It’s exhausting to consider making area for an additional cleansing gadget, however bear with me. At solely 17.25 inches large and 12.75 inches excessive, the Little Green cleaner is fairly true to its identify. It’s roughly the width of two basketballs—but it surely’s a lot simpler to handle with one hand as a result of it has a deal with. It additionally has a 15-foot energy wire and a 4-foot cleansing hose, which can sound like muddle ready to gather mud, however all the pieces wraps across the gadget neatly. We sometimes preserve the Little Green cleaner on our laundry shelf or within the backside of a closet subsequent to the cleansing resolution.

You dilute that resolution with water within the tank on the left facet of the gadget. When prepared, you simply flip the Little Green cleaner’s on change, discover your spot, and pull the set off on the deal with to spray the cleansing resolution. After you’ve coated the spot, you return over the realm with the comb a couple of times, however with out pulling the set off—at this level, you need the unit to suck up the spray, not add to it. After you’re completed, the realm will likely be damp however clear.

If you’re not a fan of perfumes, you might not love the scent of the cleansing resolution. There are variations loaded with sturdy scents from Febreeze and Oxy, however the scent dissipates fairly rapidly. (And it helps if I mild a candle as soon as I’m achieved cleansing, as effectively.) If you discover that it’s nonetheless too sturdy, you may attempt diluting the answer additional with slightly extra water, although a Bissell spokesperson advised us that it’s finest to make use of one of many branded cleansing options, as different detergents may harm the machine or your materials. However, you may as well choose to do a rinse cycle with simply clear heat water after you’ve completed the preliminary cleansing along with your components.

There’s additionally a plant-based cleansing resolution that I’m taken with making an attempt, however the bottles final some time—my household remains to be engaged on the 32-ounce one we bought over a yr in the past. (The Little Green cleaner comes with an 8-ounce, trial-size bottle.)

Once you’re achieved scrubbing, the Little Green cleaner wants slightly love itself, as a result of the factor will get nasty. It’s truly form of satisfying—and nauseating—to see how gross the gathering tank turns into. You know you’ve achieved one thing good!

The very first thing you’ll want to do is dump the soiled water tank into the sink or rest room. This is, in fact, after you’ve taken a photograph and despatched it to your vital different, dad and mom, and whoever else can be impressed, amazed, and horrified by the Little Green cleaner’s success. (It’s stunning to see what you’ve been dwelling with or sitting in.) Then, simply rinse the tank with water.

Next, you’ll want to clear the comb and the hose. You can simply try this by getting ready a bowl of unpolluted water and sucking it via the hose as for those who had been cleansing that bowl. This step ought to rinse each the hose and the comb.

You may also rinse each items individually for a deeper clear, for those who favor. To be sincere, I don’t clear the hose each time I take advantage of my Little Green cleaner. I’m simply that lazy. But it’s very simple to do: First, push the button on the again of the comb to detach it from the hose, after which connect the included HydroRinse Self Cleaning Tool. Some Wirecutter staffers have mentioned that their Little Green unit didn’t include the HydroRinse device, but it surely’s a bizarre, tiny doodad that’s simple to lose within the field—and as soon as you discover it, you’ll most likely be like, “What’s this?” It’s slightly piece that connects to the top of the hose to clamp it off. After you set it on, simply run the Little Green cleaner with the cleansing resolution or plain water, and the device retains the liquid circulating, with none leakage. (And if you’re completed, you may clamp the device proper onto the outer a part of the hose so that you don’t lose it.)

Since the comb does many of the soiled work, cleansing that half is a little more essential, so naturally, it’s harder to do. Most of the time, simply rinsing works, however in case you have pets or particularly messy people in your family, you might have to get in there to clear issues out. And that isn’t at all times simple as a result of it accommodates slightly clear barrier above the bristles that doesn’t snap off, which suggests particles can typically get caught.

I’ve used a cotton swab to root round for cat hair, but in addition simply soaking it for a bit often helps. Bissell gives two substitute brushes which have a detachable barrier: a 3-inch brush and a 6-inch brush. We haven’t examined them, however after I reached out to customer support as a buyer, not a Wirecutter staffer, the consultant provided to ship me one freed from cost.

Although I’ve used the Little Green cleaner on giant items of furnishings, Bissell suggests utilizing it just for spot cleansing—and that’s what we suggest in our information, too. For greater jobs, use a bigger machine; we just like the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner and the Bissell CrossWave for that goal. Your outcomes could differ relying in your stains—no spot cleaner we examined was capable of fully take away dried-up Nutella and peanut butter, for instance.

But it’s simply so exhausting to restrict myself when the Little Green cleaner does so effectively. I’ve had no points with it, and I hope that it by no means offers up—very similar to I did earlier than getting it.

This article was edited by Rachelle Bergstein and Catherine Kast.