Keeping your rugs and carpets looking pristine can be a challenge, especially if you’ve got children or pets marching in from outdoors, trailing dirt in their wake and causing spills. Many of us leave the grime to build up until it’s time to call in a professional. But the best carpet cleaners now allow you to do professional-quality deep-cleaning yourself.
“A decent quality carpet should last between five and 15 years, as long as you take care of it properly with regular cleaning,” explains Emily Barron, cleaning expert at home services specialist, Rezigo. “At a time when most of us are having to tighten our belts, the good news is that the best carpet washers are now more affordable and can help keep your rugs and carpets clean all year long.”
Read on for advice on how to choose the right carpet cleaner for you. If you’re in a rush, here are our top five:
Which is the best carpet cleaner in 2024? At a glance
- Best overall carpet cleaner - Bissell Revolution Hydrosteam
- Best value ccarpet cleaner - Rug Doctor Deep Carpet Cleaner
- Easiest to use - VAX Platinum SmartWash
- Best rug cleaner - George GVE 370
- Best wet-and-dry vacuum - Kärcher Spray Extraction Cleaner SE 4001
Which type of carpet cleaner is best?
“There are three main options,” explains Emily. “For nylon or blended carpets, the best options are steam cleaning or dry cleaning – which requires chemical mixtures to be spread across the carpet or sprayed directly onto stains before being removed.
“But for wool carpets, a good carpet shampooer will usually be the most effective. This involves spraying the carpet with hot water or a mixture of hot water and cleaning solutions and then extracting the dirty water or solution by wet vacuuming.” This is the type of cleaner we tested in this review.
“Hot water extraction can be extremely effective, particularly on carpets with stubborn stains, although it’s very important to make sure that you completely dry the carpet or rug in order to prevent mould from developing.” Emily also warns that some carpet detergents contain extremely strong chemicals which can potentially cause damage to a carpet, so testing the mixture on a small area is always advisable. A gentler, but less effective way to clean a delicate carpet is to use a steam cleaner.
Which carpet cleaners do professionals use?
“The Rug Doctor 1095518 is super powerful and is used to remove tough stains from home and office carpets, but it comes at a high price,” says Emily. [We test the more affordable domestic version below.] “The Bissell Big Green is another expensive machine, but it has enough oomph to get dirt out of even industrial carpets.”
“For those on a consumer-level budget, the Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro [also tested below] is a good choice. As well as being ace at removing stubborn pet hair from carpets, it cleans really thoroughly, removes odours and, as a bonus, it’s quick drying, too.”
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How we tested the best carpet cleaners
Reviews editor Simon and I tested the top water extraction-based carpet cleaners at home using their recommended supplied cleaning fluids, on thick pile and short pile carpets, preceded by patch tests on off-cuts. We tested each machine on food, mud and red wine stains and on ground-on dirt near doorways, as well as pet stains. We also tested the accessories on rugs and upholstery. As well as cleaning power, we were looking for ease of set up, ease of use and portability.
We used the same hands-on methods for our tests of the best vacuums, best cordless vacuums, best upright vacuums, best cylinder vacuums and best vacuums for pet hair, so check those out if you’re gearing up for a deep clean.
Best carpet cleaners
1. Bissell Revolution HydroSteam
£380, John Lewis also available at Amazon and Bissell
Best overall, 10/10
We like: steam-cleaning tech sets new standards for wet carpet cleaning
We don’t like: the steam capability doesn’t extend to the included tools
- Heavy (10.2kg)
- High power (1,300W)
- 3.8l clean water tank, 1.9l dirty water tank
- SteamWash MAX/Steam Pretreat/Quick Dry Modes
- 3-in-1 stair tool, 8cm tool and three trial bottles of cleaner
Tested by Kulwinder Rai
Steam mops for hard floors are a familiar concept but the Bissell Revolution HydroSteam, the world’s first wet, upright consumer carpet cleaner with an integrated steam function, breaks truly new ground. It performs its headline party trick by forcing steam into dirty carpets via a bank of 27 steam nozzles, located in front of, and underneath, its fixed, dual-brush roll assembly.
