Best carpet cleaner for pets

Best carpet cleaner for puppy pee

The Rug Doctor is perfect for tackling stubborn stains head-on. Just tote your cleaner to the stain, set it down and let it do the rest. It delivers intense suction for deep cleaning and can handle upholstery and carpets alike. The device is specially formulated to scrub your carpets without damaging fibers, so you don’t have to stress about possibly replacing rugs that have been repeatedly cleaned. Small wheels and a retractable handle make it easy to move the device from room to room.

The 10 Best Carpet Cleaners For Pets To Eliminate Stains And Odors

Pets are the beloved lights of our lives, but the messes they sometimes leave around the house are stressful and time consuming. Tufts of fur across the carpets, unexpected stains on rugs and mud all over the kitchen floor are just some of the everyday messes pet owners encounter. We know how important it is to have a cleaning arsenal that’s able to tackle even the most difficult stains. That’s where the best carpet cleaners for pets come into play. These handy devices quickly scrub out dirt and grime effortlessly (the devices even pick up dog food stains), leaving only freshened, odor-free carpets. Our top pick for 2023, Bissell’s ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro, has 12 rows of brushes for those more intense cleaning sessions.

Some of the best carpet cleaners for pets include built-in spot-treaters and dual mopping-vacuuming . [+] capabilities.

Illustration: Forbes / Image: Retailer

It’s important to note that carpet cleaners for pets are quite different from traditional vacuum cleaners. While vacuums focus on sucking up things like dirt (and there are even many vacuums for pet hair), these types of cleaners actually wash your rugs, utilizing water along with a specialized cleaning solution to get all of those unsightly stains and smells out of your rugs all at once. Of course, that means they’re a bit more of an investment. Most models will set you back at least $100—so you’re going to want a machine that works for the space you have and the typical messes you encounter. Luckily, we’ve got a curated, expert-vetted list of the best carpet cleaners for pets in 2023 right here. When all is said and done, your guests might not even know you even have a pet. (We said might.)

  • Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets Overall: Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro
  • Best Budget Carpet Cleaner For Pets: Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner
  • Best Easy-To-Clean Carpet Cleaner For Pets: Black + Decker Spillbuster
  • Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets On Amazon:Hoover Power Scrub Elite Pet Upright Carpet Cleaner
  • Best Small Carpet Cleaner For Pets:Bissell Little Green Pet Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner
  • Best Carpet Cleaner For Small Pets:Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner
  • Best Handheld Carpet Cleaner For Pets:Bissell Pet Stain Eraser
  • Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets With Attachments:Hoover Clean Slate Portable Carpet and Upholstery Pet Spot Cleaner
  • Best Multipurpose Carpet Cleaner For Pets:BISSELL CrossWave Pet Pro Multi-Surface Wet Dry Vac
  • Best Professional Carpet Cleaner For Pets:Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner

Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets Overall

A Versatile Machine That Can Tackle Every Type Of Mess

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro

If you’ve got a pet that’s not the best at using the bathroom outside (or simply loves tracking mud indoors), you need a really powerful machine that can scoop up some serious gunk. That’s where the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max comes in. This super intense cleaner is designed to take out even the toughest pet stains and stenches, even promising to remove eau de skunk (yes, really). Enjoy 12 rows of dirt-lifting brushes, each of which promises to get deep into your carpets. There’s also an Express Clean Mode for when you need to get things clean and dry in 30 minutes and a built-in CleanShot pre-treater to help you fight those especially stubborn stains. A pet upholstery tool and tough stain tool keep you armed and ready for the next mess.

Best Budget Carpet Cleaner For Pets

A Powerful Cleaner With A Reasonable Price

Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner

It’s rare to get a full-sized quality carpet cleaner for less than $200, but Hoover delivers with this model. This machine features a special PowerSpin Pet brush roll with antimicrobial-treated brushes to tackle odors, while the cleaner’s HeatForce helps carpets to dry faster. This cleaner is also lightweight—just 12.5 pounds—making it easy to tote from room to room. While some carpet cleaners are behemoths, this version is also more on the petite side, making for easy storage.

