Carpet Cleaners Reviews

Editors at Consumer Reports haven't evaluated carpet cleaners since July 2003 and most of those models have been discontinued. Good Housekeeping's coverage isn't much better. Editors offer only one very brief and somewhat dated review of the Hoover V2 carpet cleaner, but they don’t indicate which other carpet cleaners were evaluated, if any.

We found the best, most recent carpet cleaner reviews at websites that allow owners to review their own models. Some carpet cleaners at Amazon.com are rated by more than 300 owners. At Target.com, some models receive over 40 comments. Sears, Lowe's and Home Depot have also added feedback features to their websites, but there aren't yet enough accumulated reviews to be very helpful. However, these sites should increase in scope as more readers review their carpet cleaners.

Expert and owner reviews of Dirt Devil deep cleaners, in general, are less positive than those we found for Hoover and Bissell carpet cleaners. The handheld Dirt Devil Spot Scrubber (*est. $50) especially disappoints users at Amazon.com, Epinions and Target.com. Owners complain that the level of suction is poor, leaving the carpet too wet. Many also say that the rotating brush is too soft to do much good and can actually grind the dirt in further. The Bissell SpotBot spot cleaner (*est. $130) is much more expensive, but it also earns vastly better reviews.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We found the greatest number of favorable reviews for the Bissell ProHeat 2X Select 9400 upright, the Hoover SteamVac Agility and the Bissell QuickSteamer PowerBrush. Owner reviews right now for the Bissell ProHeat 2X Select 9400 are far better than those for the older Bissell ProHeat and complaints about its reliability appear to be less prevalent. The Bissell ProHeat 2X Select 9400 is newer to the market than some other highly-rated machines, which makes it a bit difficult to determine how the 2X’s long-term reliability will compare to that of its competitors. The Hoover SteamVac Agility, on the other hand, has acquired over 300 user reviews in its nearly three years on the market, giving us a better measure of how the Agility will hold up over time.

For those on a budget or for light duty, we found good reviews for the Bissell QuickSteamer PowerBrush 2080, but this carpet cleaner has a smaller tank and less powerful motor than others.

We found mixed reviews for small portable steam cleaners like the Eureka Atlantis Express 2553A and Bissell SpotLifter, but generally better ones for the Bissell Little Green Pro 14005. The most complimentary owner-written reviews we uncovered, however, belong to the pricier Bissell SpotBot.