Tired of ugly carpet spots, stains, and accidents…
But don’t want the ongoing cost and hassle of hiring outside crews and machines to clean them up?
Sometimes, folks don’t wish to invest several thousand dollars to replace their carpet. So they look for the next best thing to extend its life and make it as hygienic and hypoallergenic as possible.
I went through 10 of the best carpet shampooers and personally tested them or had clients put them through their paces. This will hopefully help you decide which one is best for you.
We examined each model’s performance across several factors to give you a realistic evaluation of each carpet floor cleaner’s capabilities.
The tests covered weight, cleaning technology, suction, price, and other important items.
Maintaining your shampooer is an essential part of owning one since it can break down if not properly maintained. However, some models are more robust than others. Whether you need one for occasional or more frequent use, I hope this review has you covered.
Buying Guide
Before diving into these machines, I’ve compiled this brief guide to help you with your evaluation.
Here are the top three things to look out for when buying a carpet cleaning machine:
1. Your Needs
What are your specific needs?
Do you have pet or kid accidents and need a machine great Are you skilled at spot cleaning? Or do you regularly clean your home and/or rental properties and need something more heavy-duty?
The machines reviewed below have their intended purpose, so be sure to understand which machine does what so your expectations are met.
Secondly, when you have hundreds or even thousands of online and independent reviews, you will notice a general trend or consensus on a particular product.
If the overwhelming majority of them are positive, that’s a great sign you’re onto a high-quality product.
There will always be unsatisfied customers in any market or about any product.
Yes, the occasional lemon's surface, as do competitors, damage during shipping, and fake reviewers, but generally speaking, when you see reviews heavily leaning towards one direction, you’ll likely be very happy with it.
2. Performance
This is the most important aspect of your machine: does it clean well? If yes, what additional value does it provide over more/less expensive machines?
Having a powerful motor is excellent if it’s highly effective, but it’s always best to focus on the results rather than the bells and whistles each one has.
Look for a machine that gets the job done according to your needs. If you can wait 24+ hours for the carpet to dry after cleaning it, that's great. If not, look for one with a quicker drying period.
Once you’ve established that its suction and power are satisfactory, look at its overall ratings and choose the one that ticks the most boxes.
Remember to care for your shampooer because a well-looked-after and maintained machine can easily last over a decade.
Be sure to be very conservative with the amount of detergent you use! I cannot stress this enough because many people incorrectly believe that the more shampoo, the better and cleaner the carpets will be.
WRONG!
In fact, the exact opposite is true because excess detergent lingers behind the carpet fibers, becomes sticky, and draws dirt to it as honey does to bees.
Less is more.
3. Ease of Use
This may surprise many readers, but many machine owners break or damage them by simply not knowing how to use them properly. Sometimes, it’s their fault for not taking a few minutes to read their manufacturer’s manual, but other times, the machines are poorly designed and difficult to use.
Since most people aren’t good with technical stuff or fixing machines, look for a machine that requires little to no assembly and is relatively straightforward to operate. Remember, you paid money for it, so it’s up to the maker to deliver a user-friendly product.
The simpler, the better.
You can minimize any issues or disappointment by doing something that surprisingly very few do, and this alone can save you so much headache: read the instruction manual!
It’s downright comical seeing folks complain about a perceived fault when it could have been remedied by simply following the manufacturer’s instructions on how to operate the machine correctly.
Do that, clean it after use, and take care of it; it will last many years.
Test Results & Ratings
Best Overall Carpet Shampooer
1. Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner Machine, 86T3
✅ X-Large DirtLifter PowerBrush
✅ Super easy to use
✅ Exceptional on carpet & upholstery
✅ Cleans on both forward and backward pass
✅ Unrivaled deep clean – removes pet urine/vomit
✅ 2 large water tanks
✅ Excellent build quality
💀 Much heavier than other shampooers
This review's top spot goes to the Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner 86T3, our recommendation for the best overall carpet cleaner/shampooer.
While it will cost considerably more than other models, it’s a cut above the rest across almost all areas, making it a standout for homeowners who want the best possible deep cleaning of their carpets, rugs, and upholstery without hiring outside crews or renting one.
If you’re looking for the very best, then here it is.
This bad boy is not cheap or lightweight, coming in at 52.5 pounds, but boy, does it clean carpets, and it cleans them well.
Marketed as a professional carpet cleaner, the overwhelming majority of clients who have purchased and reviewed this machine are homeowners, but such is its practicality that anyone can use it and get fantastic results.
