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Powerful 9.5 HP 4-cycle Tecumseh engine with electric start. |
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The Dirt on Do-it-Yourself Carpet Cleaners
I do windows. What I don’t do-or rather, didn’t, until recently-was shampoo carpets or deep-clean couches.
Fast-forward to a recent afternoon, when the dirty dilemma of do-it-yourself versus professional carpet cleaners unexpectedly resurfaced. The just-departed cleaning crew had left my carpets soggy and the oft-used sofa upholstery looking, well-used. It was time to revisit home deep cleaners in the hopes that today’s models would bear a scant resemblance to the rent-a-clunker carpet cleaning machine I’d tried once in college (hence the aversion thereafter). What a difference a decade or so makes. Gone were the non-descript, biscuit-color or basic black appliances I’d remembered; in their place was a dazzling array of purple, blue, red and green machines with sleek designs overflowing with surface-specific attachments. I chose four of the most popular upright deep cleaners: Bissell’s ProHeat 2X ($249), Dirt Devil’s Easy Steamer Deluxe ($99), Eureka’s 2591 Atlantis Deep Steam Extractor ($199) and Hoover’s Agility SteamVac ($199) on high-traffic areas in my own busy home. Each upright, vacuum-size machine tested clean via the hot water extraction method favored by the pros (better known as “steam cleaning,” although the “steam” is a hot detergent and water solution the machine sprays onto your carpet and then sucks up and away along with the carpet grime). All work by shooting a stream of detergent solution held in one tank into the pile. The grungy solution is then sucked back into the machine, away from the carpet. We tested the machines doing what they do best: deep cleaning moderate- to heavily-soiled carpet. (These machines aren’t designed for spot cleaning, so be sure to stock your stain arsenal separately. ) We also rated each on how easy it was to assemble, general ease of use, standard attachments, how well it cleans and finally, overall appeal of design and color.
How They Cleaned Up Here’s how each of our deep cleaning machines fared on the high-traffic areas of my two-cat, three-kid home.Bissell’s ProHeat 2X. This maroon (official color: Black Cherry Fizz) machine’s four-step assembly took about 20 minutes, giving it the honor of being the most time-consuming out of the box among the four-machines (which actually says a lot about the state-of-the-art-appliances we’re seeing more of today, featuring smarter, lighter-weight, easier-to-use models in virtually every category.) The Bissell’s four-part assembly requires a Phillips head screwdriver, four screws, sliding and snapping the upper and lower hose rack and handle into place, and snapping on the tool caddy. The assembly is complete when the flex hose is wrapped snugly into place with the hose latch. This carpet deep cleaning machine is a clearly designed to be as self-sufficient as at it gets, automatically adjusting to correct the setting: heavy traffic, normal clean, light clean or rinse and hold the machine in place. DirtLifter PowerBrush rolls do the rest, creating a bristle pattern to safely beat the living dirt out of those grungy carpets of ours. At least that was the case at our home. This machine was tops at lifting out deeply ground in dirt while gently grooming the carpet fibers so that they looked clean. The floating suspension self-adjusts to the carpet height, and protects the carpet if you rush off to finish, say, a Runescape game on the computer and leave the machine running (as my 14-year-old son did.) It’s even prepared for that: once the machine is returned to the upright position, the brushes automatically stopped spinning. The ProHeat made quick work of the high traffic areas in our family room—in spite of my son’s sporadic attention to the task at hand. It’s about as close as it gets to a do-it-yourself machine, except for the water tank emptying. But even that’s a cinch, with a single-handle design that allows easy-lift off and removal. The custom clean feature automatically mixes the hot water with the Bissell cleaning formula—simply choose one of the four settings. The machine will adjust the right amount of cleaning solution for the job, while raising the temperature of the water 20 degrees. The other machines, I found, use exhaust from the machines to keep the water warm. And what’s not to like about a maroon color named “Black Cherry Fizz”? Add the fluorescent orange edge sweep brushes, and this hot little machine with sleek curves gets high marks. The Dirt Devil Easy Steamer Deluxe is a powerhouse cleaning machine in its own right; it seemed to get lost in the shadow of Bissell’s ProHeat2 and was twice as easy as the others to maneuver along tricky upholstery corners and stairs. Even with its four screws and three nuts it was easily assembled, only requiring a glance at the owner’s manual. Smaller and more compact that