Best Easy-T0-Clean Carpet Cleaner For Pets

A Helpful Device With Dishwasher-Friendly Parts

Black + Decker Spillbuster

It’s rarely discussed, but carpet cleaners also need to be regularly cleaned, too. That’s where this machine shines. The Spillbuster opens fully so that you can get deep inside and wash and dry it between uses. What’s more, both the collection bowl and nozzle are dishwasher-safe. The handheld cleaner is also completely cordless, making it easy to spot-treat upholstery and specific messes. It can even suck up wet and chunky messes with its wide nozzle before scrubbing out stains.

Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets On Amazon

A Large Tank And An Affordable Price Tag

Hoover Power Scrub Elite Pet Upright Carpet Cleaner

Need a machine that can tackle lots of carpeting at once? Meet the Hoover Power Scrub Elite. This two-tank cleaner offers a 25% larger capacity than the competition to help you clean for longer periods of time without needing to dump gunky water every half hour. The Power Scrub features strong suction and 360-degree brushes that go deep into your carpets to fish out any messes that may be lingering, and its Quick Clean Mode helps you get clean and dry carpets in just 45 minutes. There’s even “automatic detergent mixing,” so you don’t have to do any math before you get to work. An eight-foot hose and pet tool attachment help you get into hard-to-reach spots.

Best Small Carpet Cleaner For Pets

A Portable Cleaner You Can Easily Carry Around

Bissell Little Green Pet Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner

Don’t let the size of Bissell’s Little Green Pet Pro fool you: This device packs some serious power. The cleaner offers up impressive suction and scrubbing action to help work out even the most stubborn of pet stains. But its portability and small size make it easy to use on upholstery, inside a car and on stairs. This handy device also has a Pet Stain Tool that’s specially designed to lift and remove pet messes, along with a Tough Stain Tool and Spraying Crevice Tool. At 14 by 10 inches and just 13 pounds, it’s easy enough to tote around your place.

Best Carpet Cleaner For Small Pets

A Portable Cleaner That Can Take Care Of Smaller Stains

Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Carpet Cleaner

The Rug Doctor is perfect for tackling stubborn stains head-on. Just tote your cleaner to the stain, set it down and let it do the rest. It delivers intense suction for deep cleaning and can handle upholstery and carpets alike. The device is specially formulated to scrub your carpets without damaging fibers, so you don’t have to stress about possibly replacing rugs that have been repeatedly cleaned. Small wheels and a retractable handle make it easy to move the device from room to room.

Best Handheld Carpet Cleaner For Pets

An Under-Five-Pound Wonder That Can Tackle Any Mess

BISSELL Pet Stain Eraser PowerBrush Cleaner

Sometimes, you just want to be able to tackle pet stains as soon as they happen without having to pull out a larger machine. This is where the Bissell Pet Stain Eraser comes in super handy. This handheld cleaner has a rotating brush to really work through stubborn stains. A nice perk of this cleaner: There’s no need to mix the cleaner with water, and formula can be stored in the cleaner. So, all you need to do is just grab and tackle that stain immediately. The whole thing is cordless and powered by a lithium-ion battery for longer bursts of power. And, at less than five pounds, this cleaner won’t weigh you down while you get to work.

Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets With Attachments

A Cleaner With An Variety Of Dirt-Fighting Tools

Hoover CleanSlate Portable Carpet And Upholstery Pet Spot Cleaner

Hoover’s CleanSlate has so many cool tools, it’ll (almost) be a joy to tackle stains. Choose between the WidePath Tool for larger surface areas like stairs and your couch or use the TightSpot Tool to get into nooks and crannies. There are also bristle and rubber nub inserts for each, along with other toppers to put on the machine’s hose. A dual-tank system with a 40-ounce capacity lets you clean plenty of places without needing a refill. Brushes also contain an antimicrobial coating to help fight odors. Once you’re ready to clean the machine, simply flush it out with the machine’s hose rinse tool.

Best Multipurpose Carpet Cleaner For Pets

This Model Mops And Vacuums In Just One Go

BISSELL CrossWave Pet Pro Multi-Surface Wet Dry Vac

Pet stains—and the carpets they land on—don’t just need scrubbing. A little vacuuming is usually involved, too. The Bissell CrossWave lets you combine dirt-fighting step and vacuum and scrub at once. A pet hair management system pulls up fur before separating and trapping it so you can easily dispose of it after you clean, while a multi-surface brush roll works on sealed hard floors and area rugs. A two-tank system separates clean and dirty water, so you don’t have to worry about dirty sludge ending up back on your floors. The whole thing is 11.5 pounds, making it comfortable to move between rooms.

