My second machine was the old version of this machine, which was 5 years old, and still working, but one of the kids borrowed it, and when I stressed the importance of cleaning after use, she went nuts and disassembled the thing to clean it (totally unnesessary), and it came back not working well. Obvious user problem, not the machine's fault.
So, I ordered the 9400 Select, which arrived promptly from Amazon, quickly assembled it, and went to work in the bedroom. With 3 dogs, I clean the carpet every 3 months. My dogs are potty trained, but they are dogs, after all, and unlike me they can't remove dirty shoes when they enter the house. Amazing what 12 little feet can track in to a carpet! So, between my normal use, and the dogs, I am always looking for the best machine.
I am going to post some pictures of the things mentioned, if this site allows... By the way, the room I did first and will base these comments on is a 12x15 foot bedroom, with very light colored carpeting. Some reviewers expressed frustration with the fuzzballs that can get left behind. Yes, this machine does that. It is old carpet, dog fur, and dirt. It is confined, slightly damp, and picks up easily. In this room there were maybe 12 chunks of this stuff, which were picked up as I went along. Not slimy, didn't require toweling or gloves.
Next, one reviewer said the machine leaks dirty water spots all over. Again, the machine at the end of a pull does leave some water spots. As soon as you go over the pull again, they are sucked up, leaving no spots in the wake. When I am changing the dirty water tank and refilling the bladder, I always throw a towel under the machine for the few minutes I am away. This is a water/detergent based machine; of course some excess might drip out when it is stationary. All of my machines did this, so I don't even think of it as unusual.
As for not knowing when the bladder is empty and needs refilling, I did not hear the "pop" some reviewers did, but I didn't need to stop and check the level, either. I just paid attention when pulling the trigger for the cleaning mode, and if nothing was being sucked up when trigger is released and it is in suction mode, which one can easily see through the clear design, I know there is nothing going out, and it's time to throw out the old water and refill the bladder. In this room, I take an hour or so to clean it properly. People who want a 10 minute clean are going to get exactly that. It takes months, sometimes years for carpeting to get dirty, but some folks want it to be cleaned in 10 minutes. I just don't get that. The trick is that though this is a very easy machine to use, the key is in going SLOWLY, and allowing the machine to do what it was designed to do. Get the fibers wet/soapy; then let the brushes get down deep, suck up the slop the machine cleaned, then turn the dial to rinse only (I always do this, though many don't, because in my opinion detergent residue left behind becomes a magnet of sorts for dirt once the carpet is dry). In any case, to do the job right, this room took me about an hour. Time well spent, with excellent results. Cleanup is a breeze. Take the bladder/ takeup container, empty it, then pour water through the take up holder to get any remaining dirty water out. This takes all of about 1 minute.
If my trend of getting a new cleaner about every 5 years continues, and in that time I use the machine 20 times, this is a bargain.
I am thrilled with the results this machine gives, and highly recommend it. I guess the only other issue I could address is the storage, and I do understand that it is slightly bulkier than a traditioner vaccuum cleaner, and if one doesn't have a spare closet it could be a problem. In this house, it just rests under the basement staircase, ready and waiting to be called into action again.
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I have been through the ringer with carpet cleaners and stain removers. We have a dog that vomits about once a week. Unfortunatley, he does not do this on our wood floor, which comprises most of our house, but rather he prefers to stain our carpet. I think it is the law with him.Anyways, I had no luck with the SpotBot I purchased so I was a little reluctant to try another Bissell Product. I saw the good ratings for the 9400 and figured I would give it a shot.
It seems to have everything one could need on a steam cleaner and it even includes Scotchgard Protection. I tried the Bissell on a tough stain that had set in for a couple of months. Nothing could get it out not even the Rug Doctor from the supermarket.
At first the Bissell did not totally get it out. So I tried it again with the hottest water I could get and heated the water with the built-in heater. Sure enough it got it out like a charm. I think Chem-Dry will have to find another customer now!
Steam cleaners are kind of a pain to use with all the filling of tanks and solutions and they usually soak your carpet. But I finally found something that can get up just about any stain and leave my carpet clean as a whistle. We have a winner!
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I've been wanting to steam clean our carpets in our house for a number of years now. We had them professionally cleaned before moving in (8 1/2 years ago!!). Three kids, a dog, and a cat later have reduced our carpets to what I thought, was their last legs. The carpets are probably 12 years old (they were not new when we moved in, I am guessing here).We have carpeting in our kitchen, our kitchen table rests on the carpet. You can imagine how dirty they look(ed) after years of spilled milk, cereal, wine, ketchup, etc... We had planned on ripping them up and putting in tile or Pergo in the next few years.
So this past week our dog gets sick and really puts me over the edge here. I decide to rent one of those "Rug Doctors" at the grocery store. However, I realize that it will take days for me to clean all the carpets and I really don't want to have to shuttle the Rug Doctor back and forth to the grocery store (about 15 20 mins away). On a whim, I check out the reviews on Amazon and find that the Bissell 9400 is the real deal. There is even a reviewer mentioning his sick dog.
So I decide to go with the Bissell.
It was very well packaged, little boxes for all the accessories (there are a ton of them). There is even a mesh bag full of various cleaners (wish I knew that before I bought $60 worth of cleaners!!). The Bissell goes together in about 10 minutes (including the time it took to locate my screwdriver).
I used the Bissell "Pet Strength" cleaner, taking two bottles to do two rooms (wayyy more than is required, but these were dirty carpets!!).
