Home > Consumer Reviews > Dirt Devil SE3890 Purpose for Pets Portable Extractor

I'm running a small animal shelter and have constantly animals living inside my home as well. Home has lots of carpet and with 9 cats right now there is lot's of hairball vomating with lots of liquid. I tried many things already to clean this mess but the Dirt Devil Portable Extractor is so far the best product for this kind of mess. I have to say that I did not have to use it for removing urine yet so I can't rate that but for puke and stomache liquid this product is amazing. I also found out that you don't necessarily have to use warm or hot water to clean the mess as indicated in the instructions. It cleans very well with cold water which is important when you want the product handy and ready at all times. The water tank of this product needs to be filled with a water soap mix (easy to do and soap comes with first purchase)and you just don't use all the soap and water on all accidents the animals might have and so I tried if I can simply remove the water tank after use (with left over soapy water) and store it next to the Dirt Devil and it works. Even though the Dirt Devil is very easy to handle it is a pain if you have to fill up and mix the soapy water every time you have to use it (which is in my case almost daily) and because I found out that the Dirt Devil cleans my messes on the carpet also with cold soapy water it became as easy to use as a spray bottle. (Keep in mind that I did not try out Urine removal yet, for that kind of mess you might use the warm/hot water mix in the water tank) Also the waste tank is easy to remove and to clean. The only downfall I found so far is that the soaker pipe is leaking water after the use but I solved this problem by simply leaving the strong suction running for maybe two minutes or so after the use and then the leaking stops. If you use my technique and want to re-use the left over clean water you have to remove the water tank from the unit or it will leak as well. But since the Dirt Devil is so EASY to open and so easy with removing all the parts, cleaning it is a brease and is no proplem even if you have to use it daily. Another small flaw is for me that for very small messes the spray nossle sprays to wide and too much water (like for coffee spills on carpet etc.) It would be great if Dirt Devil would event an adjustable spray nossle but even with its small flaws I give this product two thumps up since it made my live with animals soooooo much easier. Money well spend so far. Regards E. Binder, Maryland

I just recently purchased the Dirt Devil SE3890 Purpose for Pets Protable Extractor and have found that it works very well. The rug shampoo is amazing! It's easy to use and does an excellent job removing dirt and pet stains (along with the odor). I have to say that I'm very impressed so far! I tried the Hoover portable and it didn't work very well. As with other Hoover products, the parts kept breaking and they were expensive to replace. I didn't have much luck with Bissel either. This piece of equipment is a breath of fresh air!

I just have to say that I have been researching portable cleaners like this for weeks now.

I was looking at Bissell since it is such a well known name.

Anyway, I went to Walmart just on a whim to see what they had in stock. I was going to buy the Bissell Pet cleaner, but someone else snatched up the last one they had just as I got into the aisle.

I kept looking around and happened upon the Dirt Devil Purpose by sheer accident (no pun intended). I knew it had been returned since it still had a bit of Christmas wrap on it. I cheked all the parts and nothing was used. It looked like someone got it as a gift and just didn't want it or need it or wanted something else.

I was apprehensive about buying it since it was a return, but it was on clearance for $60.00. I figured what the heck if it doesn't work, I'll just return it.

Well, I am so happy with it. The black light isn't something I would have thought of... so even if it's not that strong, I can always get another later. But it helped me find a lot of spots I would have otherwise missed. I detach it from the hose and look around in the dark first to get an idea of where the nasty spots are.

See, I have two kitties. I call them pissy and pukey. My pissy one, well you can imagine what she is like, but she goes in the same two spots all the time so my nose does a pretty good job there.

However, my other one, pukey, she vomits wherever she pleases and I don't always know where because my carpet is just about the same color as what she throws up. Both a benefit and a hinderance.

Ha! I turned off all the lights and went to work with the Dirt Devil little bad boy that it is!! Amazining... All the puke spots I would have missed were right there in flourecsed (sp?) glory -- as I cleaned them up -- I shined the light and poof they didn't show up on black light anymore.

I am overall impressed with this machine. It's so easy to use and light - easy to carry, I can operate it in the dark too.

Easy to fill and clean. Leaks a little when you try to flip the clean tank over to insert it, but who cares?

Suction is great.... Yeah the spray is a tad wide but that's fine with me... makes clean up a little quicker.

I do think the whole suction nozzle itself should be wider. Maybe they should make different attachments you can buy seperately if you want a little bit wider suction nozzle.

All in all I am very happy with my purchase -- and by the looks of the average price on here, I say I saved about $30.00 too.

I put a little Dr. Bronner's mint soap in the tank for a minty smell.

Can't harm the rug - all natural I think. Smells great.

Also, I think the hose is a little too short -- they should have made it a foot longer.

Great machine... Very happy with it.

Buy it... you won't be dissappointed.

T-

I ordered this product in hopes it would be an amazingly effective product for dealing with the occasional cat accident. I was especially excited about the black-light feature since it isn't always obvious where cats have accidents. The black-light is quite small and relatively weak. The machine overall works ok. I'm not disappointed that I bought it, but it wasn't as awesome as I hoped.

I bought this to use when my Yorkies make mistakes on my rug and it works great. I also have a larger rug shampooer but it's a hassle to set up to just clean a small spot. I just use hot water and it sucks out the mess in no time. It's easy to set up, use, and put away. I catch these messes right away so I can't speak to how it works on stains but it works great for my needs. I absolutely love it.