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How to get the best performance from your carpet cleaner
So you’ve bought a carpet cleaner, but do you know how to get the best possible cleaning performance from your machine? Find out how to prepare your room for cleaning, the best way to use the carpet cleaner, and what you can do to get the best possible cleaning performance from your BISSELL Carpet Cleaner.
How to get the best performance from your carpet cleaner

Open as many windows as possible.

BISSELL Carpet Cleaners use powerful suction to remove most of the water from your carpets during the cleaning process, however the carpet will be damp afterwards. To reduce the time it takes for the carpet to dry, open as many windows and doors as possible to allow air to flow through the room.  

If you can, remove the furniture.

To make it easier to move around the room, remove as much furniture as possible before you start. If there are large heavy pieces of furniture that you can’t move easily, such as sofas or beds, then you can clean around them. However, we would recommend a yearly deep clean of the room, where you remove all the furniture and clean the entire floor space.  

Vacuum up pet hair and dust.

Your carpet cleaner will pick up some dry debris, but if the carpet is very dusty or if you have pets, it is best to use your vacuum cleaner first before using your carpet cleaner. This will remove most of the hair and dirt on the surface of the carpet, allowing you to deep clean your carpet more easily. It will also prevent the tank and nozzle getting clogged up with wet pet hair, which can be unpleasant to remove when you are finished cleaning!

Fill up with warm water.

Hot water loosens and softens dirt more quickly, making it easier to remove, and it also helps to kill bacteria. That's why we recommend filling up your carpet cleaner's tank with warm water.

Some BISSELL Carpet Cleaners also use HeatWave technology to keep the water hot throughout the cleaning process. HeatWave Technology means that the heat that is generated by the motor gets redirected to underneath the water tank. This means that the temperature is maintained as long as the machine is being used, so you get a better cleaning result from start to finish.

Choose the right cleaning formula.

Your carpet cleaner will come with a bottle of cleaning formula, but you can also buy a more specialized formula to suit your home. If you have pets, then choose one of Pet Cleaning Formulas.  These contain enzymes that break down pet “accidents” to neutralize odours, and they discourage your pets from reoffending inside the home.

cleaning formula with Febreze will keep your home smelling fresher or longer. Or choose a cleaning formula with the power of Oxy to tackle the toughest stains.

Pre-Treat any very dirty spots.

In a busy home, it’s hard to avoid spills and stains. If there are visible stains or dirty patches on your carpet, then start by Pre-Treating these before you clean the room. Some BISSELL Carpet Cleaners, such as the ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet and the HydroWave, have a built-in Pre-Treater. To use this, press the button to spray a jet of water and cleaning formula onto the stain, then let it soak while you clean the rest of the room.

If your carpet cleaner doesn’t have a built-in pre-treater, you can buy bottles of Pre-Treat Cleaning Formula. Just spray the formula onto the stain, and let it soak in to loosen the dirt.

Work in straight lines.

The key to cleaning your carpet efficiently is to work in straight, consistent lines. Squeeze the trigger on your carpet cleaner to release the water, and push forward a few feet. Then release the trigger, and pull back over the same line. Once you’ve done one “stripe”, then move over and clean a line next to it. Keep moving across your room in this same pattern. This way, you can be sure that you have cleaned the whole room and you haven’t missed any spots.

Overlap the cleaning stripes.

When you are using the cleaning pattern above, make sure you slightly overlap the “stripes”. This means that when your carpet dries, the lines of where you have cleaned won’t be quite as visible.

Pull back slowly to pick up all the water.

Because they are a similar shape, it can be tempting to use a carpet cleaner in the same way you would with a vacuum cleaner. However, you need to work slower than you would with a vacuum to pick up all the dirty water from your carpet. When you pull the carpet cleaner back, work slowly to allow it to suck out the water from deep inside the carpet.

For more tips on how to get the most out of your BISSELL carpet cleaner, check out our YouTube Playlist