Beefing up the electronics to deliver this steam capability has added a couple of kilograms to the overall weight compared to their (also excellent) Pet Pro, below. While manoeuvrability hasn’t been noticeably compromised, a trip up a flight of stairs does requires some extra bicep action. In related news, it’s worth noting the steam functionality doesn’t extend to the supplied accessory tools, something that would have definitely helped when it comes to cleaning runners and so on.
Operation is simplicity itself. There’s a brief, two-minute wait for the steam function to power up, after which you have three choices. The first is to go straight to the main event and use the SteamWash Max mode, activated by pulling a trigger to dispense steam, water and cleaning formula. It takes eight hours to fully dry.
Option two allows you soften up deeply embedded stains by passing over them while in Pretreat (steam-only) mode. Lastly, there’s also a faster, water + formula ‘Quick Dry’ cleaning mode for dealing with everyday, light staining. With this, carpets dry in around 30 minutes.
While this machine chews through noticeably more cleaning formula than most competing carpet cleaners, I don’t think owners will mind one jot. Put bluntly, the HydroSteam – on its SteamWash MAX setting – positively scythed through absolutely all but the very toughest of carpet stains after just a couple of passes.
Even deeply embedded, dried-in blood and wine stains succumbed to its ministrations, once given a couple of passes of pure steam pre-treatment. In bald performance terms, this machine categorically outperforms every other consumer-grade wet carpet cleaner I’ve tested, no mean feat.
Make no mistake, you’re currently paying a premium to be an early-adopter with this machine but it’s an acceptable one for a machine that represents the current state of the art in wet carpet cleaning. Colour me impressed.
2. Rug Doctor Deep Carpet Cleaner
£241, AO
Best value carpet cleaner 9/10
We like: dual-action brushes scrub out very stubborn stains
We don’t like: quickly gets through a lot of cleaning liquid
- Heavy (14.3kg)
- High power (1,300W)
- 3.8l clean water tank, 4.2l dirty water tank
- No dry-only function
- Upholstery tool included
Tested by Simon Lewis
The Bissell, our winner, trumpets its pet stain performance but the Rug Doctor, with its battle tank-like appearance, is the one you want for the nastiest stains.
It comes in three chunky parts which click together in seconds and a very skimpy instruction pamphlet, since there’s not much to learn: the Rug Doctor cleans as you pull it towards you, squirting warm detergent mix ahead of its cross-action brushes and sucking up the dirty water from behind them.
I decided to try it on the areas of carpet that my puppy used to ‘mark’, the little scoundrel. They’ve resisted all previous attempts at cleaning. It took me a while to get used to the bulk of the Rug Doctor, but after adjusting the handle I could use it one-handed, cleaning right up to the skirting board thanks to a surprisingly precise design at the front end.
All carpet cleaners take several passes to remove a stain and you’re never sure how effective they’ve been until the carpet is dry. Sometimes that takes all night. The Rug Doctor’s heavy, powerful motor sucks up much more dirty water than the others, so the carpet was dry in well under an hour. I could genuinely find no trace of the dog’s misadventures. Very impressive.
The upholstery cleaner nozzle is not quite as dazzling since it doesn’t have motorised brushes, but it uses less water and is a better choice for small stains if you don’t mind going over them repeatedly. I tried it on a cream-coloured chair that had ten year’s worth of grime on it. When it was dry, I’d say it was 75 to 80 per cent cleaner.
For ground-in dirt on high-traffic areas there’s Super Boost function, which sprays extra cleaning solution. This worked well, but used up the trial-sized bottle of detergent in less than five minutes. I’d recommend getting extra detergent on day one and be prepared for lots of trips to the hot tap to recharge its tanks. This is a very liquid-hungry machine. It also dribbles a tiny bit of clean water wherever it stands, so is perhaps not as polite as the others on test. But what it lacks in finesse, it makes up for in raw cleaning power.
