Bissell Little Green Carpet Shampooer

Many years ago, we bought a Bissell ‘Big Green Cleaning Machine’ in a sale. It was intended for shampooing carpets and furniture, and served its purpose admirably. It was also good for sucking up accidental spills or leakages.  But eventually the hose perished, andn try as we might, there was no easy way of replacing it. Duct tape helped, but soon became gunky. Besides, now living in a different house with no carpets, it was less useful. It was bit unwieldy for furniture, even before the hose became unusable. 

So when I spotted a Bissell ‘Little Green’ carpet shampooer in the Lakeland catalogue a few months ago, I was seriously tempted. It was around £100, so I hesitated for a while... indeed, I might not have bought it at all, but for the dire warning that they were ceasing to stock this product. If I wanted one, I had to buy it at once.

Although it came with some spot-cleaning fluid, it did not come with the regular shampoo, and the site informed me that nothing other than Bissell brand should be used. So we ordered some of that too, at about £15 - and I was slightly mystified as to why something like this is still sold by the pint (473ml)! 

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

I’m not the most mechanically minded of people, but it wasn’t difficult to extract the Little Green machine from its box and attach the hose. It looked rather neat, and while the green isn’t my preferred shade, it’s not too unpleasant sitting, as it does, on a drawer unit behind the freezer.

We put the box in an outside utility cupboard, just in case it needed to be returned, and it proved to be the perfect spot for a very protective and aggressive feral cat who decided to spend a couple of weeks there with her newborn kittens. 

TRYING IT OUT

A few weeks ago, in a burst of housewifely fervour, I decided that our living room furniture was looking grubby. Perhaps not surprising; we regularly have visiting children here, not to mention our cats, and it must have been three or even four years since I used the Big Green machine. 

I studied the instruction guide, and decided that it wasn’t difficult. I removed the solution tank at one side, put some of the Bissell solution in, up to a line on the side, then filled up with hot tap water. I reattached the tank. It dripped a bit as I did so, but that was partly me being careless. I plugged it in, and switched it on. Then immediately put it in use to suck up the drips, which it did efficiently and quickly. 

Like our previous machine, there’s a plastic tool at the end of the hose that looks a bit like the furniture attachment that comes with some vacuum cleaners. There’s a button on it which can be pressed to release spray, and when it’s pressed against a rug or part of the furniture, it has quite a strong suction. The instructions suggest spraying an area from a few inches away and leaving it to soak for a few minutes before using the suction tool, so that’s what I did. 

It took a while to get into a good rhythm, but it wasn’t difficult. I had to work out the right angle and distance to use the spray on its own - near enough that it didn’t drip all over the floor, far enough away that it covered a reasonable area - but I suspect that can only be done with practice.

As with our former machine, it’s both encouraging and shame-inducing to see just how much dirt gets sucked inside the other tank. I expected it to be a little grubby, not that it would be black!  So, as it looked so bad, I went over everything twice. 

COVERAGE AND RESULTS

With my tank of diluted fluid, I thoroughly cleaned two sofas and two chairs, then I had a go at another chair which had become very grubby, and finally a mattress which I knew was dusty. The solution ran out when I’d almost finished the mattress, so I decided that was enough for one day. Even with the fluid, the ‘Little Green’ isn’t particularly heavy, but my back was starting to ache from leaning over at different angles, and from the effort of pushing the suction tool into the furniture in order to extract as much of the dirty water as possible. 

I was a bit concerned that everything still seemed a bit damp, but it was quite a warm day, and within a few hours everything was totally dry again. There was a mild fresh scent in the house, and all the furniture looked considerably cleaner than it had done. 

I estimate that I’ve used about a quarter of the fluid, so the pint bottle will last me quite some time; I plan to clean the furniture once a year unless it suddenly starts to look very dirty. 

PUTTING IT AWAY

The instructions recommend sucking up some clean water to clean out the hose, which seemed like a good idea, so I did that, then detached the dirty water tank to pour it away. I wiped the outside and left the tanks to dry, then re-assembled it, wound the hose and electrical cord around, and put it away. The work of a couple of minutes, and much more straightforward than our ‘Big Green’ ever was. 

I’m not particularly strong, but I had no problem carrying it upstairs when full, or lifting it up to place it on the chest after use. It weighs a little over 5kg empty, which is much lighter than our previous machine. 

ANY PROBLEMS?

I suspect that it will drip every time I attach the fluid container, due to the way it’s designed. But it’s not a huge problem - just worth being aware so that the machine isn’t put together over a valuable table or non-washable carpet. 

I also don’t think it would be appropriate to use in large carpeted areas. While it’s certainly possible, the suction tool is not very wide, and it would be a lengthy and back-breaking process. 

While I was a little hesitant at first, I consider this to have been an excellent purchase. 

2022 UPDATE

I'm pleased to report that the 'LGCM', as it is known in our household, is still going strong after nearly nine years. It has cleaned mattresses - ours and those of friends - as well as many rugs, chairs and sofas. The drip is minimal, and it works just fine with ordinary supermarket branded carpet cleaning fluid, which must be suitable for 3-in-1 machines.

We have used it effectively several times to suck up water from leaks from the roof, or spillages from jugs. It also helped considerably when we had larger floods due to a blocked overflow pipe in an outside balcony. The problem with that is that the tank only holds about a litre of dirty water, so it's quicker, at first, to use an old-fashioned mop and bucket. But for the last bits, getting into small areas, and for anything in furniture, it's excellent.