Sort of OT: Bissell SpotBot?

[EllasMum]

OK this is sort of OT. In addition to a DD who (I'm sure!) will be throwing food on my carpeted floor in the coming months, I have a cat who has an unfortunate knack for hacking up who-knows-what on my carpet. So I am wondering if anyone out there has tried the Bissell SpotBot, or any other spot remover type carpet cleaner? I can't afford and don't have space for a big steam/deep cleaner machine, but the SpotBots seem fairly small. I'm also curious how loud the SpotBots are - as loud as a vacuum cleaner? How easy/difficult to use? Any advice recommendations??

Thanks everyone!
Susan

[lovin2shop]

I have one for the exact same kitty problem. For me it is a lifesaver. It is so easy, you just sit it down on the stain and let it do its work. We use ours several times a week and I typically add new fluid and clean out the reservoir once a week. The only negatives are that it is quite loud (definitely like a vacuum) and it leaves a very noticeable circular spot on the carpet until you vacuum over it. Also, it is fairly heavy for its size, but not unmanageable. For the convenience, it is so much easier than a large steamer. It does a good job getting the stains out, but we always have some that are just too dark to come out. We've had ours for about 6mos and I'm happy with the purchase. We had the previous Bissell version that did not have the automatic scrubber, just the hose, and I like this one much better. With our heavy use, I found that we had to replace our past mini Bissells every year/year and half because they would leak or lose suction. This one is holding up very well, but I wouldn't be surprised if we had to buy another one in a year or so. Since we get so much use out of it, I don't mind the expense of replacing it. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[chiqanita]

I'm glad you asked this question. I'm going to get one at the end of the month.
I saw them test it on our local news channel 4 I believe. The segment was called
"DUD or DEAL"

They had a viewer test it out on some nasty stains in her home and it worked well. So, it's considered a DEAL!

I have two little boys who manage to spit out milk or remnants of those gold fish crackers...orange! Anyway, we have small orange spots all over the place.

I saw it at our Super Target but I don't recall how much it is.

[tny915]

I bought this a month ago for the same cat hairball problem. I love it. It's very loud for such a little machine, but I just close the door to the room, and walk away till its done. I thought the leave-it-to-clean-on-its-own thing was just a total gimmick, but after owning this, I LOVE that feature. DD is very skittish around vacuums and only lets me vacuum if I'm holding her. Not an issue with this machine.

I don't tend to leave the machine filled with cleaning solution since I only use it once a week or so, but it's quick and easy to mix and fill with solution and empty the dirty cup when done. There's two settings for cleaning, but I've tried the low setting a couple times and found it not adequate for even fresh stains. On the high setting, a full tank will clean 3 spots. If I've only got one stain to clean, I eyeball the tank and just put in a third of the solution/water mix. I have found that using the Bissell Oxyclean solution that comes with the machine really makes a difference. I'm having trouble finding it in stores and am just using Little Green Machine solution. It's fine, but mixed with the Oxy stuff it cleans better.

Amy --
Can you describe how you clean the thing? I want to see whether I'm doing it correctly. Do the hoses and reservoirs get dry when you clean them out?