Best Carpet Shampooers: 7 Picks for Every Budget

I’ve spent the last month testing carpet shampooers from Shark, Bissell, Hoover, and Tineco. Red wine stains, muddy boot prints, and a very cooperative golden retriever later, these are the seven machines worth buying right now. Whether you need the best carpet shampooer for pet messes or just want to stop renting from the grocery store, this guide has you covered.

If you’ve already tackled your floors with a robot vacuum, a carpet shampooer is the natural next step. Vacuuming picks up surface dirt; shampooing pulls out everything buried in the carpet fibers that you’d rather not think about.

Pick	Model	Best For	Weight	Price
Best Overall	Shark CarpetXpert EX304	All-around performance	~17 lbs	$250
Best Deep Clean	Bissell Big Green 86T3	Heavy-duty stains	52.5 lbs	$412
Best Ease of Use	Hoover SmartWash+ FH52000	Simplicity	19 lbs	$220
Best for Pets	Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution 1986	Pet stains and odor	18 lbs	$279
Best Budget	Hoover PowerDash Pet FH50710	Small budgets	12.5 lbs	$89
Best Smart	Tineco Carpet One	Auto-adjusting tech	16.5 lbs	$500
Best Entry-Level	Bissell TurboClean DualPro 3067	First-time buyers	13 lbs	$103

What to Look for in a Carpet Shampooer

Not every carpet shampooer is built the same way, and the wrong pick will leave you with soggy carpets and regret. Here’s what actually separates a good machine from a bad one.

Tank size determines how much area you can cover before refilling. Budget models hold around half a gallon, which means you’re refilling every 10-15 minutes on larger rooms. Full-size machines like the Bissell Big Green hold over a gallon, letting you clean an entire floor without stopping.

Suction power matters more than brush speed. Weak suction leaves water in your carpet, and wet carpet grows mold. Look for machines with strong water extraction and heated drying features if fast dry time is important to you.

Brush type splits into two camps: rotating brushes (better agitation, deeper clean) and stationary brushes (simpler, fewer tangles). If you have pets, pay attention to anti-hair-wrap designs. The Shark CarpetXpert’s HairPro system is the best I’ve tested for this.

Weight ranges from 12 lbs (Hoover PowerDash) to over 50 lbs (Bissell Big Green). If you’re cleaning stairs or carrying it between floors, weight matters. If it stays on one level, heavier machines tend to clean more aggressively.

Drying time varies from 30 minutes (machines with heated air) to 6+ hours (basic models). Express-dry features are worth the premium if you need to walk on your carpets the same day.

Best Overall: Shark CarpetXpert HairPro EX304

The Shark CarpetXpert EX304 earned the top spot because it does the most things well without a glaring weakness. The StainStriker system mixes an undiluted OXY solution with the regular cleaning formula, and in head-to-head stain tests it posted the highest stain reduction score of any consumer carpet cleaner Vacuum Wars tested. That dual-solution approach means you’re not just pushing soapy water around.

The HairPro brush system is the real differentiator if you have pets. Where every other machine I tested wrapped hair around the brush roll within minutes, the EX304 stayed clean. No clumps, no tangles, no pulling clogs out after every session. For a household with shedding animals, this alone is worth the price.

It comes with five tools including a handheld StainStriker for spot cleaning upholstery and stairs. The 9.5-amp motor provides solid suction, and the whole thing weighs about a pound less than the average carpet cleaner. The one downside: tank capacity. At just over half a gallon, you’ll refill more often than with the Bissell Big Green. For most rooms, though, one fill gets the job done.

Best Deep Clean: Bissell Big Green Professional 86T3

The Bissell Big Green is what Rug Doctor rentals wish they were. It runs two separate motors (one for the brush, one for suction), has a massive clean water tank, and cleans both forward and backward. For heavily soiled carpet or whole-house deep cleaning sessions, nothing at this price point matches it.

The XL DirtLifter PowerBrush is wider than most competitors, covering more carpet per pass. That 25-foot power cord lets you clean large rooms without hunting for a closer outlet. And because you own it, you’ll break even versus Rug Doctor rentals ($30-$50 per session) after just 8-10 uses.

The tradeoff is size. At 52.5 lbs, you’re not carrying this upstairs casually. It’s also not ideal for quick spot jobs. Think of it as your deep-cleaning workhorse for scheduled whole-house sessions, not your grab-and-go for a coffee spill.

Best for Ease of Use: Hoover SmartWash+ FH52000

The SmartWash+ is the carpet shampooer for people who hate reading manuals. Push it forward, it dispenses solution and scrubs. Pull it back, it suctions up the dirty water. No triggers to hold, no buttons to press, no mode switches. Hoover calls this “automatic cleaning technology” and it works exactly the way it sounds.

AutoMix takes care of the solution ratio, so you won’t accidentally dump too much detergent and leave residue in your carpet (the single most common mistake with carpet cleaning). FlexForce PowerBrushes rotate to agitate deep dirt, and HeatForce drying helps your carpet dry faster than air-drying alone.

Where the SmartWash+ falls short is raw cleaning power. Side by side with the Shark or Bissell Big Green, it leaves a bit more stain behind on tough spots. It’s trading peak performance for simplicity, and for routine maintenance cleaning, that’s a fair trade. If your carpets need serious rescue work, look at the Big Green instead.

