Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 , Machine for Carpet Cleaning Review

Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 Review

The Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4/ 17N4P is a well-designed solution to pet odor and stain cleaning problems on carpets, thanks to a number of innovative features. These include the Pet Hair Basket that is built into the machine for catching pet hair and to stop the hair from clogging your dirty water tank. The Premier 17N4/ Professional 17N4P machines are also equipped with Bissell’s HeatWave technology allows for a constant supply of warm water, providing for more cleaning power.

In this review, we will look carefully at how the Bissell 17N4 Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner helps eliminate the mess our furry friends make, and get our carpets to literally shine again. We will also highlight the slight differences between the two models Bissell 17N4 and 17N4P, and compare them to other machines.

Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 Features & Benefits

12 Rows of DirtLifter Brushing Power

The vast majority of Bissell carpet cleaners feature 6 to 10 rows of brushes, but with the Bissell Deep Clean Premier carpet cleaner you get 12 rows of dual, rotating Powerbrushes in total. This gives you the ability to remove stains which have been soaking into your carpet for weeks or months. The rotating brush heads will also help to revive your carpet pile, making your carpet softer to walk on than it has been in years.

As a comparison, the more basic Bissell 8852 Deep Clean Essential has 6 rows of DirtLifter brushes.

Pet Hair Basket

This neat little component captures those annoying clumps of pet hair before they get clogged inside your water tank – where they get stuck and cause even more odor problems the next time you’re cleaning your carpet. This basket is a feature missing from most carpet cleaners on the market today, so bonus points to Bissell for coming up with this clever idea.

Constant Warm Water

The HeatWave technology inside the Bissell Premier Deep Clean 17N4 ensures that you have a continuous supply of warm water while you’re cleaning your carpets. Users can fill the tank with hot water (up to 140°F/60°C),and Heatwave technology will act to maintain the temperature.

This might not seem like a hugely important feature in a carpet cleaning machine, or at least it won’t until you’ve made multiple trips back to the sink for more warm water to remove stubborn stains. Cold water works perfectly well to remove most stains, but if you want a really deep clean then warm water is the only way to achieve stellar cleaning results.

EdgeSweep

There’s nothing more annoying than trying to clean your carpets but not being able to clean right up to the very edge of your baseboard. Why is this annoying? Well usually because you have to go and clean that 1 or 2-inch strip of carpet with your bare hands instead. With Bissell EdgeSweep you can clean right up to the very edge of your baseboards, so no stain can survive your cleaning assault with this powerful carpet shampooer.

Large Water Tank

The generous 1.25-gallon water tank featured on the Bissell Premier Deep Carpet Cleaner 17N4 means that you’ll have to make far fewer trips to the sink to refill the tank with water, so you get more carpet cleaned more quickly. Having a high-capacity water tank on any carpet cleaner just makes your domestic life a whole lot easier.

Pet Stains Tools

The Bissell 17N4 DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner comes with a specialized DeepReach pet stain tool for cleaning those awkward and stubborn pet stains. The Bissell 17N4P package comes with the more pricey Pet Stain Trapper tool that has a removable container for suctioning and catching larger messes even before they reach the machine. These tools offer users precision control and tons of suction, so you can make short work of even the worst stains.

Surround Suction

This feature ensures that your carpets aren’t left soaking wet after cleaning, taking days to dry as a result. Instead this Bissell carpet cleaner sucks up as much excess water as is physically possible, dramatically reducing the amount of time it takes your carpets to dry out completely.

Warranty

The Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner has a 3-year limited warranty. A 3-year warranty period is the most generous there is for this class of carpet cleaners. With most regular grade models, it’s usually 1 or 2 years. Extended warranties typically cost $20 a year.

Cord Length

This Bissell carpet shampooer has 22-feet of cord, making it more than adequate to clean several hundred square feet of floor space without having to look for additional power outlets.

