The best carpet cleaner will deliver a deeper, wet clean to tackle mud, stains, and stubborn debris that your vacuum simply can't. To make it onto our best carpet cleaner list, the machine should also be easy to use, empty and (ideally) not too heavy.
Figuring out how to clean a carpet couldn't be more straightforward with our edit of the best options of the market. Our pick of the very best carpet cleaners will restore your carpet to its just-bought condition; we've covered all price ranges, so that you can choose a carpet cleaner that best suits you, and our clever widgets display the best prices for each product today.
To complete your carpet cleaning arsenal for pristine floors, find the best vacuum cleaners in our buyer's guide.
What are the best carpet cleaners?
Why you can trust Real Homes Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
In our opinion, the best carpet cleaner is the Rug Doctor FlexClean thanks to its power and versatility. Weighty and impressive, the machine features a large water tank and attachments that let you clean virtually any surface in the house. It's an all-in-one investment that will leave carpets, kitchen floors, and even mattresses like new.
Looking for something handy and lightweight though? Opt for the Bissell Spot Clean Pro for its powerful stain removal and handy attachments. Or maybe you want an all-in-one, multi purpose cleaner? The Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max ticks all the boxes with its easy to use 3-in-1 cleaning power.
Want to keep looking? No worries: keep scrolling to read more of our top carpet cleaner recommendations.
The best carpet cleaners you can buy right now
The only carpet cleaner for your floors you'll ever need, the Rug Doctor FlexClean will adjust to almost any type of flooring.
Multi-use
Whether you're deep cleaning a carpet, a wooden floor, or kitchen tiles, this cleaner will cope admirably. Oh, and it can even clean furniture!
Large capacity
The dirty water tank on this machine will take 4.7 litres – enough to clean the whole house without needing to empty tanks. This is important for this substantial and somewhat heavy model.
Power
This carpet cleaner has twice the suction power of other machines, making getting down into your carpet's pile easy; it's also one of the only cleaners on the market with a motorised brush.
Clean cars, furniture, and more
The excellent upholstery tool on this machine allows you to clean a lot more than just floors. Try it to clean your sofa or mattress.
One of Henry and Hetty’s lesser-known cousins, the Numatic George GVE370-2 is a friendly-faced chap who performs three tasks in one, effectively. Here's everything you need to know about it.
Wet and dry options
In addition to functioning as a standard vacuum, this 3-in-1 Cylinder Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner also offers wet carpet cleaning to help you keep your flooring free of dust, as well as tackling dirt.
Attachments
Whether your intention is to clean stairs, carpets or your car's interior, this model comes with plenty of attachments to help you tackle even the most difficult to reach areas.
Long cord and large bag
This model also comes with an impressively long cord, and a bag with a large capacity, making it perfect for larger homes.
The nimble and light Bissell carpet cleaner is exactly what you need for targeting areas such as the stairs.
Powerful stain removal
This carpet cleaner is equally good at sucking up fresh spills or tackling old stains (this options works even better if you use a detergent at the same time). Just don't reach for this machine in the middle of the night – you will wake up the neighbours with the noise.
Separate tanks
Clean and dirty water are kept in separate tanks, which enhances the cleaning ability and makes cleaning the machine easier.
Handy attachments
Do you have a large spill you need to suck up as quickly as possible, or a tough stain that really needs zoomed in, powerful suction in a single spot? This cleaner has attachments for both scenarios.
Perfect for those on a budget and if you own a pet, the Vax Dual Power Carpet Cleaner does a decent job of cleaning carpets, especially for its price. Here's everything you need to know about it.
Tools
Featuring an onboard wash tool to tackle stairs, upholstery and car seats with ease, the Vax Dual Power Pet Advance Carpet Cleaner offers the best of both worlds – it's an upright model with handheld capabilities, too.
Dual rotating brush bars
Thanks to a handy dual rotating brush, this model boasts double the cleaning action, allowing users to tackle stubborn stains and deeply embedded dirt, such as muddy paw prints on a white carpet – we've all been there. Plus, its 30cm wide cleaning head means it's easier than ever to cover large areas, quickly.
Fill and empty with ease
Much like you'd empty a standard vacuum cleaner, this model comes with tanks that can be emptied at the touch of a clip. Plus, there are two separate tanks for clean and dirty water, meaning you won't have to worry about the two crossing over.
The Bissell Proheat is a powerful carpet cleaner that is great for busy homes where spills, stains, and pet hairs are a frequent occurrence.
Deep clean for carpets and upholstery
Our reviewer has praised this carpet cleaner's visible cleaning results, including on upholstery and deep pile carpets. It's also very effective at picking up pet hairs (owners of long-haired pets will be particularly thankful).
