Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner review

Ever looked at your carpets and wondered how they got that dirty? In our house barely a day goes by without a spill, stain or sticky fingers caking up our carpets so I jumped at the chance to review the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner. 

Our sofas don’t escape the mess either so we were able to put the upholstery tool to good use, and after a recent bathroom strip-out and refit, plus lots of plastering work, our carpets couldn’t have been more ready for a good clean. Here’s how I got on.

For more of our floor cleaning recommendations, head to our best vacuum cleaners buyer's guide.

Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series Specifications:

• Max Power: 600Watts
• Capacity: 4.7 litre clean water and 1.9 litre dirty water 
• Cable length: 8m 
• Noise: 82db
• Dimensions: 1143 x 250 x 440 mm (H x W x D)
• Weight: 5.6kg (without water)
• Guarantee: 2 years 

What's in the box?

The main body of the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series came in just four parts and was really easy to assemble, simply click the handle and two water containers into place and you’re ready to go! 

You also get a 2.4m hose, tough stain tool and 2-in-1 crevice tool, plus sample size Bissell Wash and Protect Pro. 

The instructions were very minimal, almost entirely pictorial but there was a QR code for an online video which gave a better idea of how to use it and clean everything afterwards. Without this video I feel like I would have been a little ill equipped and as a carpet cleaning novice I still felt that more guidance would have been useful, especially about how to get the best results.

How well does the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series clean?

Our carpets are a silvery grey colour throughout the house, not a fantastic colour when you live in the countryside with a small child in tow, so the Bissell PowerClean 2X had its work cut out for it. In particular the carpet as you walk into the house was covered in food stains, mud, dust and general grime. 

We moved furniture and vacuumed all carpets before cleaning and, following the video, moved the cleaner over the carpet slowly to allow more cleaning and drying time. 

This was my first time using a carpet cleaner and I must say my expectations were high. I was hoping for that super clear clean, and dirty, line like in the adverts. The Bissell PowerClean 2X on the whole did not disappoint and removed a lot of dust and dirt that my vacuum didn’t touch. 

It has a deep reach power brush with four rows of bristles that can really get down into the carpet pile and the colour of the water that came out spoke for itself. It even got out the trodden in playdough and sand that my toddler kindly deposited as if on purpose for this review.

It took pretty much the whole of the sample size bottle of Wash & Protect Pro Cleaning Formula to clean one room. We bought a full size bottle of the cleaning liquid direct from Bissell which I did think was a little pricey but does promise to protect your carpet/upholstery from future stains.

At the cleaning speed recommended by the instruction video I used a lot of water and formula and had to regularly stop to empty the dirty water and/or refill the clean. There is no warning noise that the dirty container is full or the clean empty so you just have to keep an eye on them whilst cleaning. 

The Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series left behind wet carpet fibre and fluff which did detract from the satisfaction of the cleaning but were easy enough to vacuum up once dry and didn’t affect the end result. A lot of this also ended up in the dirty water container and subsequently went down our drain, a fairly repulsive sight to see what I had been crawling around on for the last two years. 

Following the deep clean I can honestly say our carpets looked like new again. They smelt fresh, the pile looked higher and less worn and all the visible stains were gone.

How loud is it?

The Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series is not a quiet machine. Generally we opted to clean the carpets last thing before bed so we could let them dry overnight. By the morning they were touch dry almost everywhere with a  few damp spots here and there. Luckily our daughter is a good sound sleeper otherwise this wouldn’t have been an option. 

I wanted to clean my daughter’s room as soon as she woke up so it would have all day to dry but I didn’t think our neighbours would have been too pleased at being woken up at 7am on a Sunday so we waited until a more socially acceptable 10am to make all that noise.  

Express clean setting

On the express clean setting Bissell claims your carpets will be dry 45 minutes after cleaning however I think it took a little longer for ours, perhaps more like an hour and a half. I should say that although the windows were open and the heating on it was mid-winter and I suspect if we had done it on a summer’s day it would have dried faster. 

The clean on this setting was noticeably different from the deep clean setting but still left the carpets looking refreshed and pulled the pile up nicely. 

Stairs, upholstery and spot cleaning

The stairs and upholstery cleaner hose was really simple and straightforward to connect and disconnect and easy to use.

In particular I loved the ability to clean our stairs carpets, however I did notice that I wasn’t able to clean them as thoroughly as the other carpets without the rotating brush from the main unit. 

The hose easily reached half way up our stairs but not much further. The main body of the machine is too wide to sit on a stair itself so I had to unplug and move it upstairs and do the top half from there. Considering the machine has a carry handle this was not difficult. 

We also used the hose and stain tool on sofas and were really pleased with the results. One navy sofa in particular was covered in milk and food stains from toddlers and after cleaning almost all of the stains were gone.

Cleaning the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series

The cleaning instructions are found on the online video and it is very simple to disassemble the parts. To clean them you simply run them under a tap. I did find that the brush area, which has no instructions for cleaning, got quite dirty so when I had finished I simply tipped it up and pulled out any bits with my fingers, wiped with a cloth and left it to dry, ready for storing away. 

After use the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series does drip some liquid from the bottom so I left it on a hard floor to avoid any marks on my lovely clean carpets. 

How does it rate online?

Most online reviews rate the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series highly and talk about how it is an improvement on previous models, especially how it is lighter and easier to manoeuvre. 

I wouldn’t personally describe it as lightweight but I had no trouble moving it around the house or up the stairs due to the helpful carry handle. 

Overall we were really pleased with how clean our carpets were and how quick and easy the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series was to set up and use. In general I found it easy to manoeuvre and easy to use and our carpets look like new, for a week at least hopefully. 

Real Homes' verdict: should you buy the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner?

To conclude, if like me you have ever looked at your carpets and wondered just how they got so filthy and what you should do about it then the Bissell PowerClean 2x 3112E Series might just be the answer. Or, again like me, if your family are insistent on dirtying your carpets THE DAY AFTER(!) you’ve cleaned them (chocolate, sausage and mud), then this might just be the cleaner for you. It’s easy to assemble, simple to use and has fantastic results so for me (and my sanity) it’s worth the price tag.