Well our 2 older cats (Lucy & Ethel) don't get sick often at all. For that I am grateful since I (the husband) am retired, and stuck to face whatever disaster comes while the wife is at work. But I am squeamish when it even comes to scooping their "you know what" when it is time and actually wear a gas mask if forced to do that job. I may be a USMC Combat Veteran, but I draw the line at liter boxes & Diapers! I may be brave, but I AIN'T no HERO!
My wife just bought an upright steam cleaner from Eureka since all our carpet is now about 20 years old. It was expensive carpet and we have no kids so it has worn extremely well but is still getting tired. And since I retired I keep getting into trouble for bringing in grease or oil stains after working on our motorcycles or motor scooters. No matter what I do, I am always getting into trouble one way or the other. It's kind of like I am a 62 year old Dennis The Menace according to the wife? Well her big & expensive steam cleaner is more trouble than I will EVER go to to use and when she is done with it we sometimes have a "fair" measure of success, most often not and it even seems to expand whatever the stain by spreading it around. NOT good and once that happens, nothing we try helps.
For the record, we used to just use Resolve or other similar cleaning chemicals & do the best we could by hand. At least this way we never, EVER made the stains worse. When I saw this to try on the Amazon Vine Program I knew it would just be another gadget that would stink, leak and aggravate me more than the LAST gimmick I tried....Before I get into my trial of this machine, here are a couple things you may or may not already know. It has 5 different buttons.
- 1 for Fresh Surface Stains.
- 1 for Set IN OLDER Stains.
- 1 for Pause & Resume
- 1 for Hose Attachment
- 1 for "STOP"
You choose whichever chemical you desire and add water also. Press the button for whatever type stain you have after placing the cleaner over your stain. The computer on-board will do the rest! 2 different brushes move in a weird way I can only describe as a motion similar to the motion of a car motor with a rotary engine. It's actually kind of hypnotic to watch but I was afraid to just LEAVE IT since the wife's steam cleaner can cause so much damage...I also have to admit this is designed for smaller "spot" type stains, NOT cleaning an entire carpet so just understand while it may work well for your different type stains, NOT just pet stains, it is for localized areas, not large sections of carpet. I also have to admit that since I don't have any pet stains but had 8 grease stains, that is what I tried this on. And it was so simple I didn't wait for my wife to get home and tell me I am "doing it wrong!) as usual either. I had 6 of the stains that were very OLD stains. I mean over 10 years old. The other 2 fresher (maybe a month old) from the latest motorcycle servicing....
This little unit actually worked. I mean it got out ALL of the stains, all 8. I have no idea how? More important, how it does so much better than a high priced steam cleaner. Maybe it it the chemicals used (provided with this unit)? Maybe the design of the brushes, or probably the combination? I don't know, I don't care. I used the "tough stain' setting which took 6 minutes to cycle through. (Easier "surface stains" only require a 3 minute cycle to clean.) I also used the hand manual cleaner to soak up some more of the wetness left after it finished. How can I NOT give this 5 stars? I never ever do until I have owned it over a year to verify it's durability. But this surpassed our other efforts by SO much I am beginning with a full 5 stars this time. If anything changes, I always update and will do so again with this & lower my rating if needed. But given the amazing job this did on such a wide variety of stains (old & new alike), I doubt this 5 stars will ever get downgraded? Short of blowing up, or leaking & stinking like all before it, it will deserve every bit of my 5 star rating.
A couple of thing maybe worth adding?
-It has a 7 Inch brush area
-Has a NICE 16 foot cord!
-Tank holds 32 ounces
-LOVE that it has a carry handle
-Includes BOTH the Oxy Gen 2 cleaner (16 ounces) AND 2X Ultra Pet Stain & Oder Chemical (8 ounces) TRIAL sizes however!
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1st Update:
-Oh SHOCK! My wife is home and pointed out 2 more stains I missed. She says I "never see them, never will" whatever that means? Worked again on both and these are about 4-6 weeks old per my mean old wife....And I need to also point out a very important item. Even on these stains we could never get out using ANYTHING we ever tried? ALL we used was the single chemical provided called "2X Pet Stain"! Now I did set the computer at the full "SET IN OLDER STAINS" Program but never even added any of the so called Oxy Gen 2 cleaner they ask you to use for that setting. Never even needed it. This machine just keeps surprising me to no end. The cats sneak up on it to attack when it goes into it's quiet mode. But when that mode changes and the vacuum parts comes on? They are 2 20 pounds (EACH) old lady cats on a new quest to break the sound barrier in their retreat! Fun for the whole family.....
UPDATE Much later on December 17 2011: OK, still working like a charm. I just spilled 4 beers I had just opened and not yet touched (Please, just don't even ASK!) and knocked them all over when moving a pile of Amazon deliveries that just arrived. Spilled full 48 ounces of beer on an expensive carpet under the bar table (pub table actually). Thank God my 2 cats Lucy & Ethel LOVE beer.... They both came running from their afternoon coma's and dove in to help. I guess they just don't know if there will be a new treat of new disaster to enjoy when I scramble to save myself. So I dig this thing out and here we are, so much later and it still works 100% as well as always. Just need to tell you this little jewel is STILL as reliable at cleaning up as I am at making a mess. If you don't hear from me till next year it's probably ciz the old woman locked me in the garage again......
UPDATE, March 23 2012: Well the plot thickens. I took up home brewing with 2 new Coopers DIY 6 gallons (each) home beer brewing kits. Now i know what you must be thinking....OK, you're right. But stuff just happens I tell ya. I mean, with all the work & transfer of fluids going on it is simply flat impossible to not spill. And I have to keep it all inside due to temperature control. Anyway, this little Bissell Spotbot may just end up in Court. No, not what you thing this time. THIS time my wife is considering legal adoption of the thing. I know it doesn't get used every single day. Well MOST days anyway. But it does get used every week. And I have to say the old wife would never even know anything has gone wrong if it weren't for the 2 cats ( Lucy & Ethel) who ALWAYS lead her to whatever spot I have cleaned and flat out rat me out. The fat lazy cats won't even get up to play in their old age but they damned well LOVE to watch fireworks when they show go sniffing around whatever it is I have cleaned and then act all "innocent". Bottom line is this thing may outlive me? And according to my wife, it better....
UPDATE Jan 7 2013:
Well this is STILL used weekly and not a single failure. Now I fail daily, my 2 cats Lucy & Ethel are old and ALSO fail daily (but the mean old wife never beats them like she does me!), and this device has saved me from continual mayhem by the wife. I am so grateful to this device. I figure I must feel the same level of gratitude that some husbands must feel when they need Viagra at this point?