Best Carpet Cleaners Reviewed

If you have pets or kids, you need a carpet cleaner way more than you wish.

You can hire a professional, but the cost will pay for a home carpet cleaner in one or two jobs. Or you could a rent a carpet cleaner, but that’s not convenient and eventually the cost adds up.

So if you’ve decided you need a carpet cleaner at home, which is the best?

The good news:

There are a few newer carpet cleaners that have the power to look like you got your carpet professionally cleaned. This is ideal for people with frequent pet stains or even kids.

Below you’ll find which carpet cleaners are best.

What I looked for in best carpet cleaners

Remember, I started Carpet Captain because was dad was a carpet cleaner. And although you may say I’m biased, home carpet cleaners won’t match the heat and power of a professional cleaning. It’s a superior way to kill of all germs and contaminants.

With that in mind, a great home carpet cleaner can make your carpet look like new. This is what this article focuses on:

Which carpet cleaners remove the most dirt and stain from your carpet? How easy are they to use? And what features do they have?

I’ll pick the carpet cleaners that I would own in my home, and then I’ll tell you my favorite (and least favorite) features of each.

Here’s they are:

Captain’s notice! Whenever I rate a product in this case carpet cleaners, there is a link to a product page (usually on Amazon). I may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking it. I receive the same small flat percentage no matter the product I choose to link to, so it does not change what I recommend or what you pay. All reviews are 100% unbiased.

Top 3 carpet cleaners

Bissell Big Green [Best Overall]: The Bissell Green will attack nearly any stain you throw at it, making it best overall in stain removal (just slightly above our runner-up). It’s also slightly easier to maneuver than our runner-up, but one downfall: it weighs roughly 45lbs. This isn’t a problem pushing it, but may be difficult to haul upstairs. Here are the highlights:

• best pet stain removal and overall cleaning
• 9-foot hose for versatility to clean cars, stairs, and upholstery
• average suction so drying time may be slightly longer than our runner up
• Check out the latest price on Amazon by clicking here

Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 [Runner Up]:This is the carpet cleaner that will get your carpets the cleanest. There are many pet stains it won’t remove, and it has the suction to not leave your carpet so wet it has to dry over days. It also has a handheld cleaner with a long hose that lets you clean about anything from your car to couch to stairs. Like the Bissell Green, this takes a little effort to pull upstairs.

• excellent cleaning of pet stains and general cleaning of floors
• above average suction to dry up cleaned areas
• above average cleaning area without refilling (although all portable carpet cleaners don’t do great here)
• upholstery cleaning tool with 12ft hose makes this extremely versatile
• over 40lbs without solution
• Check out the latest price on Amazon by clicking here

Hoover PowerDash Pet [Best Budget and Lightweight]: If the Rug Doctor cleaner is too heavy or too expensive, this Hoover carpet cleaner also does an excellent job on pet stains. It also only weighs a little over 10lbs, so nearly everyone can lift it up stairs. It’s drawbacks is it’s more of a spot cleaner. The cleaning solution won’t last long, and it also doesn’t have a hose with an upholstery attachment to give you as much versatility. Here are the highlights:

• excellent pet stain cleaning
• above average ability to dry the floors
• lightweight at under 15lbs
• no attachments to clean cars or upholstery and awkward on stairs
• budget price
• Check out the latest price on Amazon by clicking here

Features to look for in a carpet cleaner for pet stains

You’ll run into countless options of features and styles of carpet cleaners. Some features and gimmicky but some are worth considering. Here are a few things to consider:

Cleaning power

This one is pretty obvious, but know that not all carpet cleaners do a good or even decent job. Some tested hardly pick up any stains, while some erase stains you don’t expect them to with one swipe. There are a few features to look for:

• brush technology
• suction power
• water temperature and pressure (this is where professionals get their edge)

The problem is not all of these are straightforward. One carpet cleaner might have better suction but overall worse cleaning ability due to the way it steams the carpet.

There’s no “golden” feature to look for here, and this is where testing the carpet cleaner comes in. Feel free to ask in the comments about any specific models if you have questions.

