The Best Carpet Cleaner for Pets & Stains Reviewed

Written by Anthony Dewitt

While having a pet can be a fantastic experience, they’re not always as gentle on your home as you’d like. Whether they’re young, excitable, or just stubborn, some dogs have a problem with making messes inside. If you have such a pet, you know that the cleanup process needs to be quick and thorough to avoid any lasting pet stains – and if you’re wondering if you should get a dog, this is something you’ll inevitably learn should you choose to start your adventure. While you might be able to deal with some messes manually, most pet owners know that the most efficient way to clean up after their pets is with a good carpet cleaner.

If you’re in the market for a great carpet cleaner for pets, you’re in luck. We’ve put together a list of some of the best pet carpet cleaners on the market today, complete with links to where you can buy them. Whether you’re trying to clean up existing problem areas or you’re just trying to get ahead of the problem, these are the carpet cleaners for pets that are going to keep your home looking and smelling fresher. 

Best Carpet Cleaner For Pets In 2021

Every pet owner has different needs, even when you’re talking about something like pet carpet cleaners. Though each of the cleaners discussed here has a good claim to being the best, it’s always good to find something that’s going to work well for you. As such, we’ll take a look at the major features that make each of the products on our list of the best carpet cleaners for pets stand out. 

Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro Full-Size Carpet Cleaner

Sometimes it’s not enough to merely clean up your pet’s messes. You want to do everything you can to get rid of those spots, and that means getting the best pet carpet cleaner that has a lot of power. If you are dealing with a pet that leaves massive messes or who has already left old pet stains and pet hair around the house, it’s natural to want to go with one of the bigger alternatives. Fortunately, Bissell’s ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro carpet cleaner brings a level of power that’s honestly very rare to see in residential machines to the rescue of pet owners everywhere, which is why it tops our list of today’s best carpet cleaners for pet owners.

This ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro is Bissell’s most powerful pet carpet cleaner and that’s obviously saying something. The company already has among the best reputations for making solid carpet cleaners for pets (there are a few more devices from the cleaner on this list, after all), but this one really stands out in terms of cleaning power. It’s designed to get the old, tough pet stains out of your carpet even if they have been ground in through high traffic. With an excellent pretreating function built right into the cleaner, this is absolutely the kind of machine that you want to use if you’re trying to deal with big problems. 

The Pet Pro is also fairly handy even if you’re not all that sold on needing the most cleaning power on the market. It comes with two great tools for precision and upholstery cleaning, both of which you’re going to find yourself using far more often than you might expect. Thanks to the brush roll cover, it’s remarkably easy to clean the brush roll on this carpet cleaner to keep the machine cleaning optimally for years to come. This Bissell pet stain deep cleaning machine also works especially well when you’re trying to deal with smaller spaces, largely thanks to the hose attachments. This is primarily a tool that’s going to be favored by those who want to clean bigger spaces but it’s still an all-around winner for most pet owners. 

Hoover FH50700 PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner

Some pet owners aren’t all interested in having big machines. Though there are definitely some awesome spot cleaners out there, there’s still something to be said for having a more lightweight pet upright carpet cleaner. These are the types of machines that you’re going to use to clean big sections of carpet, but they’re not going to be as loud or as heavy as their bigger counterparts. If you prize ease of storage and maneuverability in your pet cleaning devices, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the Hoover PowerDash pet cleaner – our runner-up on our list of today’s best carpet cleaners. 

A tremendous number of carpet cleaners sell themselves solely on cleaning power and this is honestly a fair selling point. If you’re looking for something that you’re going to have to maneuver around furniture or up and downstairs, though, you’ll have a great deal of appreciation for the Hoover PowerDash. It’s a pet stain eraser that’s light enough that you can pick up and carry it about with ease but it’s no slouch in the carpet cleaning department thanks to the PowerSpin pet brush roll. The pet brush roll even provides antimicrobial protection. It really is made to deal with the same kind of high traffic areas as its bigger cousins, just in a form that’s a little more friendly for those who don’t want a workout when they’re cleaning up after their pets. 

