As a pet and toddler parent — and owner of white carpets — I understand the struggle of keeping your carpets clean and smelling fresh. Since it gets to the bottom of the carpet and removes stains at its root, it leaves the area smelling better than before. Before you choose a carpet cleaner, check your carpet label(s) to make sure the carpets can handle the water-based extraction-cleaning method most of these cleaners use. But it’s more awkward to use, and it didn’t leave the carpet as dry and refreshed.
And its trigger — which you have to hold and release to control solution spraying and extraction — feels cumbersome. It outperformed some pricier Bissell models at cleaning up peanut butter and Nutella). The five top-performing carpet cleaners, listed below, all feature a large tank, moving brushes, and a long hose. But its wheels don’t maneuver quite as smoothly as those of our top pick, and its handle isn’t as comfortable to hold.
It’s a great cleaner, especially for red wine. It’s a good option if you want to save money and are willing to give up some cleaning performance and convenience. It’s a decent (but slower) dryer. Many are also marketed specifically to pet owners.
With its nifty design, smooth operation, and superior cleaning (and drying) ability, the Tineco Carpet One Smart Carpet Cleaner was the clear winner. Though you can rent heavy-duty carpet cleaners or hire a cleaning service, owning a carpet cleaner is a better financial deal in the long run if you use it at least a handful of times. Also known as carpet shampooers, most carpet cleaners spray warm water mixed with cleaning solution on the carpet. While the Bissell Revolution HydroSteam outperformed most carpet cleaners on all the testing, it’s one flaw was leaving a wet carpet behind.
The Tineco Carpet One Smart’s four cleaning modes which can be set using a button on the machine’s handle or via the app eliminate some of the guesswork. It took ground-in dirt in stride, and it tackled chocolate ice cream and caramel syrup better than any of its competitors. We didn’t have much trouble passing it over bumps in the carpet or moving it from hard surfaces to rugs. It’s light (but a bit clunky).
Its power and mode switches are awkwardly placed. Plus, the tough stain tool made it easy to remove stubborn stains. The ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet requires you to hold and release its trigger, depending on whether you want to spray cleaning solution or extract dirty water, and this can be tiresome. But it took significantly longer than our top pick.
