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Best carpet cleaners or shampooers

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top carpet cleaners
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Benjamin
Benjamin is a writer covering robot vacuums, with a passion for making home maintenance effortless and efficient. When not testing the latest tech, he’s fine-tuning his own robotic setup for best performance.

A best carpet cleaner is a machine designed to remove dirt, pet stains, germs, and allergens from carpets, making sure your carpet remains fresh. There are different types of carpet cleaners available on the market. Among them, carpet shampooers and carpet steam cleaners are popular choices. These carpet cleaners use water, cleaning solutions, and powerful suction to deep clean carpets.

Carpet cleaning is important for maintaining a clean, healthy, and safe environment in your home. Currently, there are so many carpet cleaner brands, some stand out for their performance and reliability. These include Bissell, Shark and Hoover. The Bissell is praised for its features and efficiency in tackling tough stains. Bissell’s Big Green Professional carpet cleaner is considered the best on the market. While Hoover is liked by many users for its simple design and powerful cleaning capabilities. Shark is known for its good technology and ability to handle different types of carpets.

The best carpet cleaner is the one that fits your needs. The overall best Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner is a great option. If pet stains and hair are your problems, then the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max is the one for you. And if you are on a tight budget, then the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact is good.

Our Top Picks

  1. Bissell Big Green Professional (best overall)
  2. Hoover SmartWash+ Automatic (best alternative)
  3. Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro (best for pets)
  4. Bissell Little Green Portable (best portable)
  5. Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 (professional-grade)
  6. Tineco Carpet One Smart Carpet Cleaner (best mid-range)
  7. Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact (best budget)
Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner and shampooer

Bissell Big Green Professional

This carpet cleaner is not made by Bissell Home. This is made by Bissell commercial or Edmar, they have a lot of names for this company. This is made by a company that makes commercial cleaning stuff. This carpet cleaner is for people who take cleanliness and hygiene seriously.

After my testing, I can say that I am really impressed with Bissell’s Big Green. I would highly recommend it. I think that the Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner is a perfect model that stands out for its durability and efficiency.

This carpet cleaner cleans everything from pet urine, hair, or other wastes. In our tests, it proved to be great for wine spills on carpet, upholstery, and area rugs. Its 9′ hose makes it easy to remove hidden stains in hard-to-reach spaces, like stair crevices and between the couch cushions.

Reasons to buy:

  • Bissell Big Green is liked by many for its strong suction and deep cleaning capabilities.
  • It has a 1.75-gallon clean water tank, so it can clean without the need for refills.
  • Durable and heavy-duty design.
  • Ideal for homes with pets.
  • Its performance and larger tank make it a good choice for big homes and offices. 

Reasons to avoid:

  • Its weight is around 40 pounds. Which is a little heavy. 
  • Its on the expensive side.
  • It doesn’t have a built-in heater to keep the water hot.
  • The motor is powerful but can be loud.
hoover smartwash plus automatic carpet cleaner

Hoover SmartWash+ Automatic

The Hoover SmartWash+ Automatic is a completely automatic carpet cleaning machine for home. This is the first-ever fully automatic carpet washer by Hoover that makes deep cleaning as easy as just vacuuming. No triggers and no guesswork. This carpet cleaner washes when you push forward and dries when you pull back, making it simple to use.

It comes with a hose and some other attachments to clean other areas like upholstery and stairs and to get closer to the baseboards. Compared to other carpet cleaners, this one is the easiest to use. 

Hoover SmartWash+ also has a dry-only mode. It pulls dirty water from your water without the need of any additional water or formula down.

Reasons to buy:

  • It features an automatic cleaning system. 
  • Its lightweight compared to many other carpet cleaners. It weighs only 19 pounds. 
  • With dry-only mode, it can quickly dry your carpet.
  • It has a 1.25-gallon clean water tank. Which is sufficient for a big home. 
  • Its budget-friendly compared to other models with the same performance.

Reasons to avoid:

  • 1-gallon dirty water tank requires more frequent emptying.
  • The power cord might not be long enough for large rooms.
  • Like most carpet cleaners, it can be loud.
  • The build quality is not as solid as some commercial-grade options.
Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution is the best carpet cleaner for families with pets. If you are looking for a carpet cleaner to clean your pet mess, then you probably won’t find one better than the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro. Compared to other home carpet cleaners, this one is on the pricey side. However, its top-quality performance, ease of use, and great results make it worth the price.

If you own pets, then you are aware of the mess they make, whether it is dirt, urine, vomit, or something else. Now, to check if this carpet cleaner is good for pets, I stained a rug with different things, including mustard, coffee, wine, dirt, and permanent marker. After that I let these stains dry. Once dried, I put this carpet cleaner on the rug to test. 

After giving it the first try, most stains were completely cleaned. However, the stains made with wine and mustard were still noticeable, and the permanent marker hardly came off. Remember that I didn’t use any stain remover beforehand, so if you use one, that would probably help to clean.

Reasons to buy:

  • Ideal for pet owners
  • Offers Deep Clean Mode for tough stains
  • Easy-to-clean brush head
  • It weighs only 18 pounds, making it easier to move. 
  • It comes with a pet stain tool and an antibacterial formula for pet owners. 

Reasons to avoid:

  • Can be loud compared to other models.
  • 1 gallon of water tank is not enough for deep cleaning large areas.
  • Setup can also be hard for some users.
Bissell Little Green Portable carpet cleaner with blue background

Bissell Little Green Portable

If you don’t need to use a vacuum too often, then this one is for you. This is the perfect machine for you if you need to clean up minor spills on carpets and floors or need to clean your car once a year. The only drawback it has is the capacity of its water tank. If you need to clean a car, then you need to refill your tank multiple times.

The cleaning performance of this portable cleaner amazed me. I wasn’t expecting it from such a small machine. It can heat up water in less than a minute. So, if your pet makes a mess and you need to clean, you can do so rather quickly.

It works great for upholstery and spot-cleaning carpets or pet messes. This machine has a 15-foot cord, which is helpful for cleaning, whether its a sofa or a car. 

Reasons to buy:

  • Easy to use
  • Sucks moisture and dirt out of the fibers
  • Lightweight and portable

Reasons to avoid:

  • Small water tank for cleaning car
  • Can be loud for some users
Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 with blue background

Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3

Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 is a professional-grade carpet cleaner with great performance and features. It has 12-foot universal hand tool, which is good enough for cleaning big rooms.

Reasons to buy:

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Reasons to avoid:

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