Being lightweight is great but it’s not the only selling point for the Hoover PowerDash. It also leverages Heatforce technology in order to dry floors quickly, an excellent feature for those who just want a quick clean after their pets have an accident. A very dependable pet carpet cleaner, you can use this one just about everywhere. Though it doesn’t come with any extra attachments, you’ll find that the ease of movement that you get from this carpet shampooer makes it perfect for carpet cleaning in those hard-to-reach nooks and crannies that tend to stymie most of the bigger carpet cleaners on the market. For these reasons, the Hoover Power Dash clearly earns its place as our runner up for today’s best carpet cleaner.

BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Full Size Upright Carpet Cleaner

Hoover isn’t the only manufacturer in the lightweight cleaner game, of course. Bissell also has its own lightweight unit, a pet carpet cleaner that doesn’t have quite the power of its highest-powered model but that more than makes up for that in terms of maneuverability. If you’re in the market for a pet upright carpet cleaner that packs a little more power than the true lightweights but is easier to maneuver than the bigger models, you might want to try out the Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet. It’s a great compromise machine that really feels like the best of both worlds, and it certainly earns its place on our list of today’s best carpet cleaners for pet stains, pet hair, and related messes.

One of the more unique aspects of this pet carpet cleaner is that it has two different modes. The first, MaxClean, is all about power. This heavy-duty machine cleans deeper and harder than most of the other carpet cleaners on the market, getting down into your carpet on a level that’s much closer to the professional carpet cleaners. The other mode is Express Clean, which doesn’t clean quite as deep but that lets your carpets dry out in under half an hour. This gives users a great choice as to whether they need a deep clean or whether they need a fast clean. 

It should still be noted that this unit does among the best jobs of giving the kind of lightweight maneuverability that you’d expect from a smaller cleaner without giving up the functionality. This unit comes with a pair of attachments that can allow users to clean furniture or deep spots, while the hose allows for carpet cleaning in harder-to-reach areas. It’s a really solid piece of engineering work that proves that you don’t have to sacrifice power for maneuverability and that you don’t have to give up maneuverability just because you need a deeper clean. 

BISSELL SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot and Stain Carpet Cleaner

Sometimes you don’t need a big upright cleaner to deal with your dog’s messes. While cleaning the whole carpet can be great, sometimes you really just want to deal with the little messes that your pet leaves around without having to move all of your furniture. If you find yourself in this position more often than not, you might want to consider buying a spot cleaner. As you might imagine, Bissell tends to have a few really spot cleaning models that rank among the best and can help most users figure out exactly why choosing this type of pet carpet cleaner is so popular. 

The big selling point of most spot cleaners is that they’re very portable. Most people can carry this unit with one hand, moving around their homes as they need. This is great if you’re just trying to find that one wet spot to clean and even better if you’re having to go up and downstairs to find those spots. The unit is incredibly useful as well, though, as it’s capable of doing all the work necessary to clean up the ground-in spots that have been left behind by your pets. If you don’t need to clean your whole carpet, this type of tool just makes sense.

Bissell has thrown in a host of little quality of life features that make this unit, in particular, among the best choices. It has two removable tanks, so you can empty out the dirty water and mix in cleaning chemicals without having the move the entire unit. It also features some great carpet cleaning tools that can help you clean off stairs or to remove tough stains. this is a fantastic choice for anyone who knows they need to clean up pet spots from time to time but who do not want to deal with lugging around a bigger carpet cleaning machine. 

Hoover FH52000 Smartwash Automatic Carpet Cleaner

Power and maneuverability are both big selling points for upright carpet cleaners. With this said, there’s another major feature that just doesn’t get enough press – usability. Sometimes users just want their carpet cleaners to get the job done fast so they don’t have to sit around and deal with damp floors every time their pets have an accident. If you want best carpet cleaning machine but you don’t want to deal with a hassle every time you use the machine, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the Hoover Smartwash Automatic Carpet Cleaner. 