Spot cleaning for spills and stairs
It can also be used for quick spills and has a tool for furniture and the stairs – all those small spots the bigger carpet cleaners will miss.
Powerful but noisy
The only thing to bear in mind is that all this power comes at the cost of quite a bit of noise.
Great for a deep clean
This Bissell Hydrowave carpet cleaner really makes a difference on carpets and rugs, particularly those that see regular heavy use with stains and paw prints. There is a satisfying and very visible difference between where you've used and where you haven't.
Takes a while to dry
Be patient with this carpet cleaner – it gets rugs really quite wet, and can take hours to dry, so make sure pets/children don't run around on the clean surface before it's dry. For the same reason, it's not really suitable for hard flooring.
Noisy
Like other Bissell products, this isn't exactly quiet, but you do get used to the noise quite quickly.
Lightweight and easy to manoeuvre
Our reviewer remarked on how at just 5.6kg, the Bissell Powerclean is the lightest in Bissell’s extensive range of carpet washers. The carry handle and compact design makes it very easy to transport around the house, even up and down stairs.
Better for regular spot cleaning
Due to its lightweight design, it's great for regular spot cleaning of fresh stains. The Bissell Powerclean 2889E Series comes with four rows of motorised “DeepReach PowerBrushes”, which are said to aid in double the amount of cleaning power versus Bissell’s previous light weight carpet washer.
Quieter than other cleaners
This isn't exactly quiet, but it's definitely a lot less noisy than other Bissell machines. .
Super lightweight and easy to use
At only 3.9kg, the Vax SpotWash Spot cleaner is incredibly light and easy to carry around the house and up and down stairs. The two attachments for the hose make it easy to clean multi-surfaces, including stairs, car interiors and even sealed hard floors.
Great for busy families with mucky pets
Due to its lightweight design, it's great for regular spot cleaning of fresh stains. It isn't designed for cleaning full rooms of carpet like a larger upright carpet cleaning machine – instead it is the perfect helper for stains, spills, stairs, car seats and upholstery cleaning.
Great price
For what we think is a relatively low price, it will perfectly complement your other cleaning tools for a stain-free home.
Smooth to use with great suction
Whether going over pet hair or cleaning spillages the Bissell CrossWave Cordless Max breezes through it.
Great for carpets and hard floors
We think that this multi-surface cleaner performs very well on low-pile carpets and rugs, getting rid of the need for vacuuming then mopping. It manages to remove an impressive amount of debris, leaving your floors (or rugs) looking practically brand new.
Hefty in price and weight
You may want to bear the 9.4 kg weight in mind – especially if you'll be carrying it up and down your stairs – and the high price tag.
Easy to set up and simple to clean with
The Vax Platinum SmartWash is easily filled and the machine automatically dispenses the cleaning solution and clean water. Its motion sense technology means you don't need to push it forward with much effort. With a 9 metre cable, it's easy to use it over a wide area without the need to swap sockets.
Lifts stains easily
Our reviewer gave the machine top marks for freshening up a tired carpet. It came out looking clean and with the pile revived.
Expensive but worth it
The Vax Platinum SmartWash is in the most expensive part of the carpet cleaner market but it’s a worthy competitor to its rivals with great cleaning and carpet-refreshing results, as well as effective drying.
How to buy the best carpet cleaner
Where to buy a carpet cleaner
When it comes to buying the best carpet cleaner to suit your needs, there are a few factors worth considering if you're looking to get the most for your money. We'd recommend bearing the following in mind:
Capacity
If you're planning on cleaning a large, completely carpeted home, on a regular basis, or have a lot of carpets to clean – perhaps you're an Airbnb or holiday apartment owner – look for something with a large capacity that won't require constant refills. Similarly, if you're simply looking to clean a small area of carpet on an irregular basis, pick something that's portable and can be stored in a cupboard with ease.
Cable length
The same things can be said for cable length. The longest cable possible is a must in a large space, but less of a priority in small homes, or where there's only one carpet that requires cleaning, say, in the bedroom.
Attachments
You'll want to make sure your carpet cleaner does exactly what you want it to do; whether that be cleaning upholstery, stair carpets, car interiors, curtains, and more. Ensure the model you choose comes with the appropriate attachments to get the job done.
Carpet cleaners vs. vacuum cleaners
Why do I need a carpet cleaner if I already own a vacuum cleaner, you may ask? Two reasons: stain removal and deodorising action.
While vacuum cleaners are perfectly good for everyday cleaning, a carpet cleaner delivers a deeper clean, often with the assistance of a carpet shampoo. Think of it as an 'as well' rather than an 'instead' product.
If it's a small stain you're dealing with, you could use one of the best carpet cleaning solutions to try to get it out, instead. The choice is yours.