Best Professional Carpet Cleaner For Pets

A Solid Machine Made To Tackle The Toughest Stains

Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner

Some pets may simply destroy—or attempt to destroy—your carpets regularly, no matter what you do. If you’re facing one of these situations, you need some serious cleaning power to help get your carpets looking and smelling fresh time and again. That’s where the Big Green machine comes in. This professional-grade cleaner can take out just about anything your pet leaves you. It features eight rows of bristles to get deep into your carpets along with a nine-foot hose and six-inch Touch Stain Tool for spot cleaning. The only downside: At 48 pounds, this thing is quite heavy—and it’ll require a bit of a workout to use. Still, it’s one of the most powerful cleaners for pet stains that you can buy.

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Why Trust Forbes Vetted

The Forbes Vetted editors, like all consumers, want products that work efficiently, hold up with regular use and help make daily chores and life a little bit easier. This certainly goes for life with pets, too. The Forbes Vetted editors are experts on products ranging from vacuums—including vacuums for pet hair to couch covers and much more. To ensure that our product roundups are as up-to-date as possible, we strive to update them regularly. This story was last refreshed in November 2023.

What Is The Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets?

In 2023, our top pick is undoubtedly the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro. That said, the best cleaner for you really depends on your personal needs—and we’ve outlined several other excellent models above. If you have a small pet who only has occasional “accidents,” for instance, a cleaner with a small capacity may be right for you. If, on the other hand, your pet tends to cause frequent stains, a portable, always-at-the-ready option is likely your best bet (and we’ve featured several in our curated list). You might even be best served by an upright cleaner with a large capacity tank. Typically, brands like Bissell and Hoover are popular as they are known for their bestselling pet stain-fighting products.

Do Carpet Cleaners Remove Pet Urine?

It depends on several factors—how long the stain’s been soaking into the carpet, how large and/or prominent it is and most importantly, whether you’ve got the right carpet cleaner on your side. No matter your situation, though, the first step to getting pet urine out of your carpets is to blot up the excess moisture first using a paper towel or cloth. Then, follow normal instructions of the carpet cleaner you use.

How Often Should Carpets Be Cleaned With Pets?

It’s true that pets tend to make messes all the time, but you might be surprised to learn that you don’t actually want to be cleaning your carpet too frequently; after all, doing so risks damaging the fibers of the carpet, which can shorten its lifespan. That said, if you really need to tackle a stain, you should absolutely use your carpet cleaner—just don’t reach for it when not necessary. It’s also best to vacuum your carpets once or twice a week, and then follow with a cleaner whenever stains happen.

Other Pet Stories To Shop

Our pets deserve nothing but the best to stay healthy, comfortable and safe. Here are more stories that can help you find ideal products for your family pet and for the living spaces they also share.

Best carpet cleaner for puppy pee

I have a 4 month puppy and 2 year old dog. I’m writing this out of a little bit of frustration because it’s hard to tell which one is doing the peeing. We have one room in the house with carpet, our bedroom. We just moved and I’ve tried so hard to keep the dogs out of the bedroom. I grew up in a house where my parents let the dogs urinate inside so the smell of dog pee reallyyyyy irks me. Like clock work me and my husband take out both dogs, 5 am, 7 am, 8 am, almost upon the hour every time and the last two days while I’m getting ready and my husband is in bed, one of them has peed on the carpet in the bedroom. They sleep in our room in their crates. They wake us up to go potty, we take them, bring them in, feed them give them water and let them hang out on the bed with us until I get up to get ready, I take them out again. It’s in between me getting ready and my husband taking them out one last time before they’re crated for a couple hours that one of them is peeing.

We are tackling the accident issue. We’re working out a new potty schedule with our dogs. So before anyone comments about that, it’s not about that at all.

It’s about the fact that I cannot find a good urine cleaner that feels like it actually is working. I can blot and spray and blot and spray till my fingers fall off and I still walk in and get that smell of like, crackers? I don’t know. But it smells like dog pee and it’s sending me into a spiral. I’ve tried vinegar, natures miracle and resolve all marketed to be “urine destroyers” is there anything you’ve used that has worked REALLY well? Or any process you follow you’ve found works?