How clean are your carpets? Yes, you vacuum several times per week, but you will be surprised to know that a layer of dirt and grime is built up in the carpet that your vacuum has no hope of cleaning. There is a reason that steam cleaning companies exist.
This isn’t to say that you need to hire one. You can use a Bissell carpet cleaner to get the job done yourself.
Bissell carpet cleaners are designed to help you keep your carpets clean and free of dirt, stains, and odours. You can use your Bissell cleaner to achieve the best results with the proper techniques and products.
In this article, I will review the steps to use your Bissell effectively, so you never have to call a pro again.
How Bissell carpet cleaners work
Bissell carpet cleaners are the ultimate solution to removing dirt and stains from your carpets. They use a 3-step process – hot water, cleaning solution, and vacuum suction – to deep clean your carpets as no vacuum could ever dream of.
The machine first sprays hot water and cleaning solution mixture onto the carpet fibres, breaking up even the toughest dirt and stains. Then, the powerful scrubbing brushes agitate the solution, lifting all the dirt and grime from the lower depths of the carpet to the surface.
Finally, the suction power removes all the dirty water, leaving your carpets refreshed and looking brand new. There are various models, but regardless of which one you have, it will work this way.
How to use Bissell carpet cleaners
The process is quite simple, but you do have to keep some best practices in mind to get the most out of your Bissell. Read on for the step-by-step guide.
1 – Do a pretreatment
Stubborn stains rooted deep in the carpet need a head start to get clean truly. Going around the rug, you wish to clean and spray stains with a cleaning formula that will penetrate the carpet’s fibres and break up the stain is a good idea.
Doing this around 20 minutes before you use the Bissell would be best, so it has time to work it into the carpet.
It’s also a good idea to do a dry pass with a vacuum to pick up some of the larger debris. Move some furniture around to reach areas to access the entire carpet.
2 – Fill the tank
Once the carpet is ready, and the pretreatment has had time to work, it is time to fill the water tank of your Bissell. Fill the tank with hot water (not boiling, though!) and add the recommended cleaning solution according to the instructions in your user manual. Make sure the water tank is closed tightly before using the cleaner.
3 – Use the proper motion
Using carpet cleaners properly will ensure that you get deep into the layers where things like pet dander are hiding. The key is to use the proper motions.
First, you need to move forward over the carpet to be cleaned while pressing the carpet cleaner trigger, which sprays the water and cleaning formula. At the same time, the powerful scrubbing brushes kick up debris to be sucked away.
Once you have gone up one pass, it’s time to suck up the dirty water soaking the carpet. With a steady motion, reverse the Bissell over the same area you just went over so the suction can pull up most of the water. It will still be damp to the touch, but that is normal.
4 – Empty the tank
As you clean, the dirty water tank will fill up. When it is complete, stop the cleaner and empty the tank. Rinse the carpet cleaner tank out with hot water and refill it with fresh water and a cleaning solution for the next pass over the areas that still need to be cleaned.
Once you have done the entire carpet, you should clean the machine by emptying and rinsing the clean water tank and the dirty one and allowing them to dry.
Try to remove dirt or grime from the brushes before putting the machine away.
5 – Dry the carpets
Carpet cleaners do an excellent job of sucking up the bulk of the dirty water, but it will still be damp. If you want your carpet to dry quickly so you can use the room again as soon as possible, you can open the windows to allow fresh air in. Turn on a box fan and place it on the floor beside the carpet.
Ensure it gets a lot of ventilation, so if you have a few fans, use them all to help the water evaporate. It can take a few hours before the carpet is fully dry.
Final thoughts
Carpet cleaning can be fun when you use carpet cleaners. If you use it regularly, it can be straightforward, as well, since your carpet will be much cleaner. If you do this, you can keep your carpets fresh and clean even if you have kids and pets trying to keep them dirty!
