The Best Carpet Cleaner
We looked at the top 9 Carpet Cleaners and dug through the reviews from 10 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Carpet Cleaners.
Why Trust The DWYM Score?
DWYM is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to.Learn more.
Our Picks For The Top Carpet Cleaners
- The Best Carpet Cleaner
- 1. Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Lightweight Carpet Cleaner
- 2. OxiClean Stain Remover Liquid Carpet Cleaner
- 3. BISSELL ProHeat Professional 2-In-1 Carpet Cleaner
- 4. Hoover PowerDash GO Compact Carpet Cleaner
- 5. BISSELL Turboclean Stain Fighting Carpet Cleaner
- 6. Resolve Pet Expert Brushing Kit Carpet Cleaner
- 7. Rug Doctor Dirt Removing Triple Action Carpet Cleaner
- 8. Bissell LittleGreen Stain Removing Carpet Cleaner
- 9. Rug Doctor Mighty Pro Triple Action Vibrating Carpet Cleaner
Attacks the Toughest DirtFor a spotless home, use this carpet cleaner tool — it attacks dirt and messes with its powerful cleaners.
Budget-Friendly OptionThis carpet cleaner has a pleasant scent that will leave your floors smelling good for days.
Superior CleanWith each carpet cleaner purchase, the company makes a donation to help homeless pets.
Easy to Move AroundThis carpet cleaner has a dual-tank system that is easy to use and clean.
Why we recommend these carpet cleaners?
Products Considered
Products Analyzed
Expert Reviews Included
User Opinions Analyzed
Our experts reviewed the top 9 Carpet Cleaners and also dug through the reviews from 10 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Carpet Cleaners.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Overall
Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Lightweight Carpet Cleaner
Our Take
This vacuum and shampooer makes it easy to deep-clean your rugs. It has a spinning brush system that is strong enough to clean thoroughly, all while being gentle on your carpeting. It comes with an upholstery tool, a stair tool, an 8-foot hose and some carpeting cleaning solution. This powerhouse also weighs under 19 pounds.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
Overall Product Rankings
9. Rug Doctor Mighty Pro Triple Action Vibrating Carpet Cleaner
Our Carpet Cleaner Findings
273875 273591 238112Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Lightweight Carpet Cleaner
What We Liked: This vacuum and shampooer makes it easy to deep-clean your rugs. It has a spinning brush system that is strong enough to clean thoroughly, all while being gentle on your carpeting. It comes with an upholstery tool, a stair tool, an 8-foot hose and some carpeting cleaning solution. This powerhouse also weighs under 19 pounds.
OxiClean Stain Remover Liquid Carpet Cleaner
What We Liked: Whether you own a carpet cleaning machine or you plan on renting one, this carpet cleaner solution will restore your floors to “like-new” condition. Each bottle contains 64 ounces of solution, which is enough to cover a very large room. Reviewers rave about this product, as it does an excellent job of getting deep into your carpet fibers.
Our Carpet Cleaner Buying Guide
Carpet cleaners are not the same thing as vacuum cleaners. Vacuums suck up dirt, fur and other unwanted particles from carpets and floors, while carpet cleaners wash the floors using liquid carpet cleaning agents and water. Both may have attachments, which can make it easier to get into corners, use on furniture and work in other narrow spaces.
Carpet cleaners have brushes that spin fast, accessing deep rug fibers to loosen the dirt. The cleaning agent is deposited amongst the fibers and is then sucked back out into a wastewater container. Most carpets can dry on their own, but this can take time, depending on the type of carpet and cleaning method used.
Many people love carpet cleaners because of their multi-functioning capabilities. They act like two machines in one (vacuums and cleaners), which saves time and money. Carpet cleaners allow people to avoid renting expensive carpet cleaning machines or having to hire companies to do the job.
Pet owners, in particular, can appreciate a good carpet cleaner because these tools make cleaning up after their furry friends much easier. Compact models are good for smaller jobs, but full-sized models may be more effective at cleaning up standard messes. You can find everything from smaller models up to industrial-grade varieties available for purchase, but the one you get should be able to effectively scrub, rinse and drain the dirt from your floors.
DWYM Fun Fact
Before vacuum cleaners and carpet cleaners were invented, folks used to beat rugs with brooms and pour lemon juice on carpet stains (in fact, some people still do). The first vacuum cleaner was invented by Ives W. McGaffey in the 1860s, but it had to be operated with a hand crank while moving it on the floor. A man named Bissell invented the first mechanical carpet sweeper about 10 years later.
The Carpet Cleaner Tips and Advice
- Before making your purchase, check your carpet or flooring manufacturer’s warranty or website and search for recommendations on how frequently you should clean them and the best products for doing so.
- Carpets will usually dry after some time has passed, and some carpet cleaners have features that promote faster drying. Otherwise, hot water extraction (steam) cleaning should take from 6 to 12 hours to dry. To speed things up, you can turn on fans, open windows or turn on the air-conditioning in your home.
- Do not walk on or put any furniture on carpet that is not completely dry.
- Consumer Reports recommends plugging your carpet cleaner into outlets that have ground-fault circuit interrupters since you will be working with both water and electricity at the same time.
- These machines can be loud, so you may want to wear earplugs during use.