Bissell Professional Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4P Upgrade

The Bissell Professional 17N4P is an upgraded package over the regular Bissell 17N4 Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner. Yes, it can confusing for shoppers, and here we share what we know. They are basically the same machine – the Bissell 17N4P comes more advanced options/accessories. According to the product description provided via the Bissell 17N4P’s Amazon listing, the following are the differences. The Bissell 17N4P comes with:

a) The more expensive Pet Stain Trapper tool and 6 inch Stair Tool, compared to the Deep Reach pet tool and 3 inch stain tool for the regular 17N4 model. That’s an extra $18 value per retail cost.

b) A tougher DuraStrength Nozzle (ie. reinforced cleaning nozzle).

c) 3 trial size bottles of Bissell’s cleaning solution vs 1 trial size solution bottle (approx $6 extra value).

Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 Review

Pet Cleaning Conqueror

Loving pets is easy but cleaning up after them can be tough, but not when you have a carpet cleaner like the Bissell DeepClean Premier. The combination of HeatWave technology and rotating Powerbrushes, means that almost any household pet stain can be cleaned to the point where it simply vanishes.

Fast Drying Time

Bissell have invested a lot of time and effort into calculating exactly how much water should be laid down when you’re cleaning any given carpet. The benefit here is that the ‘Surround Suction’ feature means that what little excess water is left behind is quickly removed, allowing your carpets to dry far more quickly afterwards.

Easy-To-Use

This carpet cleaner machine requires very little assembly (about 3 bolts in total), and is so easy to use that anyone could handle cleaning your carpets for you. Obviously the fact that it’s so easy to use will also encourage you to use it again in the future, so you’re almost guaranteed that your carpets will get clean, and then stay clean for longer.

Compared To Other Carpet Cleaners

The Bissell Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 is Bissell’s budget friendly upright pet cleaner model. Although it is a choice that stands out for many pet owners who are want a Bissell upright pet cleaner, it’s still a good idea to compare this Bissell cleaner with other popular models. This allows them to understand the pros and cons of this model, and what the alternatives are. That way, shoppers can be sure that they are picking the best model for their needs.

Specifically, a lot of shoppers compare the Bissell Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 with the Bissell 8852 ProHeat Essential Carpet Cleaner (more basic model) and the Bissell Deluxe 36Z9 (next model up).

Pros

Pet Hair Basket and Tool – The Pet Hair Basket catches pet hair and stops them from clouding the dirty water storage or jamming the opening. This is very useful for not taking up extra space in the dirty water storage, as well as keeping the machine’s suctioning clear and in good working condition. The deep reach pet tool makes it easier to clean out embedded pet stains. While the deep reach pet tool can be separately purchased to work with other cleaners like the more basic Bissell Deep Clean Essential 8852, the Pet Basket is designed an built into the machine.

The Pet Hair basket feature is unique to Bissell’s line of carpet cleaning machines, as highlighted in the the Bissell vs. Hoover comparison editorial. If you have difficulty deciding between this model and a Hoover machine, you may want to check out the article.

Advantages Over The Bissell 8852 – The Bissell 8852 does not have a Pet Hair Basket. That is why pet owners with pets that drop a lot of hair may find getting the Bissell Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 provides an easier and more efficient user experience. For added cleaning power, the Bissell 17N4 also has more brush rows than the Deep Clean Essential 8852.

Less Expensive Than The Bissell Deluxe 36Z9 Pet Cleaner – The Bissell Premier Pet 17N4 is currently Bissell’s most popular model designed with pet cleaning features. It is very similar to the Bissell DeepClean Deluxe 36Z9, but usually costs about $60 to $70 less.

To be sure, the Bissell 36Z9 has a few advantages over the Bissell 17N4. It has the Clean Shot feature that sprays extra detergent for cleaning spots and stains, larger Edge sweep brushes, a more intensive pet stain cleaning tool (can be bought separately), as well as a metal reinforced front nozzle.

Other than that, the Bissell Deluxe 36Z9 has the same power, number of brush rows and water tank capacity as the Bissell 17N4. For most pet owners, the Bissell Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 has sufficient cleaning power and good features to suffice as a powerful home pet carpet cleaner. However, users who have lots of pet stains and larger areas to clean could benefit from the extra features that the Bissell Deluxe 36Z9 offers.

