Frequently Asked Questions

What is this machine for?

1. This machine is for sofa cleaning and other upholstery cleaning like car interiors, beds, couches, etc.​​

Does this machine clean fabric sofa?​

1. Yes, this machine cleans fabric sofa. It is designed to perform this task.​

How to clean fabric sofa?

1. ​In the old days, people cleaned fabric sofa manually with brushes and shampoo.​
2. This method is not effective as the residual of dirt and stains remain and not fully extracted by vacuum suction.
3. This Bissell machine automates all the manual works and more importantly it provides the required vacuum suction.
4. It sprays liquid detergent or shampoo onto your sofa.
5. Immediately after that, it extracts or vacuums out the shampoo.
6. The flow of the shampoo in and out of your sofa removes the dirt and stains easily just like any laundry process for clothes.
7. After the cleaning with liquid detergent or shampoo, repeat the process with tap water without any detergent. This is like rinsing in the laundry process. Here, you want to move the water in and out of the sofa to remove the residual of detergent.
8. How to tell when the rinsing step is done? Do the rinsing 1-3 times and you will find the sofa surface is no longer soapy. 
9. Dry the sofa with good air flow and sunlight. For example, switch on the ceiling fan. Open up the windows for sunlight. It takes about 4-6 hours to dry a sofa in day time. Otherwise, the drying will be done overnight with moderate air flow (fans).

​​Do you provide cleaning solution?​

1. Cleaning solution is not provided as many users simply use their home laundry detergent liquid. It works great!​

Is home laundry detergent liquid effective for sofa cleaning?

1. Yes. Sofa cleaning is similar to laundry process. In technical terms, the detergent dissolves and removes the dirt or stain (chemistry).

Do you provide sofa cleaning services?

1. We do not provide sofa cleaning services. The concept of equipment rental is to provide an alternative solution to cleaning services at a truly affordable rate such that everyone can access.

Why is equipment rental costing so much less than hiring a cleaning service?

1. The short answer – you only pay for the equipment usage. The longer answer – When you hire someone to do the cleaning job for you, you need to pay for his time and labor in addition to the equipment usage. In Singapore, labor cost is high. Just imagine, how many hours the service provider would have to spend for your cleaning job including his/her transportation? What should be a fair hourly rate for him/her? Hence, why don’t you do the cleaning job yourself and save the big chunk of cost?

Should I hire a cleaning service or do it myself with equipment rental?

1. If you or your helper have the spare time, it would be sweet to do it yourself. You feel proud of the cleaning results by your own hands and feel great with the big saving. If you were tight in time and have some budget to spend, then hiring a cleaning service might be for you. Still, we recommend you to try out our equipment rental offers to experience it by yourself, how capable you can be with the right equipment.

Should I buy or rent this equipment?

1. The problem with buying a sofa machine is that you do not use it every day. Probably, twice a year. The machine purchase is quite a spending after including all the shipment and GST fees. You will need to keep the machines for many years to fully earn the value that matches to your spending. Furthermore, you need to store the machine which takes up space. Space is scarce and expensive in Singapore. Do you want to see the machine every day sitting in store room and taking up your space?​

What are the good features of this machine?

1. Top-rated cleaning machine for sofa, couch, mattress, car interior, stairs, and many other upholstery. >> Amazon Ratings.
2. Effective spray and extract (liquid suction) mechanism allows quick and thorough cleaning of upholstery.
3. Two suction nozzles provided: The large nozzle for quick and regular cleaning of large areas, the small nozzle for detailed cleaning of spots and hard-to-reach areas.

​What are the advantages of do-it-yourself (DIY) upholstery cleaning over the hiring of professional carpet cleaning services?​

1. There are many benefits with DIY when it comes to carpet & upholstery cleaning. The #1 benefit is money saving. At North Star (SG), the user spends a typical amount of SGD 35-85 to rent this Bissell SpotClean Pro upholstery cleaner for the cleaning job at either residential or commercial area.​

Okay, then, what are the disadvantages of DIY upholstery cleaning?

1. The obvious drawback is that the user needs to spend his/her own time to do the hands-on work. Sometimes, the cleaning is done by domestic helper or officer staff which may occupy them from doing the other jobs. This is why at North Star (SG), the user can keep the Bissell SpotClean Pro upholstery cleaner for a full day i.e. 24 hours, or more hours should he/she request for that.