Stairs, carpet, upholstery – it does it all.
It far surpasses any carpet cleaning machine you would rent at your local store (and this was tested to verify) due to its powerful motor and robust, anti-tip design.
Its extra-large DirtLifter PowerBrush covers a much larger area than other cleaners, allowing you to quickly deep clean your rooms. Its ability to clean on both forward and backward passes slashes your cleaning time compared to other shampooers, which only require a forward pass.
Since its water tanks are so large, at over a gallon, it allows you to have continuous, uninterrupted cleaning sessions, which is ideal if you’re in a hurry.
Not only does it clean carpets and rugs like no other, but it also has a very convenient set of accessories and kits to help you with pet accidents, such as vomit, urine, hairballs, etc., as well as non-floor materials like steps and upholstery.
The power button is easily located on the back of the handle, and because it’s so stable, it won’t tip or lean in any direction while going at full throttle.
A very noticeable element of this machine is its build quality. It feels so robust and sturdy, and how it’s constructed just looks and feels like the real deal. It doesn’t have the hollow, plastic feel other cleaners have, and when its engines rev up and start working, you can genuinely feel the deep clean it gives out.
This shampooer exceeded expectations across all fronts. For the price, you still get excellent value for money when you consider the cost of repeated professional carpet cleaning and/or equipment rental over just one or two years.
Most Popular
2. Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Cleaner FH50150
✅ Lightweight
✅ Easy to fill
✅ Spinscrub Technology
✅ Equal suction
✅ Automatic detergent mixing
✅ Automatic dirty water tank shut-off
💀 Not as effective on upholstery
💀 Short power cord
Now if you don’t want to drop $400.00 on the top shampooer on the market, here’s a perfect option for you.
Second up, we have the Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe FH50150 Carpet Cleaner, by far the most popular machine on the market today.
This unit is lightweight, super easy to assemble and use, and, most importantly, cleans phenomenally well even if just hot water is used.
Due to its popularity, this machine has the most customer reviews, and with good reason: it’s loaded with unique features at a very reasonable price that makes cleaning your carpets a breeze.
It’s very lightweight for such a large cleaner, coming in at just under 19 pounds. This means it will be easy to move it around from room to room or even up and down stairs without too much trouble.
It comes with a “Smart Tank” system that makes filling, emptying, and cleaning the tank easy and without mess. Unlike other cleaners, it automatically shuts off once the dirty water tank is full, so keep going until that happens—there’s no need to switch it off and check back and forth constantly.
Best of all, you don’t need special tools or anything like that, so it’s a huge time saver.
One of the biggest benefits of this shampooer is its “SpinScrub Technology,” which allows for a complete 360-degree cleaning around the actual carpet fibers. It has counter-rotating brushes that continuously contact the carpet, providing a more thorough clean. It also has a “DualV Nozzle” that gives you equal suction for an even but fast clean and equally fast dry time via heated air.
It allows you to wash your carpet with soap and water or just water if you wish to rinse it afterward.
I found it even more effective if you start with hot water first and then go over it with the soap and water option afterward for an even deeper clean.
The main thing to be mindful of is that its power cord is only 20 feet long, so depending on your home, it may need to be disconnected and replugged in when going from room to room. Yes, it’s a slight inconvenience, but nothing major.
You don’t have to worry about mixing the detergent and getting the ratio right. This is done automatically, so you never have to mess with solutions, giving you more time to focus on cleaning your carpets.
Best Heavy Duty
3. Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 Pet Pack, Deep Carpet Cleaning Machine
✅ Spray, scrub & extract process
✅ Upholstery tool included
✅ Extracts pet stains
✅ Surprisingly quiet
✅ Powerful suction
✅ No assembly required
💀 Only works on backward pass
This machine was as good as I tested; your carpets will love you for using it.
The suction on this thing is off the charts strong, to the point that the handle sometimes feels slightly flimsy, even though it held up well over the entire test.
We cleaned an entire 3,400 square foot home to ready it for showing over a weekend.
Let me say that the shock and awe you get after seeing what it manages to pull out is genuinely impressive. It’s as good as any commercial-grade machine, very well built, and comes with all the tools you need to do upholstery, furniture, and hard-to-reach areas.
The side-to-side agitating brush is unique in that it’s one of the very few on the market that operates this way. The main difference between this mechanism and the rotating ones is that the rotating ones tend to remove some of the carpet fibers over time due to their aggressive scrubbing and cleaning.
It’s also exceptional for pet stains, so for optimal results, use the included Pet Formula Carpet Cleaner and Urine Eliminator Spray.
