5 Best Carpet Cleaner Machines That Help Make Deep-Set Stains Disappear

The Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner is a lifesaver for homes with carpeting on multiple floors. Its brush-roll cover and dual water chambers are easy to remove and clean, and the ergonomic handle allows for effortless maneuvering.

Users with or without pets sing this machine's praises, calling out the light, sleek build, easy-to-use directions, and thorough cleaning that it provides. It shampoos and sucks up grime in one fell swoop, leaving carpets looking like new. According to one reviewer, “It was quick and intuitive to set up and start cleaning. Emptying the dirty water and cleaning the machine took just a few minutes, and the design allows the machine to be thoroughly cleaned, unlike my previous machine.”

This carpet cleaner comes with a detachable 8-foot hose and two interchangeable cleaning heads that can vacuum dry debris or treat stains with the included antibacterial solution.

Reviewers do point out that when using these attachments to clean upholstery, the upright cleaner's main brush head continues to spin. So, make sure you're mindful of this, and always keep the device away from anything that could snag.

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It might not be the lightest or sleekest carpet cleaner, but the Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Cleaner Machine is more than equipped for any carpet cleaning task. Its internal SpinScrub brush system helps ensure constant brush contact with the rug, coupled with extremely powerful suction for the deepest wash possible.

Reviewers even say that it’s pretty fun to clean with! According to one person, “It’s like a toy to me; easy to use and noticeable results. It does a great job of removing dirt spots. Some stains are so deep that it can’t get out (Sharpie, etc.), but for old, nasty carpet, it does wonders.”

This product comes with an 8-foot hose and three different crevice-cleaning tools to spot-clean your sofas, car seats, and stairs. We only wish that this upright carpet cleaner had built-in storage for the hose and tools, though it does come with a mesh bag for storing these attachments.

The Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner is a small, 17-inch-wide, go-anywhere device. It makes it easy to shampoo and remove stains from carpeted stairs, car seat upholstery, and fabric couches. It's a good product to get if your home does not have wall-to-wall carpeting, as its cleaning nozzle is a small, handheld device, and the machine doesn't have wheels.

When our tester Katie Pittman tried out the Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner in her home, she loved its quiet operation and lightweight build, along with how simple it was to pick up and use. “Plug the machine in, turn it on, and do your thing. I didn’t feel like I had to go hunting for instructions, and the tanks have fill lines on both sides, so there’s no guessing when you need to fill up the clean side or empty the dirty side,” she says.

This carpet cleaner’s one drawback is that its nozzle is tough to clean without any included tools, so debris can potentially get stuck and affect the device’s performance. But as far as its effectiveness goes, Pittman says, “the Little Green tackled each stain and smear with ease.”

Accidents happen! Luckily, the Bissell SpotBot Pet Portable Carpet Cleaner takes care of it in a jiffy. What sets this unit apart from the Little Green is that instead of just using its 5-foot-long suction hose to manually clean, you can simply place the machine's scrubber tool on top of a stain, and it will scrub and suck up the gunk for you.

Our editor Brandon Carte, who's a longtime dog owner, has used the Bissell SpotBot for roughly a year to clean up every type of mess you can imagine from his pets. He says, “The cleaner has a 3-minute speed cycle that I primarily use to soak up urine. It also has a 6-minute deep-clean cycle that I use when dealing with vomit or poop.”

He does note that the machine is quite loud when it’s running on auto mode, and it doesn’t suck up the moisture quite as effectively as other models, leaving his carpets pretty damp hours later. Still, he says, “Speaking as someone who has cleaned up more pet fluids than I can count, I would much rather have the Bissell SpotBot than clean the messes by hand.”

If your arms are aching just looking at some of these carpet-cleaning machines, the Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner is a rolling unit that allows you to more easily pull it from place to place.

To use, just fill its clean-water tank with hot water and carpet-cleaning solution. Then, use the silicone-tipped brush head to work the soap into the stain. The nozzle then vacuums up the moisture into its dirty-water chamber, which you can dump out when you're done.

While it's branded toward pet owners — and its included solution is formulated to lift pet stains — users say that it effectively lifts years-old food stains, too. Says one reviewer, “There was a banana stain that I’ve been trying to get out for the last 3 years and nothing worked. Thirty seconds with the Rug Doctor and it’s vanished!”