BISSELL SpotBot Hands-Free Compact Deep Carpet Cleaner, 1200B

My wife and I bought the Bissell SpotBot over a year ago and has it ever lived up to its name! If you have ever wondered whether or not it's worth the money, then read this review and judge for yourselves. However, I'm certain that you won't go wrong. We have a little boy who likes to make messes. However, most of the time, his messes are in a small area and doesn't require the use of the SteamVac. It would be like using a backhoe to dig a hole for a tree. Not the right tool for the job. We use the SpotBot at least 2-3 times per month. Not only do we have a small child, but we also have a small dog who likes to dig in the dirt and then run across the carpet immediately upon entering the house. Also, I admit that I can be messy at times as well. Can I help it that I like a lot of ketchup on my hot dogs? When I was first researching the SpotBot I read reviews that it worked great, but left rings in your carpet. I agree with that statement. The SpotBot is meant to clean a circular area. So if you have many spots that are in differing places on your carpet, then when all have been cleaned, it will look like some alien has just made "crop circles" in your front room. There is an easy solution, and that is to clean your carpets regularly. That way, the only circles you will see won't be because one spot is cleaner than the rest of the carpet, but because the brushes have made a circular pattern in your carpet. These circles can be easily taken out by either rubbing them out with your hand, or using a vacuum once that area has dried. Features: There are 3 main settings on the SpotBot. They are rather self explanatory, Surface Stain, Set-In Stain, and Manual (Hose). The Surface Stain option doesn't use as much cleaning solution and only runs for about 5 minutes or so. You can watch the brushes move in a circular pattern, and hear the suction as it engages. This option should be used for recent stains, like when my son ate too much candy and it came back up... Well you get the idea. The Set-In Stain option uses much more cleaning solution and runs for about 7 minutes. This should be used on spots that have been there for a while, like when the dog went number one in the corner of our closet, and we didn't find it until much later. The Manual Hose option is probably my favorite for a few reasons. First of all, you can control how much solution is used on a particular spot. The spray covers a good sized area and saturates the spot quickly. The hose extends about 5 feet and is very flexible. The attachment is fairly small which is good for cleaning hard to get at areas, like under the passenger's seat in my car. I found a year old baby bottle under there recently, which had leaked and made the car smell like "pus and feet" as my wife put it. The smell started just recently as the weather has begun to warm up. After a few passes with the SpotBot and its hose, the smell is gone and so is the stain. The attachment also has brushes so you can scrub the spot out. The suction strength is great, and leaves the spot damp, but not wet. Observations: From what I've seen and experienced over the past year, I am sold on the effectiveness of the SpotBot. It does what it is designed to do, and that is get out spots. It has taken out spots from makeup (which my son thought would be fun to draw on the carpet), to candle wax (don't ask), to fruit drinks and much more. The solution tank is rather small, and you will have to refill it a number of times depending on the amount and size of spots you are attacking. Also, the SpotBot is not quiet by any means. You will not be able to hear the TV if it is running anywhere nearby. Conclusion: The SpotBot is a miracle worker. So long to the days of getting on your hands and knees scrubbing out spots. This is one of the best cleaning tools to have come about for quite some time. In the end, I must state that every home should have one of these, because as the saying goes, "Spots Happen!"

We have had this SpotBot for about two years. It is used primarily for pet stains (cats) and typically does an excellent job. During the last three months, the gears have started slipping, making load grinding noises, and preventing the brushes from rotating. We have still used the manual brush successfully. Research has proved that the gears are not adjustable, and replacement parts are not available. I doubt that it is worth the time and expense to track down a Bissell repair center and have it fixed. One customer said he was told it wasn't repairable. Because, for two years, it worked well and saved much effort, I will buy another one. But, if I knew of another brand available, I would probably go with that.

