Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

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snapper281
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:52 pm
Location: Louisiana
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Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

Post by snapper281 »

Hi guys,
I'm not too sure where this post is supposed to go so I just decided to throw it in "general chat." I am still pretty new to the forum so I don't know if this product has been discussed in the past or not but I am in love with this thing. It has made life so much easier.

Ok so here is the slightly long, slightly nasty and slightly funny story.

After we got Koji, our mini schnauzer, back in March it became immediately evident that we would be on the floor a lot cleaning spots. Well, one day our 8 year old yorkie got ticked off at Koji and jumped up on the back of the loveseat and proceeded to empty her *full* bladder all over my microfiber sofa. :shock: Koji happened to be in the seat below her so he got peed on and, as a result, started peeing in the seat of my sofa. Well, I happened to be in the seat next to them and witnessed the waterfall of dog urine coming off of the back of the sofa onto our little puppy. So both urine soaked dogs jumped off the love seat and, because they were wet and what else do dogs do when they are wet - the both started shaking the urine off splashing little bits onto the walls, the other sofa, the rug, the carpet, the television and myself. :evil: Once I got over the shock of the whole situation, I threw the dogs in the tub, threw towels on the sofa and broke out the Mr. Clean for the walls. Once the dogs were clean, I started to tackle the carpet and loveseat. I was thrown off of a horse in high school so I don't have the best back even at the young age of 26, so this was very difficult for me. I've always had problems cleaning up spots on the carpets. I had no idea what I was going to do about the loveseat. I just knew that I had to soak as much of the urine up as I could. My husband and I (briefly) discussed it over the phone while he was at work and we decided to go ahead and buy the SpotBot. I had been researching some small cleaners to make everyday carpet messes easier for me to handle with my back issues. I had come across this one by Bissell but the price point at the time was 150 USD at Lowe's plus the cleaning solution which, for us, is a small fortune. I was hesitant to spend that much money not knowing if it would even work well. But on that day, standing in the middle of my urine soaked living room talking to my husband on the phone, we (meaning I) decided to bite the bullet and spend the money so save my microfiber.

Ok so now that your skin is crawling from all that urine talk...on to the review.

Price point: 150 USD at the time of purchase about 7-8 months ago. The cleaning solution is about 10-15 a bottle depending on the kind you buy. We just finished the bottle we purchased with the machine.

Unboxing / assembly: almost none required. We took it out of the box, assembled the hose, filled the reservoir tank and used it.

Use: This is the part that I am excited about. This thing is so easy to use. It is not heavy at all. The tank has the lines clearly marked for where to fill the water up to and then add the solution up to the second line. The tank just snaps in and its good to go. Pick up any solids from the carpet first and then you literally just set it on top of the stain and push a button and walk away. The brushes underneath it scrub in reversing directions and then it suction all the icky nastiness up into the "dirty" tank, then it scrubs some more and sucks some more and then it's done. You are left with a little damp circle in your carpet where the soil was but this dries within a matter of a couple hours. No leftover discoloration, no odor - just clean. You dump the "dirty" tank in the toilet and rinse it out. The SpotBot stores with the cleaning solution in the tank and the cord wraps up on the side. So ours stays in our closet with solution in it, waiting for the next little accident. There is also a hose attachment that I have used to clean our mattress and sofas. My only complaint is about the hose attachment head. It doesn't spray evenly but that may be a fluke of the particular machine I bought. The hose is trigger activated and sprays solution onto the surface and then you run the hose back over it to suck up the solution. Simple! For fluffy furniture, like a sofa or loveseat, it may take a bit of time for it to dry and I'm not sure the suction is strong enough to get deep enough into the cushions. I eventually did succeed in removing the urine (and odor) from my loveseat but only after about 5 sessions with the spray nozzle on the hose of this thing and a ton of lysol. However I did use the hose attachment to clean our dining room chairs that have upholstered seats and saw fantastic results!

Cleaning / Storage: It's very easy to clean. Wipe down the outside. Rinse out the tanks and suck up some hot water through the hose and you're done! The cord wraps on the side of it, the hose wraps around the base of it and it is small so it doesn't take up much room. It stores with the cleaning solution in the tank. Obviously you want to rinse out the dirty tank after each use or else - yuck!

Summary: In my opinion, this is a great option for pet owners. It not only cleans the carpet but removes the odor as well. It is easy to use, easy to store and easy to clean. It might not be the best choice for cleaning your big fluffy couch but it worked well on my upholstered dining chairs. All in all, I think this is a great tool. It has more than paid for itself in our home. I can't imagine the money we have saved over having our carpets professionally cleaned. My back also thanks me for this purchase!

Here is a before and after of a "mystery stain" that was on the carpet when I got in from work today.

Before:
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Look at the little guy go!! And yuck at the nasty water!!
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After - you can see the damp carpet. It doesn't take long to dry.
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After about 30 minutes or so. Already drying!
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Sorry this post has been so long guys! Hope that it has been informative for some people at least!
Cheers,
Alicia


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dontpugme
Posts: 1294
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:01 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

Post by dontpugme »

This was really helpful! To be honest, I wouldn't have noticed the TV commercial if it didn't have a pug in it. :lol:

This would be really helpful for those moments when max has a bout of vomiting or if as he gets older he gets incontinent. I currently sit and scrub to get rid of a stain.

If I were to get one, I'd probably wait a few months to see if the price goes down or find a cheap one online.
--dontpugme
CoolDog
Posts: 278
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

Post by CoolDog »

When I first got my steam cleaner, I was told to put a cap full of bleach in the water, and try it in the most inconspicuous area. It worked for me, but you also have to know the "care, cleaning, and maintenance" information about your carpets, drapes or curtains, and your upholstery, before doing this. Mine does a nice job and my dog has that look that she's in the wrong house! :lol:
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snapper281
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:52 pm
Location: Louisiana
Contact:

Re: Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

Post by snapper281 »

CoolDog: Have you not had problems with the bleach discoloring your carpet? That would make me nervous. I guess that's why you test it first though lol!
Cheers,
Alicia


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CoolDog
Posts: 278
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Bissell SpotBot Pet Review (Long Post!)

Post by CoolDog »

That's why I said I tried it in an inconspiciuous area, or an area that no one would see or notice, and found that it worked. Besides, a cap full of bleach to a gallon of water (that's the size of my steam cleaner's water tank -I know, too small for the amount of carpeting I have to clean) shouldn't hurt anything, plus the fact my carpets came with a care or maintenance instructions, so reading that is very important, if you want to keep your carpets for a long time in reasonably, good shape. :lol:

Fortunately, I got mine when I got my carpets installed and soon came my dog, Sheba, who became sick a few days later. It has been a godsend! :D
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