The name of the game, at least when it comes to this Hoover Smartwash, is automatic cleaning. It’s a very simple unit that takes all of the guesswork out of the hands of the user. When you push the unit forward, it sprays a cleaning mix. When you pull it back, it sucks up the moisture and dries out what was left behind. This helps to reduce the potential messes, ensures that you don’t over-spray, and allows you to feel comfortable with the knowledge that you’re cleaning your carpet in the recommended manner every time that you use the carpet cleaner. 

Ease of use doesn’t mean a lack of power, though. The Hoover Smartwash can go toe-to-toe with some of the most powerful and heavy-duty residential carpet cleaning machines on the market, with an ability to get deep stains out of carpets that are really hard to match. The device also comes with a great two-in-one pet cleaning tool, allowing you to attack those little pet stains and pet hair without having to clean up your whole floor. If you’re in the market for an easy-to-use carpet cleaner that is still going to be able to keep up with whatever your pet leaves behind, this might be the best choice for you. 

Bissell 3624 Spot Clean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner

Power’s always going to be an issue when it comes to spotting cleaners. Because of their size, there’s almost always a fear that these units just aren’t going to be able to keep up with stains in the same way as their bigger cousins. This isn’t quite true, though, especially when you’re looking at an especially well-engineered spot cleaner. In fact, Bissell’s Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner makes a strong argument in favor of a spot cleaner’s utility, especially for those who are more interested in cleaning up specific messes than cleaning their entire carpets on a regular basis. 

Power is the big selling point here, as it should be. While Bissell’s other spot cleaner is actually really great at picking up tough stains and pet hair, this one is on a whole other level. This is the type of cleaner that you’re going to want to turn to when your pets leave big spots that other cleaners just can’t quite reach, especially if you’re looking to rescue patches of your carpet from your dog’s accidents. The level of power here is impressive, especially considering the size of the portable cleaner – and yet the compact design keeps it easy to store.

The utility of the device continues into the included tools. It has a great pet cleaning tool that lets you perform deep cleaning into the carpet and a fantastic stair cleaning tool that allows users to clean at an angle. The unit also dries up the moisture it leaves behind with incredible efficiency, minimize the amount of time you have to spend with damp spots. This really is a great choice for those who need a lot of power in a portable form.

Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner Machine

Sometimes it’s nice to know that you have a lot of power behind your carpet cleaner. If you know that your pets leave a lot of messes, you don’t want to have to go back over the same spaces again and again just to feel like your carpet is clean. Instead of renting a professional cleaner or calling someone else to do the job, why not invest in a professional-level cleaner such as the Bissell Big Green yourself? Doing so will ensure that you always have the power that you need as well as the ability to clean all of your carpets without having to start and stop throughout the day. 

The Bissell Big Green certainly looks and feels like the kind of unit that you would rent from a store. Though it is definitely big and bulky, it’s surprisingly easy to move around. The two tanks mean that it has way more capacity than the average carpet shampooer, allowing you to clean an incredible amount of space without having to stop. This is the kind of carpet cleaner you want if you are the kind of person who has had to regularly call in professionals because of the messes left by your pets. 

Though the Bissell Big Green is a very big machine, it’s still a machine that’s designed for users who need to clean in real homes. That means including a nine-foot hose so that you can get into corners, behind furniture, and even your stairs. It also means including a tough stain tool that allows you to focus the power of the machine on those areas that need a little more attention as well as upholstery and spots where the bulk of the unit just doesn’t fit. If you want a professional level of cleaning, this is definitely one of the machines at which you need to look. 

