty Pro that was having performance issues due to its age (10 years old). I was hesitant because I did not have a high opinion of Bissell products because the few that I had in the past were small and cheap and did not perform very well. The Rug Doctor I had was a workhorse and I wanted something similar. The problem was the Rug Doctors pricing has gone up substantially, which caused me to look at different products. Im glad I did. I came across this product and the first thing I noticed was its appearance, which is very similar to my Rug Doctor. So I started looking into it and found a video where they did a side by side comparison with a Rug Doctor and this thing outperformed it slightly. Considering its price, I thought that was great and so I bought it. So far I have no regrets. The clean water container is smaller than the Rug Doctor (1.75 gal vs 2.5 gal) but it allows you to remove the container and fill it in the sink. This does save time from filling up one gallon containers and dumping the clean water into the Rug Doctor. Overall, the time saved by simply sitting the clean water container in the sink and letting it fill up on its own does offset the time spent filling up the clean water container more frequently due to its smaller size. As for suction, I was very impressed the first time I ran out of clean water and opened the dirty water tank to find it completely full, indicating it sucks up almost everything it injects into the carpet (this was the biggest issue I was having with my Rug Doctor as it got older). I also love the fact that it has a clean water flow indicator. This was one of the most frustrating things about the Rug Doctor because I would sometimes run out of clean water and not know it. This product has a flow spinner that lets you know when clean water is flowing. Once that stops spinning, you know youre out of water. Overall Im very happy with the product. Its had no trouble removing routine stains from pets and walking on my carpets. It allows you to go front and back while injecting the clean water and using the scrubbers (it only sucks up the water when you pull backwards, like the Rug Doctor) which is a nice added feature in case you want to have clean water injected twice before sucking it out. I havent tried the hand held spot cleaning device yet but so far everything else has worked perfectly and it only took a couple of minutes to set up once it arrived. For the price, I have no regrets whatsoever.

During the market fall of 2008 I decided to buy a house in Tampa, Florida. The house was in pretty good condition with the exception of the carpets. Before we moved in we had the whole house carpeted areas professionally cleaned but after we moved in the light cream carpets started looking grey. I have hired various pros the last 5 years only to be told that the carpets could never be cleaned completely and having to live with this or just change them. In between professional clean ups I have been using my Hoover Professional carpet cleaner I bought about 10 years ago (I do not remember the model but it was a SIX brush unit). It did a decent job cleaning but heavy traffic areas always looked greyer than the rest and so we decided to buy some rugs to cover them up. Nothing I would do or anyone else made those areas look better. Lately I started thinking seriously changing the carpets for good, a job easier said than done in my house if you could see the stuff I have collected over the years. Desperate for a solution I came across ads and started researching various carpet cleaners from 150 bucks all the way to several thousand (our of curiosity of course!). I saw the Bissell Big Green and read as many reviews as I could at amazon and other sites. Even saw videos in youtube. Half convinced I finally decided to take the plunge thinking that if this would not work I could send the machine back to amazon. The unit came and I was surprised by its size and heft. My Hoover was supposed to be a pro model and did cost me around 350 bucks 10 years ago if I remember well. Still, the Bissell is bigger and heavier by close to 20 lbs. Anyway, I prepared the machine and started working on the worst areas in the house. After working for about 15 minutes I was astonished to see that those got cleaned up like never before since I moved in this house. I had used my Hoover last weekend but the Bissell was cleaning areas that the Hoover could not even touch cleaning. The water extracted after clean up was black and filthy looking like I had never cleaned out these areas before. Even areas that looked clean now looked like new with my new machine. Another surprise was just how effective and superior the cleaning solution 2X Ultra that came with the machine is compared to competitive products. I run out of the Bissell cleaning solution and had to use some of the stuff I had on hand (two different brands). The difference was huge and the effort to get the same results was by far bigger. Go figure! I ordered a big bottle of the 2X Ultra which I received today. The carpet areas I have cleaned so far look like new and the carpet feels like it is rejuvenated somehow. All in all here are some observations and myth basters: 1. The Big Green is big and heavy. You will feel it in your arms and back after prolonged usage. Take your time and be careful. 2. The clean water and dirty water tanks are HUGE. This speeds up cleaning time by avoiding frequent stops for replenishing and clean up. 3. Clean up of the Big Green is a dream! The Hoover could never be cleaned completely due to its design. The Big Greens dirty water container comes in two pieces very easy to clean with tap water. Just do the clean up as soon as you get done using the unit. 4. Some people claim the machine to be made cheap! Nothing is further from the truth. The plastic used in this unit is heavy and the machine looks like it will last for a very long time. 5. This is not an easy unit to use in hard to reach areas. Open areas are best for this. I had to move many furniture for effective cleaning. 6. Use the Bissell 2X Ultra liquid for best results. My comparisons with two different and very well known brands were very educating. 7. The unit creates a lot of the fur balls digging lint form the carpet. You will have to pick those up by your hand. Also the brushes in the bottom get clogged after heavy use. Make sure you turn the machine over (after removing the liquid containers) and clean them regularly. This shows just how well the machine cleans your carpet. 8. I have used several brands of commercial rental cleaners. Also I have seen many other so called professional machines used in this house the last 5 years. The Bissell BEATS them ALL and by a long shot. I really works. 9. NO! I never managed to clean a heavily soiled area by one or two passes like in some videos. You have to work the machine to get results and this is what I did. Multiple passes and plenty of liquid. Dry thoroughly afterwards! Try the unit and you will see by yourself. Just follow the instructions and be amazed. If for any reason you do not like it then just send it back to amazon and get done with it. I am keeping this baby for good! My carpets never looked better. This has really saved me thousands in new carpet for the time being. Cheers