Steam Cleaners

We bought it online - pretty sure it was either Amazon or Very - or you can buy direct from Bissell via their website.

The Bissell is a wee bit fussy about being clean - if its not kept clean, it will stop putting water down (the water jet holes are really quite small), BUT that particular one is dead easy to clean; there is only one tank which has a bladder in it - the bladder holds the clean water, and as the dirty water comes back in it goes into the tank around the outside of the bladder; the top lifts right off that, so you can wash it all out easily, and the main filter sits just in the top.

To cap it off, there is a top cover over the dual beater bars which pops off with a twist of a couple of wee thumb screw things, which then lets you get all around the beater bars to clean them; oh, and those wee water jets.... they live in that removable top cover that you can just take to the sink and wash it out.

The upholstery hose is permanently attached, so no faffing about trying to store it and it is ready when you want.

Two negatives - you have to be a bit careful when you stow the upholstery hose back onto the machine, as it is easy to press the trigger and squirt your face , and there is a second rotary brush supplied that attaches to the upholstery hose which I have found to be pretty useless.

All in all, it is a cracker of a machine that we have used HARD in here (champagne carpets!), and it is far, far superior to the Vax offering.

Oh, and don't go buying the Vax/Bissell branded shampoo as it costs a bomb - you can get Mylek shampoo in 5 litre bottles that works out much, much cheaper and works just as well (if not better).

 

Aye, they are not cheap - sadly, I think these sort of machines are very much a case of getting what you pay for though.

It can be worth keeping an eye on Bissell's website, as occasionally you will find them selling factory refurbished machines - sadly, the number of them available has decreased dramatically over the past few years, which I suppose in some ways is a good thing as it suggests they are not having many returns?

 

The one I have isn't bad - certainly lighter than the Vax in terms of its main body, whilst being more 'solid' if that makes sense. The Powerwash Premier 1456e I have is 11kg (minus water), but to make things even easier the tank unit just lifts off, so you can essentially split the machine in two if you want to make things easier to move around. In fact, I would say that this is one of the things that sets this particular model apart from the rest of the bunch - it's design is very 'modular', and it can be stripped down in seconds if you so wish; definitely the easiest machine I have seen for cleaning and maintenance.

At £249 with a 5 year warranty, it is a bit of a bargain to be honest - we paid £449 for it a couple of years ago, and as mentioned before we have given it hard use in the time we have had it, and to be fair I don't grudge a penny of it. Indeed, it came to the rescue yet again on Sunday when we discovered that a tin of Thompson's Emergency Roof Seal paint that had been delivered on Saturday evening by Amazon was actually leaking, and had leaked right through the box and onto the carpet below....... a copious dose of white spirit, followed by a thorough cleaning with the Bissell soon sorted it out thankfully.

Using it on the stairs can be a bit challenging until you get used to it - but once you learn that the hose reaches at least three quarters the length of a normal staircase, you soon realise tha tyou can do most of the stairs from the bottom without moving the machine, then simply finish off the top few from upstairs.

 

Nice one @Sheal

 

Glad you are happy with it @Sheal - you will see now what I meant when I said about the difference in build quality between the Vax and the Bissell. I was horrified when I took our Vax apart to try and fix it, to the point that I put the screwdriver down and binned it - the thing may as well have had 'dangerous liability' stamped all over it.