Bissell SpotBot ProHeat Hands-Free Compact Deep Cleaner, 12U9A Review

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(More customer reviews)We have two dogs and two boys. Our youngest dog is a 1 year old beagle, who has been very difficult to potty train! Needless to say, a carpet cleaner is a must-have for us. It is used many times during the week. Prior to the SpotBot, we used way to many paper towels for cleaning up messes that we didn't have time to clean with the large machine.
The fact that we already have a full-size carpet cleaner, that works well, is why we did not buy one of these sooner. I am betting that many others are in the same situation, or are debating between this or a full size cleaner, so this is where I will begin:
First, I will focus on the downfalls of using our full-size carpet cleaner for a small spot/stain-
1) Its size! With as much as we use it, it is not ideal to lug it up and down the stairs of our two floor house. This is especially the case when spots need cleaned both upstairs and downstairs at the same time.
2) The hose on the Hoover model we have is a royal pain. It takes several steps to switch the machine over to use the hand tool. It is a pain to clean. We avoid having to use it because of this. That means we usually end up scrubbing chairs and the stairs by hand, as it is less of a hassle. (If you go for a full-size model, consider looking for one where you do not need the extra steps to switch between the floor and hose modes!)
3) The dirty water holder is large. We usually use the bathtub to clean it. Going through all this trouble for a little stain sucks, especially when you have to do it as often as we do.
4) You should vacuum before using a carpet cleaner. This usually is not a problem for dry stains. However, you cannot vacuum over a wet pet accident! With the full-size cleaner, it is very difficult to just clean one area. We usually end up cleaning a 2'x3' area that surrounds the stain...an un-vacuumed 2'x3' area. This results in dog hair in parts of the carpet cleaner where it does not belong. Again, it is a pain to clean.
5) We cannot leave this machine sitting on a carpeted area. The left-over water from the brushes and such leave a wet spot. We usually move the machine to a hard floor before we even turn it off.
Now, onto the SpotBot-
1) The size is great. It is SOOO much easier to carry around the house and up and down the stairs.
2) It is very easy to switch from the automatic mode to the manual mode (where you use the hose.) Because of this, I do not hesitate to use it for quick clean-ups on the stairs, on our dining room chairs, or in the car. The hand tool is a cinch to clean when you are through, partly because it is not as long as the full-size models.
3) The dirty water bin is easily dumped and cleaned in the sink. It can be carried with one hand.
4) It is not always ideal to vacuum before cleaning. It is easy to clean just the stained area without involving the area around it.
5) We leave the SpotBot out of the way in our dining room for quick access. We have had no problems with it leaking.Now that I have explained why this has been so much easier than our full-sized cleaner, here are some more observations of the SpotBot:
1. There are 3 models of the SpotBot. From what I can tell, they are all almost identical except the Pet model comes with pet cleaning solution and the ProHeat has a water heater. The original does not have Microban protection, whereas the Pet and ProHeat do. (Hint: Compare specs and the pictures of the lady using the machine on Bissell's website.)
--If you plan on getting fresh hot water every time you use the machine, I would pass on the ProHeat model. Consider if you want the Microban protection to decide between the green and pet models.
--If you have a pet, you can get the green model and buy your own pet solution. However, the green one does not have the Microban protection, so it may be worth getting the Pet model.
--If you plan on having the machine ready all the time, get the ProHeat (red) model. The water heater function will heat the water/cleaning solution that has been sitting in the tank since your last use. I have been happy with the heat function. It may not heat it to scorching hot, but warm water still is better than cold.
2. As others have noted, the automatic function does not do the best job at sucking up all the water. It is not much trouble to use the hose to suck up the remaining water. The only downside of this is the need to rinse out the hand attachment after you are through. Even that isn't a big deal and it only takes a second.
3. There are two cycles, plus the manual option. The surface stain cycle runs about 3 minutes, the set-in stain cycle runs about 6 minutes. The machine really does most of the work for you! It was not a primary reason for our purchase, but WOW...this machine has really saved us a ton of work!!! Because this machine is so simple and quick to use, every single pet stain has been properly cleaned. No paper towels have been wasted.
4. A full solution tank lasts about two of the longer 6 minute cycles. It lasts for about 4 of the shorter cycles.
5. The automatic function does an EXCELLENT job. It has gotten out ever spill and every old stain we have used it on. The hand tool does a decent job, though not as good of a job as the automatic function. This may be because I do not scrub one spot for 6 minutes. In fact, I don't think I ever went over the same spot with our full-sized machine for 6 minutes...LOL!
6. If your carpets have not been cleaned in a while, this machine may clean so well that you will have a ring of clean carpet. I noticed a slight ring when I used the SpotBot on a stain in a high-traffic area. For us, this is not a huge issue because we have our carpets professionally cleaned ever 6-12 months and use our full-sized machine in between.
7. This unit is only intended for cleaning small areas. The circle is 8" in diameter, and the area it cleans is approximately 6-7". A full-sized carpet cleaner will be your best bet for cleaning large areas. This machine is better than the full-sized unit for cleaning up individual stains.
8. We only use MAYBE half the recommended cleaner. The stains still come out! I recommend experimenting with this so that you are not using more cleaner than you actually need to.
Since we usually have this ready at all times, when an accident does happen it couldn't be easier! We just grab the machine, plug it in, set it on the stain, and push a button. We carry on with whatever we were doing until the cycle ends. Then, we attach the hand tool to the hose, suck up the excess water, dump and rinse the storage tank, and we are ready for next time!
I think I covered the questions I had before our purchase! I highly recommend this machine!

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