BISSELL® Big Green® PET PRO Carpet Cleaner, 3288
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Mike Crowder
> 3 dayI recently went through the 3rd carpet washer (from a competitor) in less than a year. After looking at the amount of money i have spent on three carpet washers, and trying to reconcile with the fact that i was about to spend more money on another one, i decided i would try to find the absolute best carpet washer i could buy in hopes that it would last longer. The old saying by Ben Franklin of The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. seems to be true for me, so i headed to Amazon and started reading reviews of the different carpet cleaners i could buy. After reading what seemed like a million reviews, most people had such a great opinion of this washer that i decided to choke up and hit the buy button. Luckily for me, it went on sale during Prime day and i was able to save over $80 on it which made it seem like a no brainer for me so i hit the buy button. I received the washer, and took it home and got it set up. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats and shedding is a big problem, plus the older dog sometimes has accidents on the carpet, so i pre cleaned the carpet as best i could by hand, and then vacuumed well with a Dyson ball in preparation before using the mean green carpet washer. After setting it up, reading the instructions and learning how to release the handle on the cleaner to fold down, i started to use the machine. At first it did not seem like it was sucking the water up very good, so i stopped and looked at the bottom of the machine, and found some protective cardboard covering the bottom, so i removed it, and tried again, and wow, what a difference it made!! The machine has the best suction out of any machine i have ever used. It seems to suck up most everything that was put down by the cleaner, and man, even though i did a thorough job with the Dyson ball traditional vacuum, this machine pulled up an AMAZING amount of hair from the carpet. My wife has long hair, and we have 2 dogs, and 3 cats that shed pretty badly. Even though we keep up with the vacuuming, and i always washed the carpets with the previous machines, this machine pulled out an AMAZING amount of hair from the carpet!! And when we dumped the water, it was disgustingly dirty!! It works differently than the other vacuum style machines we had in the past, the machine is big and square and heavy, so it takes more effort to move the cleaner across the carpet, but i think that helps with sucking the water back out of the carpet! My carpets were dry in about an hour after we used it when before it would take overnight to dry. I am very impressed so far with the results of this machine! I will update again later on after i have had it for a while, but for now, i am VERY happy with the choice i made buying this machine!! Once you see how clean your carpets are, you will not regret the purchase!
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Good Reviewer
> 3 dayOur carpet is 13 years old. It is a very high quality dense pile plush carpet. It’s light beige and had slowly become dirty enough that I was considering replacing it. We regularly vacuum and do not wear shoes in the house. At roughly 1500 sq feet of carpet, this was going to be quite expensive if replacing, so I decided to invest in this Bissell Big Green machine. Our Hoover Steamvac never seemed to get the carpet fully clean and it no longer could remove the traffic patterns no matter how hard I tried. I had about given up and the Bissell Big Green machine was our last hope. I’m happy to say that our carpet has been brought back to “almost” new. After shampooing with this new machine, if I asked someone about our carpet I’m sure they would think it’s new. This machine is amazing! I had to erase 13 years of use, and this is my procedure. Vacuum VERY well first. There is not need to make the machine pick up stuff that you could have gotten with the vacuum! Fill the tank with hot tap water and use the recommended Bissell PRO shampoo at the recommended dose. (two cups for a full tank) I pretreat the heavily soiled areas with the Bissell spray stain pretreatment and rub it into the carpet by hand. After 5 minutes of letting that soak, I pick a section of carpet roughly 6 feet wide by 10 feet long and do one forward pass and one backward pass over that whole section with the shampoo being dispensed. I do a row forward then back, then move over and do a row and so forth. I then go back over that area only sucking up the residual shampoo/water. without dispensing more shampoo. I then repeat with a second forward and reverse pass with shampoo and another pass to suck up the residual water. I then do a third and final forward and reverse pass with shampoo followed by sucking up the residual water. By this point the carpet has typically been fully cleaned. If not, I go over any areas as needed. Typically during the second to third pass is when you really see the magic happening. Typically, on the first pass with shampoo the machine will pickup and leave many dirty carpet balls in it’s wake. This is all the crud that the brushes are pulling out of the carpet. Im not sure why my vacuum cant get this stuff, but the Green Machine pulls up stuff that you didnt know existed in your carpet. In my case, these are NOT carpet fibers, but rather small hairs, dust, etc. and they are dark gray/black clumps. Normally I can suck these back up just by passing back over them with the machine. They end up in the dirty water bucket and get poured out when emptying the bucket. The machine works wonders and I’ve been able to completely remove traffic patterns. It takes some time, but be patient. This machine is head and shoulders above your typical home use carpet shampooer. I haven’t been more happy with a purchase in quite some time. This literally saved us thousands of dollars and our carpet looks practically BRAND NEW after 13 years of use. Attached are photos of some of our carpet just before using this machine, and about ½ way through cleaning this particular room. Even if this machine puked on me today, I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Couldn’t be happier. It’s about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. I haven’t tried any of the attachment, as I already have a hand held portable upholstery/stair cleaner. Highly recommnded.
