Here's an unusual one... Bissell Hydroclean Complete

[spiraclean]

Recently ordered one of these, as I was in the market for a new shampooer and wanted something with a decent tank capacity that wasn't too fussy to set up, and could be disassembled for easier storage. I noticed it was on sale for £129.99, which seemed reasonable, so decided to give it a try.

As a vacuum, it's seriously underwhelming. Not what you would expect from something pulling 2000 watts, plus it's way too bulky and noisy for everyday use. Besides which, I can't imagine many people being willing to fill, empty and clean out the collection tank each time they used it. I will say the water filtration does appear to work very well, however, so there is that. No debris or fine dust whatsoever on the prefilter, even after cleaning the entire house.

To me, the vacuum function is just a bonus feature that's there should I ever want it. Maybe if I was feeling masochistic, had too much time on my hands and fancied a change from my daily driver Sebo. I could perhaps see myself using it to vacuum out the car, but that's about it.

Anyway, the primary reason I bought this was for use as a shampooer, and that's really what it does best. The solution feed line is already integrated into the hose and wands, so there's no external tubing to hook up. Just click on the chosen wash tool and that end of things is done. You don't need to disassemble the machine to gain access to the solution tank either, because it simply drops into place on the rear of the machine. The solution feed itself is pumped, and there's also an onboard heater to boost the temperature.

For cleaning carpets, this is probably the best domestic machine I've used to date. Shifted heavy traffic lanes that a Bissell compact upright, Vax Dual V and Numatic George wouldn't even touch. The onboard heater gets the solution scalding hot, to the point where it visibly steams as it hits the carpet, and I think this is what makes all the difference to the performance (you can turn the heater off as well if you're a bit twitchy about using it on more delicate surfaces). It isn't tiring to use, and the extra capacity is nice, because I don't have to stop cleaning every ten minutes in order to empty and refill the machine. It also leaves carpets far drier than any upright shampooer I've used, to the point where they were completely dry within three hours rather than overnight.

In short, it's a crappy vacuum but an excellent shampooer, so for my needs it's absolutely perfect. The reviews out there seem to be polarised between loving it and hating it, but other than that there isn't much info on this product. I see it's also available in the US; anyone else tried one, and if so, what are your thoughts?

Link goes to a video on the Youtoobs from a dealer in South Africa (I think?) that explains the machine far more succinctly than I ever could. Enjoy.



http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLhsfVR2WNI

 

[fantomfan]

It looks like a Bissell Big Green.

That is what we have in the states. It can be used as a carpet extractor or vacuum cleaner. I've never tried one.

 

[sensotronic]

I have had this cleaner for a few months and have only kept it because it does a fantastic job at washing floors and above floor surfaces using the small washing nozzle.

I find it very laborious to use for carpet shampooing and pretty tiring for hard floor cleaning, but because it cleans my hard floors better than anything else I've used, I put up with the sore back after using it.
As Spiraclean says, it heats the solution and keeps it very hot and yes, you can see the steam rising from the nozzle.

I used it very briefly as a dry vac and can safely say it is the heaviest most cumbersome cleaner I have dragged behind me. If you think some of those 80's vacs like the Sensotronic were like pulling a dead weight behind you, they were a breeze compared to the Bissell.

I uploaded an unboxing video on my channel a few weeks ago and will do a full and comprehensive review soon.

 

[sensotronic]

10% off Bissell

If anyone decides to get one direct from Bissell for £129.99, put BISS10 into the promotion code box and get a further 10% off. This seems to be a permanent discount from Bissell, but they may withdraw it at any time.

 

[spiraclean]

Oops, didn't spot your video until now, nice to know I'm not the only one who took a leap of faith on this machine.

It really is an awful vacuum, isn't it? There's no way on this earth I could possibly imagine using it as a daily driver. It is sort of interesting to see the water filter in operation and gauge how it works, but I think the novelty would wear off very quickly if this was your only vacuum. The lacklustre performance just doesn't make all the effort worthwhile. Something tells me this cleaner was primarily designed to be a shampooer, and the dry vac function was tacked on as a half-hearted afterthought in order to pad out the feature list a bit. That doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I can easily see how it would be a major disappointment to someone who actually wanted or needed that function.

The carpets here are a low, flat berber, which probably accounts for why I haven't found the shampooing function tiring to use. Also, in general I prefer a scrub-wand type shampooer to an upright. Will see how I get on with my mother's deep pile carpets the next time she wants them cleaning, as they will probably prove a little more challenging. I have tried the small wash tool as well, when my cat threw up in the lounge the day after I shampooed it, and that did a great job. Hard floors I've yet to tackle; mopping is my least favourite task of all, so it will be interesting to see whether this makes the job easier or harder.

One thing I've noticed is that, even with cold solution in the tank, it still reaches the same temperature at the nozzle. Must be a pretty powerful heater in this thing. I have seen reports of Bissell heaters being somewhat prone to scaling and clogging, so that's something I will be on the lookout for. I only use Prochem solutions, and always follow up by flushing the system through with plain water after use, so fingers crossed that won't be an issue.