3. VAX Platinum SmartWash
£199, Amazon (also available at Vax)
Best for ease of use, 8/10
We like: loaded with clever convenience features
We don’t like: not the best on deep, ground-in stains
- Light (7.4kg)
- High power (1,200W)
- 3.5l cean water tank, 1.9l dirty water tank
- Dry-only function
- SpinScrub tool and 2-in-1 Antimicrobial Wash tool included
Tested by Kulwinder Rai
The best VAX carpet cleaner will always be a contender, given their dominance in this field. The new Platinum SmartWash looks similar to the Bissell but has two notable differences. Firstly, it automatically mixes the cleaning fluid (contained in its own dispenser) and water to deliver the correct mix. Secondly, you’re also freed from having to manually squirt the mixture where it’s required, since the machine automatically does this for you every time you push it forward, helpfully sucking up the dirty water when you pull it back. (Although personally, I found I preferred the precision of a trigger-based system as used on other cleaners.)
Despite repeated passes, the VAX did leave a bit more deep-dried dirt buried in our carpets than the other upright machines did. It was notable that the filaments on the brush bars were relatively long, compared to those in some of the other uprights, perhaps a contributory factor when it comes to (less) effective pile agitation?
On the upside, the VAX’s accessory heads gave a decent account of themselves, the rotating head on the SpinScrub attachment proving particularly effective at dislodging embedded stains on our rugs. Viewed in isolation, the VAX puts in a commendable showing – but it’s slightly overshadowed by other uprights in this test.
4. Tineco iCarpet
£159.99, Amazon
Best heated carpet cleaner, 8/10
We like: high-tech hot water and hot air features
We don’t like: can’t clean under beds or sofas
- Light (7.5kg)
- High power (1,300W)
- 2l clean water tank, 1.5l dirty water tank
- Heated dry-only function
- Two-in-one nozzle and cleaning accessory included
Tested by Simon Lewis
Where all the other carpet cleaners here have to be filled with hot water from the sink, which rapidly cools, Tineco is the only one that heats the water itself. At a piping hot 50C, it’s noticeably quicker at lifting stains – the question is whether that justifies the high price tag.
There are other points in its favour. First, it’s ridiculously easy to set up. An iPhone-sized screen on the top of the machine talks you through it in sound and animations, and does the same when it’s time to change tanks. The same screen, linked to sensors under the brushes, tells you how dry the carpet is, changing from blue (wet) to red (dry). Water-extraction is very fast, thanks to a combination of extremely powerful suction and 80C hot air blasts.
This means you can wash the carpet without everyone having to stay out of the room for six hours while it dries. The Tineco looks as close to good as carpet cleaners get and was reasonably quiet.
There are a few drawbacks. By placing the dirty water tank on the foot unit, they’ve made it easier to push around but impossible to get under beds and chairs. And by slimming it down for the sake of aesthetics and easy storage, they’ve reduced its brush width and water capacity. We had to change the tanks a lot, despite the ‘iLoop’ sensor adjusting the spray to the amount of dirt it detects.
There’s just something enjoyable about this one. In cleaning terms, the Bissell and the Rug Doctor still have the slight edge. But for ease of use and the pride of owning a swanky piece of kit, the Tineco may just be worth the £160 premium.
5. Numatic George Wet & Dry
£299.99, MyHenry
Best rug cleaner, 7/10
We like: immense suction strength leaves surfaces very dry
We don’t like: no brushes means less effect on deep-pile carpets
- Heavy (11.2kg)
- High power (1,060W)
- 6l clean water tank, 9l dirty water tank
- Dry-only function
- Fishtail Extraction tool, Dual Scrub/Wet Pick Up tool, upholstery brush and combination floor tool included
Tested by Kulwinder Rai
Numatic (aka Henry) are big names in professional carpet-cleaning and the George’s tubing, accessories and stainless-steel fittings exude an air of properly engineered quality that’s way beyond that of those supplied with most of the other cleaners here. Longevity is a given.