Like other Rug Doctor carpet cleaning machines, it only works on a backward pass.
Go slowly and deliberately over the carpet,, and it will remove as much grime in that single pass as other machines take in two or more.
Best Bang for You Back
4. BISSELL PowerLifter PowerBrush Upright Carpet Cleaner & Shampooer 1622
✅ Lightweight
✅ Easy to use
✅ 4-Row rotating DirtLifter PowerBrush
✅ Excellent value for money
✅ Gives a very deep clean
💀 No attachment/accessories package
💀 Small 2-in-1 water tank
Next, we have the Bissell PowerLifter PowerBrush 1622, an excellent value-for-money unit.
Overall, this shampooer was great and perfect for anyone who wants an inexpensive alternative to professional cleaning with the same results.
Packing a mighty punch for its size, you can actually feel its robust machinery going to work on the carpet as you glide it across and back and forth. Other customers and us noticed it gets rid of stains and any accompanying smell, so it refreshes as it goes.
It’s bulky, yes, but surprisingly light and easy to maneuver, thanks to its quickly adaptable wheels. It's also super easy to assemble (it takes seconds and a Phillips screwdriver) and works—just add hot water, and the unit purifies your carpet very well. I kept using it and refilling the tank until the water came out clean.
All you need for this machine to work its magic is to put in as much hot tap water as you can, and it will go after even the most stubborn stains.
Just be aware that if you have dogs or cats that shed a lot, it’s very important to dry vacuum your carpet first to remove this surface hair. Otherwise, you’ll be left with wet globs of hair that you must pick up afterward!
The most significant advantage I felt with this machine is the depth and efficiency of its cleaning power – the 4-Row DirtLifter Powerbrush system has a “loosen and suck” mechanism. The brush gets deep into the carpet to loosen up dirt and stains that ordinary vacuums leave behind, and then the strong suction removes it for good. Since it gets to the bottom of the carpet and removes stains at its root, it leaves the area smelling better than before.
The only thing I felt could be improved is the 2-in-1 water tank size—it’s considerably smaller than other machines, which means more frequent trips to empty the dirty water. Apart from that, it’s a well-rounded shampooer that gets the job done very nicely. However, there is a positive trade-off because the unit is very lightweight, so it’s ideal for anyone who struggles with heavier cleaners.
Best Pet Specific Carpet Shampooer
5. Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Full Size Carpet Cleaner 1986
✅ Rapid drying
✅ Extra long cord
✅ Wet & dry cleaning tool
✅ Heatwave technology
✅ Foot-activated sain pre-treater
✅ 5-year warranty
💀 Small water tanks
💀 No access to sucker portion
Bissell developed this machine to tackle pet problems—pee, vomit, tracked-in dirt, drool—you name it. Whatever your pet throws at it, the Professional Pet Urine Eliminator + Oxy formula combined with the pretreater will make short work of it (it’s even acclaimed for removing skunk odor).
Activated by foot, the Cleanshot pre-treater goes right after problem spots and stains often caused by pets, leaving them looking and smelling great. There’s another bonus here if you are looking for a machine to help you with pet problems – included is a 2-in-1 pet upholstery tool specifically designed to remove pet hair, accidents, and odors from carpets and upholstery.
You can also set this shampooer to “express clean” or “deep clean.”
The first provides a comprehensive clean without soaking your carpets or upholstery.
So, for example, if you have guests coming, you can clean well beforehand, and it will be dry within about an hour (give or take, depending on conditions, etc.). However, if you’re looking for a deep clean, switch it to that mode, and it will use everything in its arsenal to pull out things you would never imagine.
This pet accident blasting machine is versatile, easy to operate, and quite powerful. What really enhances it, however, is Bissell’s cleaning solutions for pet owners—they are very well-priced and work better than anything tested.
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to clean this machine well after use. Since there’s no direct access to the opening where suction occurs, it’s very easy for hair to stagnate, dry, and be unpleasant. Just pop the cover off and use the provided hair removal tool to ensure it’s as clean as a whistle for the next use.
Best Entry Level Shampooer
6. BISSELL Turboclean Powerbrush Pet Upright Carpet Cleaner Machine and Carpet Shampooer, 2085
✅ Lightest Bissell carpet cleaner
✅ 4-row rotating powerbrush
✅ Edgesweep bristles for edge cleaning
✅ Powerful suction
✅ Excellent basic cleaner
💀 Small water tanks
💀 No auto water heater
This entry-level cleaner is ideal for something basic with excellent cleaning power. It is also super lightweight (12 lbs!) and the easiest unit we tested to operate.
