Carpet cleaners traditionally have come in two forms; the first is the humble bottle filled with a solution that requires enough hand scrubbing to give you tennis elbow. The second is one of those massive upright carpet cleaners that take up more space than a vacuumcleaner and cost a small fortune. Spot Cleaners exist to fill the gap between these two products, portable and affordable but with effortless stain extraction.
The SpotClean Pet Pro sits at the top BISSELL’s spot cleaner line-up. This model distinguishes itself with an included stain remover attachment, a smaller brush head and an exclusive purple finish. The £179 RRP places it right at the top of the spot cleaner market, meaning it needs to offer outstanding performance in order to cut it against options from the likes of Vax and Rug Doctor.
Bulky BISSELL
Any spot cleaner worth its salt needs to be small enough to be portable. These devices should be capable of cleaning stairs, sofas and car interiors, meaning they should be light and easy to manoeuvre.
At first glance, the BISSELL looks comically oversized for handheld use. It measures in at a chunky 25 x 36 x 35.6 cm and the rounded shape doesn't make it look any smaller. It also weighs in at a hefty 5.8kg, and that’s before you add any liquid to it. Both of these figures don’t bode well for a truly portable machine.
Lugging it by the carry handle proves that despite the small intentions, the BISSELL is best suited as a semi-portable appliance, like a little pressure washer. With the device placed down and only moved when necessary, only then does it begin to make sense as a design.
For a start, every single part you can touch feels robust and sturdy. Then there are the specifications that are downright impressive and wouldn’t be out of place in a far larger carpet cleaner. Like the regular SpotClean Pro it features a 750W motor, 1.5-metre hose, 6.5-metre cable and a huge 2.2-litre water collection tank. All very impressive numbers for a device of this size.
Perhaps the best feature of any carpet cleaner is the secure locking mechanism that ensures you won’t accidentally tip murky water all over yourself. The dirty water tank handle prevents the tank from opening until it's fully lifted, something you can’t do accidentally.
A factory reset
The difference between a spot cleaner and a vacuum is that a spot cleaner is designed to undo years of embedded grime while a vacuum will largely target loose crumbs and debris. A spot cleaner should be able to restore lost pile, abolish odours and remove stains you didn't even know existed.
The perfect testing ground for the BISSELL then was an armrest that had been subjected to hands and a dog. It was visibly dirty and no amount of stain remover and scrubbing could make a dent in the marking. With a liberal amount of the included cleaning solution sprayed onto the armrest, the BISSELL was quickly able to lift away the grease and grime.
The shampoo trigger was rather stiff and holding it down for an extended period of time did lead to a sore trigger finger. But when the results look so good, you won't mind this. With a couple of sessions complete, the BISSELL delivered cleaning that helped make the chair look better than new. Best of all, there was no damage to the rather fragile fabric, good news for anyone with older upholstery that needs cleaning.
The included Stain Trapper attachment was a clever gadget designed for use on particularly harsh, baked-in stains (often left by pets). It worked by pulling the stain out of the carpet into a smaller tank for easier, more controlled cleaning. This was used on a white rug that had been befouled by a dog and with a single pass removed any evidence.
Any downsides?
The biggest problem with the BISSELL is its overall size. While it is truly commendable how BISSELL have packaged so much power and capacity into the device, the weight and size mean it would be better suited to a small set of trundle wheels and a telescopic handle. It's not the best option if you don't have much upper-body strength and the dimensions will make storage difficult in smaller homes. You'll need big arms and a big house will make the most of the BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro.
Price and competition
This is the most expensive spot cleaner BISSELL offers which means it has to compete with cheaper versions of itself alongside the best offerings from its key competitor, Vax. The SpotClean Pet Pro shares the same basic design and internals with the SpotClean Pro, with the only exclusive being the purple finish. The Stain Trapper can be purchased separately and will work perfectly fine with the SpotClean. As such, whether you settle on the Pet Pro depends on your opinion of purple.
It's when the completion gets introduced that things start to get interesting. Vax offer a range of excellent spot cleaners that are brilliant cleaners and cost a decent amount less. While the BISSELL option is better quality, a Vax SpotWash isn't far behind and costs a lot less.
Verdict
There's no doubt that the BISSELL is an impressive way to clean fabric surfaces that a regular carpet cleaner wouldn't be able to tackle. It's supremely powerful and capable of restoring absolutely filthy fabrics to look like new in just a couple of minutes. If it wasn't so bulky and weighed a little less it would be almost flawless, but as it stands it is portable enough for most tasks and the device does make full use of its size. If you're a pet owner or simply need to take your carpet care to the next level, the BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro is certainly worth considering.
Pros:
• Ergonomic design
• Excellent stain-removing abilities
Cons:
• A touch expensive
• Big
Specifications:
Dimensions 25 x 36 x 35.6 cm
Water tank capacity 2.8 litres
Motor 750W
Hose length 1.5 metres
Cord length 6.5 metres
Weight 5.8kg
More items to consider
How the product was tested
The BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro was used on a variety of upholstered surfaces around the home of a pet owner, including a rug, staircase and armchair. It was also used to clean a selection of car interiors to examine just how portable and easy to use it was.
Ryan Gilmore is a contributor to What's The Best. He also writes for CAR and Parkers.
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