We have four cats, and all carpet, except in the kitchen and bathrooms. I’m getting mighty tired of dragging a commercial rental machine around the house a few times a year. We might as well buy a steam cleaner.
I’ve done some research on the web, and one that gets consistently good reviews is a Bissell 9400M ProHeat 2X. We can get one for $197 at Sam’s Club ($255 at Home Despot!). Does anyone here have this machine? I saw other reviews for machines that started to leak or fail after about eight uses, or that were all plastic and prone to breaking, so those are right out. I don’t expect to be able to get a good cleaner for any less than $200 retail, but we don’t want to go to the equivalent of Dyson territory, if we can avoid it (we already have one of those). Mainly, we want to be able to clean up the stains from cat barf, and also do a thorough house job when needed.
Can you tell me about the machine you do have, if it’s powerful, easy to use and requires little maintenance? Thanks.
I have an older-model Bissell canister steam cleaner. It’s a lot like the machines you rent at the store. We did have a problem with a plastic part getting broken - we moved and it happened sometime during the move - but getting a new one was cheap and easy. It’s kind of a pain in the butt to get set up, but no more so than the rental machines. I’ve been satisfied with the job it does, too, though if I’ve got a coupon I’ll still get Chem-Dry to come do it because basically … I’m lazy.
We’ve been happy with the Hoover Steamvac Silver we got at Wal-Mart for under $200 a few years ago. Online searches failed to turn up the specific model we have so it may be out of date. Anyway, after renting one several times we went ahead and bought one and it’s been okay. The water and detergent containers need frequent refilling/emptying and some stains need several repeats to get up, but that was true with the rental unit as well.
It works well in picking up spills or overflows when cleaning isn’t the main concern. Beats sopping stuff up with towels and such.
We have a Bissel Pro Heat Steam cleaner and I really like it. It doesn’t hold a ton of water but it keeps the nasty water away from the clean water and it has tools on board. I think it does a good job! Good luck finding one that fits your need.
They all seem to be about equally decent and equally fragile. If you want something with the durability of a commercial machine, you’ll have to pay a lot more.
We’ve got one of the Hoover SpinScrub Twin-V, heated water, etc. machines and it’s served us well. During the rainy seaon, our frisky dog ensures we use the thing fairly often to clean up muddy paw prints.
Think we’ve had it for three years now, and did have to replace two plastic bits when it got rather forcefully knocked over onto a concrete floor a couple of months ago - one of the cord winder cleats and the handle for the dirty water collection tank broke. The parts were easy to find online, and they were cheap - something like $15 with shipping.
Thanks for the responses so far. I guess, as with anything, you get what you pay for. Right now, the Bissell ProHeat is looking like a contender. If anyone else has anything to add, please do!
We have one too. I love it, except for the on-board tools. I don’t use them, so for me, they just get in the way and add to the weight of the handle. As near as I can tell, the hose can’t be removed, darn it.
What I need is a good vacuum cleaner. I vacuum before steam cleaning, but still, every three-foot pass with the Bissel brings up a wad of pet hair that I have to pick up and toss.
Ohh I hate the wet hairballs! :mad: They are such a pain! I really want the Bissel clean home vacuum? My puter is pissing me off and I can’t google the vacuum. I open a new tab and it won’t work. I’ll try again. We have the Hoover EM power vac and that is an ok vacuum but I’d like a better one since our 8 yr old has asthma and we have a “Zoo” here full of animals. I will see of i can find the right name for the vac.
