Having bid farewell to the warm sunny weather, most will be preparing themselves for the shorter, darker days, which brings with them the increased likelihood of more mud and grime in the house. Always keen to find the best solutions to keeping households clean, Sabi Phagura decided to put the Bissell PowerClean Carpet Cleaner to the test.
We have all spent far too much time indoors than we would have liked to this year. After enjoying a record scorchio of summer in 2020, most of us hoped it would return this year. But dull wet, and windy weather forced us within the confines of our homes, leaving us once again moaning about the abysmal British weather.
With more time being spent in our homes, it’s to be expected that one or two spots around the house may be looking a little worse for wear. And here we want to turn our attention to floors – specifically carpets. They often get battering with all the footfall, accidental spills and pet accidents. Delve a little deeper, and those deep fibres will have trapped even more filth like dead skin, dust, mites, flea eggs and pretty much everything in between.
Now with children have gone back to school and some of us returning to the workplace, it’s probably a good time to tackle the filth left behind from all those summer months. And so, when we were invited to try out the Bissell PowerClean model, we thought we would accept the domestic help and put it to the test. After all, family-owned and run Bissell has been manufacturing for over 140 years, and so they must know a thing or two about cleaning.
Bissell Powerclean first impressions and main features
Carpet cleaners are not fancy compared to some other home appliances that may be lying around the house, but this domestic cleaner is far more attractive than some of the bulky machines we have seen.
This is light at 5.6kgs, a lot smaller with a cleaning head measuring just 24cm in width, and as it’s compact, it can be stored away easily without taking too much room if space is an issue.
If, like me, you’re not a fan of putting appliances together, then you’ll be pleased to know this model requires very little assembly know-how. You won’t even need to refer to the pictorial manual because it’s all self-evident. On top of that, the coloured latch system for the water containers makes for easy removal for filling and emptying.
The Bissell PowerClean has two tanks – the big one at 2.36litres is the clean water tank while the second dirty water tank is at 1.72 litres. But this is quite the norm as you’ll be dispensing more water to clean the carpet than sucking it up. Still, the water tank will need to be refilled if you have lots of rooms to clean.
The PowerClean is a 600-watt machine that comes with just a single cleaning brush with a four-row motorised deep power brush roll that gets deep into the carpet to suck up dirt and grime. I have to say that seeing the dirt being sucked up into the transparent water container is rather satisfying. Almost therapeutic. Once finished, you can easily remove the brush to clean it to ensure all the dirt has been left completely from your carpet and device.
Using the Bissell Powerclean
This machine is really easy to use and is operated by a finger trigger that engages with the water and solution function. After pulling the trigger, glide the machine forward very slowly over the carpet and watch the solution fill out onto the carpet. Then reverse the stroke – but this time without the finger trigger – to activate the drying mechanism.
It’s rather therapeutic watching the dirty liquid solution being sucked out of the carpet through the head channel before being disposed into the dirty water tank.
Testing out the Bissell came at the perfect time as I had just moved back to my home, which had been rented out. The carpet looked like it needed a thorough clean, so I got to work. I did a patch test like seen on commercials to see the difference. I have to admit it did look noticeably different.
The machine performed incredibly well on the carpet, and I felt it looked pretty newish when I had finished with it. There were also some light stains that I had to go over a few times, which were sucked out.
However, a stain that looked like felt tip pen marks (the tenant had a young child) was too stubborn to come out completely. But, to be fair, I had no idea how long the stain had been there.
Most people would try to get a stain like that out soon after it has appeared. As this model is compact, it doesn’t come with any additional attachments for spot cleaning. So, tackling the stairs may be a tad difficult with the main head. Having said that, the cleaner is lightweight enough to be hauled up and down them. The other little gripe is that the PowerClean has a short cable coming in at 6m, so you may find yourself having to find several sockets around the house.
Final thoughts on the Bissell Powerclean
If you have a small home or flat and some carpeted rooms, then this is the cleaner for you. It does a good job of keeping the carpets significantly clean, is compact enough to be stored without taking up too much room and is affordable. Yes, it doesn’t have any attachments for spot cleaning or small surfaces but considering it has more pros than cons, it’s a good investment for when carpet disasters (as they inevitably do) happen.
Sure, you could just hire the services of a good carpet cleaning company or hire a machine now and then. But if you have lots of carpets that kids and pets regularly trample on, the Bissell Powerclean is something that won’t break the bank and is one of those products that you wished you had when something unfortunate happens.
Bissell Powerclean – Where and How?
The new Bissell PowerClean is widely available in the UK, including Amazon, where it retails at £149. For more information on the Bissell range of products, visit www.bisselldirect.co.uk.
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