Do you ever wonder if you’re really getting your money’s worth when you rent a carpet cleaner? My husband and I rented both the Rug Doctor and the BISSELL Big Green to see which one really one really does a better job.
We have often borrowed my parents’ carpet cleaner. Having kids, they are a mess. We probably clean our carpets every couple of months. It’s always amazing when my husband is finished, and I see how clean they really are.
I honesty thought there wouldn’t be much of a difference. We got similar “oxy” cleaning solutions for both, and I really assumed I wouldn’t be able to tell a difference. I was totally wrong.
I rented the BISSELL Big Green at Lowe’s, and it could not have been easier. They were so nice and just explained the process and what I needed to clean before returning it. The machines were right at the entrance by customer service. I was in and out in 5 minutes.
Now the Rug Doctor was another story, I’m not sure if this is all places that rent Rug Doctor, but The Home Depot acted like we were criminals planning to tear up the machine. The “Tool Rental” was on the far end of the store, full of all kinds of tools and very cluttered. The employee who helped us was rude and basically threatening when explaining what needed to be cleaned before we returned it. I was really worried about missing a single spot when I cleaned and returned it. I did not feel that way when I rented the BISSELL Big Green.
First, the Rug Doctor is a pain to mix up. You have to do a lot of measuring with so many gallons of water to a so many cups of solution. You have to use your own separate bucket to mix the water and solution before pouring it into the machine directly. I made a huge mess pouring the water solution into the machine that had to be cleaned up.
Once, you’ve done that, you replace the top part that catches the dirty water. I was amazed the filter was just held on by this pressure from this little metal bar.
With the BISSELL Big Green it was easy. You can easily remove the clean water tank from the machine and take it to the sink. No separate mixing bucket needed. You just fill the water to a certain line and pour in two caps of solution. No measuring!
Then, everything fits together nicely, and it’s ready to go.
To test them out, we used our most heavily trafficked hallway right in front of the kitchen. You can see how bad it is in all its glory. Just yuck! We did one half with the Rug Doctor and one half with the BISSELL Big Green.
Check out this video of them in action:
Who was the clear winner? These photos are untouched. Can you see the difference?
My husband went over with the Rug Doctor several passes, and it would not get clean. With the BISSELL Big Green he only did two passes. I was astonished there was such a difference.
The clear winner was The BISSELL Big Green Rental Carpet Cleaner!
You can get professional-grade carpet cleaning any time you want with the BISSELL Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine. It features both a large capacity clean-water tank and dirty-water tank, so you can get a good deep cleaning without so many trips to the sink to change out the water. Plus, it’s rotating DirtLifter® PowerBrushes remove that deep down dirt fast from carpet and clean both ways with forward and backward passes.
The deep down powerful clean you want is now available in your home.
Want to rent a BISSELL Big Green? You can find a location near you. Click HERE to grab a $10 OFF Coupon for your Rental of BISSELL Big Green!
You can WIN a FREE RENTAL COUPON for a BISSELL Big Green! All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me What do you look forward to most about renting the BISSELL Big Green?
40 comments
Do they make a carpet cleaner for those who is chemical sensitive
The Bissell sounds great. I have some tough stains on my finished basement carpet that this would be perfect for .
First of all, my carpets look much worse than yours. But then again, we live in an apartment and our carpet was not new (or cleaned) when we moved in. Second, I had no idea Bissell had a cleaning machine to rent!! WHAT? Third, I am a little envious and now I want to clean our carpets! I wonder if I can rent the Bissell at any other store.
To me, a GOOD vacuum is a MUST HAVE! This one looks ridiculously easy to use AND handy! I will definitely be adding this to my shopping list! 🙂
It’s not fun to clean the carpet at all, there’s just so many things to do from shampooing to drying and all of that. It is definitely so much better when you have a carpet cleaner as reliable as Bissell!
Ooh, thanks for testing these. I’d love to clean the carpet in our living room! It’s due for a touch-up.
I would have love to try this but we dont have a carpet. my house is pretty simple and not much things haha but a carpet in the future would be nice for winter and probably try this too!
I’m okay with my own cleaner but this really looks like an awesome machine. I like the convenience factor with it and it really sounds like it works well. Thanks for the discount chance!
I wish we have that here in the Philippines.
We don’t have a carpet at home but thanks for sharing. I will send this to my friends who have carpet at home.
