Bissell 2X CleanShot Upright Steam Cleaner

Why we got it:

We have two dogs, and one of them is still trying to be "house broken."  So we needed a powerful machine to handle the messes she made.  We wanted to make sure that we cleaned the carpets as best as we could.  I think we have found a winner.

Setting it Up:

It may look intimidating when you are getting ready to use it for the 1st time, but it really isn't.  Take a deep breath, relax, and you will see there are only 3 things you need to worry about.

1) On the back is the plastic canister that contains the cleaner.  Just unscrew the lid, pour the solution in and screw the lid back on.  When you put the canister back into the machine you have to tip it over.  Although it does have a screw on lid I always end up having a drop or two drip out as I am trying to get it in place.  As you get familiar with how it fits in there(really easy actually) you won't have the dribble problem as often.

2) On the front there is a handle that lifts up the part that stores your clean water, and the water it sucks up after it cleans the carpet.  On top of this part that stores all the water is the actual plastic piece that sucks the water/dirt up.  You will see on the back a plastic clip that unlocks the two and the sucking piece will lift right up.  There is a plastic bag that holds all the clean water inside the container.  Fill it up with water and then place the sucking piece back over it.  Make sure the sucking piece's front lip is locked under neath the water container.  Tilt the front end of the sucking piece down slightly so the front lip is underneath the main water container.  Then push the back down and lock the back lock.  If the front piece is moving after you lock, you did it wrong.  Unlock it and make sure the lip is underneath the water container first before locking in the back.

3) Hold it by the handle and place back onto the unit.  It will easily just fit into place.

Use

There are four options of cleaning:
1)Heavy Traffic
2)Normal Traffic
3)Light Traffic
4)Water Rinse

If you do heavy traffic it just uses more soap, it doesn't really mean it scrubs any harder.  Light traffic uses the least amount of soap.  Water rinse doesn't use soap at all, just water.  The water rinse is very useful, I'll get to why in a second.

You can also chose to flip on the heat.  I would recommend this if you are doing carpet.  The heat really helps break down more dirt.

When you are using the machine you will want to hold the trigger under the handle as you push forward on the carpet and pull back, then let go.  Just go front, then back, and let go.  If if you keep holding it it continues to release the soap.  This machine will go through a lot of soap if you are always holding the trigger. 

After you let go of the trigger slowly up back and forth over it for about 5 to 6 sweeps.  you will see through the clear sucking piece the soap water get sucked up.  If it stops sucking up stuff after these passes, you are done.  However, you can switch to water rinse and pull the trigger and go back and forth once, then let go.  Again, sweep over the floor 5 or 6 times and you will more soap come up.  This will continue to suck up even more of the left over soap/dirt.  I have found this to be the best method because I want to make sure I get the soap solution out of the carpet.

There is a black/white spinner at the bottom right that lets you know if it still has water/soap.  If you are holding the trigger on either traffic setting and it is spinning then everything is fine.  If you are holding the trigger and it isn't spinning, then something is wrong.  More than likely you need to put more soap or water in it.

On top of the handle is a blue button with a little target looking thing.  If you push that you will see at the front right of the machine a blue thing that shoots out just the soap.  If you have a really bad spot push the button to squirt out the solution.

You will see filled up lines on the canister for the dirty water.  Typically one room will take up the full amount of water in the bag and half the soap (depending on traffic setting). 

After you are done immediately "park" it on a towel because once it is off a little bit of dirty water will drip back down.  Not a whole lot, but if you leave it on the carpet you will see a couple dark spots where the water dripped back down.  Putting it on a towel will prevent that from happening on the carpet.

Attachments:

I have to be honest, I have tried the attachments but I just don't feel like they really do all that much.  One of them actually has a rotating scrubber but it's not fast at all.  You can spray solution and scrub, but the vacuuming suction isn't powerful at all.  I wouldn't use this to clean your furniture.  Just not powerful enough.

Cleanup:

After you are finished you will lift the canister up and take the sucking section off.  Tilt the water container out over a sink and watch all the dirty water pour out!  You won't believe it was in your carpet.  We have white carpets and do it probably once a month.  The water is honestly black every time we dump it out!

Final Opinion:

Although it says it has a hot air dryer on it, our carpets are always still wet.  It isn't like soaking wet, but it doesn't feel good to have soggy socks!  Give the carpets about 4 hours to completely dry out.  If you have a fan blowing probably just an hour or so. 

You should be able to do a 15x15 foot room in about 20-30 minutes.

After you dump out the dirty water you will know this machine is really doing it's job.  It can almost become addicting because you want to get in there and clean the carpets back up again!

Be careful with the trigger.  This thing goes through soap fast if you aren't careful.  Use this method to save on the soap:
1) Use the soap trigger first on a traffic setting.  Go up and down once holding the trigger.
2) Then go over it 5 or 6 times without holding the trigger
3) Then switching to water rinse and hold the trigger once up and down.
4) Go back over it 5 or 6 times.