Carpet Cleaning

Mixed Opinion - Bissell 1698-1 PowerSteamer ProHeat Plus Upright Vacuum

This works GREAT!! - Bissell 1698-1 PowerSteamer ProHeat Plus Upright Vacuum I just purchased my Bissell Powersteamer ProHeat Plus (model 1698-1)last night. My main source of information was...

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After reading a number of reviews, I decided that the Bissell Powersteamer ProHeat Plus was a pretty good deal and when I bought one through our local buyers club at a $50 savings, I was convinced I had made a wise decision. Well, after actually using this thing, I have mixed opinions. There are so many design flaws that it’s my blood pressure goes up just thinking about it. If I’d been smart, I would have taken one apart as a prerequisite to purchase. On the positive side, it cleans almost as well as the ones you rent and if it lasts long enough to clean all of my carpets six times, it will break-even on operating cost. I’ve cleaned all of my carpets twice, though, and I doubt that it will make it to six, or even four.

Pump belt:

This thing broke (actually burned in two) the first day I owned it because some carpet fuzz (more on this in a moment) became entangled with the pump motor. After the smoke cleared away, but before the lingering smell of burning tires dissipated, I had managed to read the instructions, replace the belt with the spare provided, “manually” clean the burnt rubber stain from the carpet (it was too much for the Bissell), and resume where I left off one-hour earlier.

Rotating scrub brush:

Actually, this brush is fairly lightweight and rests on the surface of the carpet. It doesn’t seem to contribute much to the cleaning process, but it does manage to remove a lot of carpet fiber…a LOT of carpet fiber. You see, it spins too fast and since it spins on a horizontal axis, so it only cleans one side of the fiber that it doesn’t rip from your wet carpet. So, it would be advisable to actually move the cleaner in several directions to get any benefit from the scrub brush. Another problem with the scrub brush is that it doesn’t stop turning when you switch the dial from floors to attachments. That means that while you are using the attachments, this rotating brush is digging a hole in your carpet! I had to place a short piece of 2X4 lumber (not provided) under the floor vacuum to prevent this from happening. Of course, you need to make sure that the 2X4 blocks the suction of the floor nozzle to prevent losing suction from the attachments because the “valve” that allows you to select between floor and attachments doesn’t seal very well (probably because it, too, is full of carpet fuzz).

Pro Heat:

Pro Heat what? I have yet to see any indication that this thing is actually heating anything. At moderate risk to my own safety, I placed my hand in the path of the spray under the cleaner and noticed a “slightly warm” cleaning solution and it doesn’t improve when you mix with water or use water alone (these are the three settings available). Most people don’t realize that the heat capacity of water is so high, that it takes quite a bit of energy to bring about a modest increase in water temperature. Since you have to put hot water in this thing anyway and the water is used so quickly, what’s the point?

Suction:

This unit appears to retrieve roughly half of the water that it deposits on the carpet. I might be able to do slightly better by going much slower ( I spend about 3-5 minutes per yard of carpet just vacuuming). It might have better suction if it didn’t create so much carpet fuzz. The vacuum can’t handle the fuzz, so it gets stuck under the clear plastic panel over the vacuum channel and around the spindle on the water pump, and a lot of it ends up wrapped around the brush. Fortunately, most of the fuzz just comes out from underneath the machine where it can later be retrieved by a “real” vacuum cleaner. A shop vac would be a lot better because it actually picks up water. And even if a shop vac DID create fuzz, it would at least pick it up!

Power cord vs Vacuum hose:

Didn’t anyone at Bissell try to use this thing before they started manufacturing them? Clearly this was designed by marketing and no engineers were involved. There is a nifty swiveling wire-way that allows easy removal of the power cord and secure replacement when you’re done. But, it’s in the middle of the vacuum hose coil, so once the power cord is deployed, the vacuum hose must be unwrapped AROUND the power cord……how’s that for inconvenience?

Attachments:

One of the attachments resembles a conventional upholstery tool. It’s about three inches wide with a fixed brush on the bottom and a button on top to dispense the water/cleaning fluid. This works well because you can move the tool in a circular fashion and tilt it up to remove most of the water. The motorized version of this tool is a dud. Again, the brush rotates uselessly (and this time, too slowly) along a horizontal axis. The brush rotates because much of the vacuum power that would otherwise be used to pick up water is wasted turning the stupid brush. On the positive side, it has a clear housing a colored wheels inside to appeal to the mentally challenged (marketing people?).

Dribble:

Once you stop the vacuum, it’s advisable to place something under it to prevent water from dribbling back onto the carpet. I don’t know exactly where this small amount of water comes from, but it usually needs to be picked up with a towel to avoid, yet another stain on the carpet.

Summary:

The Bissell Powersteamer ProHeat Plus clearly can’t compete with a professional carpet cleaning, nor can it compete with a spray bottle, brush, and a shop-vac. It does remove a good bit of dirt from the carpet and provides a satisfying result IF you can afford to have someone else use it for you. If you currently own more than three abdominal exercise machines or recently won one of those “survival” shows on TV, then this is your machine!

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Bissell Pro Heat - Bissell 1698-1 PowerSteamer ProHeat Plus Upright Vacuum

A Great Steamer for the money - Bissell 1698-1 PowerSteamer ProHeat Plus Upright Vacuum

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