Does the Bissell ProHeat 2X dry the carpet?

As a dog owner, you know there are certain times of the year where muddy paws are inevitable. You can try to prepare with towels and designated dog areas when you arrive back home after a long walk, but you can guarantee at least once a day you will be caught out with one dog running inside while you're still trying to get another in and you'll end up shouting 'you haven't cleaned your feet yet!' to the furry heels of the dog who's now standing on the fabric sofa (the one your husband always told you would become a big dog bed) or who has now galloped onto your cream carpets, possibly also chased by another dog and you know the battle for clean floors has gone for the day, but you knew it would happen eventually. It always does.

At home I have a cat and three dogs. Mia, our older Rottweiler who runs only to her Petzi. At almost 11 years old, her motto is 'spend calories to consume calories'. She's joined by two younger boys dubbed the 'hardy boys' who she's more than happy to keep in check.

Christopher is just over two years old and Danny, his partner in crime is probably around 4 1/2 years old.

Together, their theme tune would be an adapted version of Journey's 'Anyway You Want It' - they love to move, they love to groove, they love a lot of things.

And together they've managed to wreak havoc in our garden creating a running track around the middle bush which began with Christopher stalking Danny until he gave in and ran around the tree followed promptly by Christopher. Rain + dirt = well, you can imagine, can't you.

Over the years I've often tried different vacuums to find one which can help me to keep my poor cream carpets as clean as possible, spot cleaning the carpets wherever possible, but ultimately I've always known vacuuming only solves half of the problem.

One of the biggest problems I find is how to spot clean without then realising just how dirty the rest of the carpet is - have you ever experienced this? You clean one area only to see how clean that now is versus the rest of the carpet which you'd assumed was fine?

I've used a carpet cleaner once before at home and I admit it, I ruined our carpets. I didn't really know what I was doing and ended up basically flooding the carpet. It couldn't dry and all of the normal problems carried on on top of what felt like a damp carpet. It was a nightmare so we just replaced.

Recently we were given the chance to review BISSELL's new Carpet Cleaner Revolution™, specifically the ProHeat 2X Revolution (RRP £299.99) which arrived with a bundle of cleaning solutions, some specific for pet owners. I registered the claim on the box that it dries within around an hour and exhaled with some relief.

Both nervous and eager, I got ready to put it to the test.

The box was thoroughly investigated while being opened and I unpacked each of the different components ready to put together.

Pretty straightforward, aside from what was in the box all I needed was a screwdriver to hand to fasten the carry handle in place.

Then, I took note of all of the cleaning solutions to work out which did what and worked out which I should use.

I consulted the user guide included which told me all about each of the solutions but I was still unsure after reading if I should use one (the colour coded yellow topped anti-bacterial solution) or whether I had to use this plus one other, so I consulted google and watched various videos.

Fairly confident afterwards that you can choose which solution (singular) you'd like to use based on your needs I opted to use the larger 'Wash and Protect' bottle which has been designed for pet owners.

I decided to first begin on one of our most used rooms, which also didn't have that big a floor space and I could easily begin at the furthest corner and then clean backing out of the room, meaning I wouldn't have to tread on any of the just cleaned carpet as I went along. I also knew I could close the door behind me preventing paws entering and investigating my handy work.

With the cleaner now all put together, my plan for which solution to use in place and room decided, I now had to vacuum and prepare the carpet.

Before cleaning area 1

This area has the largest footfall from the door and wear and tear of older dogs and puppies alike. It also has a dog bed next to the radiator, which when lifted up has a noticeably lighter circle underneath.

Before area 2

Before area 3

Vacuuming complete to what I thought was a decent standard, I used the 'Pet Stain & Odour Remover + Antibacterial' spray to pre-treat the floor.

The carpet cleaner itself looks a heavy and durable piece of kit, and it's weight reflects that but the carry handle does lighten the load.

It's worth noting that the user guide tells you how much solution to use based on whether you are going to 'express clean' or 'deep clean'. I had chosen to deep clean on the basis the carpet has stains and is frequently used. On this basis, I also knew it wouldn't dry within the estimated hour time period which is for express cleans, but I felt it was a good tester for how long it would take to dry on a deep clean.

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Armed with my materials I set off to fill up as needed. The clean water tank has different lines visible from the outside with instructions as to where to fill the hot (not boiling) water up to, and then where to fill the solution up to.

