These are the best carpet cleaners for messes — 6 machines that work well (and fast)

If your FYP is currently filled with those satisfying carpet cleaning videos, then you're probably here to get your own sense of satisfaction and finally clean that grubby rug you've owned for all of those years. In all honestly, it'll work out a lot cheaper than taking it to be professionally cleaned, plus owning a carpet cleaning machine is definitely a smart idea. Because as much as we wish our favorite upholstery cleaner could tackle large messes, we would be there all day. Especially if you either have brand new carpets (ahh, that smell) or you're a renter. It's definitely not worth losing your hefty security deposit over some spilled milk(shake).

All of the carpet cleaners we've featured on this list have been extensively researched, and we've only chosen models that reviewers rave about. In this case, we're currently testing these six machines as we speak, throwing all kinds of stuff onto our beloved rugs, from red wine (gasp) to OJ, and perhaps even getting our pets a little muddy to help our testing results. We'll be updating this buying guide once our testing is done to add our results. For now, these are our favorite six machines to invest in this year.

The quick list

In a rush to get rid of that stain? Here's a quick low-down on the carpet cleaners we love the most, and you can click to jump down the page to read more.

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The best carpet cleaners we recommend in 2023

The best carpet cleaner overall

If you're searching for a carpet cleaner for your home that's mostly carpeted, and to use on a lot of upholstered furniture, then this machine is definitely up for the job. It won't take too long either. Its attachment head spans 7 inches in width, meaning you'll spend less time cleaning larger spaces. It also comes with a huge range of attachments to use to clean various items.

Ease of use: Admittedly, because this machine comes with several attachments, you might find it a bit trickier than others to use as you'll spend some time deciding on which head is best for the job. Thankfully, no job is too big and no corner is too tight. After use, it comes with a Hose Rinse Tool to flush the machine with water for simple cleaning. Then, all you need to do is clean its tanks and attachments. Easy peasy.

Good for: This machine is best for anyone who is really looking to get into the nitty-gritty and wants something that can cope with every type of mess. We're talking high messes, low messes, tight corners — there aren't many places it won't be able to reach. If you have lots of carpeted rooms, then it's great as its wide cleaning tool will make a fast job of deep cleaning. It's also great for all-size homes, large or tiny, as it has a small footprint yet a wide reach and a sizeable tank.

Good to know: If you're just looking for something for spot cleaning, then you might be able to get away with something cheaper and something that comes with fewer attachments. Its design features an integrated handle and it's easy to store, otherwise, both its cord and hose are nice and long to reach around larger rooms. Its water tank is still large but it's the biggest on this list, so for bigger jobs in larger homes, you might need to empty and refill. This also isn't a vacuum, so you will need to clean your floors beforehand, using a cordless vacuum or upright model to get rid of debris.

Reviewers say: Rated Amazon's Choice carpet cleaner, this machine has a 4.5-star rating from 3,000 reviewers. Shoppers say it's easy to use despite there being several attachments to choose from, and that it's surprisingly lightweight and small for its power. Lots of people comment saying it's an absolute must-have!

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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The best affordable carpet cleaning machine

You've probably seen this little green machine before, going viral on TikTok — or maybe you've spotted it on Amazon as it's a bestseller. It can be used on any soft surface, from your favorite rug to your entire couch. With almost 60,000 positive reviews, this is definitely the best carpet cleaner if you live somewhere small or want something compact because of a lack of cleaning closet space. 

Ease of use: You need only fill it with water (and cleaner) to its fill line and then turn it on. Use it with the right tool based on the job you're tackling, and keep an eye on its tank to check it's not running empty. It can hold 48 ounces of water, which should last for a decent amount of time. When it comes to cleaning, it has a dedicated tool to use so that it essentially cleans itself, ready for the next use. Definitely make sure you do this or you will be faced with a smelly machine.

Great for: This small machine can cope well with pet messes and is also great for cleaning rugs. It might not be the best for larger jobs or for deep cleaning as its cleaning head is only three inches wide, so it will take longer than machines with a wider cleaning depth. If you plan on only using this a couple of times a year and don't have much carpet — mostly rugs — then this is definitely your best bet.

Good to know: Its clever design features a built-in handle so that you can carry it around your home with ease. It also comes with two attachments, a 3-inch Tough Stain Tool and a HydroRinse Self-Cleaning Hose Tool, plus 8 ounces of Spot and Stain cleaner to use with it.

Reviewers say: People rave about this machine, claiming they would give it more than five out of five stars if they could. It has a 4.6-star rating out of five, for reference! Lots of people tend to use it either on armchairs or couches or to target carpet stains as opposed to cleaning an entire carpeted room in a deep clean.

