Review: Bissell Spotclean Hydrosteam Pro

The old American vacuum cleaner company Bissell has branched out into mop and textile cleaning machines in recent years. We’ve tested a few such machines over the past year with varying results and are curious to see if the Spotclean Hydrosteam Pro does a better job. It can best be described as a combined steam and carpet cleaner and as the name suggests, this is a machine for removing stains rather than cleaning an entire sofa. The machine is also available in a simpler model called Select, which doesn’t have wheels and doesn’t come with a stain brush.

Construction

It should be said right away that unlike the Ryobi One+ Swift Clean, this is not a battery-powered appliance. If you want to clean your boat cushions or spring clean your car, you’ll need an extension cord, as the one supplied is only 4.5 metres. The device looks like a small vacuum cleaner, but instead of bags, it has a tank for clean water and one for dirty water. The nozzle sprays water onto the stain, a brush loosens the dirt and it is immediately sucked into the dirty water tank. It comes with sample bottles of cleaner and when it’s time to buy new bottles, they cost between €15 and €20.

The hose is permanently connected and can be rolled up and attached to the machine. It can be connected to a larger or smaller nozzle for carpet cleaning or to the spot brush for more difficult tasks. Spotclean also has a sturdy carrying handle as it’s quite a heavy machine, as well as wheels so it can be pulled around if needed. The machine feels sturdy and well-built, and there’s nothing that feels like it would break under normal use.

Handling

As the machine remains on the floor, it doesn’t matter that it’s heavy and thanks to the wheels you can cart it around. The 1.5 metre hose is long enough for normal tasks like spring cleaning the car or stains on the sofa. However, it’s too short when you want to clean the tiles in the bathroom or over the sink, for example. Both containers and nozzles are removable and can be easily cleaned in the sink.

Cleaning

Thanks to the large tanks, large nozzle and high suction power, Spotclean is perfect for cleaning upholstered furniture. We got rid of stains on the sofa and even on a carpet. Or why not the seats, floors and boot of the car, like we did when we had a spring clean. It was great to get rid of all the ingrained dirt after winter. The instructions provide a good guide on which nozzle to use and whether to use water, steam or both for cleaning.

 

However, it’s the spot brush and steam function that really got us excited, so it definitely deserves the name Spotclean. Thanks to them, you can tackle tasks like cleaning tile grout, outdoor furniture or dirty shoes. Shoes in particular are a bit tricky. Either you use a cloth and risk rubbing the dirt into the shoe, or you use water and a brush and the shoe gets soaked.

With Spotclean, the steam dissolves the dirt, the brush gets it out and most of the moisture is immediately sucked up into the machine along with the dirt. Our white sneakers, which had started to get dirty and which we had been reluctant to clean, immediately looked much nicer. However, be aware that it takes a few seconds for the steam to come out and before that there is water splashing. So you have to start by pointing it in a different direction than where you intend to steam clean. Not a very elegant solution.

Conclusion

Fabric/steam cleaners are handy for removing stains from upholstered furniture and carpets. But the Bissell Spotclean Hydrosteam takes it a step further by complementing water spray with steam cleaning and a spot brush. This makes it possible to clean shoes, for example, that don’t need to be soaked in water. The machine has large tanks and high power and feels durable. However, it’s not cordless and the cord could be a little longer. But that doesn’t stop it from becoming our new favourite when disaster strikes.