Hoover FH50251PC Power Scrub Elite

Let’s be honest – one of the reasons that most people don’t clean their carpets often enough is because carpet cleaning machines can be a little tough to use. Not only can carpet cleaners be hard to lug around your home but just the process of keeping the tanks filled and the cleaning solution mixed can be more effort than seems worthwhile at times. If you want to keep your home smelling fresh and free of pet odors, though, you are going to need a carpet shampooer that just works. Luckily, the Hoover Power Scrub Elite really is quite easy to use. 

One of the real selling points of the Hoover Power Scrub Elite is the Quick Clean mode. Designed for those who have to clean up pet messes in a hurry, it has the unique ability to allow users to dry out their carpets faster than average. After a quick run in this mode, you can get back to dry carpets in about 45 minutes – much faster than most of the competition and fast enough that it won’t throw off your usual schedule. This makes it easier to justify cleaning your carpets every time there is a mess and it actually allows you to worry about deep cleaning a little less often.

Despite being a bigger upright cleaner, this unit does do a lot to ensure that you can get into the smaller spaces. The eight-inch hose is great for getting behind the carpet and on stairs, while the 2-in-1 stain tool allows you to get in corners and even clean off the upholstery. This is a solid carpet cleaner for those who prefer an upright model. 

Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner

One of the big worries that come with getting a spot cleaner is that it just won’t have enough power. After all, these units are pretty small and some dogs leave big messes. If you value portability and ease of use, though, you don’t have to give up on your dream of having a portable spot cleaner. Instead, you can invest in this surprisingly powerful unit from Rug Doctor.

Rug Doctor’s got a great reputation in the carpet cleaning business, but most people think of the company as one that primarily makes rental units. What you may not know, though, is that the company has some excellent consumer models that are quite powerful. This portable spot cleaner is a great example, as it has roughly twice the amount of suction as the average carpet shampooer. For the average user, that means that this Rug Doctor unit is much more useful when picking up pet hair and deep cleaning.

The unit is also quite easy to move around. Relatively lightweight, it has a handle that you can use when carrying it up and downstairs as well as wheels that allow you to roll it around while cleaning. The unit also has dual water tanks so you don’t have to worry about dirty water and clean water tanks mixing, making it much easier to clean out and store when you are done. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get rid of pet odors on the carpet?

There are a few steps you’ll need to take to get rid of pet odors in carpets. The first is labor-intensive but fairly simple – you need to clean up any messes that your pets have made. Throw out solid waste and use a good carpet cleaner to get rid of any liquid. You’ll definitely want to invest in the best cleaning solution that eliminates odors as well and make sure that you pre-treat the stained areas before you use your machine. It may take a fair bit of cleaning to remove the odors but it can be done. To prevent issues in the future, you can either give them a dedicated place to go or simply put them outside in an electric dog fence when the weather is nice. Of course, make sure to reward them for good behavior!

What do professional carpet cleaners use for pet urine?

Professional cleaners use a variety of different chemicals to deal with pet urine. The majority of these chemicals can easily be found on the shelf, though the exact mixtures might vary quite a bit in potency. The most important thing that professional machines do, though, is that they get all the traces of pet urine out of the carpet and the underlying padding through both the use of powerful detergents and high levels of suction. If you’ve got a machine that can do the same, you’ll generally be able to get similar results. 

How often should I clean my carpet if I have pets?

This is really a difficult question because it largely depends on the behavior of your pets. If your pets don’t regularly make messes in your home and there’s no noticeable odor, carpet cleaning about once a month should probably suffice. If your pets are a bit messier, though, taking the time to clean once a week is probably best. It’s also a fairly reasonable choice to spot clean your carpets more often, especially if your pets have found a particular spot where they like to mark their territory. As always, though, this is going to vary greatly by the individual consumer. 

Should I vacuum my carpet before using the carpet cleaner?