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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The best carpet cleaning machine for pet owners

Aptly named for being a good investment for pet owners, this carpet cleaning machine is said to be Bisell's most powerful model, so if you're looking to accelerate your cleaning (or you have a really tough stain) then it's a winner. It's a little bigger than the Little Green but it's still nice and lightweight. It also comes with a specially designed tool for suctioning spills.

Ease of use: This cleaner works the same way as the others in the way it has a dirty and clean water tank. You need only fill the clean tank and choose an attachment and you're ready to clean. After use, it's not the easiest to clean admittedly, but don't let that put you off. There are just several different parts that need cleaning. It's recommended to clean the hose by suctioning up some clean water and running it through the machine.

Great for: This machine is ideal for pet owners mostly, or if you're after something for spot cleaning only. Though its cord is nice and long at 20 feet, you wouldn't want to deep clean an entire carpet with its 3-inch wide head as it would take forever. The other head it comes with is for cleaning up spills, from red wine to pet urine, which is handy. This special head keeps the liquid in its tiny onboard tank rather than putting it into your machine. It comes with two bottles of solution that are specially designed to target pet stains and odors, plus it's said to be great for cleaning pet beds. 

Good to know: Its design means that the machine is easy to carry around your home thanks to its handle. Its hose is only 5 feet long but it does wrap around the machine for easy storing.

Reviewers say: More than 11,000 Amazon reviewers gave this carpet cleaning machine a 4.5-star rating. Lots of shoppers comment on how easy it is to use and call it the miracle machine. Most people say it's brilliant for spot-cleaning furniture, rugs, and carpets. They say it's a handy machine to have at home, just in case.

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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The best carpet cleaner vacuum

This carpet cleaning machine also doubles as a handheld vacuum and it can suction debris and pet hair. It's great for cleaning carpets and rugs, too. This means you won't have to vacuum before or after, which is a total game-changer for busy people.

Ease of use: This machine is a little different than the others because it's also a vacuum cleaner. This means that you'll be dealing with cleaning both water and debris. It has a tank that you can use with bags to make the machine easier to clean after use. Otherwise, it's surprisingly easy to clean as you only need to vacuum up a cup of clean water to clean its insides, then clean its parts, and it's ready for the next use. Its dust bin is also dishwasher safe for total convenience.

Good for: This carpet cleaning machine is great for your deep cleaning jobs. It vacuums and deep cleans at the same time, and it comes with a range of attachments — a squeegee tool, carpet tool, crevice tool, and extension wand. Whether you want to clean rugs, walls, or your couch, this can do it.

Good to know: Despite being a 2-in-1 machine, it's still nice and lightweight at less than 10 pounds, plus it has a carry handle. Its hose and cord aren't the longest ever, but they should be fine when working with larger rooms. They also can be stored on board and wrapped around the machine, the same goes with all of the extra tools. If you have any really big rooms with fewer sockets, then it might be worth getting your tape measure out.

Reviewers say: This is a pretty new machine, so it doesn't have any Amazon reviews just yet. However, it is rated Amazon's #1 new release right now. Reviewers over on the Shark website have given it 4.9 stars out of five, with most people claiming it's small but powerful. Lots of shoppers love its extendable attachment as they say it lets them clean underneath furniture with ease, and they say it's nice and easy to maintain, which is a big bonus.

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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The best carpet cleaning machine for larger homes

This larger pick from Kenmore is ideal if you live in a busy home with kids and pets. It can cope with heavy messes, and fast, thanks to its 6.5-inch cleaning head. This means you'll spend less time on your hands and knees. It's 20-foot-long hose is great if you have any larger rooms to tackle. It's still less than $150, which is a very decent price for an appliance like this.

Ease of use: Simply fill the clean water tank with a mix of solution and water, then choose your attachment and you're ready to go. It has a power button and a button on both attachments for spraying. When it comes to cleaning, it doesn't have a specific mode, so you'll need to follow the instructions and clean each water tank as well as the attachment you've used. Make sure to leave them to dry fully before storing.

Great for: This model is better for larger spaces or if you're investing in a carpet cleaning machine to use for a deep clean twice a year. It'll take less time to clean an entire carpeted room or even a large couch than smaller models like the Bissell Little Green would. Plus, it comes with a smaller head that's 3.5 inches wide for your car, accent chairs, or tight spaces around your home.

Good to know: Its design features a built-in handle and its hose wraps around the unit. There's also onboard storage for tools. It's quite lightweight considering its power.

Reviewers say: Amazon reviewers gave it 4.3 stars out of five. They say it's amazing at spot cleaning, specifically furniture and car interiors, and lots of shoppers claim no stain is too big for it. It's also apparently strong enough to remove odors that come with stains. 