Cleaning area and multiple tanks

One of the biggest drawbacks for me with carpet cleaners is the area they clean. They’re best for occasional spot cleaning because cleaning an entire home will take multiple tank refills. There are two things to compare: tank size and having separate tanks for detergent and water.

The tank size is obvious: the bigger, the better. Separate tanks is a feature to look for; they should list it on the product specs.

Level of portability

You can find carpet cleaners that are too heavy to lift, about the weight of a vacuum, or very light portable devices.

If you want to clean your entire home, usually the heavier the better. If you just want to clean up have your dog pees on the carpet, you may get by with a lighter portable model such as the [model]. It’s less expensive and much easier to carry around than it’s bigger equivalents.

If you go with a heavier model, you’ll likely want to pay attention to hose length. More on this:

Hose length

If you want to do more than spot clean and have more than one floor in your home, your carpet cleaner may not be easy to lug up the stairs. You could sacrifice the power of your vacuum and go with a light model, or you could find a powerful model with a longer hose.

A longer hose can let you get multiple stairs while the carpet cleaner is grounded. Ideally the house can reach halfway up the stairs, so you can put the carpet cleaner on the ground floor for the first half and the top floor for the second half.

Captain’s warning! A long hose won’t make up for everything. Carpet cleaning machines lose power the longer a hose is. Within reason, this isn’t a big deal. But don’t expect to keep your carpet cleaner on the bottom floor while you clean the 2nd floor.

Upholstery and other cleaning tools

You may not be buying the carpet cleaner for your upholstery, but trust me it’s worth getting the tool for it (if you don’t have all leather upholstery). Hiring a professional to come out just to clean a couch may not seem expensive, but by the time they haul all their equipment to your home, and upholstery takes more time, your bill will likely be higher than you expect. You can save a lot of money here.

All carpet cleaners recommend their own solution, but…

Every carpet cleaning machine recommends its own solution but any detergent will work. There’s nothing special about detergents other than their ability to clean, and their ease of being remove from carpet. The latter is important because of detergent doesn’t get rinsed out, it actually attracts dirt and oils that will make the carpet look dirty quicker. Check out our favorite carpet cleaner detergents here.

Buying vs renting a portable cleaner

You can find rentals for carpet cleaners. Sometimes they’re available at grocery stores and almost always at hardware stores. So what does renting a rug doctor or similar carpet cleaner cost?

I’d expect to spend $30 to $50 renting a rug doctor.

This saves you money and the inconvenience of storage if your pet has a rare accident. However, if you have a new puppy or pet you know has somewhat frequent accidents (more than 3 times a year), I think it starts to become worth it to buy.

Buying you don’t have to go out to the store (and in the heat of being upset of about a pet accident that’s usually the last thing you’d want to do), and eventually (roughly 15 uses including detergent costs) it leads to savings.

Using a carpet cleaner vs hiring a professional

A home carpet cleaner does a great job of cleaning up pet stains and making your carpet look refreshed. However, the combination of heat and pressure of professional equipment removes bacteria and mites in a way portable carpet cleaners can’t come close to matching.

If you’ve lived in the home a while or are worried about sanitation, I recommend a professional. If you want to make the carpet look presentable for a sale or to do spot cleaning, a portable carpet cleaner will probably do the trick.

Also keep in mind the price difference of a professional vs home machine. You’ll pay for one of our highest rated carpet cleaning machines after two cleanings with a professional. Therefore, if it can buy you time between professional cleanings, you’ll likely recoup your money with a portable carpet cleaner.

Captain’s parting words!

Home carpet cleaners have come a long way, and now they can make surprisingly dirty carpet look like new.

The problem with carpet cleaners is there’s a big difference in quality even with the same brand similar models. The best will erase most pet stains, which lets you live headache free when your pet has an accident.

Keep in mind, most don’t clean too big of an area and can be difficult to lug upstairs.

If you have any experience with home carpet cleaners or have questions for a specific situation, let me know in the comments below.