It is a slow process, you have to push the cleaner forward, depressing the trigger. Move slowly, then pull back with the trigger depressed. A few passes more will remove the moisture.
I didn't count the number of times I had to empty the resovoir and fill the water & cleaner. It certainly was a breeze to do.
This first pass took me some 3 hours to do, but was well worth it. I am willing to bet that this will go faster now that they have been recently cleaned!
I noticed a huge difference before they even dried!! The carpets were no longer soiled, almost all the food stains had been removed, the nap was much fluffier. I pulled out about a large handfull of cat/dog/human hair that the brushes spit up( This is normal and nothing to worry about, its much better in the trash than ground back into the carpet).
Once they dried (overnight) and after a pass with our Kirby, they looked incredible!!
My daughter walked barefoot on the cleaned carpet and on one in our family room (that is scheduled for next week). She said the clean one was a lot more cushier.
When I walk in the house now, I am greeted by a nice scent (there is a scent in the pet-strength cleaner) and a very clean-looking carpet!
I intend to clean our furniture as well as the rest of all the carpets. I'm beginning to believe that this will help with our allergies too....
If you are on the fence about this, go for it! You will not be sorry.
Oh, I mentioned above and will restate it. Do NOT use this like a vacuum cleaner, pushing and pulling at a fast clip. Go slow!! You will reap the benefits..
Update: 8 Apr 2006
Still very happy that we got this. Last weekend I completed the cleaning of all the original carpets in our home. I had to do all of our Master Bedroom in 3 passes (moved furniture around) because the pets loved to sleep under the bed, beside the dresser, etc). Before last weekend, the only "Original Carpet" uncleaned was the Master BR. The difference in smell when walking into the Bedroom was noticeable. (Before cleaning). We never noticed the pet odor because we were 'used' to it throughout the house. Once I cleaned the rest of the house, the odor in the remaining room stood out.
After cleaning the Bedroom, I've noticed a very signifigant impact (for the better) on my allergies. Cleaning the carpets under the bed where we sleep made a huge difference.
On another note, I cleaned a pet stain (from where our dog was sick) in my daughter's room. The carpet in there is only 6 months old. I couldn't believe the hair it picked up! I originally thought I could bypass all the new carpeting, but am in the process of cleaning all the new carpeting too!
OK, in case you haven't guessed it... This was by far the best $250 I've ever spent!
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I didn't think a cheap, inexpensive, household extractor would do a good job, but I was wrong. It does a great job. The spinning brissles do the trick, they really spin fast. It scrubs stains out better than a washing machine can get stains out from clothing. My friend uses this thing for house cleaning and she has been told many times that she does a better job than the carpet cleaning companies around our area. Reviewers mentioned the exhause being a design flaw because it breathes into the carpet. It is not a flaw, the warm air assists in drying the carpet. The turbo paw is fairly well built, it doesn't spin as quickly as the main brissles but it does much better than just a regular scrubber. I think peoples' expectations of the turbo paw are set high after seeing the floor extractor in action. I thinks it's great esspecially for $225. Can't top it.ONE TIP: After shampooing, you may want to go over the carpet one final time to get any excess water from the carpet, turn your heater OFF. The heater draws from the 12 amp motor which steals power from the sucking mechanism.
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I don't normally write reviews but I was compelled to say something about this one! We purchased the 9400 off of Ebay and I must say, it is absolutely amazing! I've used a few differant kinds of carpet shampooers (including a rug doctor and a few differant Hoover models) and this one just blows them all out of the water! It's bought new life to our carpets, it even got out old koolaide and grease stains out of our dining room. Our carpets look and feel brand new, and with two young kids and a dog, it's a great thing to have around. Honestly, even if you think your going to have to replace your carpets, try this out first, you might be surprized at what it can do! I'm not normally about dropping so much money on any one thing, but it's alot better than having to buy new carpeting in a few years! It's really easy to use, I LOVE the tank in tank thing b/c there's only one thing you have to take to the sink. The two rows of brushes leave your carpets freshly groomed, and can really bring all of the dog hair up and out of the floor. It does spit it out in hair balls, but it's supposed to do that so it doesn't clog up the machine. All of the tools work great except for the turbo brush, which is just kinda a joke. If you want to save some $$ though, try looking for the 9200 on Ebay and buy any extra tools you really need off of the bissell website. I was lucky enough to find the 9400 for $70, just check it out first, you never know!As for some of the problems other people have had... on ours the brushes do stop moving when it is upright so we can use the tools, but because on some other ones the brushes don't stop, be sure to check that when you get it. Also, I recomend following the directions on the review from the engineer and drill a couple of holes in the back for the exaust. We noticed that it was getting pretty hot after use, so we decided to do this and it helped increase the suction and it doesn't get hot anymore. Maybe this is why some people's machines poop out after only a few years, I imagine the motor would eventually burn out from overheating. It really is stupid that they put the exaust on the bottom of the machine, air can't really escape because it's right against the carpet. Just be carefull not to drill into something you're not supposed to!!!!! We only needed to carve out a couple holes about an inch above the existing exaust vents. I know some people have had a problem with suction, for us it exstracts about 70-80% of the dirty water, which is what is expected according to the bissell website. Also, if you have any problems, check out their troubleshooting page, there's some good suggestions on there that could really help you out or at least narrow down the problem.
Everything said here, it's worth it's weight in gold!! Even if you have some of the problems that some others have had, they are repairable and it's worth the effort to fix because it works soooo great!!! Hope this helps!
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