5 Best Carpet Cleaners of 2024, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

First off, take stock of the layout of your home and the areas you’ll be cleaning. If you live in a one-story house, for instance, you might not need a model with a particularly long hose. “On the other hand, if you have carpeted stairs, you want a carpet cleaner with a long hose, so you can reach up the steps,” says Larry Ciufo, who oversees Consumer Reports’ carpet cleaner tests. “You don’t want to put the cleaner on the top step and tug on the hose; the machine could barrel down on top of you.” Another option, Ciufo says, is to get a portable carpet cleaner for the stairway.

Carpet cleaners can also clean more than just carpets: Many models can clean upholstery and things like pet beds and rugs. Several models also include more than one type of brush or attachment, with different brushes designed to help with different types of messes, from embedded dirt to liquid stains and spills.

You should also consider a carpet cleaner’s tank setup. Some have one tank with two chambers, one for fresh cleaning solution and the other for dirty water. But our testers have found that carpet cleaners with two separate tanks—one for the cleaning solution and another for dirty water—are more convenient to use. Some carpet cleaners also have dispensers that add the cleaning agent to clean water so that you don’t have to measure out a full tank of solution every time.

The weight of a carpet cleaner also matters. Carpet cleaners on their own, with empty tanks, weigh between 10 and 20 pounds; filling the tanks can bring the total weight to well over 20 pounds. Make sure you can comfortably move and manage a carpet cleaner when its tanks are full.

Remember, too, that a carpet cleaner can’t go it alone. You’ll need a good upright or canister vacuum cleaner to suck up loose debris before using a carpet cleaner. This ensures that you’re not wetting the carpet with excess dust or dirt, creating a bigger mess.

Finally, don’t select a carpet cleaner based on brand name alone. In our tests, we found big differences among models from the same brand. While Bissell models hold several spots near the top of our rankings, for example, one of its models is also in one of the lowest spots.