We have priorities around here. TVs and sofas are the top of the list.
Living without a sofa for 18 months can make a person crazy. Or at least it made us a little crazy. It was one of the top things we missed most while we lived in a small space.
So, now that the downstairs is (almost) finished, we decided to move in the rugs and sofa. This is actually really practical for us, too. Because while we work on the house, Henry can hang out with us.
And we can enjoy the space, too.
Since our rugs have been in storage for over a year, they needed a serious deep cleaning before we brought them into our new house. So, I decided to give them a little spa day.
And to make things a little more fun, I tried out two different options for shampooing carpets to put them to the test. I picked up the BISSELL Big Green Rental Carpet Cleaner and the Rug Doctor at two different stores, along with the corresponding cleaning formulas.
Ninja Henry and I brought them home – he’s the biggest reason for all the dirt and grime in our carpets anyhow.
And then I put the two machines to the test on our rugs. (I ended up laying out the rugs in the basement to make it simple and to avoid any extra water on the new floors.)
I followed all the instructions for the machines and then divided the rug with the most visual stains in half – each cleaner cleaned half of the rug so I could compare. After dry vacuuming all the rugs very well, it was time for a showdown.
After trying them out, the BISSELL Big Green was the obvious winner – it was much easier to set up and use, and it lifted more stains. The machine itself is much easier to maneuver – you can push it forward and backwards and the handle drops comfortably. (The Rug Doctor is super clunky and only goes backwards.)
I liked it so well that I ended up ditching the Rug Doctor and finished all the rugs with the Big Green with the Bissell solution. Look at that dirty water in there.
See ya later, Rug Doctor.
The whole process was oddly therapeutic. Something about seeing all the disgusting dirty water lift out of the rugs made me feel accomplished. And I just kept going over the rugs until the water came out clean. A few more passes ensured that all the excess moisture was lifted out of the carpet.
It was definitely disgusting. But the finished cleaned rugs were fabulous – fresh and clean and ready for a new life in a new house. And they smelled awesome!
The biggest difference was our outdoor rug – with black and white stripes, this rug had seen better days. It had lots of outdoor stains and rust marks from our metal furniture.
After cleaning, it looks beautiful. I rubbed a little spot cleaner on some of the spots but the Bissell Big Green did the dirty work.
What I learned?
Your carpets and rugs can harbor some pretty nasty stuff – even if you vacuum and clean them regularly.
But it doesn’t have to take long to get them back to their former glory! And the Bissell Big Green makes it easy.
You know you totally need to try out the Big Green yourself.
Our nearest location is a Petsmart.
We have two furbabies and four young kids. With summer looming in our future and the traveling between outdoors and the living room, my poor carpet looks nothing like what we got when we purchased our home. I would love to win this to try to get back what i once had. Plus I love that you guys have done the work testing both! I have tried the Rug Doctor personally and was not impressed. I had a friend that told me about the Big Green and what great results she had. Now that I see your post, I know!
I could make good use of this after last week’s rain followed by a bug safari with three crazy kids. Mud (and memories) everywhere.
I see I can find this miracle worker at Lowes down the road.
My nearest location is the lowes 5 min away!
I need to deep clean our vehicles and rugs!
All of the weis stores close to us are on the list!
With a 3 year old and a 75 pound dog who seems to seek out anything smelly to roll in why WOULDNT I want to win! ?
I thought Lowes was the closest I could ent a bissell but it looks like there is a Smalls Hardware even closer to me 🙂
My Carpet is full of dust and dirt and who knows what else that the kids and dog have tracked in. I would love to win so I can get my house fresh for summer 🙂
I like that it leaves the carpet much drier than other leading brands.
You are right! It does!
The store closet to me is Lowes
I would love to clean all my rugs!! It looks like it does a great job.
Lowes – 01851
We’re going into our 5th year at our rental which has carpets throughout. We’ve rented a rug doctor a few times, but our carpets really need some extra help.
My closest store is a Lowes, so convenient!
I’d love to win because I just moved into a new house. My rugs are covered by furniture in different places now and the high traffic areas have changed, so now the dirtier areas are more noticeable.
With three children, it seems like I can never get the house clean / clean enough. With the summer, they’ll be spending the majority of their time with their sports or at sports camps so I can really dig into the carpets and pretty much everything.
I’d really love to win because we’re getting ready to sell our house and the last parts that we’re working on is the cleaning and painting. I’d love to get our rooms deep cleaned
My husband (and 2 dogs!) and I recently moved into a 20 year old house. The carpets need some serious TLC!
Lowe’s is my closest retailer.
We moved into our home 18 months ago and didn’t have our carpets cleaned. I own a small steam cleaner, but it’s just not the same. They are way overdue!
Ace Hardware
Lowes is the closest to us – 61265. Thanks for the inspiration!
My husband and I have re-done our home and made it ours. Carpets are the one thing I’ve been putting off to make it perfect. This would be wonderful!
My nearest location is our local Hardware store.
I would love to win this because my carpets have not been cleaned since I moved into my house three and a half years ago. My old carpet cleaner did not survive a 2000 mile move and I have yet to purchase a new one! With four cats , our carpets really need a bath.
I like that it has safer cleaning solutions!
Hi Kim!
