Bissell Little Green Review: The Household Extractor Detailers Borrow
Our Verdict
A compact corded spot extractor with a 48 oz clean tank, a 4.5-foot hose, a 3-inch scrubbing tool and a self-cleaning hose attachment. It sprays, scrubs and sucks the dirty water back out, which sprays and towels can't do. There's no heater and the small tool makes full carpets slow, but for stains in cloth seats and mats it is the obvious first machine.
Spray cleaners loosen a stain. They don't remove it, because the dirty liquid has to go somewhere, and in a car seat it usually goes deeper into the foam. The Bissell Little Green fixes that part of the job. It sprays cleaning solution, you scrub with the tool, and suction pulls the dirty water back out into a separate tank. That is the same principle as a professional carpet extractor, in a corded machine that weighs under ten pounds.
What you get
The 1400B has a 48 oz clean-water tank, a 4.5-foot hose and a 15-foot power cord, and it draws 3 amps. In the box are a 3-inch Tough Stain Tool for scrubbing and extracting, the HydroRinse self-cleaning hose tool, which flushes the hose after a dirty job, and an 8 oz trial bottle of Bissell formula. Bissell lists car interiors alongside stairs, upholstery and area rugs as intended uses.
How it's used
Vacuum the area dry first. Fill the tank with hot tap water and formula, spray the stain, work it with the tool's bristles, then pull the tool slowly toward you so the suction lifts the liquid. Repeat with slow dry passes until little water comes up. For set-in stains, pretreating with a fabric cleaner such as Foaming Citrus Fabric Clean or Folex gives the machine less to do. Leave the doors open afterward so the seats can dry.
Where it falls short
There is no heater. Bissell says to use hot tap water, not boiling, and it cools as you work. The 3-inch tool is sized for spots, so a full set of carpets takes patience and several refills. The cord means you need an outlet within reach of the driveway, and the hose is short enough that the machine usually ends up sitting in the footwell. It is a household spot cleaner, with the suction and build of one.
Who it's for
Anyone with kids, pets or cloth seats who wants stains taken out and not just pushed around. A dedicated detailing extractor costs several times as much. Check price on Amazon
Pros
- Extracts dirty water instead of spreading it
- 48 oz tank and 4.5-foot hose
- HydroRinse tool flushes the hose clean
- Under ten pounds and easy to carry
Cons
- No built-in water heater
- Corded, with a short hose
- 3-inch tool is slow on whole carpets