I bought the Bissell Powerlifter when I was pregnant with my first child, figuring a baby would create a lot of messes to clean up. The Powerlifter has proven to be a wise investment.

I have been happy with its performance. The first time I used it, I was amazed to be able to see the difference between the part of the carpet I'd cleaned and the part that hadn't been done yet. The machine's suction is very strong, and when you use it, very much of the moisture (from the cleaning solution) is removed from the carpet, requiring a reasonably short drying time. (In fact, I loaned it to my parents once just to remove water from their basement carpet when the basement was slightly flooded.)

Here's how it works. You add the cleaning solution and hot water to the appropriate section of the canister. You plug in the machine. There are two power switches: one that controls the suction, and one that controls the cleaning fluid spray. You can either have both turned on at the same time, or (as I like to do, particularly in harder to clean/dirtier areas) only turn on the power to the spray to inject the cleaning solution into the carpet and let it stand for a few minutes before using the suction to remove the cleaning solution from the carpet.

When finished, you simply remove the cover from the machine to dump the contents. The machine is pretty easy to handle, and the roller "feet" of the machine move easily across the carpet as you work.

The only problem I have had with the machine is one of the long sections in the spray/suction wand lost its piece that kept it connected to the other long piece. (We've had the machine for about 2 years, but it broke one of the first few times we used it.) We could not find the little metal mechanism that helped the two pieces latch together, so we simply use the wand without that piece, which made the wand much more difficult to manage because it is so short. It makes it uncomfortable on the back to have to bend over a lot closer to the floor to use the shorter wand. One of these days I'll order the replacement part.

The Powerlifter has removed every carpet stain we have experienced: baby formula and spit up, pet stains, juice, various food stains (including tomato based sauces), etc. I have been quite pleased all around, although lately I have been thinking I would prefer to have an upright/vacuum cleaner style carpet cleaner, which may be easier to use. However, I don't know that I could be more satisfied than I am with my Bissell.

I would recommend this to anyone that is in the market for a home carpet cleaner. It works very well, is easy to use, and a good price, especially compared to many of the upright cleaners. I'm also glad that Bissell offers a cleaner solution that is for allergen control as well as a more standard solution, and a spot treater that works very well.



Recommended: Yes