If you are sitting on the fence, you could consider the updated Bissell Professional 17N4P package, which is in-between the regular 17N4 and 36Z9 models. This is the same machine as the regular Bissell 17N4, with the added features of a pet stain trapper tool instead of the deep clean pet tool, a reinforced nozzle and two extra bottles of trial sized cleaning detergent.

Note: During certain times of the year, the Bissell DeepClean Deluxe 36Z9 goes on sale, such that it is only priced $10 or $20 higher than the Bissell 17N4. In our opinion, the extra features that the Bissell DeepClean Deluxe 36Z9 have is well-worth an extra $10 or $20. 

Heatwave Technology – The machine’s Heatwave technology keeps the water warm for better cleaning performance.

Cons

No Actual Built-In Heater – Unlike Bissell ProHeat 2X Advanced Carpet Cleaner 1383, the 17N4 has no actual built-in heater. Heatwave Technology keeps the hot water that users fill in warm. Although having water heater could be a nice idea, it is not necessarily a positive. Some users think that it only complicates the design and makes the machine more at risk for malfunctions.

If you are really interested in having a water heater inside your machine, another Bissell cleaner to consider is the Bissell ProHeat Carpet Cleaner 89108. The Bissell ProHeat 89108 is marketed as a pet friendly model because it comes with the Deep Reach pet stain handtool (like the Bissell 17N4).

Bissell’s Single “Bladder” Tank – A lot of users are fine with Bissell’s single “bladder” tank system, whereby a single tank holds both the clean and dirty water. The clean water is kept within the tank, in a “bladder” bag made of flexible, strong material. The advantage is that it saves time and trouble from having to deal with two separate water tanks. Despite this, more users appear to prefer a two-tank configuration. It seems that a two-tank system is easier to understand and straight-forward to use.

If you want to go with a two-tank system, Bissell has introduced a brand new cleaner, the Bissell 1548 ProHeat 2X Revolution with two separate clean and dirty water tanks. Other options are to choose a Hoover machine like the Hoover SteamVac or Hoover Dual V. The Bissell 86T3 Deep Cleaner is another alternative, but it is a professional grade machine and much more costly. Bissell’s regular upright carpet incorporate only the “bladder” system.

Things to Look Out For

Noise Levels

While the Bissell DeepClean Premier Deep Carpet Cleaner for pet owners is not loud by commercial carpet cleaner standards, it is still significantly louder than your average vacuum cleaner. For most users, this hasn’t been really a problem. It helps to know this beforehead, especially when picking a good time to clean the carpets.

Bissell Branded Cleaning Solutions

The user manual warns that using random carpet cleaning shampoos or solutions could cause damage to the carpet cleaner, and void the warranty. There are lots of Bissell cleaning formulas available – from pet specialized solutions to ones with a special fragrance to bring your carpets and rooms back to life.

Some users do use other brands of solutions and report that they have gotten great results with it. But unless you know what you are doing, it’s really much easier to use Bissell-brand cleaning solutions. They have been proven to work well – there is no need to take extra risks. The most popular solutions recommended and purchased with this cleaner include Bissell 2X Pet Stain & Odor Full Size Machine Formula and Bissell 2x Professional Deep Cleaning Formula

Should You Buy The Bissell DeepClean Premier Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4/ 17N4P?

Many users feel that the Bissell 17N4 deep carpet cleaner helps them clean their carpets to professional standards, while still providing a pet-friendly home for their canine and feline friends. It offers more to pet owners than Bissell’s more basic cleaner, the Bissell 8852 Essential. Compared to the more costly Bissell 36Z9, it offers almost equal cleaning performance, except for the lack of a Clean Shot spraying feature for soaking stains with detergent.

The Bissell DeepClean Pet Carpet Cleaner 17N4 is Bissell’s most cost-effective carpet cleaning machine with specialized features for handling pet hair and stains. Overall, this Bissell model offers outstanding cleaning performance, good usability for pet owners and great value to users.