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Bruce Aungst
> 3 dayIf a picture is worth a thousand words, I have posted two pictures of the very first short pass on our homes carpet using this new machine. This is at the top of the stairway in the upstairs hallway. She placed the machine and then pulled the handle releasing the cleaning solution and water and pulled the machine backwards ONE TIME. She did not go back over the spot. Look at the results. Strange thing is, you dont really notice how dirty the carpet is until you use a GREAT MACHINE like this one.........These carpets were cleaned with the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 just two months ago. My wife vacuums our entire house EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. In fact, she has a machine on each floor to avoid having to carry the vacuum up and down three floors. We have Simplicity Pro Upright Vacuums (an $800 plus per machine vacuum) and a Shark Upright, and they are very good vacuum cleaners. We have 3 large canine kids all who reside in the house, where they belong. Of course, most of the carpeting in our home is an off white berber style carpet. We have tried everything over the years from professional carpet cleanings to various rental carpet cleaners and we have owned a number of machines ourselves. Recently, our neighbors allowed us to borrow their new Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 to clean our carpets. It worked well and I decided it was time to buy our own machine (again). The Rug Doctor we borrowed from the neighbors worked better than the upright Hoover Pet Machine and another similar upright vacuum cleaner looking carpet cleaners we have owned. Usually, the biggest flaw in these upright machines which are styled like vacuum cleaners are that they dont extract the water and cleaning solution well (weak suction) which leaves the carpets wet. Also, they have small water holding tanks for both clean water and extracted water. Small tanks mean a lot of filling and emptying of those small tanks. Every minute spent filling or emptying dirty water tanks is a minute NOT spent cleaning the carpets. You can spend more time emptying and filling those small tanks than you actually spend cleaning the carpets. Its critical that you dont overuse ANY of the carpet cleaning solutions when cleaning the carpet. Its a common mistake people make when cleaning their own carpets. Some people equate more soap with cleaner carpets and in reality, just the opposite is actually true. When you use too much soap, the machines dont rinse the carpet well and it doesnt extract the solution OR the water from the carpet. The carpets will actually get dirty faster when they have excess dried cleaning solutions on them. Also, carpets which remain wet longer because the water and solution are not extracted properly will mean more dirt will stick to the carpets and running a vacuum cleaner over damp carpet gums up the vacuum cleaner and reduces the vacuum cleaners dirt lifting ability, not just when the carpets are wet, but afterwards as well. Typical residential Vacuum cleaners (not the Shop vacuum types of machines) are NOT designed to extract moisture from any surface. Getting your vacuum cleaner wet underneath from using it on damp carpets will cause the brushes to gum and the belts to slip and eventually it will wreck the machine. Wet / damp carpets are not only a nuisance, they are destructive to vacuum cleaners. Just ask any vacuum cleaner repair person and they will confirm just how destructive it is to use any residential vacuum cleaner on damp carpets. Ideally, when you begin the project of cleaning your carpets, you want to spend as much of your time actually cleaning the carpets and not shuffling clean and dirty water back and forth. This is where the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning machine really separates itself from the competition. Not only are the clean and dirty water tanks larger than virtually every other machine we have either owned, borrowed or rented, the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine also has a much better cleaning bar to scrub the carpets. But one of the greatest distinctions between our new Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine and the Rug Doctor which we had borrowed from our generous neighbors, is the Bissell is far superior at lifting the water and cleaning solution out of the carpet when you are extracting the water and solution. I