Best Carpet Shampooer for Pet Owners: Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro 1986

Bissell built this machine specifically for pet households, and it shows. The CleanShot pretreater is a foot-activated nozzle that sprays concentrated solution directly onto stains before the brush roll hits them. Step on the pedal, spray the stain, then roll right over it. For urine spots that have had time to set, this two-stage approach makes a noticeable difference.

HeatWave Technology maintains the water temperature throughout the cleaning process instead of letting it cool down in the tank. Warm water dissolves organic stains better than cold, and this is one of the few machines that keeps the heat consistent. The 30-minute Express Clean mode is the fastest dry time on this list outside of the Tineco.

It ships with Bissell’s Professional Pet Urine Eliminator formula, which contains enzymes that break down organic stains rather than just masking them. The machine has a 5-year warranty, which is longer than most competitors offer. One drawback: the water tanks are on the smaller side, so you’ll refill more often during whole-house sessions. For targeted pet mess cleanup, that’s rarely an issue.

Best Budget Carpet Shampooer: Hoover PowerDash Pet FH50710

Under $90 for a carpet shampooer that works. The PowerDash Pet is the lightest full-function machine on this list at 12.5 lbs, which makes it easy to carry between floors and store in a closet. The antimicrobial pet brushes resist odor buildup, which is a real concern on budget models that skip this feature.

Cleaning performance is respectable for the price. It won’t match the Shark or the Big Green on deep-set stains, but for regular maintenance cleaning and fresh spills, it does the job. The compact size means a smaller water tank, so plan on refilling for larger rooms.

If you’ve been renting a Rug Doctor twice a year at $40+ per session, the PowerDash pays for itself after two uses. That’s the real value here: getting off the rental cycle for less than the cost of three rentals.

Best Smart Features: Tineco Carpet One

The Tineco Carpet One is what happens when a tech company makes a carpet cleaner. The iLoop smart sensor detects dirt in real time and automatically adjusts suction power. Clean carpet gets light suction; dirty carpet gets full blast. The LED display on the handle shows a live dirt level ring that changes from red to blue as the carpet gets cleaner.

It heats water to 104°F for better stain dissolution, connects to the Tineco app for cleaning reports and maintenance reminders, and has voice prompts that tell you when to refill or clean the filter. The self-cleaning mode flushes the internal pathways after each session, which helps with longevity.

The price is steep at $500, and the smart features won’t make a bad cleaner good. But the iLoop sensor genuinely changes how you clean. Instead of making extra passes “just in case,” you know exactly when a section is done. For people who clean frequently and want the most efficient process, the tech justifies itself.

Best Entry-Level: Bissell TurboClean DualPro Pet 3067

The TurboClean DualPro sits in the sweet spot between the ultra-budget PowerDash and the mid-range Revolution. At around $103, you get Bissell’s 4-row rotating DirtLifter PowerBrush (the same style used in their more expensive models) and dual-tank DualPro suction. It weighs 13 lbs, so it’s nearly as portable as the PowerDash but with meaningfully better cleaning performance.

Dry time runs about 45 minutes, which is reasonable for a machine at this price. There’s no heated drying feature, but it extracts water well enough that you won’t be waiting all day. EdgeSweep bristles clean along baseboards and edges that wider machines miss.

If the PowerDash feels too basic and the Revolution feels like too much money, this is the Goldilocks pick. It’s a capable machine for apartments, single-story homes, or anyone buying their first carpet shampooer.

Carpet Shampooer vs. Renting: The Math

Renting a Rug Doctor or Bissell from the grocery store runs $30-$50 per session, plus $10-$15 for solution. That’s $40-$65 every time you clean. If you shampoo twice a year (the recommended minimum for high-traffic homes), you’re spending $80-$130 annually on rentals.

A Hoover PowerDash costs $89. It pays for itself after two rental sessions. The Shark CarpetXpert pays for itself in four. Even the Bissell Big Green at $412 breaks even after roughly 8 rentals, and the machine lasts years with basic maintenance.

Owning also means you can clean whenever you want. Dog threw up at 2 AM? You don’t need to wait until the grocery store opens. That alone is worth the purchase for pet owners.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Recommendations

If You Need…	Get This
The best all-around machine	Shark CarpetXpert EX304 ($250)
The deepest possible clean	Bissell Big Green 86T3 ($412)
Zero learning curve	Hoover SmartWash+ FH52000 ($220)
Pet stain specialist	Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution 1986 ($279)
The cheapest option that works	Hoover PowerDash Pet FH50710 ($89)
Smart auto-adjusting tech	Tineco Carpet One ($500)
A solid first carpet cleaner	Bissell TurboClean DualPro 3067 ($103)

For most people, the Shark CarpetXpert EX304 is the right choice. It cleans aggressively, handles pet hair without clogging, and the StainStriker handeld tool covers spot cleaning too. If budget is the priority, the Hoover PowerDash at $89 delivers more value per dollar than anything else on this list.

Pair your carpet shampooer with an air purifier to catch the dust and allergens that shampooing kicks into the air, and you’ve got a home cleaning setup that handles both floors and air quality. Already have a robot vacuum handling daily maintenance? A shampooer fills the last gap in your floor care routine.