Excellent professional carpet cleaners will easily cost over $350. Some brands like the Rug Doctor cost $400!
Hiring a professional would set you back a few hundred bucks. And over a few years, the cost will add up to the thousands.
One option that you should look closely at if you don’t want to spend over $350 or regularly spend on a professional who does it for you would be the Bissell Big Green.
A Professional Grade Carpet Cleaner That’s Cheaper Than a Rug Doctor
Bissell Big Green Review
The Big Green is Bissell’s flagship pro carpet cleaner that is one of the most expensive alternatives right now. It’s a cheaper alternative to the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro. And a step down from a fully pledge commercial carpet cleaner that frankly you don’t need if you don’t clean carpets for a living. This machine can remove tough stains on all sorts of carpets from a thin pile to plush. I reckon that it’s a better option than rentals that will cost more over time.
A quick look at the features
- Has an extra-large “DirtLifter PowerBrush” that is a supersized roller brush with stiff bristles capable of digging deep into carpet and cleaning tough stains
- Cleans on both forward and backward passes – something not available in other variants or brands
- The powerful 12-amp motor will provide heavy-duty suction
- Also comes with a 6-inch wide spot cleaning tool and a 9-foot hose for cleaning upholstery or stairs
- If you buy this from Amazon, it’ll come with a trial-size Bissell professional carpet cleaning formula
- 5″ cleaning path
- Two large water tanks with a capacity of 1.75 gallons
- 25-foot power cord
- 5-year warranty
Pros
- Cheaper than a Rug Doctor Mighty Pro
- Excellent cleaning performance on carpet and upholstery
- Both clean and dirty water tanks are easy to remove and fill
- Long warranty
- The ability to clean back and forth saves time
Cons
- Still an expensive cleaner
- Very heavy and noisy
What to expect from the Bissell Big Green?
One look at the roller brush, and you’ll know that the Bissell Big Green means business. This machine is capable of cleaning tough stains. And it has several advantages over the more expensive Rug Doctor.
First, you’ll need to watch this video to see the different features of this machine.
Bissell is meticulous when designing the Big Green.
Every aspect of this machine is designed to deep clean carpet. You’ll see in the video above that the roller brush is huge with stiff bristles. Bissell calls this the “Extra-Large DirtLifter PowerBrush.”
The thick brush has more mass that’ll provide better agitation and pick up tough stains better.
Spring-loaded nozzle
In front of it is a spring-loaded nozzle that sucks up excess water and cleaning solution.
This feature allows this machine to clean different pile carpet and improves the machine’s ability to remove excess water and improve drying times.
Forward and backward pass cleaning.
One thing that separates this from the Rug Doctor would be its ability to clean in both forward and backward passes.
Why is it an important feature?
It’s simple; having this feature will save you time because the machine will have agitation on both passes.
You’ll finish the job in half the time a machine with only a backward pass cleaning.
Separate clean and dirty water tanks
Another feature I like would be the two water tank system that Bissell uses that separates clean and dirty water. You can remove both water tanks from the body, which is a huge plus since it makes it easy to empty and clean.
It is different from the Rug Doctor’s design, where the dirty water tank part of the frame.
So you’ll have to tip the whole thing over to empty it.
Both tanks can hold approximately up to a gallon of water. It sounds a lot, but if you’re cleaning a large home with a filthy carpet, you’ll have to empty it often.
Above the carpet cleaning
The Bissell Big Green is also capable of cleaning upholstery thanks to the 6-inch spot cleaning tool and 9-foot hose.
This is longer than the Bissell ProHeat 2x and Rug Doctor Carpet Cleaner.
The 9-foot hose offers a lot of reach in terms of cleaning stairs.
Warranty
Bissell backs this up with a 5-year warranty.
Cleaning performance
To show you how this machine performs, please watch the video below.
It took quite a few passes to clean that small area, but you can see the difference – it’s night and day!
One gripe I have would be the lack of edge cleaning. You can see that the edges still had stains.
But this is a concern for nearly all carpet cleaning machines. You can use the handheld tool to clean areas not reachable by the main cleaning head.
The benefit of the back and forth cleaning is seen in the video above. It does the job faster.
Here’s another demo on a filthy carpet. If you look closely, the carpet in the video hasn’t been cleaned for months.
You’ll also see the cleaning solution used in the latter part of the video (hint: it includes Borax!)
I have no words for the results. This video proves that the Bissell Big Green does perform even on the hardest to clean stains. Make sure to use hot tap water to get the best results.
Speaking of results, here’s a screenshot of it.
If a picture can paint a thousand words, this screenshot says it all. The stains you see here isn’t fresh; it’s all dried up and caked.
Product specifications
| Model | Bissell Big Green |
| Power | 12 amps |
| Cleaning path | 10.5" |
| Cord length | 25 feet |
| Hose length | 9 feet |
| Water tank | 1.75 gal |
| Weight | 40.6 lbs. |
| Specialty tools | 6" Stain Tool |
| Warranty | 5 years |
What do consumers say?
With over 3,000 reviews, this carpet cleaner is a popular option, at least in Amazon. And even with that high number of consumers leaving feedback, it still got high ratings.
If you read at the reviews carefully, most consumers say this machine cleans well. In most reports, you’ll see that this machine can clean carpets. And a lot of them shared their photos on how well this machine washed. The broad roller brush does the job quite well, and it is efficient.
Pet owners were among the happy customers. They said that this machine could pick up urine and other nasty pet stuff.
Not only is the agitation great, but the suction is also outstanding and will pick up most of the water/cleaner residue that’ll dry in less than 3 hours.
Even if it looks enormous on paper, it isn’t that big, especially with the foldable handle. This machine is heavy at 40.6 pounds, so lugging this up and down stairs can be a pain on the back.
One potential issue that’s common among negative reviews would be the leaking issue. Several consumers said while this machine did well, the plastic indicator springs will eventually leak water. So you may want to buy a few extra.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy the Bissell Big Green from Amazon, and it is eligible for the 2-day free shipping if you join Prime. Amazon also sells extended warranties of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
Take note that there are four different options available for the Big Green. Cheapest would be buying only the machine with the sample Bissell cleaning solution. But if you have pets, consider getting the option with a pet stain remover.
To wrap up
In terms of performance, there’s no question that the Bissell Big Green will do the job. If you want to clean your carpet without hiring a professional, this is one of the best options available at a price that will not necessarily break the bank.
Three hundred twenty bucks may sound a lot for some. But you’ll be getting an efficient carpet cleaner that’ll deep clean the toughest stains with the right cleaning agent.
There are some quality issues with the plastic indicator springs, but most reviews say this is a great product that cleans.