would say it is at least TWICE as good as the Rug Doctor machine at actually extracting water and cleaning solution from your newly cleaned carpets. Having owned about half a dozen different machines over the years, I wasnt too excited about spending $400 plus shipping on another carpet cleaner. I have cleaned and repaired our previous machines numerous times and its really disappointing how many of the machines are really made. The Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine has a 5 year Residential Warranty on the machine, which is excellent. The machine is well made and another SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE between this machine and the Rug Doctor Blue machine is the actual handle height when you use the machine. My wife and I are both taller than average, she is 510 and I am 64. I personally found the handle on the Rug Doctor machine at a terrible height for me to use. The Rug Doctor machine handle requires me (and my wife) to stoop over to operate the machine, which becomes a problem very quickly. Not the case with the Bissell Big Green Machine. Near as I can tell, the handle operating position on the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine is about 5 taller than the Rug Doctor machine. This makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE when using the machine. Big advantage to the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine. The water and solution extraction of the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine has to be at least DOUBLE that of the Rug Doctor Machine we had borrowed from our neighbors and theirs is a new machine with very little use. How can you tell how much water the machine is extracting? Simple, if you put two gallons of clean water in and when you extract it, you only get 3 quarts of dirty water, the rest of the water is remaining in the carpet, along with some which will evaporate during the process. The point is to get out as much of the water and cleaning solution that you have put into the carpets. The Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine clearly is superior to the rug Doctor in extracting cleaning water and solution out of the carpets. By far, the best machine we have ever used to clean carpets. The carpets were even dryer than when we have paid someone $800 or more to clean our carpets. When my wife cleaned the carpets with the Rug Doctor machine, we actually used those floor drying blower machines for 2 or 3 days after the carpet cleaning to help dry the carpet.Truth is, we are so used to having damp carpet after cleaning that we own two of those clam shell styled floor dryers which the carpet cleaning pros use. With the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine, there is no need for the floor drying blowers as the carpet was dry to both the touch, but more importantly, it passed the SOCK TEST after 24 hours. Walk on the carpets in your socks and see if they get wet. After a day, our carpets passed the Sock Test where it took nearly three full days with the rug Doctor machine. The two machines are similar in appearance and in style. But that is where the similarities end. The rug Doctor is a good machine. The Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine is a GREAT MACHINE, especially for the price. I asked my wife to honestly give me any negative about the Bissell machine she could think of after having spent two days cleaning several rooms of carpet and hallways and staircases. We discussed the two machines and their use. In the end, the ONLY negative comment about the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine is that we didnt purchase it sooner. Hands down, The Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine is the best carpet cleaning machine we have ever used, owned, rented or paid others to clean our carpets. Having a direct comparison to the comparable Rug Doctor machine was very handy. I would give the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 a 7 out of 10, where as I would give the Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine a 9.9 out of 10. Why a 9.9 and not a perfect score? I don;t want the Bissell engineers to stop their pursuit of perfection in residential carpet cleaning machines, but with this machine, they are much closer to perfect than any other machine we have ever used.
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Shan A. Greer
27-10-2024When 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.