the other three, what it lacks in girth it makes up for in agility, thanks partly to its large, easy-to-maneuver wheels. The 12-amp motor and 5-row brush quickly cleans soiled, dirty areas easily with a 25-foot long cord. The mean green cleaning machine features areas of see-through plastic that allow you to see the deep cleaning work—as it happens. (My 6-year-old loves this!) The retro-inspired color and interweaving of high-tech design make for an appealing machine. And large wheels make for a stable roll across the carpet, making it safe for him to push, too. It was also the lightest of the cleaners, at 19 pounds. The Hoover Agility SteamVac came fully assembled; you simply raise the upper handle to the upright position and lock it into place. Removable side-by-side tanks provide easy, back-friendly access to the cleaning solution and the recovery tanks. The 24-foot cord allows cleaning of large rooms. As for looks, the snazzy surf blue (or “lavender mist purple”) color is bright and cheery; the compact bottom-heavy design belies the ease of use. The Hoover uses heated cleaning via forced air, allowing the five removable spinscrub brushes to tackle heavy-duty spot cleaning and pet hair and high-traffic areas successfully at the push of a button. The low-profile, transparent hood allows it to glide under furniture and in hard-to-reach areas easily, and you can see the dirt coming out of the carpet. A bonus: you know you are doing it right! The only downside to this machine: it’s heavy, at about 30 pounds—the heaviest of all four machines. The Eureka Atlantis OptiHeat features an 8-foot-long hose for reaching stairs, an upholstery nozzle and variable-speed turbo nozzle for deep cleaning, plus a bare floor tool and squeegee for cleaning bare floor surfaces. This is one-stop deep cleaning shopping at its finest. Eureka’s “101 Points of Scrubbing Power” is a cool innovation featuring motorized side-to-side scrubbing action of three rows of dense bristles that clean all sides of the carpet fibers, just the way you would by hand. (If you’d clean like that, I mean.) Eureka’s easy fill and empty tank system is designed to make those messy spills that used to be an inevitable part of home carpet cleaning practically a thing of the past. Cleaning with the Atlantis includes an 8-foot hose, upholstery nozzle and a variable-speed turbo nozzle that makes quick work of the always-tedious deep cleaning of stairs and furniture. And this machine comes with a major bonus: a bare floor tool and squeegee for cleaning bare floor surfaces. Now about that assembly…not required with the Atlantis. It arrived assembled, which gets high marks from this mom of three. Simply open the box, fill the tanks, and plug it in. It doesn’t get any easier than this.
The End Results There’s a deep cleaner with your name on it out there—whether you’re a family of eight or you live alone.Got kids? Pets, maybe? You’ll find plenty to love in Hoover’s Agility. It deep cleans carpets soiled by heavy traffic or pet hair, and is the top-performer for spot cleaning. The see-through hood base makes filling and emptying tanks easy enough for your teenager to use—if you could get her to deep clean the carpets, that is. The little ones will probably volunteer, however, once they get a peek at the transparent hood of the snazzy Surf Blue (or Lavender Mist) machine. Eureka’s OptiHeat 2X is designed to satisfy those cleaning connoisseurs and their families who appreciate a well-designed machine that performs nearly flawlessly and takes just seconds to go from closet to humming around the home. The simple design with a fold-down handle for compact storage is sure to appeal to those with a passion for quick, thorough cleanups and time saved that they can use to go do the things they really love. Fans of effortless cleaning will find Bissell’s ProHeat 2X is about as close as it gets to a do-it-yourself appliance. The 2-in-1 tank featuring Bissell’s Custom Clean feature automatically mixes the hot water with the cleaning formula—just choose one of four settings and let the maroon machine do its thing. Dirt Devil’s easy to maneuver Vision Easy Steamer is a great machine for quick, more frequent clean-ups in smaller or single-person homes. It’s smaller size is more compact, making for better storage for smaller families, while the 25-foot long cord means quick covering of a lot of carpeted ground when those last-minute summer visitors drop by. Cleaning Machines: A Side-by-Side Look
About the Author Tara Aronson, aka Mrs. Clean Jeans, is an author, columnist, media personality, organizing marvel, and mother of three. She regularly appears on nationally syndicated shows/news networks such as CNNfn, “Living it Up with Ali & Jack”, “Soap Talk” and “The Other Half”, in addition to magazines. She’s the author of the new book, “Mrs. Clean Jeans’ Housekeeping with Kids.” She can be reached at www.mrscleanjeans.com More Editorials |
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