BISSELL Big Green Carpet Cleaner 86T3 Review

The Bissell Big Bissell 86T3/86T3Q carpet cleaner is the go to machine for most professionals. It has a reputation for cleaning extremely well and is widely used in commercial applications. It is also available for rental at companies like Home Depot and Lowes. The rental is especially useful for home owners who need to use a heavy duty carpet cleaner once in a few months to refresh and clean their carpet of pet vomit, pet stains, pet urine and get rid of the pungent smell these situations leave behind.

In this BISSELL Big Green Carpet Cleaner 86T3 review, we’ll look at the pros and cons of this carpet cleaner.

Pros of the Bissell Big Green 86T3

The tanks are large capacity, larger even than other Bissell and Rug Doctor carpet cleaning machines
This is a professional carpet cleaner. If it can’t get the spot out, it isn’t coming out
The Big Green has flow indicators like fuel dials, letting you know when the dirty water tank is filling up and the detergent is running out
The power brushes work on even the thickest carpets.
This model requires no assembly
You can fold down the handle to store it in a closet. When the handle is folded down, it is only 25 inches tall
The unit has a five year limited warranty
It comes with cleaning attachments for upholstery, namely a six inch wide stair tool and nine foot hose. Separately purchased, a comparable Bissell upholstery tool set with a ten foot long hose and five and a half inch wide brush / vacuum head is about sixty dollars. These attachments are easy to put on and stay on while you are working
If you use a steam cleaner or professional spot removing machine from the hardware store or rented from the grocery store often, you’ll get equivalent cleaning without the hassle of driving to and from the store
The dual motors do a great job of sucking all of the moisture out of the carpet as it moves across the floor. You won’t have to wait a few hours for the carpet to dry before you can walk on it
Unless the mess contains heavy solids, this machine will get it clean in a single pass
The power cord is around 25 feet long. You’ll be able to clean most rooms without having to unplug it. You may or may not be able to clean a whole house without emptying the tanks
This carpet cleaner will handle Berber carpet and pet fur without fuzzing up
Bissell overall receives very high marks from Consumer Reports for reliability, with seven percent of its vacuums needing repair in a given year

Cons of the Bissell Big Green 86T3

For the price you will pay for a Bissell 86T3, you can have your whole house professionally cleaned at least once if not twice. And for that price, you could have the trouble spots in your home cleaned half a dozen times by a pro or rent one of the carpet cleaners from the store at least a dozen times.
This machine is expensive and not worth the cost or effort for most home owners. The only exception would be a pet owner with a “leaky” pet, a home daycare owner with a lot of little mess makers spilling grape juice every day, a house cleaner or someone seriously devoted to meticulous white carpets.
For someone who only occasionally needs to remove pet stains, wine stains or kid messes from the carpet, the Deep Clean Essential by Bissell is a better deal.

Check Out More Reviews of the Bissell 86T3 Here

Observations of the Bissell Big Green

The “complete” cleaning formula recommended for the Big Green is $40 to $60 for one gallon. However, this one gallon will last many uses. The other carpet cleaning liquids are $20 to $30 for a gallon or so. There are pet deep cleaning formulas for cleaning up pet vomit and waste for $30. A general carpet cleaner liquid with Febreeze scents is $22. The general Bissell brand deep cleaning formula is $20 for 48 ounces.

Comments

Joe schrauf says

March 11, 2017 at 4:06 pm

What happens on tile floors.works great on carpet. Whats all the cons on tile floors

- A. Simmons says
  
  March 14, 2017 at 4:56 am
  
  This model is for carpets . Have not tried it on tile floors. A steam mop would be a better option for tile floors.
  
Steve Drake says

September 14, 2018 at 1:37 am

My older cheaper Bissel model quit in the middle of shampooing. Left me with soap and water in the carpet. Now, I’ve been looking at the Green Machine, but was skeptical of the price. So, I went to my local Lowes and rented one. Wow, I was impressed with it’s performed. I rinsed my carpets and the faint stains that I had conceded would not going away, did with the GM. I just order one from Amazon.

- Kerri says
  
  September 8, 2019 at 8:16 pm
  
  I did the same, I saw the price decided to rent one, I must admit I’m searching for prices, I must own one now!! I loved it!!!
  
Erik says

September 22, 2018 at 12:49 am

This machine is so good that I am buying one for my home detailing business. No more hiring unreliable private contractors

Angela says

March 24, 2019 at 7:51 am

This green machine is the best carpet cleaner I have ever had. Definitely worth the money.