I totally need to clean my carpets. This Bissell would be perfect! 🙂 Look how it left yours!
I hate seeing stains of on bed cover, I don’t have a carpet. I love cleaning products with bleach- works well. Your reviews are very helpful.
Carpet cleaning makes me lethargic, but your reviews are great. So I will consider these machines whenever I’ll go out to purchase new one.
Wow, the difference is amazing. The Bissell system and experience just sounds a whole lot better and easier.
What a timely post for me. I’ve been wanting to clean my carpets for a while but didn’t want to hassle with the Rug Doctor. I was thinking of buying a Bissell shampooer — I didn’t know they made a rental! Thanks for the coupon.
I love that you conducted a test to determine which one works better. We have a Bissell and love it.
I look forward to our family room smelling fresh and clean.
How fun that you got to do a test of the two. You really can see the big difference.
When it comes to cleaning a carpet you are surely going to have a big challenge ahead & when you have one such carpet cleaner from a great brand like Bissell, I am sure it is going to be so easy to handle.
What a impressive tips. I need to remove the stains on our carpet and always fresh smell
I’d really love to win because we’re getting ready to sell our house and the last parts that we’re working on is the cleaning and painting. I’d love to get our rooms deep cleaned
With three children, it seems like I can never get the house clean / clean enough. With the summer, they’ll be spending the majority of their time with their sports or at sports camps so I can really dig into the carpets and pretty much everything.
Great review – thanks so much for testing these rug cleaners. The Bissell Big Green sounds perfect for cleaning the spills left on the TV room carpet by our two little ones! Would be great to use before our summer company arrives next month!
We have two furbabies and four young kids. With summer looming in our future and the traveling between outdoors and the living room, my poor carpet looks nothing like what we got when we purchased our home. I would love to win this to try to get back what i once had. Plus I love that you guys have done the work testing both! I have tried the Rug Doctor personally and was not impressed. I had a friend that told me about the Big Green and what great results she had. Now that I see your post, I know!
Carpet cleaning rental tools are often overlooked when they should be considered a very viable option. This is a good comparison of top cleaners and should be used if you are ever considering this option to clean your carpets from stains or if you want just an overall good finish. Thanks for the post!
This was perfect information! I’m really looking forward to cleaning the mess left by my cats, the bissel would be perfect for removing hair ball and liter stains (ewww)! I’d love to win a coupon!
Ive heard a lot about the Big Green, and I have a serious test for it. My carpets haven’t been cleaned in years. Im looking to rent the best carpet cleaner and will buy one if it cleans them well.
I was thinking what ratings on the do it yourself carpet cleaners. I will try bristel. I am looking for deep cleaning and clean shampoo.
I have a very busy household. Teenagers and highly active young adults equal a lot of foot traffic. Let’s not forget “Lucky” our dog.
Food/liquid spills, foot traffic, and pet stains equal a very dirty carpet upstairs and down. I need a tough heavy duty machine that can meet this challenge. Then when I come home, I can enter the threshold with a smile and peaceful satisfaction
I am always thought about this, thanks for posting.
We have a Bissell Pro Heat for Pets and love it. We are looking to rent a Rug Doctor to do some deep cleaning on the carpets and couches using their attachments. After reading most of the reviews from your website, as well as the comparison of the two machines, we want to try the Bissell. Based upon your comparison, it seems the Bissell is the better of the two! Thank you for making the choice much easier!
Very good demo. Headed to get the bissell
Thanks for the blog and video! We have a friend coming from Paris to stay at our home for a month, so we’ll rent the Bissell this weekend based on your recommendation, rather than the big clunky Rug Doctor from Home Depot that we tried a couple years ago for her previous visit. Can’t wait to see a clean carpet again!
Thanks for the useful journal. I will rent this machine tomorrow. Thanks for the coupon.
I look forward to finally getting a deep down clean
With professional style results
Im looking forward to finally getting a deep down clean with Bissell big green
I’m happy to finally get my carpets refurbished and sanitized
I’m happy to finally get my carpets refurbished
And deep down clean
I’m looking forward to trying the big green out. I just want my carpets to look like we can drink from a cup with out spilling any. I have used rug doctor in the past, but one look at those results show the clear winner in gonna try the big green.
This is great information, thank you for sharing it. We just had our carpets cleaned professionally to get some pet stains out and I want to be better with cleaning the messes myself right after they happen. This helps a lot! Thanks for sharing!