Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner review: effortless deep cleaning

The diminutive Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner does exactly what it’s supposed to, as long as you’re spot cleaning or cleaning a small area.

Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner being tested in writer's home
(Image: © Future)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

The Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is an affordable way to keep carpets and upholstery looking their best. Whether you’re picking up tough stains from a carpet or pet hair from a sofa, this will do the trick. Of course, it can be tiring to use for larger jobs and once it’s assembled, you won’t be able to disassemble (if a part breaks, for instance). But, overall, this little green machine performs exactly as it should.

Pros

  • +

    Does a great job cleaning

  • +

    Setup and use is straightforward

  • +

    Durable

  • +

    Almost budget-level

Cons

  • -

    Can’t disassemble front insert

  • -

    Not great for large areas

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If you feel like you’re seeing double with this review on the Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner, it’s not because you need glasses. We recently reviewed its close cousin, the Bissell Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet Cleaner. While this review will try to focus mostly on this non-ProHeat version, there will be some comparisons as they’re very similar but with some subtle differences.

Like the ProHeat version, the Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner is incredibly simple to set up and use. When you use it for its intended purpose, it does its job perfectly. As I mentioned in that other review (which also holds here), this is a great cleaning companion to the best vacuum cleaners and a contender for best carpet cleaner.

The way this has been designed shows that Bissell knows what it’s doing. After all, the company has been around since before electricity (1876, if you’re curious). We’ll get into details of the design and performance, but suffice it to say that it’s almost perfect as it is. While the ProHeat version does slightly improve upon it, it excels and suffers in the same ways.

The Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner is a small job-level cleaner. If you want to clean a whole house, you’ll get back pain doing it with this. But, if you have a small area with a deep stain, this model can get it out. It’s essentially the opposite of the best robot vacuums, which are great for everyday overall cleaning but not so good at deep cleaning. In essence, this spot cleaner is an ideal appliance to supplement your vacuum, whatever you’re using.

James Holland
James Holland

James Holland has spent the last three years testing, reviewing, and writing about all sorts of tech, whether it be computers and related peripherals to smart home devices, robot vacuums, and kitchen appliances.

His work has been published in Top Ten Reviews, TechRadar, T3.com, and Android Police. When he’s not working, he’s playing music or at least pretending to. He also likes to eat questionable fusion-type foods.

James tested the Bissell Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet Cleaner over the course of a week, using it on both carpet and upholstery to see how it fares in different conditions.

Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner: Key specs

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Model no:Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner, 1400B
Typecarpet cleaner
Dustbin capacity 48 oz
Suitable forCarpet, Upholstery
Dimensions9.29 x 19.02 x 13.39 inches
Weight9.65 lbs
StorageFreestanding, attachments clip on
Warranty1 year, limited

Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner : Price and availability

With a list price of $123.59, I consider the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner very affordable. It might have light-on features, but what do you need with a small handheld carpet cleaner anyway? It does what it needs to and at an affordable price. Plus, it’s widely available, whether you order it directly from Bissell or get it from one of the big retailers such as Walmart, Target, or Amazon. Since it is so widely available, shop for the best price. It's also a popular product during sales events, so it gets rounded up with Amazon Prime Day deals and the best Black Friday deals.

As I mentioned in my review of the Bissell Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet Cleaner, the sample-size cleaning solution won’t last very long, so add in the price of a bottle of solution when considering this product. A 32-oz. bottle costs $12.99. Unlike the ProHeat version, you don’t get as many cleaning accessories, so you’ll have to factor that in as well. The crevice tool I mentioned above retails for $10.34, for instance.

Score: 5 / 5

Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner: First impressions

When unpacking the Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner, it’s impressive how tightly the company packed it, as this carpet cleaner is almost as big as the bog. It comes with two inserts, three accessories, and a sample size of Bissell’s Oxy Spot & Stain (with Febreze) cleaning solution.

As with the ProHeat version, I didn’t need to read the manual to figure out how to assemble or use it. Sliding the two inserts into place, which hold the hose, is about as easy as it gets, though the one in the back does require a screwdriver. 

Of the included accessories, the “3-inch tough stain tool” clips onto the hose, while the self-cleaning accessory sits on the handle until needed when you switch them. There’s also a black spraying crevice tool for getting into corners that don’t seem to have a proper storage place on the unit. And, looking at the product page, you might not have to order it separately.

Except for that crevice tool, you’ll end up with a single, compact, and portable unit with everything you need within arm’s length.

Bissell Little Green Carpet Cleaner with accessories

Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner with accessories (Image credit: Bissell)

Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner: Design

As the name states, the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is green and little. It's an off-putting green for whatever reason. However, don’t let that detract from what’s on offer here. It’s a compact and ingeniously designed unit with a clean water and solution tank on one side and a dirty water tank on the other. The hose wraps around the base, and except for the self-cleaning tool attached to the sizeable handle, everything is very sturdy (the self-cleaning tool has a habit of falling off quickly).

One of the only real issues I have with the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is that the front insert is in there for good. If you somehow break a piece off, it’s very tough to remove. That said, Bissell does offer replacement parts. I’ve already alluded to my other issue, which is that there isn’t much on-unit storage for additional accessories.

