A portable carpet cleaner like the Bissell Little Green (1400B) may not be as powerful and thorough as let’s say, the Dyson V12 or Miele Classic C1, but it comes in handy when you need to quickly suction up liquid spills and clean away fresh messes from carpets, rugs, and upholstery before they turn into permanent stains.
The Bissel Little Green Portable carpet cleaner is one of the best portables we tested almost 17 years ago, and it’s still a top pick in 2024 for its impressive performance, durable design, and ease of use. And after becoming a TikTok and social media sensation last year, it’s clearly a home user’s favorite and more popular than ever for a good reason.
If you have a large extended family and some pets around, you understand the mess they can create, and this tiny appliance might be the best value gadget you buy this year. Unlike other carpet cleaners, the Little Green Machine can be easily stowed away in a closet or on a shelf. If you live around NYC, you must know storage space is precious, so having something small enough to fit in a closet yet strong enough to handle puppy stains and daily spills is pretty incredible.
The Bissell Little Green machine is ideal for anyone who has carpets in the home that get a lot of traffic. You can take it into your car, which has seen years of dirt, mud, salt, grime, and sap since it got a thorough cleanup, and it will not disappoint.
About the Bissell Little Green
Almost fully assembled right out of the box, you’ll be able to set the Bissell Little Green Machine in minutes. Here’s what’s included in the box:
- Bissell Little Green Machine
- 3″ Tough Stain Tool
- HydroRinse Self-Cleaning Hose Tool
- 8 oz. Trial-Size Spot & Stain with Febreze Freshness Cleaning Formula
- Instruction Guide
All you have to do is remove the clean water tank and fill it with cleaning solution and hot water. The hose and cleaning brush attach easily, so you just have to plug the machine in and switch it on, and you’re ready to scrap some tough stains.
The Little Green 1400B machine comes with an 8-ounce Spot & Stain cleaning liquid powered by Febreze, it smells amazing. The directions indicate that you just need two capfuls of the included liquid to erase your first stain. Did we mention Bissell makes some of the best carpet cleaning solutions on the market? Now you know!
Operating the Bissell Little Green machine is straightforward. Detach the water tank, follow the directions – fill it with two capfuls of cleaning solution and hot water to the fill line. Next, turn on the switch and begin operating it, if you’ve watched a few TikTok videos the better. In case the surface you’re cleaning has some stubborn stains, you can deep clean by pretreating the stain before scrubbing.
The cleanup results are simply amazing.
The hose comes with a nozzle and trigger on the end that releases the solution onto the target area when pulled. There’s also a scrub brush on the end to scrub the stain and give the area a thorough cleaning. As you clean, the strong suction helps lift dirt, grime, and excess liquid that is deposited into the dirty tank. In the end, you’re left with clean and damp surfaces that take a short time to dry.
What We Like
Great cleaning power
At first, it doesn’t look like it can do much. But lo and behold, the Bissel Little Green cleans like a champ once it gets going, effectively cleaning car carpets, sofas, and carpets leaving behind surfaces that are free of dirt and stains. While it takes a couple of passes to get all the dirty water out, it’s still worth it. And, if you’ve got a simple, fresh stain this clean will handle it without issue.
Of course, it works much, much better on tough stains or tougher jobs, but you can supplement it with other tools. In particular, you might need to apply a carpet cleaner to the carpet separately so it can soak in and bind to stains and grime.
The Bissell Little Green can only apply the cleaner as part of a mixture of clean water. And while it comes with bristles on the brush head to agitate dirt, it’s best as a final step to move fibers while it’s sucking dirty water out.
It’s light and easy to use
From a convenience perspective, the Bissell Little Green is a tough nut to crack. The only real prep you need to do is fill its water reservoir with hot tap water and plug it in. As already mentioned, you might need to pre-treat tough stains before you turn it on, but you’ll be up and running in under 5 minutes.
Using the Bissell Little Green is also quite easy. When empty, it doesn’t weigh much, and both the water reservoir and the unit itself come with a plastic handle to carry around. It can weigh quite a bit when full, but the machine can still be moved up and down stairs with much ease, unlike larger carpet cleaners.
It cleans tight spaces with ease
Perhaps the major benefit of the Bissell Little Green over larger carpet cleaners is that it cleans with a small brush head. Of course, it will take longer to clean a large carpet, but for smaller spaces like cars, stairs, wall-to-wall corners, and other upholstery this is the real deal – even if you were going to rent a large carpet clear for very large spaces.
The brush head won’t clean the very tight spaces – for instance, it can’t clean under car seats without removing them – but it will handle 95% of the job with ease.
What We Don’t Like
For large-area rugs, you need patience
The Little Green 1400B comes with a small brush head that can clean a few square inches at a time, and for most areas, you’ll want to make at least two passes. If you’re trying to clean even a moderate area rug that’s more than 5 feet in either direction, you going to spend some time at it. A larger professional carpet cleaner would clean the entire thing in half an hour.
Tougher stains require extra tools
As I mentioned above, for insanely stubborn stains, and given the Bissell Little Green machine’s brush head and the small amount of detergent it can spit out, it’s not going to cut it. Yes, it may eventually work, but it takes a lot of tries. At least the tools required aren’t expensive, it won’t hurt to invest in a stronger carpet cleaning solution, some extra time, and a set of drill brushes to get the job done.
Another link missing here is a vacuum. Using a bigger vacuum like the Shark Vertex Pro, you’ll need to vacuum up as much as possible before you start cleaning with the Bissell Little Green machine. This machine has a vacuum function built into it, but that’s only meant for extracting dirty water and not much else.
Should you buy the Bissell Little Green 1400B?
Absolutely – if you have small rugs and carpets, a car, pets, or kids in your home, this is a must-have. The Bissell Little Green multi-purpose portable carpet and upholstery cleaner will set you back very little money, not even close to what you’ll pay for even a basic detailing for your car or to rent a professional carpet cleaner. But it will pay for itself promptly. If your car is a disaster, you’ll likely spend over $300 or more just to get it cleaned once.
For a third of that cost, you can get the Bissell Little Green machine and just always have a carpet cleaner at hand when you need it. Again, you’ll be surprised at how much dirt grime, and dust get into your carpet through regular life.
Sure, the Bissel Little Green machine isn’t great for large open surfaces, but it isn’t meant to be. It’s great for stairs and small areas that often see extra foot traffic. If you ever need a portable, affordable, and useful carpet cleaner for your home, the Bissell Little Green machine should be on your shortlist – it works like a champ.
Recommended Configuration
BISSELL Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner, Car and Auto Detailer, with Exclusive Specialty Tools, Green, 1400B
39 used from $60.85
The Review
Bissell Little Green
The Bissell Little Green 1400B is a stellar portable carpet and upholstery cleaner that’s ideal for deep-cleaning and stain-removal tasks. Its lightweight design and ease of use make it a great home appliance.
PROS
- Easy to use and set up
- Cleans tough stains with precision
- Lightweight, portable, and simple
- Very affordable
CONS
- Not good for large surfaces
- Hair gets clogged easily
Review Breakdown
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ARS RATING
