The best carpet cleaners for removing stains in 2024, tried and tested at home with expert advice

Keeping your rugs and carpets looking pristine can be a challenge, especially if you’ve got children or pets marching in from outdoors, trailing dirt in their wake and causing spills. Many of us leave the grime to build up until it’s time to call in a professional. But the best carpet cleaners now allow you to do professional-quality deep-cleaning yourself. 

“A decent quality carpet should last between five and 15 years, as long as you take care of it properly with regular cleaning,” explains Emily Barron, cleaning expert at home services specialist, Rezigo. “At a time when most of us are having to tighten our belts, the good news is that the best carpet washers are now more affordable and can help keep your rugs and carpets clean all year long.”

Read on for advice on how to choose the right carpet cleaner for you. If you’re in a rush, here are our top five:

Which is the best carpet cleaner in 2024? At a glance

Which type of carpet cleaner is best? 

“There are three main options,” explains Emily. “For nylon or blended carpets, the best options are steam cleaning or dry cleaning – which requires chemical mixtures to be spread across the carpet or sprayed directly onto stains before being removed.

“But for wool carpets, a good carpet shampooer will usually be the most effective. This involves spraying the carpet with hot water or a mixture of hot water and cleaning solutions and then extracting the dirty water or solution by wet vacuuming.” This is the type of cleaner we tested in this review.

“Hot water extraction can be extremely effective, particularly on carpets with stubborn stains, although it’s very important to make sure that you completely dry the carpet or rug in order to prevent mould from developing.” Emily also warns that some carpet detergents contain extremely strong chemicals which can potentially cause damage to a carpet, so testing the mixture on a small area is always advisable. A gentler, but less effective way to clean a delicate carpet is to use a steam cleaner.

Which carpet cleaners do professionals use?

“The Rug Doctor 1095518 is super powerful and is used to remove tough stains from home and office carpets, but it comes at a high price,” says Emily. [We test the more affordable domestic version below.] “The Bissell Big Green is another expensive machine, but it has enough oomph to get dirt out of even industrial carpets.”

“For those on a consumer-level budget, the Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro [also tested below] is a good choice. As well as being ace at removing stubborn pet hair from carpets, it cleans really thoroughly, removes odours and, as a bonus, it’s quick drying, too.”


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How we tested the best carpet cleaners

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