It worked best in hallways, entryways, rugs, and smaller rooms.
Its 4-row rotating powerbrush lifts dirt, allowing its strong suction to do the work. Bissell’s cleaning formulas for this machine worked well on pet stains, coffee, and wine, leaving the spots we tested as good as new.
Its collapsible handle makes it so convenient that it neatly folds away in a small closet, which is very handy.
The suction on this thing is huge, which is great. Even though the carpet will still be damp afterward, the result when it completely dries was very impressive. It has a trigger that you hold down to release fluid as you run the machine over an area, and it’ll do the rest.
Although small, the water tank is easily located at the front of the machine and is airtight when clipped on, so you will not get any complaints about leaks, which seems to be a common problem among folks….who don’t correctly follow the instructions.
It also doesn’t have an automatic water heater to warm the water to the required temperature but states to use warm water – DO NOT use scalding hot or anything above 120 degrees as this can easily deform the materials on the unit and render it useless.
Best Portable Machine
7. Bissell 3624 SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner
✅ Portable & super lightweight
✅ Auto-suction stop when the unit is full
✅ 5 flex holes for all spot cleaning
✅ Large tank for its size
✅ Excellent results
💀 Poor hose quality
💀 Low durability
Weighing in at just 13.2 pounds, don’t let this flyweight fool you. This machine is perfect for pet/child accidents on the floor or furniture.
Although not designed to do large areas of carpet, this little guy has some serious sucking power for tough spot stains like pet and child accidents and works equally well on upholstery and steps as it does on the carpet. It comes with its own stair tool designed for steps and other household items like couches, sofas, area rugs, and, yes, even your car's interior.
Since it’s portable, it’s very convenient to store or carry around based on your needs. Since it’s not as cumbersome as the large shampooers, it’s quite the joy to whip it out in an emergency, clean the area, and be done with it.
This can be a lifesaver when removing small spots immediately or completely rejuvenating any sitting furniture.
The most significant advantage of this unit is how well it performs. Nothing seems to bother it, be it pet urine, vomit, blood, or dirt—it has a rotating brush that penetrates the carpet deeply. Remember not to focus on one area too long; otherwise, you will get a cleaning spot there!
I also like how it automatically stops suction once the dirty water unit is full, preventing unwanted accidents.
Quite a number of folks who bought this machine stated they would prefer it to last longer since 2-3 years seems to be the standard before it kicks the bucket.
However, for the price, it is a lot cheaper than hiring a professional crew to spot-treat your home.
8. Rug Doctor Deep Carpet Cleaner
Check It Out Here On Amazon
✅ 75% more suction Vs others
✅ Upholstery tool included
✅ Super boost spray for extra grunt
✅ Quick Dry
✅ Automatically polishes carpet after cleaning
✅ No assembly required
💀 Small water tanks
💀 Only works on backward pass
The most noticeable thing about this machine when we tested it was..it sucks big time!
In a good way of course, it has a whopping 75% more suction power than many similar machines and, not surprisingly, removes more dirt than them. It’s modeled around a professional-grade shampooer—it looks and, more importantly, cleans just as good, if not better, than several commercial-grade machines. Of course, it’s much lighter because it’s made from lighter materials, making it easy to use for any homeowner.
I liked the upholstery tool that comes with it—it’s sublime for harder-to-reach spots and great for furniture. If you have a particularly difficult spot or area needing extra attention, there’s the ‘Super Boost’ spray, a handy bell to have.
It’s a relatively large unit, so it cleans deeply and quickly. Drying time is approximately 4 hours, depending on humidity and conditions, but still significantly shorter than many machines that leave your carpet damp even 24 hours later.
This machine works mainly via what Rug Doctor calls “Dual Cross Action Brushes,” which deeply clean each carpet fiber from every angle while the grooming brushes polish them, giving them a stellar, plush feel.
It has its own cleaning solutions, so use them for the best results.
Speaking of which, I was with a client when they put this bad boy to use when cleaning a rental property we were remodeling for them. The cleaning mechanism in the Rug Doctor worked exceptionally well by loosening dirt and grime embedded deep within, then sucking the dirty solution up, thereby also making the carpet fibers come to life.
A couple of things to be mindful of – although its water tanks are fused into one piece, they are pretty small compared to other machines. Now, this may appear to be a disadvantage at first, but I found it more than compensates for this with its superior suction power. Instead of needing to do several passes, the client only did one! Of course, some areas are extremely dirty and require an additional pass, but overall, you will be doing less work cleaning since it simply collects more dirt per pass.
