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Follow the manufacturer’s directions both before and after cleaning your carpet with a spray. Many instructions will direct you to vacuum after cleaning to remove any dried particles left over from either the spray or the stain itself. The best vacuums will also fluff up the carpet again, so it’s a good idea to run the vacuum after the stain is gone anyway. Though the Woolite Heavy Traffic Carpet, Rug & Upholstery Cleaner successfully erased fresh wine stains and set-in mud stains, it failed to get rid of barbecue sauce and urine. Plus, the aerosol can produced copious amounts of foam, which didn’t wow our testers, making it a more difficult product to apply than all the other spray bottles on our list.
The DeepReach PowerBrush Roll has four rows of bristles that push through carpet fibers to lift stains. With just three wet and three dry passes, the Bissell TurboClean completely removed two of the stains and did a great job at fading two others—though another few passes and they, too, were fully removed.
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Barbara Bellesi Zito is a freelance writer from Staten Island, NY, covering all things home and lifestyle for Better Homes & Gardens and other top digital publications. She dove into the results gathered by the BHG in-house testing team to come up with the best carpet cleaners based on effectiveness, portability, ease of setup and use, noise level, and overall value. In addition to analyzing the in-house results, Barbara also consulted with Robert Johnson, marketing director at Coast Appliances. The spray cleaner successfully removed fresh dirt stains, wine spills, and animal urine, though it was unable to fully remove barbecue sauce from rugs and upholstery. Since almost all carpet spray cleaners struggled with this stain, this didn’t surprise us too much. The Scotchgard Oxy cleaner also removed stains that had been sitting overnight, meaning you don’t have to worry about spots and spills you find a few hours after they’ve happened. Though the instructions on the bottle were easy to follow, testers found the spray bottle itself to be the issue—it “took forever, and a ton of sprays” to saturate the stained carpet as suggested. However, since the wait time before scrubbing is just five minutes, you won’t have to stand around for very long in between steps. We also found that this carpet spray cleaner had no odor, meaning your home won’t smell like chemicals once you’re done scrubbing. Unfortunately, the Formula 409 Carpet Cleaner failed to remove all stains from carpets and upholstery alike, no matter how soon after a spill it was applied. We noticed that it barely faded the brightness of stains on the first application and second attempts didn’t make any further progress, so we don’t recommend this cleaner. Though it’s advertised as a pet stain remover, note that it won’t remove odors. Our testers detected a light urine odor that lingered on rugs and upholstery after scrubbing. On the plus side, this spray doesn’t have an overpowering chemical scent, which is ideal for cleaning up less-smelly messes.
The Hate Stains Miss Mouths Messy Eater Stain Remover was effective at removing fresh and old wine stains on the first attempt, but it required a second application to make a dent in barbecue sauce, dirt, and urine spots. We also found that a strong odor remained on carpets and upholstery even after removing the urine stain, so we don’t recommend this product to pet owners. Dry your carpets for 12 to 24 hours to avoid mold formation and odd smells due to dampness,” Johnson advises. “ Steam carpet cleaning without drying treatments takes 48 to 72 hours to dry thoroughly.” This means that unless you are cleaning just a small spot that might be easily avoided during the drying time, you’ll want to plan accordingly if you are cleaning entire floors or even the seats in your car. Though it does weigh in at 19 pounds when full, we still found the Bissell Spot Clean Pet Pro to be lightweight and easy to carry thanks to an ergonomic handle. The spray trigger is also ergonomic, so you should feel comfortable using this carpet cleaner right away.No one likes to anticipate household mishaps. But just as you might keep a bottle of stain remover to pretreat your laundry, you’ll want to keep a bottle of the best spray carpet cleaner on hand. Our favorite is the Oxi-Clean Carpet Stain Remover, which does a great job taking out a variety of stains on both carpet and upholstery. Powder cleaners work fast on spot stains or more day-to-day dirt, with no need to dry out the carpet afterwards. Simply sprinkle on the powder, leave it for the specified time, then vacuum it up. While effective at removing wine stains from all the surfaces we tested, we found that it worked the best on upholstery. Our tester noted that the spray bottle required a little more dexterity to spritz than other cleaners on our list, but after a few sprays, it was easier to use. We also loved that it has a color-safe formula, so it won’t remove the vibrant hues from your clothes or flooring.
Do not put vinegar in a carpet cleaner, Johnson says. “A white vinegar and water solution or other homemade carpet cleaning solutions cause carpet damage that the naked eye can’t see,” he explains. “Even such minor damage can void the carpet manufacturer’s warranty.” Portability is key with vacuums and carpet cleaners alike, as you don’t want it to be too difficult to carry or use the device. You’ll note that the products on our best carpet cleaners list run the gamut of being ultra portable (i.e. you can hold it in one hand) to hefty (i.e. you’ll need some muscle power to maneuver it). If you want something that’s good for spot cleaning, look for something that’s lightweight, but if you need to take on room after carpeted room, choose a machine that’s hefty enough for the job.
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If you’re in a pinch and you don’t have a carpet spray cleaner on hand, Gurskyi recommends making a DIY mixture to help remove spills and stains. We assembled each carpet cleaner, filling the tank with water and/or any suggested chemical-based or natural cleaning solutions, per the manufacturer’s guidelines. We recorded the weight of the carpet cleaner once filled and how easy it was to transport. Once each assembled machine was started, we measured the noise level using a decibel meter. Then, we tested it on four types of stains: potting soil, chocolate syrup, red wine, and coffee. If you’re worried about dirt, food spills, or other messes damaging your beloved couch, the Rocco and Roxie Stain and Odor Eliminator may help set your mind at ease. During our tests, we found that the formula lifted stains lifted easily from upholstery, and it outperformed all of the other spray cleaners on our list in this category. Our editorial team then compiled these insights and created a final list of the best carpet spray cleaners, based on testing results.
If you have pets, this product is great at removing the smell of urine from carpet and upholstery, decreasing the likelihood that your pet will continue to use that spot to relieve themselves. When you consider that this could save you from having to replace a carpet or couch, it’s well worth the price tag. If you’re concerned about a carpet cleaner being too complicated, the Bissell JetScrub has just three buttons to operate it. The overall design is quite slim and compact—it’s only a little more than 12 pounds—which is a manageable size for an upright cleaner and bodes well for portability as well as storage. For the price, it’s a great value, especially if you catch it on sale. As for carpet cleaning, this is excellent. The cleaning head is composed of a single roller but it’s crammed with bristles. This has a transformative impact on dirty carpets, agitating and shampooing them thoroughly, particularly if you set it to its Deep Clean option, although this does leave carpets a little damp. Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned.READ NEXT: The best hard floor cleaners to buy Is there an alternative to spending good money on a carpet cleaner?
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