Bissell’s Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine, Rental Review

I have the crummiest timing. I picked a really lousy time to rent a carpet cleaning machine.  The entire family had been sick all week, so it kept getting put off until I finally absolutely had to rent Bissell’s Big Green Deep Cleaning machine so I could produce a review, and get the awesome accompanying $100 RONA gift card giveaway posted.

Once I made it out to the store I had a great experience renting the machine, as I already recapped in the first half of my review. Not only did the RONA clerk walk me through how to use the machine step by step, but she also sent me home with a brochure (and the Big Green machine has labels all over it showing you how to use it as well. It is really quite idiot proof).  Taking a look through the brochure I was disappointed to notice that I should thoroughly vacuum all the carpets before using the Big Green Deep Cleaning machine.  Makes sense, but it hadn’t occurred to me ahead of time.  I immediately called my mom and asked to borrow her vacuum. She offered to drop it off on her way home from work, the next day. So there was day one of the rental wasted.

The next day my mom dropped off the vacuum right on schedule. Then about 10 minutes later Rocket fell and split her lip open. We spent the rest of the night in the emergency room getting her stitched up and got to bed ridiculously late. So there was day two of the rental wasted.

The next day my husband and I took turns swapping off between who got to nap and who got to watch the babe to make sure she didn’t tear out her stitches. I figured once I got everyone down to sleep I would have a go with the Big Green machine. However, Rocket had other plans in store. She picked at her stitches during naptime, and in a panic we headed back to the E.R. This time we were there for under two hours, but it was still enough to throw off dinner and bedtime. So there was day three of the rental wasted.

The next day was the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend. The day was taken up with family dinners and all that good stuff. I managed to vacuum and prep the room that I wanted to clean, but that’s as far as I got. I called the RONA hoping to heck that they were closed for the holiday, which would give me a days grace, but no such luck. So there was day four of the rental wasted.

All this time this $29.99 a day machine has been sitting in my basement doing nothing, and I was feeling incredibly guilty about it. Bissell had provided me with a RONA gift card to cover three days worth of rental, but I ended up renting the machine for five days and paying out of my pocket.  This was just bad timing and sheer stupidity on my part. There is absolutely no reason you should need to rent the Big Green Deep Cleaning machine for more than two days, three tops.

The next day was the holiday Monday and I was determined to use the darn machine No Matter What. I sequestered myself in the basement and got to work. We have a small carpeted area in the basement, where our TV and couch sit. The poor carpet in that area is much used and abused.  We had water damage in the basement a few years back and at the time we rented an industrial strength fan and dehumidifier to dry everything out, but the carpets had never been properly cleaned. Being in front of the TV it’s also an area where a fair amount of snacking takes place. Finally, I don’t much like admitting this, but I know the darn cat has peed on this rug. It stinks down there. It smells like cat pee and something else, a musty maybe mould smell. I decided I would be happy if I managed to tackle the carpet and the couch (also home to cat pee, and yes I want to wring the darn animal’s neck thank you very much).

First to set up the Big Green Carpet Cleaning machine.  In my original review I mentioned the Bissell cleaning solution runs $22.99, that is for a 32oz bottle.  The directions call for two capfuls of solution to each tank of water. However, I first thought they meant the cap on the bottle the solution comes in. Not so. The cap in question is the big cap on the water tank. So you will be going through that bottle of cleaner a little quicker than I originally claimed.

Bissell had provided me with a couple different products to try out. I decided to use the Advanced Formula first. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t mind the smell!  I had expected the smell of the cleaning solution to turn my stomach, as most cleaning products do. But actually Bissell’s Advanced Carpet Cleaning Formula didn’t smell bad at all. It was a sort of organic smell, like something citrus or some sort of flower, but not synthetic or cloying.

I tried using my bathroom sink to fill the tank, which I found to be not the best idea, as angling the large tank into the small sink was awkward at best.  The tank was also pretty heavy once full. So after the first tank what I did was, I added the solution to the tank and just left it attached to the Big Green Machine. I then used a plastic pitcher to cart the water to the tank. Four or five trips did the trick.

This is the space I was concentrating on:

On one tank I was able to do 99% of my 5.5ft by 9ft space. I really wanted to give this carpet a thorough cleaning so I went over it four times, aka four tanks worth.  The instructions basically directed you to make two wet passes and then to run dry passes until it stopped sucking water. I felt that for it to really work you need to move at a snails pace. Easy, but tedious. Overall I spent about 4 hours on this tiny space. I do wonder if  I was being too cautious, and you’re supposed to move along more briskly?

I was absolutely shocked by how much dirt the machine removed. This is what the first tank of dirty water looked like:

The machine is heavy but it rolls with ease. It does require a bit of space to turn. It also works best when you can be directly behind the handle pulling and pushing the machine. I tried pushing it while walking alongside it with mixed results.

The directions said to continue making wet passes until the water you were sucking up didn’t look dirty.  I did the entire room slowly and thoroughly four times.  The fourth tank of water was still filthy.  I called it quits when it was time to make dinner and put the kids to bed. I wonder if I shouldn’t have continued and done another go or two?

The dirty tank was easy to empty out, and easy to rinse clean. I also noticed that the tank was made from an antibacterial plastic, which I thought was a nice touch.

Tank number four, the water is not really noticeably cleaner compared to the first go.  Again, it’s disturbing just how much accumulated filth the Big Green Deep cleaning machine was able to remove.

My rug looked beautiful when I was done. It was visibly cleaner. The carpet dried quickly, and there was a noticeable improvement in the smell in the basement. For the fourth and final tank I switched over to the Allergen Formula. I didn’t like the scent of this one nearly as much. I also think combining the two products was a bad idea, smell wise. Personally I still thought the basement smelled way better overall when I was done, but my husband felt otherwise as he didn’t like the lingering aroma of cleaning products.

When I swapped formulas I think I had enough left in the first bottle for one or two more tanks, which means you should be able to get about five tanks worth of water from one 32oz bottle.  I had wanted to save some of the Advanced Formula for tackling the sectional, which is why I swapped bottles. In the end all I managed to get done was the basement carpet. I debated keeping the machine longer to do more, but decided to rent it again once everyone was feeling better.

Time to take this baby back. While returning the Big Green machine I noticed something I had missed when taking it home. The tall handle folds up against the machine, making it pretty compact for fitting in your trunk.

Overall I was really impressed with Bissell’s Big Green Deep Cleaning machine. I would definitely recommend it to others. I want to rent it again. I want to do my stairways.  I want to do the couch. I want to do my daughters bedroom.

I would recommend prepping everything prior to renting the machine. Pre-vacuum the rooms you intend to clean. Move the furniture out of the way. If you have absolutely everything ready to go, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to do multiple rooms in one day. Making the cost of $29.99 pretty darn reasonable.

I can attest to the fact that Bissell’s Big Green carpet cleaning machine blew away the wet/dry vac I’ve borrowed from my mom in the past. I haven’t used any other rental carpet cleaning machines, so I’m not sure how they stack up.  Have any of you rented one of Bissell’s Big Green Deep Cleaning machines?  What did you think of it?

You can find Part 1 of my Bissell Big Green Deep Cleaning machine review HERE. Bissell’s Big Green carpet cleaning machine is available for rent at select RONA stores. Take a look at the online Bissell Rental Locator to find a nearby participating RONA location.

Disclosure: Bissell provided me with a Rona gift card and some free cleaning solution so I could test out their Big Green deep cleaning machine. As always, the opinions stated are my own and were not influenced by the free product received.