The second thing is that it only cleans going backward, unlike other units that have dual, but many folks have stated that this actually worked better for them since it was easier to work with.
9. Hoover Carpet Cleaner Max Extract Dual V WidePath Carpet Cleaner Machine F7412900
✅ Automatic detergent mixing
✅ Powerful motor
✅ Very user-friendly
✅ SpinScrub hand tool for steps, upholstery, etc.
✅ Automatic overflow shutoff
✅ Heated cleaning for faster drying time
💀 Heavy
💀 Uses more water than other models
This shampooer is a good middle-of-the-road unit that offers an array of features that give you many benefits.
First, it has a very wide nozzle at around 13 inches wide giving you about 20% more surface area to clean more carpet, faster. The SpinScrub Technology characteristic of many Hoover cleaners is also in this one and a brief overview of it may give you a greater understanding of exactly how it works and why it cleans so well.
Think of the brushes on this machine as similar to a rounded electrical toothbrush. The bristles are straight and neatly placed in a circular design. So when this machine is running, the rounded-shaped brushes get 360° access to your carpet fibers giving them as thorough a clean as possible. We found this machine regularly gave “after” water that resembled a murky creek or chocolate milk, such was the sheer volume of grime that it sucked.
It’s got a 12-amp powerful motor with heated cleaning as well—this means you don’t have to wait too long for the carpet to dry compared to non-heated cleaners, where you may often have to wait for 24 hours or longer.
The accessory it provides is also super handy – a “SpinScrub Powered Hand Tool” as well as an upholstery tool and removable tool caddy.
When we tested it on curtains, sofas, and other furniture items, it was as good as we tested in terms of its cleaning ability but honestly, we feel this machine is heavy and not suited to smaller, tight places or small and/or older folks.
It does its best work when it has a chance to go over large slabs of carpet so if you’re looking for a product that can knock out a large carpeted area relatively quickly, this is a very good option.
10. Hoover Carpet Cleaner SteamVac with Clean Surge Carpet Cleaner Machine F5914900
✅ Fingertip soap control
✅ Powerful motor
✅ No belts
✅ SpinScrub hand tool for steps, upholstery, etc.
✅ 3-Speed brush roll control
💀Heavy
One distinguishing feature of this product is the Clean Surge control, which allows you to simply adjust the amount of detergent you like with your fingertips.
If you encounter a particularly difficult stain, release more detergent to remove it more easily. It shares the SpinScrub technology of other Hoovers, so it will clean the carpet and upholstery fibers in a 360° manner, giving you the most thorough clean possible.
Another much sought-after benefit is it dries the carpet quite well and doesn’t leave it too damp like most other cleaners do, where you have to simply wait it out for everything to dry completely. The front of the cleaner is see-through plastic so you can see if any water is still being sucked up. If you’re in a hurry to dry your carpets, then keep the vacuum on the area until no more water can be seen being sucked up.
True to Hoover’s legacy, this unit has very strong suction via its 12-amp motor, so it may only take a couple of passes or more, depending on your carpet’s condition, to get it properly cleaned. If you haven’t cleaned your carpets in years or like…ever, expect it to take a few runs before your carpet is adequately cleaned.
The 3-speed brush roll control is excellent and works well—you select your speed based on how aggressively you want the machine to clean.
This shampooer would have rated higher had it not been for the misstep many clients made by not setting it up properly before use. You must do a one-time setup where you squeeze the trigger and push the Clean-Surge button to lock a rod into place.
Do that, and your unit will be good to go. Don’t do it, and your unit will leak. It's not the unit’s fault, obviously, but then again, customers can be fickle even when it’s their fault!
Final Thoughts
All of these machines excelled in their respective categories to be the best in their class, so whichever you go with, you can be assured of a very high-quality product.
If used correctly and looked after, they will add many more years to your carpets you once thought were unsavable.
Be sure to select according to your needs, maintain it after each use (clean it so it doesn’t accumulate grime and harden), and, most importantly, follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions.
Remember to use the machines slowly and deliberately, giving them ample time to give you the deep clean you want.
Depending on the model, these machines are backed by 2, 3, and 5-year warranties, so replacement parts and repairs are very easy to source. Finally, if you have dogs that constantly destroy your carpet, consider helping them with a solid training program like Adriene Faracelli’s Brain Training.
I hope this review has been of help to you in choosing your own carpet cleaner.
