For the Deepest Pet Proven® Clean, Don’t Forget the Formula

Whether you’re stuck with pungent cat urine in carpet or muddy paw prints on upholstery or hard floors, using a carefully designed cleaning solution in your cleaning machine is the best way to give stains a one-two punch, removing all traces of odor and appearance for good.  

We sat down with two BISSELL® experts – a chemist and an engineer – to learn how close collaboration leads to best-in-class cleaning experiences.

Unique formulas for tough pet messes

Pet Proven® certified machines are designed to do all the spraying and scrubbing so you don’t have to. But no matter how well-designed a deep cleaner is, the formula you use with it will greatly influence your results, according to Mitchell DeJonge, Senior Engineering Manager at BISSELL.

Cleaning different messes requires different chemical approaches. A colorful organic stain may benefit from stain-erasing ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide while other ingredients eliminate foul odors. Some cleaning solutions protect against future stains by making messes less likely to stick while others keep treating stains even after carpet is dry.

With so many different formulas available, how can you choose?

One starting place is the cleaning solution your machine came with.

"Each pack-in formula included with a machine is there because we know it can help you achieve the performance claims on the box," says Jay Kellis, Principal Chemist at BISSELL. “It's not chance that it's in there – the formula was tested with that specific machine."

Engineering meets chemistry – a holistic approach

Machines are tested against the Pet Proven® certification criteria with BISSELL formula in the clean tank. But formula plays an intrinsic role at every stage of product development for carpet cleaners and CrossWave® machines.

"We design the machines and the formulas in the same building together, so we can regularly sit down and meet," says Jay, noting BISSELL is unique in this ability.

This collaboration between engineering and chemistry teams ensures alignment, says Mitchell, including the continuous testing and refinement of both formulas and machines.

"If I'm working on a new formula, I've got my Revolution® Pet Pro machine in the cleaning lab and I'll use it to rate the different variations,” says Jay. “I'm using the actual device the consumer is going to use, which makes a difference."

“From the device side, a lot of this integration is about fluid delivery: how we deliver it, how much we deliver, what the concentration is, and then what it does on the carpet,” says Mitchell. “Maybe Jay has to tune down his performance and then vice versa – we work to target a specific flow rate or a particular mix ratio. Those are sort of the things that we have to bounce off of each other pretty frequently.”

Balancing performance, usability, and safety

Cleaning machines and formulas can’t only deliver perfect performance in the lab. They need to be ready for safe, simple, and effective use at home, too.

"These surfaces are being laid on, crawled on, rolled on all day long,” says Jay. “So we make things as safe as possible for children and pets and we have the Safer Choice certification on almost all of our formulas."

During testing, real and synthetic pet messes are cleaned up – including actual cat urine – ensuring devices and formulas can expertly remove any accidents or messes at home.

And the whole cleaning experience is considered, from filling the machine to putting it away after use.

"Because they’re not needed as often as a typical vacuum or wet dry vac, a carpet cleaner has got to be easy to use," says Mitchell. Cleaning modes are clearly labeled, the Clean Shot pre-treat trigger is intuitive to use, and water and formula fill lines are clearly marked on the clean tank.