I was contemplating whether I should blog this one or not, simply because I call this page the Leisure Scout. I’m supposed to be out there having fun, exploring the wonderful outdoors and taking cool photos. Unfortunately, I got chores to do.

Gone are the days when we, men, were the mighty alphas that paid no mind to the mundane. We were supposed to wield swords and fire arrows at orcs and goblins (please excuse this LOTR kid in me). Today, the modern man that I am, is happy to have a.. a vacuum cleaner.

Let’s cut to the chase.

So my car has come to a point, once again, where the regular vacuuming and cleaning doesn’t do the trick anymore. I need to have it professionally cleaned which would cost me $199 – yes, that’s the actual quote that I got.

Then I remembered BISSELL SpotClean Auto. I heard some good things about it and read some good reviews. I also know that the price was around $230. So instead of going for the $199 car wash, I took a trip to a nearby auto shop and there it was, down to the last stock, on sale at $199. Boy am I lucky.

What’s in the box?

Bissell Spot Clean Auto

So from left to right, first you see the 3 nozzle heads. Then those black plastic pieces, they are meant to be attached to the base unit for securing the hose and the nozzle heads for storage. Those 2 bottles are Bissell cleaning solution. And lastly, you have the base unit itself.

The Task

We have an 8-year old Suzuki Swift with a good 120k km on it. It’s my wife’s car actually but for the past 4 years or so, it has been my everyday car — trips to the train station, dropping off and picking up my daughter from childcare and some short runs to the shops.

For that purpose, the car is perfect. However, it’s got canvass seats. Canvass has its own set of pros against leather but the downside is the maintenance part. Especially if you have kids, you’ll have spilled milk, cheerios, vomit, snot and whatnot. At some point you’ll have to have it steamed or deep cleaned.

canvass seats deep cleaning
This is the passenger seat. Nobody sits in here these days. I toss everything and anything I can get hold of though — sippy cups, wet wipes, dead bodies, you name it.
This is the backseat. A 3-year-old sits here and we all know what they do (I’m all about making excuses 😀 )

Demo

Here’s where I let you all down. So I setup my camera, head mounted, only to find out that I haven’t recorded the important bits. Another epic fail. Anyway, I’m all for the ‘do not reinvent the wheel’ mantra so I’ll leave the googling to you. There should be tons of Youtube videos on how to use the Bissell Spotclean Auto.

Moment of Truth

So now that I have done all the dirty job, this is what we really want — results. We want to know whether it lives up to the hype or not. Is it worth the investment?

Without further ado, here are the before and after photos:

Spilled milk, yogurt and pretty much everything in the backseat – gone.
Stains on the carpet from never ending milk spills – gone.
Stains from whatever I toss over – gone.
Looking good. Just in time for the post-lockdown days.
Bissel Spotclean Auto
Look at all that dirt.

The Verdict

As you can see, it did the job pretty well. The seats did not look brand new after the clean but hey, they’re 8+ years old and have been steamed a couple of times – normal wear and tear. Also, this is a spot cleaner but I used it to clean the whole thing because, why not? 😀

The question remains, is it worth the investment? Like anything else, my answer is always, it depends. It took me almost half a day to clean the whole car and some would be happy to pay $199 for that — totally understandable.

For me though, I like doing things on my own. Also, these canvass seats will get dirty again anyway whether I like it or not. When that happens, I can easily clean it up without having to wait for it to get that filthy — like the photos.

Lastly, I don’t really like cleaning things, it’s not fun at all. However, just like mowing the lawn, I only do it because I have to. And that feeling of accomplishment, the sight of a newly manicured lawn or a shiny old car is just too rewarding I keep coming back for it. I’m sure many can relate. 🙂

But wait! There’s More!

The Bissell Spotclean Auto, as I’ve read in another blog, is built for cleaning cars, but nothing is stopping us from using it on the house’s carpets or any other furniture for that matter (non-leather ones). Considering the price of ‘professional’ cleaning, I think this is a good buy.

Now where’s my sword?!