I think this is more specifically for the yellow-capped anti-bacterial solution on the basis that you can simply screw the yellow top from the solution into the yellow top on the tank, but if you're using other solution as I was, I took guidance from the user guide as to how much to use.

The 'Wash and Protect' bottle has a handy cap with measuring lines inside to help you with this but it's worth noting these are in fluid oz measurements and the user guide is in millilitres, so I had to quickly google (thank you google!) converting 74ml as needed.

Now ready, I slotted the clean water tank back into the cleaner, made sure it was switched to 'deep clean' and turned on ready to begin once more reminding myself of the instructions in the user guide.

For deep cleaning, hold the trigger under the handle (as pictured below) to spray twice and make two slow wet passes - 1 forward and 1 back. Release the trigger and make two slow dry passes - 1 forward and 1 back to suck up any dirty solution.

By the time I'd completed two thirds of the floor, the solution had gone so after emptying the dirty water tank which was now full (or too full depending on whether the cleaner was tilted in use or upright) I decided to use 'express mode' giving me the chance to compare drying times and cleaning performance in one room. I re-filled ready to use on express mode, this meant using the same amount of water but 37ml of formula only.

How to empty the tank

Life the handle

Use the rubber flap at the back to empty and re-close when all dirty water is out.

Before slotting the dirty water tank back in, check the red filter for debris. If clear or when clear, re-slot the tank back in.

I switched to express mode using the lever at the side re-started. Essentially using the same format of two wet passes, 1 forward and 1 back, release the spray trigger and make two dry passes, 1 forward and 1 back but I didn't need to do it slowly like I had for the deep clean.

It's worth noting that for the deep clean when using the yellow capped anti-bacterial solution the user guide recommends you make three slow wet passes, 1 forward, 1 back, 1 forward again before releasing the trigger and then make 1 slow dry pass to suck up the dirty solution.

Once finished, I emptied for the second time and I took in the floral scent which reminded me of one of two things - either the pet friendly cottage we stayed at when we got married or my gran. It's a pleasant smell without being overpowering.

I stood back and surveyed my handy work from the edge of the room and packed up the carpet cleaner ready to close the door and allow to dry realising the cleaner hadn't felt that heavy to use. In fact, it felt quite nimble.

The red brushes which got into the hard to reach corners worked brilliantly and it found pet hairs I didn't know existed and so I didn't need to use the 2-in-1 Crevice Tool or attachments (Tough Stain Tool and Nozzle Cleaning Tool) which come with the cleaner in a handy bag.

I packed everything up ready to move out of reach downstairs and decided my hard work (took around 30 minutes) was worthy of a cuppa while I waited to see how long it would take to dry.

Sadly, by the time I had gotten downstairs I realised someone had left a dirty paw print (I blame the cat) on the carpet and thought it was a good chance to use the 'Pet Spotlifter' solution which can be used on stains or dirt.

After removing the safety clip, I held the brush down over the muddy area and set about cleaning. It advises you use a small amount then brush in using the green bristled brush at the top of the bottle, working in lines then circling over the brush stroke lines and blot away any excess solution afterwards.

It did make a difference, although I think further highlighted the difference between clean and dirty like night and day.

I think this room might be my next carpet cleaning mission! This room is quite large in floor space but I think the 7m cable length should be fine.

After about an hour I checked on the room cleaned earlier, it was still damp so I left for another hour. The area which had been express cleaned was dry in about two and the area I had deep cleaned took about four. It's worth noting that this was on a winter's day with a window open, I think in the summer with warmer temperatures able to breeze through it would dry quicker.

After cleaning and dried area 1

The lighter area which had been there underneath the bed now blended with the rest of the carpet. I was really surprised, given this was the area cleaned on the express clean that it had disappeared, I'd assumed it would have needed the deep clean treatment!

After area 2

Stains gone.

After area 3

Stains gone.

All in all, once I felt comfortable that I knew what to do and had googled videos or measurment comparisons, I was impressed with the cleaner and felt comfortable that my experience of carpet cleaning years ago wouldn't be replicated because this is a very comprehensive carpet cleaning piece of kit - it looks like a professional cleaner and indeed BISSELL do say it out cleans the leading rental in the field.

It also comes with a 6 year warranty which gives peace of mind and I think for the price, will be well used regularly - especially when compared to either buying and replacing the carpets if they visibly look too far gone purely because of their colour or bringing in a professional cleaner.

Thanks to BISSELL for sending to us for review! To read more about them or check out their reviews online visit www.bisselldirect.co.uk or more third party reviews on Amazon.co.uk.

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