The Best Carpet Cleaners 2026 February: expert-reviewed

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Sure, Best Carpet Cleaners get rid of dry dust, hair, lint, and grit from floors and furniture, but what about stains from wine spills, food accidents, and kid and pet messes? You’ll need a carpet cleaner for that. A wet carpet cleaner, also called a carpet shampooer, uses water, a cleaning solution, and suction to clean carpets and upholstery. This breaks up stains and gets rid of dirt that normal vacuuming can’t reach. You could hire a cleaning service, but if you have a lot of carpeting and upholstery in your home, a carpet cleaner is a good purchase that will save you money in the long run. Plus, you can clean up messes as they happen so that stains don’t set in and become harder to get out.

Our experts clean a lot of rugs and floors every year in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care and Cleaning Lab, where they also test the best cordless stick vacuums, robot vacuums, steam mops, and more. Best Carpet Cleaners that were submitted for the latest Cleaning and Organizing Awards were tried by us recently. We also got information from 14 other carpet cleaners, 21 carpet stain removers, and a few professional carpet cleaning services that come to your home. To test carpet cleaners, we use each one to clean a white carpet that has already been stained.

Before and after cleaning, we measure the color, weigh the carpets to see how much water is left behind, and time how long it takes for the carpets to dry. We also look at the user instructions for each cleaner and give it a score based on how easy it is to put together and use. Because we know that not every home has the same carpet cleaning needs, our cleaning experts have suggested carpet cleaners that can clean up pet messes, are safe for area rugs, and can be stored in small spaces.

Best Carpet Cleaners Comparison Table

Product	Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro	Bissell Pet Stain Eraser PowerBrush Plus	Bissell Big Green Pet Pro	Hoover PowerDash Pet Advanced	Hoover Smartwash Automatic	Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact
Cleaning Capability	Very Good	Good	Excellent	Good	Very Good	Good
Power Rating	6.8 amps	2.5 amps	12 amps	7 amps	10 amps	7 amps
Cleaning Path Width	11 inches	3 inches	10.5 inches	10 inches	12 inches	10 inches
Tank Capacity	1 gallon	0.5 gallons	1.75 gallons	0.5 gallons	1 gallon	0.5 gallons
Cord Length	25 feet	Cordless	25 feet	20 feet	22 feet	20 feet
Weight	18 pounds	4.6 pounds	40 pounds	12.5 pounds	18.5 pounds	12.5 pounds
Accessories	Included	Included	Included	None	None	None
Price	High	Low	Very High	Moderate	High	Moderate

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner

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Cleaning Capability	Very Good
Power Rating	6.8 amps
Cleaning Path Width	11 inches
Tank Capacity	1 gallon
Cord Length	25 feet
Weight	18 pounds
Accessories	Included
Price	High

Ten years ago, our experts examined a Bissell ProHeat 2X model. Heatwave technology helped this cleaner win our Lab testing. This new device with comparable technology maintains hot water temperature in the clean water tank while deep cleaning stairs, upholstery, and pet hair. We haven’t tested this new model yet, but we trust the brand and know that heated water improves carpet cleaning outcomes, therefore we recommend it. Amazon has almost 19,000 five-star reviews.

Stain-targeted spray nozzles are another Bissell innovation. It works with a pedal, so you don’t have to stop, bend down, and use a stain treatment agent. The 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery Tool removes pet hair and stains off furniture and mattresses. Its dual DirtLifter PowerBrush removes deep carpet stains. Our Cleaning Lab gave this carpet machine a high-five for its removable brush roll cover. To avoid losing tools and accessories, this cleaner should have onboard tool storage.

Bissell Pet Stain Eraser PowerBrush Plus

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Cleaning Capability	Good
Power Rating	2.5 amps
Cleaning Path Width	3 inches
Tank Capacity	0.5 gallons
Cord Length	Cordless
Weight	4.6 pounds
Accessories	Included
Price	Low

In our most current test of portable carpet cleaners, this Bissell got the “best overall” rating for how well it got rid of stains and smells, how loud it was, how long it ran, and more. It did better than the larger models we tested in all of these areas. We tested it with new and old stains of red wine and blueberry pie filling, and it worked for 20 minutes on a single charge. We found it easy to clean and take care of the Bissell, so it’s always clean and ready to use. Also, it was one of the quietest ones we tried.

This Bissell doesn’t have a handle, and it comes with a rotating brush that is easy to turn off when cleaning delicate fabrics. It comes with a rubber tool with nubs to clean up messes made by pets. It’s easy to pull out and use right away if your pet has an accident because it’s so light, but it doesn’t have a built-in water heater like the other choices on our list. You won’t be able to clean a very big area on one charge because it only runs for 20 minutes for every 4.5 hours of charging, but at this price, it’s still a great option for homes with less carpeting and upholstery to clean.