Despite the generous nine-litre wet capacity, however, tackling large rooms is not this machine’s forte. While the narrow cleaning fluid head did a great job of accurately depositing a fine mist of cleaning solution and sucking it back up (suction power was truly epic), it struggled to extract dried-on dirt from deeper carpets, primarily thanks to the absence of rotating brush bars.
Pet hair and spot stain removal was good, but a degree of brute upper arm strength as well as time-consuming, repeated cycles of wetting and dirty water extraction were often required. So, while the George is a top choice for maintaining smaller rugs and upholstery, you’d have to be a masochist to use it for whole-room carpet cleaning.
6. Kärcher Spray Extraction Cleaner SE 4001
£198.95, Amazon (also available at Screwfix)
Best wet and dry vacuum, 7/10
We like: a well-priced jack-of-all-trades...
We don’t like: ...although master of none
- Light (7.9kg)
- High power (1,200W)
- 4l clean water tank, 4l dirty water tank
- Dry-only function
- Spray/Floor nozzles (with hard floor attachment), handheld spray nozzle, upholstery and crevice nozzles included
The chunky-looking SE 4001 is a wet and dry machine, like the George, and this multi-purpose nature means that using it for carpet cleaning requires some extra physical effort.
Having fitted an internal filter and external cleaning fluid tank, you have to then attach the separate cleaning fluid hose between the machine and the carpet cleaning head via fiddly fittings, finally securing it to the rather insubstantial suction tube with clips. All in all, a fairly messy solution, if you’ll pardon the pun.
There’s no faulting its suction power (Kärcher are known for their pressure washers, so know a bit about pumps), but as with the George, there are no brush bars in the cleaning head so dirt extraction is done via suction alone. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, again, it takes a lot of effort to deep-clean a whole room.
Viewed as a ‘do-it-all’ utility wet and dry machine wheeled out for minor stain removal duties, the Kärcher is definitely a contender. But if those are the particular boxes you need to tick, the slightly more expensive but more robust George may be a wiser choice.
7. Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro
£298.63, Amazon
Best carpet cleaner for pet owners, 10/10
We like: excellent all-round results for both small and large-scale cleaning, a joy to live with
We don’t like: not as powerful as the other cleaners
- Light (7.9kg)
- Medium power (800W)
- 3.7l clean water tank, 3.7l dirty water tank
- Dry-only function
- 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery tool, Tough Stain tool and Cleanshot Pre-treater included
Tested by Kulwinder Rai
The relatively low power and Bissell’s liberal use of cheap-looking plastics don’t immediately inspire confidence but my doubts were dispelled the moment I began setting up and using it. The instructions are clear and there are relatively few parts to put together.
In use the machine makes quite a racket, but that’s par for the course. I forgave it when I saw how well it carried out its primary duty. Of the three cleaning settings, Max Clean, intended for the grimmest, filthiest carpets and rugs, chewed up cleaning fluid at an astronomical rate and left them very wet, but phenomenally clean. (They’ll need to be left to dry for eight hours at least.)
In most typical domestic situations, however, Deep Clean mode, which needs just a few hours to dry, will more than suffice. Used on that setting, the Bissell made light work of our test carpets, leaving barely a trace of residue after just a couple of slow wet passes, followed by two dry ones. A couple more goes and it was hard to tell the carpet had ever been dirty.
For a quick refresh, regular use of the Express Clean mode should be all that’s required, providing you use it every couple of months, with the added benefit that carpets will dry out in about 60 minutes (the claimed 30 minutes is a little optimistic).
The inclusion of a 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery Tool surely makes the Bissell one of the best carpet cleaners for pets. As well as bristles it has a pimpled rubber surface that rakes up fine hairs, an innovation which the other cleaners haven’t discovered yet. Cleaning upholstery is still quite a back-and-forth chore, though.
Stable when being pushed around loaded with liquid and not unduly heavy to lug up the stairs (pro tip: first remove the water tanks to lighten the load), the Bissell makes a compelling case for itself. For a domestic machine, it sets a superb standard for all-round carpet cleaning ability.
Bissell also do a smaller, lighter, 330W Spotclean model for £139.99.
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