Best overall carpet cleaner for pets
Bissell SpotClean Pet Pro
Peters’s top pick for the best carpet cleaner for pets is the Bissell SpotClean Pet Pro carpet cleaner. “I love it for my multi-pet home, because it’s easy to use and cuts my pet stain cleaning time in half,” he says.
Why? Pet stains can seep down into the carpet fibers, to the padding and untreated floor below. By using a suction tool and a powerful enzymatic cleaner, both included in the small appliance, “I know I’m removing the stain and odor, as well as preserving the flooring of my home.” Looking for other tips? Here’s a complete guide to cleaning your carpet.
Pros:
- Powerful cleaning capabilities for its size, including suction and scrubbing action
- Weighs just 13 pounds, making it portable enough to easily haul around the house
- Reasonably priced
- Comes with two tools and a bottle of Pet Pro Oxy Urine Eliminator formula
Cons:
- Not as apt at cleaning large areas as an upright carpet cleaner
- Emptying out the dirty water tank can be tricky
Best budget carpet cleaner for pets
Bissell Little Green Machine
The Bissell Little Green Machine is the absolute best carpet cleaner for pets, according to Amazon shoppers, who have made it the top seller on the online retailer’s website. With a 4-foot hose and 48-ounce water tank capacity, you can get cleaning done faster without having to empty dirty water as often. It also boasts a self-cleaning hose, making it easy to rinse out the gunk after every use.
Our senior shopping writer reviewed the Little Green Machine and she agrees: This thing is incredible.
Pros:
- Great value for the price
- Self-cleaning hose feature keeps you safe from mold and bacteria
- Cleans effectively and efficiently
Cons:
- It can be quite loud
- Too small to clean up larger areas
Best value carpet cleaner for pets
Hoover PowerDash
At just over $100, the Hoover PowerDash upright cleaner offers a lot of bang for the buck. Though compact and lightweight, the easy-to-push carpet cleaner with a half-gallon tank can cover larger spaces and make cleanup a breeze. The ability to clean larger-scale rooms makes it the best carpet cleaner for pets if you have wall-to-wall carpeting.
Amazon reviewers love it, too: It has an average 4.5-star rating with more than 72,000 ratings. Here are the other top-rated vacuum cleaners on our list.
Pros:
- Great value at a low price
- Lightweight and easy to transport
- Small enough to stash in tight spaces
- Surprisingly powerful
- 72,000 ratings on Amazon and a 4.5-star average
Cons:
- Only holds a half-gallon of dirty water, so expect to dump it out more frequently
- Louder than most vacuum machines
Best handheld carpet cleaner for pets
Black+Decker Spillbuster
This pet carpet cleaner from Black+Decker is basically the Dustbuster of pet messes, hence the name! The Spillbuster works in three steps: First, it suctions up any larger debris. Next, spray cleaning solution on the spot you need to treat. Finally, pull it back and forth over the spot, scrubbing the mess away.
You can also use this handheld tool as a car vacuum. It’s easily the best carpet cleaner for pets if you’re low on grip strength, time and budget.
Pros:
- Super portable, making it great for the car or small messes
- Most components are dishwasher safe
- Great value for the price
- Battery indicator lets you know how much charge is left
Cons:
- Only intended for small messes and spot cleaning
- Cleaning reservoir is small, so you’ll have to refill often
Best handheld carpet cleaner runner-up
Bissell Pet Stain Eraser
Small pets usually make small messes, but “while miniature in size, they can end up all over the house,” says Irene Mantakounis, associate marketing director of Global Upright Deep Cleaning for Bissell. She suggests investing in a compact and cordless machine that is easy to carry around.
The Bissell Pet Stain Eraser is one of the most popular and best carpet cleaners for pets. The handheld, cordless gadget weights just 4.4 pounds, making it easy to clean up pet messes on the ground or furniture anywhere in the home. It also boasts a powerful, rotating brush to help lift up pesky pet stains. See our senior shopping writer’s review of the Pet Stain Eraser here.
Pros:
- Lightweight and portable
- Great for cleaning spot treatments
- Can be used with cleaning solution in the tank
Cons:
- Takes ~4 hours to charge and provides ~20 minutes of intense carpet cleaning
- Not the best choice for larger messes
Best upright carpet cleaner for pets
Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution
If your home is mostly carpeted, Mantakounis recommends an upright carpet cleaner. “Upright carpet cleaning machines and carpet shampooers are great for cleaning wall-to-wall carpets and larger area rugs,” she says. With over 24,000 ratings and an average 4.6-stars on Amazon, the ProHeat Revolution is a favorite of pet owners accustomed to cleaning up large messes.
The 18-pound gadget resembles a traditional vacuum but offers lots of carpet cleaning features, like a pretreating tool, a 2-in-1 Pet Upholstery Tool to remove pet hair, stains and odors from upholstery, and an EZ Clean Brush Roll Cover to make maintaining the machine easy.
Pros:
- Upright design makes cleaning large areas easier
- Large size is better for big stains
- Comes with helpful accessories
- Maintenance is easy, as it’s simple to take apart and clean
Cons:
- Weighs 18 pounds, so hauling it around the house may take a little effort
- More expensive than others on the market
Best corded carpet cleaner for pets
Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner
With a 4-foot hose, retractable handle and wheels, the corded Rug Doctor Pet is another favorite of pet owners who spend a lot of time moving around a room cleaning up pet messes. It’s got a larger tank than most units of similar size (holding 64 ounces of cleaning solution), which means you won’t have to stop to refill it as often, saving you lots of time. It can also help you with trickier non-pet-related tasks, like cleaning your baseboards.
Pros:
- Cord allows you to move around the room without moving the machine
- Wheels make moving around a room easier
- 4-foot hose makes hard-to-reach messes accessible
- Extra-large water tank means less wasted time refilling
Cons:
- Louder than other models on the market
- Corded, so cleaning different rooms might require unplugging and plugging it in again
Best smart carpet cleaner for pets
Tineco Carpet One
Those who equip their homes with the smartest gadgets will appreciate the Tineco Carpet One, a new gadget from the brand that’s already famous for its top-rated vacuum mop. The easy-to-use, tech-enabled carpet cleaner guides you through the cleaning process with helpful features like a humidity sensing “dryness meter,” quick-drying technology promising surface dry time in 30 minutes or less.
It also features unique heating technology to ensure water temps remain consistently high throughout cleaning. This model also adjusts water flow based on the stain type, meaning you won’t have to refill the tank as often. It’s a feature that makes it the best carpet cleaner for pets if you love cutting-edge technology.
Pros:
- Smart technology takes the guesswork out of cleaning up stains
- Uses cleaning solutions more efficiently, saving you money in the long run
- Deep cleans with just a few passes
Cons:
- One of the more expensive pet cleaners on the market
- Trickier to use, as the technology is cutting edge
Sources:
- Guy Peters, owner and founder of MOP STARS Cleaning Service
- Irene Mantakounis, associate marketing director of Global Upright Deep Cleaning for Bissell
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