But at least the four-foot hose and fifteen-foot extension cord mean that you don’t have to cart the unit around too much while working on an area. Of course, that changes if you try to clean a whole room with this, but that’s not the purpose of this guy.

Bissell Little Green Carpet Cleaner

Partially assembled (Image credit: Bissell)

As far as controls go, there’s an on/off button at the center of the cleaner and a spray button underneath the hose's end. There’s also a clasp at the end of the hose for attaching and releasing the accessories.

The clean and dirty water tanks, both with a sizable 48 oz. capacity, are secure during use and very easy to remove to either fill up or empty. The clean water tank marks the ratio of solution to water, though there’s only one line for each, meaning you may have plenty of water and solution left over if you’re just cleaning up a small stain.

Bissell Little Green Carpet Cleaner

attachment opened (Image credit: Bissell)

As far as the accessories themselves, the main one is a basic three-inch tool with bristles and a suction area, while the crevice tool looks like one of those edge attachments that come with vacuum cleaners – there are no bristles, just long, narrow areas to suck up water. The self-cleaning tool essentially caps the hose so that water cycles through the hose and into the dirty water tank thereby cleaning the hose.

Score: 4.5 / 5

Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner: Performance

I tested the Bissell Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet Cleaner on both carpets and upholstery, and the results were great. While I felt like I had to do an extra pass compared to the ProHeat version, the difference is minimal. And, just like that other version, this one gets to about 79 dB during use, which is loud but manageable.

Bissell Little Green Carpet Cleaner

In use (Image credit: Bissell)

Using the cleaner is incredibly easy. You just remove the clean water tank (and all you have to do is tug) and fill it with the appropriate cleaner solution and hot tap water. Put the tank back in, plug it in near the cleaning job, turn it on, and go to work. This carpet cleaner separates the water application from the suction, so you need to press the spray button underneath the hose and point the accessory at and around the area you want to clean, getting it nice and wet. Then, you just vacuum up the water. Easy-peasy.

I did this on carpet stains from a heavily trafficked area, and it took just a couple of minutes to remove them. The carpet cleaner was also used on a large sofa to remove the sheddings of two rambunctious dogs, and it didn’t take too long to remove all remnants of pet hair from there as well.

Bissell Little Green Carpet Cleaner

In use on couch (Image credit: Bissell)

The only thing to remember is that this carpet cleaner is small despite its 48 oz. capacity, you won’t want to use this on a large area as you’ll give yourself back pain. As mentioned, there is a four-foot hose and fifteen-foot extension cord, but you’ll still end up on your hands and knees while cleaning with this. It’s not a replacement for a wet vac if you have a whole apartment or home to clean.

While emptying the dirty water tank and cleaning it out is incredibly easy – there’s just a release lever holding it in place – the main accessory is difficult to clean. It has a see-through lid, as I experienced with the accessories from the ProHeat version, but unlike those, it is seemingly impossible to pry it off – there’s no release button – and clean out hair.

Score: 4.5 / 5

Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner

dirty water tank during use (Image credit: Bissell)

Should you buy the Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner?

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Score Card
AttributeNotesRating
PriceThe price is more than right for the simple and straightforward little carpet cleaner.5/5
DesignIt’s easy to set up and easy to use, though there’s some concern about how easily replaceable some parts are.4.5/5
PerformanceCleaning is a breeze here and so is maintaining it, except for cleaning out the accessory.4.5/5

Buy it if...

You need a great spot cleaner

The Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is perfect for picking up carpet stains or cleaning up upholstery. As long as the job is not too big, this cleaner can handle it.

You’re on a budget

Considering how expensive renting a wet vac can be, owning the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is practically a steal.

You want to deep clean

While you shouldn’t use this for larger cleaning situations, this carpet cleaner is excellent at getting deeper on those tough to remove stains, making this a great addition for deep cleans.

 Don’t Buy It if…  

You need to clean large areas

As great as an addition as this is for keeping your home clean, it’s more of a spot cleaner. If you need to clean your whole carpet, rent a wet vac or buy a foam roller for all the back pain you’re about to get.

You’re very clumsy

It’s not a huge concern, but if you break the front insert that keeps the hose in place, removing it for a replacement is going to be very tough.

How does the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner compare?

The Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is hard to fault. However, the ProHeat version is only a little more expensive, with a retail price tag of $133.89. It comes with more accessories, which are easier to clean, and does a slightly better job cleaning. 

Non-Bissell options include the slightly more expensive Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Carpet Cleaner ($153.36), which is also just for spots but has a more robust cleaning accessory.

To clean a larger area, you might want to consider the Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe carpet cleaner. It has the same form factor as a vacuum cleaner, so you won’t be bending over to use it, costing a reasonable $229.99. Just be aware that you’ll still want a spot cleaner as its hose is a bit on the short side, making it not ideal for use on upholstery.

How I tested the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner

To test the Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner, I cleaned several carpeted areas and an upholstered couch. I used the two attachments and took pains to clean out the unit to see how easy it is to maintain. I also spent about a week using it where necessary to understand how it would last over multiple cleanings.

See more about how we test.

TTR Contributor, Cleaning

James Holland has spent three years testing and reviewing various tech products, from computers to smart home devices, for Top Ten Reviews. His work has been featured in TechRadar, T3.com, and Android Police. In his free time, he enjoys making music and experimenting with fusion-style cuisine.