Home Work – If your home has a lot of carpet and upholstery that gets a lot of traffic and stains from family, friends, and pets, a carpet cleaner is a worthwhile investment in addition to your vacuum or handheld vacuum.
Unlike regular vacuum cleaners that remove dry, loose dirt, hair, lint, and sand from carpets and furniture, carpet cleaners clean or “wash” carpets and upholstery with water, a cleaning solution and suction to dissolve stains and remove stubborn dirt that regular vacuuming can’t.
Owning a machine is less expensive over time than renting or hiring a professional carpet cleaning service, plus you’ll have a machine on hand to treat carpet stains as soon as they occur and for regular maintenance cleaning to help carpets and upholstery. Look better, longer.
Because we know that not every family has the same carpet cleaning needs, you’ll find recommendations from our cleaning experts for carpet cleaners that can tackle pet messes, are safe on carpets, and fit in a storage space. limited.
Contents
Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner
This cleaner is your carpet’s new best friend. This full-size machine deep cleans stairs and upholstery and can even treat pet hair. One of Bissell’s innovative features is the splash-guided spray nozzle. It works simply by pressing the pedal and without the need to stop, bend and use a separate product.
The 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery Dryer dries wet, stubborn pet hair to remove stains on furniture and mattress fabrics. The Dual DirtLifter PowerBush helps remove the toughest stains deep within the carpet. In the past, carpet machines were bulky, but this machine is lightweight and gets a GH Cleaning Lab rating of five for the rotating brush cover that you remove for cleaning.
• Weight: 17.5 pounds.
• Cable length: 25 feet.
• Accessories: Hard Spot Cleaning Tool, 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery Tool.
Hoover Smartwash Automatic Carpet Cleaner
Hoover Smart Wash is a convenient, full-size carpet cleaning machine at a great price. This affordable model offers convenient features to get the job done without extra hassle. To use, push cleaner forward and wash carpet with a mixture of water and cleaning formula. Pull the appliance back and remove the moisture to dry the carpet.
By automatically dispensing the correct combination of solution and water, this is the least you need to do. If you are concerned that your carpet is too wet, select the “Dry Only” setting and give it a few extra passes. It also comes with a 12-foot hose, 2-in-1 pet tool, and tray. The 22-foot cord and one-gallon tank mean you can cover a lot of ground. We found this cleaner to be easy to maneuver, comfortable to use, and have a great performance overall.
• Weight: 18.5 pounds.
• Cable length: 25 feet.
• Accessories: 2-in-1 pet tool, ladder tool, 12-foot hose.
Bissell Big Green Machine Professional Carpet Cleaner
This is the easiest to use professional home carpet cleaning machine we’ve found – large 1.75 gallon tanks are easy to fill, transport and replace, easy to operate and the rotating flow indicator on top eliminates the guesswork out of knowing when the cleaning solution needs to be refilled.
Although it looks bulky, we didn’t find it difficult to maneuver a machine of this size, even when it was full. The adjustable handle moves to the most comfortable position for each user and folds flat for easy storage.
The rotating brush gently dissolves the cleaning solution into the carpet pile and this, combined with powerful suction, removes deep-seated dirt and leaves our carpets feeling soft and not too wet to dry quickly. The 25-foot power cord meant we could clean an entire room and then some without stopping, and the nine-foot hose and handheld stain remover were perfect for cleaning upholstery and stairs.
• Weight: 42 pounds.
• Cable length: 25 feet.
• Accessories: Tough Stain Remover, 9 ft. hose
Bissell CrossWave Floor and Carpet Cleaner
Carpets in a shag area are easy to clean because most of the dirt stays on the surface, so you don’t need a hard brush to go deeper. Bissell CrossWave gently cleans area rugs with a soft microfiber and nylon brush, so you don’t have to worry about damaging short piles or damaging grommets. Best for low, flat carpets, this lightweight backing for this good cleaning sealer also vacuums up dry dirt and works on bare floors.
And we liked that it dispenses enough water to clean, but not so much that it wets the carpet or the floor underneath. It’s lightweight and has easy-to-reach controls so you can go from vacuuming to washing without missing a step. There’s even a place to store a wet brush to dry. Its two-tank technology means dirty water and clean soap are stored separately in the washer, and a 25-foot power cord lets you clean every inch of your living room.
• Weight: 11.5 pounds.
• Cable length: 25 feet.
• Attachments: N/A
How do we test carpet cleaners?
The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Appliances and Cleaning Products Laboratory tests carpet cleaning machines to see how well they clean industry-standard white carpet test panels. We take color measurements before we start, prepare each detergent according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and run each machine on the dirty carpet the same number of times.
After cleaning, the carpet chart is weighed to assess the amount of moisture left behind by each machine. We determine how long it takes for the carpet to dry, and then measure the color in the same places again to calculate how well the machine cleans the carpet. Each model is tested on a fresh mat for more repeatable results. Mobiles are tested to see how well we’ve removed stains, like red wine and chocolate, from carpet and upholstery samples.
We also evaluate how easy it is to assemble, use and store devices. We test any accessory on upholstered furniture and ask consumer testers to come to the laboratory to give us their opinion on the ease of use and maneuverability of the machines.
What to consider when buying a carpet cleaner
Renting a carpet cleaning machine may sound convenient, but when you factor in the format required to pick up and drop off the machine, the additional cost of the cleaning solution, and the fact that the rental machine is probably fully used ( that is, it is not as efficient or as clean as new), it may seem convenient. You like to jump on your own. Rolling up your sleeves and cleaning your rugs yourself will give new life to your rugs and the satisfaction of having a clean home. Keep these points in mind before deciding on a model:
✔️ WEIGHT AND HANDLING: Carpet cleaners are much heavier to push and more complex to use than traditional vacuums and once you add water they weigh more.
✔️ Size: Upright models require more storage space than handheld or portable models. If you don’t have a lot of rugs, a smaller model may suffice for your needs.
✔️ SPECIAL FEATURES: Such as edge cleaning, rotating brush, hose, heater and accessories. Most come with accessories to clean upholstery and small spaces, and small bottles of detergent to get you started.
✔️ Warranty – Many manufacturers post this information on their websites, but the standard for most carpet cleaners is a one to five year warranty. It’s also important to note that if the manufacturer recommends a specific cleaning solution, using a different solution may void your warranty. While you’re at it, check your rug’s warranty to make sure you’re not using a product that will void it as well.
How do carpet cleaners work?
Carpet cleaners come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from portable models and bowls to poles and professional machines that mimic the ones you can rent.
Many come with small nozzles and hoses to more easily clean small spaces like upholstery and stairs, and all have two tanks: one is filled with clean water and a detergent solution, and the other for dirty water that is squeezed out of the carpet. While carpet cleaners are called “steam cleaners,” that’s a misnomer: They don’t work with steam, but you can add hot water to the tank.
How often should your carpet be cleaned?
Carpet manufacturers and the Rug and Rug Institute recommend that your rugs or carpet be deeply cleaned by a professional every 12 to 18 months. Some rugs even require this to maintain the rug warranty!
While professional cleaners use stronger, more powerful equipment than you can buy or rent (plus, they pre-treat stains and can renew and reapply the stain repellent that might have come with your carpet when it was new), a cleaner carpet cleaner, even if it’s portable — means that You can do frequent cleanings and quickly remove stains so your carpet looks better for longer.