The SpotBot isn't perfect but is very useful. It leaves a significant wet spot which I blot then cover with a rag until it dries. It only cleans a 6" circular area at a time and the inside of the hose gets/looks disgusting. It can be used manually & comes with a cleaning wand. To keep the hose & dirty water tank cleaner & fresher, I've been running it through a cycle with clean water & white vinegar. I have a 20 year old cat & an 11 year old dog...the past few months my SpotBot has become indispensable. Our cat has been having accidents & our nervous Tzu, has been throwing up about every other week. I finally figured out his pattern...he eats a little more than normal, then drinks off & on, more than normal, then throws up in several places 1 1/2 hours later. Don't clean up this mess with the SpotBot until you've gotten most of the solids cleaned up...otherwise the brush & hose will get very, very disgusting. I use 2 pcs. of cardboard cut from a cereal box or those junk mail postcards to clean the majority of the mess out of the carpet. I do this by holding one piece near the mess, to be used similar to a dustpan, and use the other piece like a scraper to scrape the mess onto the other (dustpan) piece then throw it all into the plastic grocery bag that I have ready. When that's finished, I use some rags to blot the mess, if necessary. Then either I put a mixture of white vinegar & water (on the mess), squirt carpet cleaner directly onto it (or a mixture of carpet cleaner & water), or I don't put anything on the mess. I fill the SpotBot with either water and white vinegar, or plain warm water & let it do its job. (I recently learned that vinegar is an effective and natural cleaner and disinfectant, with antimicrobial properties.) This unit used to come with a sample size OxyGen II which is a fantastic cleaner; I don't know if it is still included. I now keep OxiClean powder, which I mix with hot water, on hand to use for stubborn stains. Be sure to rinse the dirty water tank out when you're finished. You might want to check the brushes to see if they need cleaned. I prop the water tank & dirty water tank to let them drain & dry. The one time I didn't let them drain, the dirty water tank smelled very musty.

What a great machine! We have two small dogs and even though they are very good, they periodically have an accident. I used to have to try and treat them as best I could and leave them until I got out my Hoover Steam Vac, which was usually days or weeks later. The SpotBot is the answer. I am able to set it one the spot, let it clean it while I'm doing something else, and come back later. It does a great job on all my stains including ones that have been ground in or sitting for a long time and even some my Steam Vac couldn't get out. I'm not sure if its the machine, the chemicals, or the fact that it gets to spend three or six minutes (depending on cycle) on one spot, but it does a great job. I've just been using the regular Bissell chemical that came with the machine and it gotten everything out pretty well that I haven't even tried the Oxy Cleaner that also comes with it. I find their regular chemical does not get all the smell out of some pet stains, so I still have to pour a little of our regular animal stain pretreater directly on the stain before running the machine on pet stains. Bissell makes an animal stain formula, but I have not tried it yet. I agree with some of the other reviews about having little six inch circles where you have run the machine, but any circles I've had all go away when I clean the entire area with my Steam Vac. In fact I found the last time I was planning to do an entire room with the Steam Vac, I went around with the SpotBot first to get some of the really dirty spots out and it did a great job. The only other thing I would change is the end of cycle beeping, which beeps every 5-10 seconds until someone cancels it or unplugs the machine. One morning I ran the SpotBot on a spot and went to take a shower and had to listen to the thing beep incessantly until I could get to the machine. The storage tray (like everyone else has said) is shown in the manual, but not included witht the unit. I called Bissell to ask about it and they sent me one. Its a good thing to have because the unit will sometimes drip after its been used and the tray will catch the drips. Its been a great buy and I would recommend it to anyone who has pets or kids. UPDATE - Literaly the day after writing this review my unit quit working. The unit would run, but the brush head would not spin. I'd only had it for a little over a week and Amazon was great, promptly sending out a new unit second day shipment. I still like the unit so I left my original review. SECOND UPDATE - I received my second unit and it quit working after three uses. Unfortunately, Amazon will not send me another replacement because "the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought" and they are currently no longer offering the item for sale directly from Amazon, only other vendors. I'm very happy with Amazon's customer service and will continue to buy things from here. Its unfortunate that the SpotBots I've gotten have had problems because I really like the unit when it worked. I've left my original review up, but I wish I could drop a star or two for the reliability problems I've had witht he units.

There's no denying that this is a useful little tool--that's why it got more than 1 star. However... First, you don't need to buy much of the cleaning solution. For most jobs, just use water--much cheaper, and 90% of the time that works fine. The big complaint though is that it just isn't built to last. After 3 years of occasional use, it started jamming and making a god-awful racket. I took it apart to clean it, hoping there was just a big bit of fluff caught in the gears. Nope...it turns out that some of the plastic ball bearings are worn flat. Further, it was missing some, which caused those bearings to receive extra wear. After some quick online research, I found out that they shipped them *all* like this. I'm annoyed. I feel like Bissell is taking advantage of us by making cheap crap. For a few more cents per unit, they could have made them last many years longer--but they decided to cut corners instead. I'll think twice before buying *anything* from Bissell again. If this is their design philosophy, they don't deserve your hard-earned money.