Yes, once you have safely moved your pet out of harm’s way (this is a great time to use their dog crate), you should always vacuum your carpet before you use your carpet cleaner. Most carpet cleaners tend to include this in the instructions for a very good reason. When you try to use a carpet cleaner on a dirty floor, you’re not just forcing the machine to try to clean up messes – you’re going to make it try to pick up all of the dry dirt and debris that’s also on the floor. Using a vacuum cleaner before you carpet clean is a great way to avoid clogs in your machine and to ensure that you achieve deep cleaning. 

Buying Guide

Knowing that you need a carpet cleaner for your pets is easy. Figuring out exactly what that means, though, can be difficult. There are so many carpet cleaners out there that making an easy choice seems impossible, leading many to buy the first cleaner that they see and hoping for the best. If you’re in the market for the best pet shampooer, though, you need to know if the device actually has the functionality that you need. Below are some of the factors you need to consider when you buy a carpet cleaner.

Stand-Up vs. Spot Clean

One of the first things you’ll want to think about when buying a pet carpet cleaner is whether you need a stand-up unit or a spot cleaner. Stand-up units look more like a vacuum cleaner and tend to be useful for cleaning up larger spaces. If you’re looking for something that is going to help you to clean your entire carpet on a regular basis and deal with larger, tougher stains, this is probably the model at which you are going to be looking.

Spot cleaners, on the other hand, tend to be smaller, easier to move around, and easy to store. These portable carpet cleaners aren’t meant for carpet cleaning so much as they are meant to deal with specific problem areas on your carpet. If you have a new dog that is still using the bathroom in the house, you can clean up his or her messes with a spot cleaner and not have to worry about your entire carpet. It does make sense, though, that many people do choose to pick up both when they’re trying to ensure that their homes stay clean. 

Power

Power is one of those features that always matters. It’s really not so much a matter of whether or not you need power in your carpet cleaner, but exactly how much you’re going to need. The more power you have, the deeper the pet urine stains that you are going to be able to get out. While going with the maximum amount of power seems like it would always be ideal, the truth is that there are always trade-offs. As a consumer, it’s up to you to figure out whether or not those trade-offs are going to be worthwhile for you.

The big trade-off with power tends to be weight. The stronger the engine and the bigger the cleaning apparatus, the more the unit is going to weigh. That makes the carpet cleaner not only harder to push around but harder for you to take up and downstairs. Still, getting something that’s closer to a professional level of power does make sense if you’re going to try to deal with old, ground-in stains. As a rule, the deeper the pet urine stain, the more power you’re going to need to get it out of your carpet. It’s ultimately up to you to decide how much power and weight you can reasonably handle. 

Weight and Maneuverability

Since power and weight go hand in hand, it does make sense to consider things from the other perspective. Weight really limits where you’re going to be able to take your carpet cleaner. If you’re expecting to go up and down stairs regularly, you need to be honest about whether you can reliably live the machine. Remember, a machine that’s harder to use is one that you’re going to avoid using – and that’s definitely going to defeat the whole purpose of buying a carpet cleaner in the first place.

Maneuverability is also a really big issue that is tied to weight. Some people need a carpet cleaner for pet messes that’s going to be relatively easy to move around. It might be because of furniture that’s impossible to move or just a weird home layout, but being able to get into odd spaces might be a necessity. As such, you really ought to look at whether or not you’re going to be able to get your carpet cleaning machine where it needs to clean before you decide on buying a particular model. Also keep in mind that the length of the power cord is an important factor, as a short power cord can limit the area where you can deep clean pet stains without employing an extension cord.

Tools and Extras

Finally, make sure that you take a look at the tools that come with your carpet cleaner for pet messes. If you’re buying a stand-up cleaner, for example, it’s generally best to consider if you’re going to need to get into small crevasses or other places that your machine can’t reach. If this is the case, you’ll either need to buy a spot cleaner along with it or get a stand-up unit that has a hose. If you’re planning on cleaning stairs, on the other hand, finding a cleaner that has a stair cleaning tool is also going to be a necessity. Tools usually aren’t a make-or-break factor, but they can make a huge difference in your cleaning ability.