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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The best easy to use carpet cleaner

If you're a pet owner and are looking for an effortless machine to use when muddy paws take over, then this is your best bet. It's portable thanks to wheels and a retractable handle, and it has strong suction power to truly remove anything from mud to poop to pee. It's also notably good at banishing odors that come with these stains, too, making it a genius buy that will replace quite a few cleaning supplies.

Ease of use: Much like all other carpet cleaning machines, this one has a separate dirty water tank from its clean water tank. You need to fill up the clean one with water and solution and you're good to go. No need to decide on an attachment as it only comes with one — but this one head is fitted with lots of mini brushes to make scrubbing easy. Once you're finished, it's recommended to keep your machine on for 15 seconds to allow everything to flow out of its hose and into the dirty water tank. Otherwise, it doesn't have any special cleaning mode, you just need to wash the parts by hand and dry them ASAP.

Great for: This machine is great for use inside your home. It's probably a little more annoying dragging it to your car as it's heavier than our other picks, and it only comes with one attachment. If you have limited mobility, then it's also handy as it can be wheeled back to your cleaning closet once you've used it — no carrying necessary.

Good to know: It's neat and tidy to store as everything apart from the formula can be kept on board. It is heavier than our other picks though, at over 18 pounds. We don't have an exact measurement on its cleaning hose, but we'll update this soon in our review.

Reviewers say: It has over 6,000 ratings on Amazon with an average rating of 4.2 stars out of five. Most shoppers say it's best for rugs and furniture and for spot cleaning. It's apparently a bit tricky to use on cars, stairs, or in any tight spaces.

This carpet cleaner is currently in review.

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Carpet cleaners: comparison

What to consider when buying a carpet cleaner?

When it comes to buying the best carpet cleaner to suit your needs, there are a few factors worth considering...

1. Does it have a large capacity?
The machines in this guide all have separate dirty water and clean water tanks, so that you're never going to be cleaning your floors with dirty water. Because yuck. So, with that in mind, all of their capacities are pretty generous, and some might even be too large for spot cleaning and you'll probably have to throw clean solution away that you've not ended up using. If you do have a large home or any particularly large rooms that you're planning on fully cleaning, you might have to empty and refill your tank with some of the smaller capacity machines on our list. Just think about what you'll mostly be using your machine for before you invest in the model with the largest tank.

2. How long is its cable? And its hose?
This is another factor that you won't need to worry about if your home is small or if you'll be using this machine solely to spot clean. The longest cord length on this list is 20 feet, and the longest hose is 6 feet — both from the Kenmore KW2001 which you can buy from Amazon. Don't think that you need a huge hose or cord if your home is smaller as this will only make your machine heavier to carry and more cumbersome to use.

3. Does it come with any attachments?
All of these machines have two removable water tanks, one for clean water and another for dirty water, as well as a hose. The hose will attach to a head, and some machines come with several heads in various shapes to make it easier to clean different things. If you know you'll only be using your carpet cleaner for targeted messes, such as a red wine stain on a rug or a dog puke stain on a sofa, then the general attachment will do just fine. Otherwise, if you'll be taking yours out to your car or using it on your stairs or in nooks and crannies, you might want to check out machines that come with more than one attachment. Oh, and all bar one of these machines comes with formula included.

4. How heavy is it?
If you don't own stairs, then this won't be a massive biggie, but for anyone who does and will be lugging this up and down them, we'd go for something a little lighter, perhaps under 10 pounds, especially because these machines can get quite heavy when they are filled with dirty water. The Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner (which you can buy from Amazon) is actually on wheels and it has a retractable handle if you have limited mobility.

5. Is it easy to clean?
Some of the machines on our list can be cleaned fast because they are designed with a special tool or they recommend that you suction up a cup of clean water after use to clean out the insides. Others, not so much. It's imperative that you clean your machine after each and every use (trust us!) or it will get smelly — fast. Think about how much time you'll have to maintain yours, and whether you'd rather have something with dishwasher-friendly parts (Hello, Shark MessMaster) or maybe it doesn't bother you either way.

How we chose these carpet cleaners

All of these carpet cleaning machines have been featured because they are currently in review by a member of the Real Homes team. That means we're currently testing them out in our own homes, on our own dirt, to see if they truly are as easy to use and as powerful as they are made out to be.

We'll be updating this guide once reviews start going live, as we like to have our reviewers test these machines for at least two weeks, using them at least three times over this period.

Otherwise, these were selected to review based on their brilliant customer ratings. Shoppers love these carpet-cleaning machines, so we thought we would put them to the test ourselves.