I too used to use the Rug Doctor. But once I tried the big green machine, I won’t go back. It’s been awhile since I’ve used it because we recently got new carpet and it’s a lot thicker than our old carpet. I’m anxious to see how it works on the thick stuff! Looked like your carpet was pretty thick!
I get mine from Lowe’s!
Love your fresh rugs!
Monica
It is interesting to hear you say that, because I felt the same way. It was just a lot easier to use the Big Green – and it seemed to do a better job. It’s nice to have clean and fresh carpets, for sure! (But they don’t seem to stay clean for long.)
Nearest location is Lowes
I have never deep cleaned any of our rugs or carpet. They are probably overdue.
My nearest rental location is a Petsmart.
I like that it seems to be easy to use and effective.
Lowes is our closest, but who knew they also rent one for pet messes at Petsmart
We have carpet in all our bedrooms and wE get so much wear right by the door that is what I would clean.
Lowe’s is our closest location!
I am moving into a new house this summer and this would be perfect for me to use right before we move all of the furniture in!
Our local Petsmart is the closest location to get a Bissell!
We are getting ready to sell our house… cleaning the carpet and rugs would make everything look and smell amazing.
Lowes is a 5 mins drive from our house
Our dog has gotten old and he keeps having accidents at home and unfortunately he’s peed on our carpets so I’d like to really clean them 🙁
I’d love to win so that I could clean our basement playroom carpet. We have 2 kids and a cat who manage to spill and puke on everything. Ooh, and I’d love to see how it does on our shag rug.
Meijer or Lowes in Troy both rent Bissell … yeah!
We’ve replaced most of our carpet because of our asthmatic daughter – but the few piece we have really need a deep clean! Spring cleaning! Love it!
My carpets are in serious need of cleaning especially since we have a 4 years old’s birthday party coming up soon. I didn’t the WFC farm store Nooksack had these, so close and I live in the sticks.
48081 – Meijer’s!
With a cat that regularly regurgigates his meals, this would be a good thing to do!
Lowe’s in Moline is our closest location!
I would love to win, because our carpets are so nasty looking from the previous owners. We will hopefully be having a new baby come to live with us this summer, and I’d love to at least be able to get the carpets clean in that room!
If I do not win this contest, I will be renting a Bissell rug cleaner at Lowe’s by the end of the summer. The reason? My poor son, who recently told me, “I don’t mind if Doc [our dog] sits on my bed. I just don’t like it when he makes my room smell.” His carpet is long overdue for a thorough cleaning!
I would love to win a 24 hour Big Green Bissell cleaning machine! I have 4 small children, one of which is learning to crawl and I have stains on my carpet that you wouldn’t believe :). Looks to me that Lowes is the place to rent from in my city. Thanks!
Four cats and two grandkids. That’s why I’d like to win. 🙂
Living on a farm with 2 toddlers, one of which loves to go shoeless, my rugs & carpet could use some serious TLC! Lowe’s is my closest store! 🙂
Also, PetSmart looks like our local rental place – I would have never guessed that they had carpet cleaning rentals there!
Toddler + infant + dog = we need this!
Lowes is my go to store –
my family room & play room’s rugs need to have my children’s messes removed 🙂
I visited! I need this because I have 1 beast of a dog who loves to make messes in the mud and track them and 2 cats who like to bring animals in sometimes! Eek!
Looks like my nearest Bissel store is our Lowes!
My sister is closing on a house next week! I’d love to win this for her!
Surprisingly Pet Smart in Elk Grove is the closest place to rent… wouldn’t have even thought to go to a pet store – usually get this kind of stuff at Home Depot or Lowes.
7 kids..need I say more. Our carpets and rugs constantly need to be cleaned!
Lowes Moline:)
Oh man I need this badly, I have carpet upstaris and who knows what is hiding out in them? Toddler Potty Training, Dog Sitting, my own dog? Questionable. I would love to try this out. I always have someone come in and clean the carpets but I would love to try to tackle them myself.
Had no idea y local Petsmart rented The Big Green! Yay!
Who installs Aqua blue carpet in a house??
(Hint:previous owners!).
It’s high dollar stuff that I can’t replace right now, so it needs to be deep cleaned. I have an ok floor cleaner, but sounds like the Big Green is just what I need!
My nearest store is a Lowe’s!
Ohhhh, I definitely need to clean our rug – every time I step over it I look at it with disgust! Ha! There is something so satisfying about a clean rug 🙂
Wow. I am impressed it got out the stains of the outdoor rug. Thumbs up 🙂
And also–they rent them at our Lowes that is a mile away from our house! Hallelujah!
Oh my goodness, what perfect timing! Our dog just recently had fleas that we’ve eliminated via vacuuming so. many. times. But I would love to give our rugs a deep cleaning to truly feel that they are clean & GONE!
I would love to clean all our rugs!
LOWE’S looks to be my go to place for the Big Green Bissell
You got great results ! Kiddos and two dogs leave constant a need for cleaning !
and pretty much all of the local weis markets have them it seems!
Lowes is the closest, 38232.
i visited and i would love to win so i can clean all of our carpets- especially the bedrooms! we have 3 dogs… we need it! 🙂
We’re about to move and the carpets in the new place are ok but do need a good cleaning. This would be perfect!