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Cassandra
> 3 dayI would buy this product all over again. It is excellent on my carpets. I use it all the time with two large older dogs. Even the foot traffic makes the carpet dirty. PROS: ~This machine seems to put less water into the carpet than other machines Ive rented. ~The suction takes more water out of the carpet so the carpet dries faster ---even when I run over the same area time and time again to clean up a doggie accident. ~The machine works better than other carpet cleaners Ive rented/borrowed from family. I went over stains that Id previously cleaned with a rented Rug Doctor and it didnt get rid of them completely as they were old, but theyre quite noticeably better. ~The moving handle makes this comfortable for people of different heights to operate this. Other machines Ive used arent very comfortable. ~Filling the tank with water/solution is a lot less mess than other machines Ive used as the fill tank is removable. Machines Ive previously used you have to fill a bucket and then pour it into the machine and the suction fittings always got in the way which meant spilling (and solution is expensive!) ~The spinning dial makes it easy to see when youre out of water as it stops spinning. Yes, the sound the machine makes changes also, but if youre listening to music, or in the zone cleaning you may not notice that. The dial frequently catches my eye when it runs out as it is a spinning circle cut into quarters that are black/white/black/white. ~The clear tanks make it easy to see about how much of the cleaning solution tank youve used and how close to full the dirty tank is. ~I use my machine at least twice a week for spot cleaning. I clean my entire house, rotating rooms over a couple of days about every 3 weeks. The carpets do not appear to have any damage or wear from the machine. ~Dog hair is easy to remove from the bottom of the machine after using, and its easy to get out of the two parts to the dirty tank. Some of it also clumps on the floor when doing the cleaning so its easy to pick up while going. (Yes, I vacuum before, but even my Dyson doesnt get it all. We have large dogs who shed a lot year round.) ~The handle folding down makes it easy to store under shelves or hanging clothing in a garage/closet. ~It came assembled, well packed, and with a small bottle of original solution. Ready to go after removing a few cardboard inserts! Cons: ~Weight of machine is higher than that of the machines Ive rented in the past. HOWEVER, the tanks can be removed to transport it and its manageable. ~The dirty water tank can be a mess to empty. If you dont wait a few minutes for the water to settle when you lift it off it will drip dirty, water on you or your carpet/floor If you dont tilt it just right when dumping it, youll again have a bit of a mess on the bathroom floor and possibly yourself.. (I think Rug Doctors tanks from the machines Ive rented are easier to empty with less mess and theyre not in two pieces. The top piece here also drips when you remove it to dump the other tank, which means having to sit it in the tub or on the floor.) After cleaning the carpet I always clean the bathroom floor and tub as the dirty water gets on them. ~The dirty water tank, if not set just right, will not collect water. Once youve used the machine a few times its pretty easy to tell when you have it on right, but twice I emptied an entire tank without realizing it wasnt sucking up the water. (The dirty water tank handle when left up blocks part of my view at my height and I cant see if its sucking up the water.) This machine is well worth the price. I checked a LOT of sites and stores where it was available (including the Bissell site). Other than a no longer active Black Friday sale it was cheapest to purchase here on Amazon. I was very hesitant to spend this much money on a carpet shampooer. Its a LOT of money, but having used it a lot (two large elderly dogs create a lot of messes, not to mention foot traffic from humans and dogs alike.) I promise it is well worth the money. I would buy it even if it was $100 more knowing what I know now. I use it with the 2x Pet Stain & Odor Formula. Other people have said it was odorous or blue in color. It is clear and it does not smell at all. The only smell I ever have is when I go over a fresh urine/vomit spot and it only lasts a few seconds when you first go over it, and when you empty the dirty water tank. This cleaning solution works excellent. I have a small bottle of original formula that came with the machine, but I purchased the pet formula when I got the machine so I have not used it and compared. Id rather stick with what I know works. (The cleaning solution I found for the best price on Bissells site. Buy 1 solution get a second for 20% off, they frequently have % off codes which also give free shipping, and you get a 10% discount with a members points account, which is free. The discounts stack. I got 2 60oz bottles for $32 and some change today after tax and free shipping. Last time I bought them I had a slightly lower discount and paid $34.)
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mary wacker
> 3 dayI just got this machine. Previously I had a blue rug doctor, with attachments. I had read the reviews on this machine, they were great, rightly so. The rug doctor with attachments was noisier an option and since this came with the attachments, was less $$, went forward and back, along with the reviews...why not? I am so lucky to have gotten this and not the rug doctor again. This is less cumbersome, does a better job and moves in both directions!!! Seriously, by pass the rug doctor and get this. Fyi I had my rug doctor 4 yrs, very happy to have this machine now!!!
