While vacuuming is effective at removing dust and other dirt from carpets and rugs, it’s not very effective for spills or stains. The good news is that carpet stains can be removed with hot water or steam, detergent, and suction.
While you can hire a professional cleaning service to use a large steam machine, purchasing a portable carpet cleaner is a more cost-effective solution for everyday spot cleaning and stain removal.
According to Kathy Cohoon, cleaning expert at Two Maids and a Mop, you need a machine that’s lightweight, quiet, easy to use, easy to clean, and easy to store. We tested dozens of carpet cleaners in our lab to determine which ones are best for cleaning dirt from surfaces in your home or car.
When choosing a portable carpet cleaning machine, one of the key factors to consider is its size, as the machine should fit into small spaces, be easy to carry, and take up less storage space when not in use. The Bissell meets all of these requirements and more. It works by circulating a mixture of water and carpet spray cleaner over the affected areas of the carpet.
During testing, the device completely removed a coffee stain from a light-colored, medium-pile carpet with only about ten uses of the stain remover. Wine and dust stains left only light marks after cleaning. Chocolate stains were the only stain that was a bit tough for the cleaner, though it removed about 50 percent of the stain.
The 15-foot power cord is long enough for most cleaning tasks, as is the hose, and it comes with three different stain removal tools. The powerful stain removal tool scrubs and vacuums debris from carpet and upholstery, while the stain capture tool keeps pet feces and other liquid debris inside the tool and out of the machine.
We also liked that it has a self-cleaning feature that makes it easy to rinse out after each use. After about two hours of scrubbing, we found that the carpet was only slightly damp, which means this device won’t spill excess water on the floor.
We really liked that it’s quiet at just 70 decibels. However, the biggest reason to buy the Bissell Little Green Deluxe Portable Carpet Cleaner is that it can be easily carried in one hand, leaving your other hand free for cleaning. It easily fits under a car seat or other tight spaces, making cleaning on the go a breeze.
Assembling this device is a little more complicated than other products we recommend. You need a screwdriver to assemble it, and we found the instructions a little difficult to understand. In addition, we found that the water tank dripped after turning off the power, so be sure to completely empty the tank after each use.
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