I love this machine! Yes, it goes through the formula stupidly fast, and, yes, that stuff is expensive, but the SpotBot itself is pure genius! We have a very light, low pile carpet on which it works wonders. I would guess that those people who complain of "clean rings" have relatively dirty carpets to begin with (my carpet is less than two months old, which means the stains I have are only mildly set in). Also, the use of the Oxy-Gen, or any other oxygenated product, increases the likelihood of some bleaching of the carpet. They are, in effect, non-chlorinated bleaches, so don't use them. It's not necessary, anyway, in my experience. I have removed everything from oil residue tracked in by the moving company's dollys to deep pink white grape raspberry juice to cocktail sauce that set overnight WITHOUT the use of said products. I also don't have those rings. Speaking of the formulas, the Little Green formula (which is not the same as Simple Green as an older review suggests) works fantastically. Then again, so does the generic carpet cleaner from my local Sam's Club, which comes in a gigantic bottle and is then severely diluted, making it cost next to nothing. For oblong or odd-shaped stains, I use the manual hose rather than move the SpotBot around every three minutes. Even with carpal tunnel syndrome, I don't struggle to clean manually, as the product is just very well-made. Oh, and it's not heavy, unless you just really aren't accustomed to lifting anything at all. Bags of groceries easily weigh more than the SpotBot. In fact, I had to get after my two-year-olds for moving it one day when it was sitting there beeping after finishing a cycle. It would be nice if it beeped or something when the cleaning solution was out and when the dirty tank was full, but I suppose if you just pay attention, it's not a big deal. It's never squirted dirty water or anything, but it will stop sucking if the dirty tank gets too full. (And, yes, there's a line showing you exactly what is too full. I just get distracted easily.) :-] As for Amazon's service, this product was on sale when I purchased it ($25 off of certain items costing more than $125), with free shipping. I received it approximately 36 hours after ordering it. That is amazing service that keeps me a returning customer! All is all, my husband and I love this product! I couldn't imagine that something that didn't require work on my part could work so well, but I have been plesantly surprised. We have twin 25-months-olds, and with the potty training process about to begin, I am confident that my carpet will remain spot- and odor-free. I'm adding the following to my review: After having the SpotBot for one year, the motor on automatic cleaner went out. I do not know if it can be fixed, but I am certain that the warranty is only twelve months long-- and, of course, we're about two weeks past that date! The manual hose still works, so we still use it, but at this point I find my full-size carpet cleaner just as efficient.

I am cheap. I will admit it. But this just seemed like a great investment for a mom of a 19 month old and another baby due in a few months. I was so excited to get this item! I couldn't wait to see how it worked since just about every review was a 4 or 5 star one. I got it next day from Amazon. I quickly tried it on old spots. Used the Roxy stuff and didnt even lighten any of them. Even the one that dried only a few hours ago. SO far I was far from impressed. My son's sippy cup leaked and the fruit punch getfit on the carpet... here was a FRESH, WET stain! I put the SpotBot IMMEDIATELY on the spot and it lightened it but the spot is still very there! OK... so my problems with this unit.... (1) Yes the cleaned spot is wet but you can always take the manual handle and rub the spot to help suck extra moisture out.. otherwise it took over half a day for a small spot to dry. So while its wet, you can minimize it so that wasn't terribly bad. (2) It is very loud! Much louder then my vacuum. My son covers his ears and runs when he sees it and it is too noisy in my opinion. (3) Yes its quick - either 3 or 6 minute cycles but... it has yet to clean any spot back to normal!. (4) It actually makes spots WORSE on our carpet. We have a Berber type carpet. There is no padding underneath. Just wood. Running the SpotBot makes the area where it was darker then the rest not lighter like others have said. I am realizing this may not be the fault of the SpotBot but it does horribles on our carpet. I wanted to return it 2 days after getting it. Sadly, unless you order DIRECTLY through Bissell (they offer a 30-day money back guarantee), you are out of luck if you used the item before returning! So now we;re left with a big, useless, heavy paperweight! I wanted to get my mother one for her new carpet, but I am afraid of what it will do to hers and I dont want to be responsible if it does bad things liek it did to ours. I had to share my experience.

I don't often give out a Five Star rating. But this Little Green HydroSteamer deserves 6 stars. I have carpeted stairs - several flights. This thing is fantastic to use to clean them. It is light (even with a full tank of water), easy to use, and most importantly, an excellent cleaner. The HydroSteam is great. Two tanks ARE GREAT. Trust me, when you see the dirty water in the tank, you will want to be sure you have a "clean" and a "dirty" tank. Turn it on, wait about 10 seconds to heat up and off you go. It also works great in "quick dry" mode which simply avoids the excessive steam. Maybe use this for upholstery? The thing works great with or without the steam. Sure you can get an upright with attachments but then you have to lug the upright and the hose all over the place. A much tougher job. With this little guy, it makes it so quick and easy that you WANT to use it.