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Ashley Anderson
Greater than one weekWe have lived in our home for 8 years. We have 2 young boys and have had several pets in our home over the years (1 senior who passed, 1 senior who’s still with us, 1 puppy who is now a 6yr old large golden, my husbands new Boston puppy, my parents dog who loved to pee in the hallway who has since passed, and 2 kittens we found outside one of which who uses the litter box and everywhere else too). My dad also lived with us for 7 years and was a mechanic and tracked grease and dirt in from the garage. I have a Bissell pro heat that always left the carpets soaking wet but seemed to do a good job until the stains reappeared weeks later with a vengeance. I received this shampooer yesterday and got to work. I was disappointed while the carpets where still a little damp thinking there was no hope if this didn’t work, but after they dried I was amazed at the difference. The carpets weren’t soaking wet and didn’t take long to dry with a large fan. They look even better in person than in the photos. And smell so much better. I was embarrassed to have people come in the house and see the hallway before. I went over the carpets a second time and honestly the only complaint I have is that is doesn’t get all the way up against the wall so you can see the clear line of where the carpet has been cleaned and where the shampooer can’t reach. I’m currently working on the living room carpets, then will tackle the bedrooms. I gotta say I love this shampooer and I am so glad I bit the bullet and got it. Hopefully we’ll give these carpets a few more years while we get the puppy and kitten fully potty trained and save up for new carpets.
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Li
> 3 dayIt got the stains out of my carpet. It definitely works. I did several passes & used double the solution like some of the other reviews said. I added before & after pics.
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TheOneDragon
Greater than one weekGot this to replace my parents Hoover which has been sorely abused and used due to the pet messes and insane amounts of carpet cleaning I have had to do. I will highlight on some of the good points and some of the bad. Pros: Excellent brush and suction control, had I used the Hoover over this, my carpet would STILL be wet 20 minutes later. At the same mark, using this machine the carpet was just Damp with a hint that it was just cleaned and completely dry within the hour.*Drying conditions vary upon environment, material, temp and humidity levels of the area being cleaned. The suction hose Locks in tight and has a rubber gasket to ensure maximum suction, the design is also loaded directly into the soiled water holding tank from the top unlike the Hoover which spills all of its nastiness back onto the floor that was previously in the hose. Its advised that you walk the water back into the tank (Hold the head of the hose up high in the air to make a straight line as possible with the hose into the holding tank to reduce residue when you detach the hose (make sure unit is running during this time). The soiled water compartment is extremely easy to detach, dump and clean. Unlike the Hoover which has a filter inside of the soiled water compartment, this one has a wide mesh filter so only the heaviest of particles get caught in it (works wonders on soiled carpet thats covered in dog hair, no more stopping and having to clean the filter) Easy foldup and store for later design, the machine is actually LIGHTER than my Hoover. It does tend to be a little bit more heavier when fully loaded with solution. Machine does not have a separate vat for solution, it requires the solution to be mixed with HOT water (Faucet Hot, not steaming hot). However if your just doing a general spill pickup, loaded regular water and you should be fine. Cons: A bit harder to turn than my Hoover but not much more. Tends to get caught up a little bit more on carpet seems (from tile to carpet) and such but then again, this is also the design of the machine to ensure maximum contact with the carpet. This thing really did an excellent job cleaning dog diarrhea out of my carpet that was standing for some time (Looked like a giant cookie by the time I got home from work and found it) This is the best machine between Commercial and Home Use, a mixture of both at a decent price. DOES NOT HAVE A HEATER! Then again, you shouldnt be using a steamer on Carpet to begin with, especially with wood floors underneath. Best way to clean a stain from a carpet. 1. Clean ASAP 2. Put a pre solution down, I generally like to dilute Dawn Dish Soap in hot water and use it on the stain, let it set for about five minutes. 3. Power up the BG and go over it with solution mixed in hot water, pass over the area a few times or until stain is removed. Allow to dry and vacuum after to restore the fluff of the carpet. Never, ever ever use steam on a carpet stain. This permanently sets the discoloration of the stain into the carpet and ruins it. Steaming carpets also destroys the hardwood underneath the floor so if you enjoy floor rot, I would highly recommend using a cold water machine like the BG. This did an excellent job bringing the water back up over my Hoover. (As long as you can get as much water up as possible your hardwood should be OK) Do not use on hardwood or laminate wood composite floors.