Alright, so I finally got around to using that Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet cleaner, the 3578 model. Had some serious pet messes, you know how it goes. Figured I’d share how it went down.
Getting it Ready
First thing, getting it out of the box. Wasn’t too bad, mostly put together already. Just had to click the handle into place, pretty simple stuff. Skimmed the manual, mostly pictures anyway.
Before actually washing, had to clear the room. Moved the coffee table, the chairs, all that junk. Then, the most important part, gotta vacuum first. Like, really vacuum. Pulled out my regular vac and went over the whole area twice. Don’t skip this, seriously, or you’ll just be pushing hairy mud around.
Next up, the tanks. Pulled out the clean water tank. It sits on the top back. Filled it up with hot tap water, not boiling, just hot. Then added the Bissell cleaning formula. They give you a little sample bottle, which was nice. Poured it up to the line marked on the tank. Popped the tank back on the machine. Easy peasy.
Doing the Actual Cleaning
Plugged it in, flipped the power switch. It’s kinda loud, not gonna lie, but not worse than a strong vacuum. Picked a starting point in the corner.
Using it is straightforward. You press the trigger on the handle and push forward slowly. That sprays the water and formula mix. Then you let go of the trigger and pull it back slowly over the same spot. That’s supposed to suck up the dirty water. The instructions say do one wet forward pass, one wet back pass, then one dry forward pass, one dry back pass (no trigger).
- Forward pass (with trigger) – felt the spray hitting the carpet.
- Backward pass (with trigger) – still spraying.
- Forward pass (no trigger) – sucking up water.
- Backward pass (no trigger) – sucking up more water.
I mostly stuck to the deep clean mode, didn’t bother with the express one ’cause these stains were old. It has this ‘CleanShot’ button thingy you can press with your foot for tough spots. Sprays extra formula right on the stain. Used it a couple of times on some darker patches. Seemed to help loosen things up.
You can see the dirty water getting sucked up through the clear cover on the front. Man, that water was nasty. Like, really dark brown. Kinda satisfying but also gross knowing that was in my carpet.
Pushing it isn’t too hard, glides okay. Just gotta go slow and steady, let the machine do its thing.
The Cleanup After the Cleanup
Eventually, the clean water tank ran out, and the dirty water tank was full. The machine makes a different noise when the dirty tank is full, kind of a higher pitch. So, time to empty.
Turned it off, unplugged it. The dirty tank lifts right out from the front bottom. Carried it over to the toilet – carefully, ’cause it was full of grime. Poured it out. Wow. Like I said, nasty stuff. Rinsed the tank out real good in the bathtub. Lots of hair and gunk caught in there too.
Refilled the clean tank, put the empty dirty tank back, and kept going until the whole room was done. Took a while, maybe an hour for a medium-sized room, going slow.
After finishing the carpet, the machine itself needed cleaning. This part is a bit fiddly but necessary.
You HAVE to clean the machine right away. Don’t let that gunk dry in there.
- Emptied and rinsed both tanks again, really well this time.
- Popped off the clear nozzle cover on the front. It just pulls off. Rinsed that.
- Pulled out the brush rolls. They lift out after you remove the cover. Lots of hair wrapped around them. Pulled that off. Used the little tool they provide to clean out hair and stuff stuck in the brushes and the ends. Rinsed the brushes too.
- Wiped down the inside where the brushes sit.
Let all the parts air dry completely before putting it back together for storage. This took the most time, honestly, the cleanup of the machine.
So, How’d It Look?
The carpet looked way better. Noticeably cleaner, the color seemed brighter. Most of the spots came out, even some old ones I thought were permanent. The pet smell was gone too, replaced by the scent of the cleaner, which wasn’t too strong.
It was damp afterwards, for sure. Not soaking wet, but damp. Had to run the ceiling fan and open a window. Took maybe 4-5 hours to feel totally dry to walk on normally. Deep clean mode probably takes longer to dry than the express mode would.
Overall, yeah, it worked. Did the job it was supposed to do. Cleaning the machine after is a bit of a chore, but guess that’s true for all these things. Seeing that dirty water makes you realize it’s worth the effort though.