Bissell Big Green Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner

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Cleaning Capability	Excellent
Power Rating	12 amps
Cleaning Path Width	10.5 inches
Tank Capacity	1.75 gallons
Cord Length	25 feet
Weight	40 pounds
Accessories	Included
Price	Very High

With the help of its powerbrush and many Best Carpet Cleaners, the Bissell Big Green Pet Pro got all of the wine, fresh coffee, and chocolate syrup stains out of our carpet. After two months of regular use, it has made white carpets much brighter and gotten rid of any pet smells that were still there. As a full-size, commercial-style carpet cleaner, this machine is best for people with wall-to-wall flooring, especially pet owners and parents of kids who make a lot of messes.

This carpet cleaner has two tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty water. Both tanks can hold up to 1.75 gallons of water, so you won’t have to stop too often to fill or empty them. But it does come with a flow indicator that checks the amounts of water and solution and tells you when you need to check the tank. The 10.5-inch cleaning path makes quick work of big, open spaces. It also comes with a 6-inch stain tool, a pet upholstery tool, and a 9-foot hose for getting into hard-to-reach places.

Hoover PowerDash Pet Advanced Carpet Cleaner

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Cleaning Capability	Good
Power Rating	7 amps
Cleaning Path Width	10 inches
Tank Capacity	0.5 gallons
Cord Length	20 feet
Weight	12.5 pounds
Accessories	None
Price	Moderate

With the help of its powerbrush and many Best Carpet Cleaners, the Bissell Big Green Pet Pro got all of the wine, coffee, and chocolate syrup stains out of our carpet. After two months of regular use, it has greatly brightened white carpets and gotten rid of any pet smells that were still there. As a full-size, commercial-style carpet cleaner, this machine is best for people with wall-to-wall flooring, especially pet owners and people with kids who make a lot of messes.

This carpet cleaner has two tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty water. Both tanks can hold up to 1.75 gallons, so you won’t have to stop too often to fill or empty them. It does, however, come with a flow gauge that checks the water and solution levels and lets you know when you need to check the tank. The 10.5-inch cleaning path makes quick work of big, open areas. It also comes with a 6-inch stain tool, a pet upholstery tool, and a 9-foot hose for getting into hard-to-reach places.

Hoover Smartwash Automatic Carpet Cleaner

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Cleaning Capability	Very Good
Power Rating	10 amps
Cleaning Path Width	12 inches
Tank Capacity	1 gallon
Cord Length	22 feet
Weight	18.5 pounds
Accessories	None
Price	High

At $250, this Best Carpet Cleaners is pretty cheap. It has a large tank, strong cleaning power, is easy to put together, releases and mixes shampoo automatically, and is easy to clean. Even though it’s not the smallest cleaner, it works like a regular upright vacuum. However, its size may not be ideal for people who don’t have much room to store things. The two tanks, one for dirty water and one for clean water, were big enough for our tester to clean furniture and an 8-by-10-foot rug without having to empty or add water.

We loved that we could put cleaning solution right into the machine’s pre-measured tank, and the machine would mix and dispense it automatically. (No trigger, here!) We also liked the dry-only mode, which lets you push and pull the machine without water or cleaner coming out. This speeds up the drying time. A de-gunking brush is easy to get to because the tip can be taken off. Overall, we were really pleased with how well this machine was made and how well it worked. We think it’s a good choice for most homes.

Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner

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Cleaning Capability	Good
Power Rating	7 amps
Cleaning Path Width	10 inches
Tank Capacity	0.5 gallons
Cord Length	20 feet
Weight	12.5 pounds
Accessories	None
Price	Moderate

This small upright Best Carpet Cleaners gets the job done when you need to clean quickly in a small area. It’s strong and lightweight, so it’s great for a home with stairs or an apartment with carpeting. Even though the button that lets the cleaning solution out isn’t the best, it did feel like it was made well. We liked that the tank could hold both clean water and a cleaning product. Because the tank is smaller, it needs to be emptied more often. However, this is also what makes this machine lighter than other types.

With one full tank, we were able to clean an 8×10 rug. The Easy Pour Spout made it easy to empty dirty water without making a mess. We also liked that the drying function helped speed up the time it took to dry. It was hard to clean and maintain the brushes because the cover had to be taken off with a knife. Overall, though, we think this is a good choice for homes that don’t need to be cleaned very often or are small.

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