Best Handheld Carpet Cleaner Reviews 2021
Whether you love cleaning or it feels like a chore to you, you probably enjoy being as efficient as you can doing it. Using the best handheld carpet cleaner can make your life a whole lot easier: it is portable, gets into every corner, and provides a very deep clean.
Not only that, but handheld carpet cleaners are very multi-functional tools that can also be used to clean cars, sofas, chairs and all sorts of fabric-covered objects around the house. Another multi-functional cleaning tool for the home is the power scrubber.
Top 10 Best Portable Carpet Cleaner Reviews
In this article, we’ve listed the top 10 best handheld carpet cleaners you can get for your home. Read on for specs, reviews and exclusive tips on choosing the best portable carpet cleaner.
*This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
Our Top 10 Picks – Quick List
If you’re in a hurry and just want to get a quick list of our recommendations, here’s a list in no particular order, BUT, we do recommend the Bissell 3624 as our top choice (see video review below this list).
- Bissell 3624 – SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner
- Hoover FH11300PC – Spotless Deluxe Portable Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner
- Bissell 14259 – Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
- Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner
- Bissell 1400B – Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
- Bissell SpotClean ProHeat 5207F
- Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner, FH50700
- Bissell 1716b – Bissell Spotlifter Powerbrush Handheld Deep Cleaner
- Bissell SpotLifter 2X Portable Deep Carpet Cleaner, 1719
- Bissell SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot and Stain Carpet Cleaner, 2694
Video Review of The Top Handheld Carpet Cleaners
Tried and tested by Vacuum Wars on youtube, view the video on HOW various portable carpet cleaners were tested and the WHY the conclusion the Bissell SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner is the best portable carpet cleaner on the market.
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Bissell 3624 – SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner
The Bissell 3624 is one of the best, most professional handheld carpet cleaners you can find. It’s built with excellent materials, making it durable, reliable, and efficient. We love the options that it offers, with special hoses and brushes for cleaning everything from floors to stairs, sofas and even your car.
It also benefits from having a very large tank, meaning you can use it through the whole house without having to change its water. It’s only downsides are that it is quite noisy and bulky—a price you have to pay for some pretty impressive, professional results.
Pros: large tank, flexible hose, special tools, 2-year warranty
Cons: may be hard to transport, rather noisy
Hoover FH11300PC – Spotless Deluxe Portable Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner
This powerful handheld carpet cleaner prides itself in being the best when it comes to deep cleaning. It is easy to use, and provides good results remarkably fast. This one is best to use on very tough stains, as it can make even the most resistant ones go away in a minute.
The downside is that if you want a durable product to use day to day, it may not be the best option. While its materials are fairly good, they can’t compete with the quality of Bissell’s, making the product overall less durable. If you’re looking for a great product for some occasional, serious deep cleaning, then this could be the one for you.
Pros: very portable, long power cord, different options, good for deep cleaning
Cons: made of lesser quality materials, may be less durable
Bissell 14259 – Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
This is another great handheld carpet cleaner by Bissell, which packs some serious power into a much more compact size. Although it is small, it is capable of a lot, especially with its built-in water heater which makes stain removal easier. It also has a nice, flexible hose which makes it easy to use, even with more intricate objects.
As well as the hose, it comes with a special brush for tough stains, which should make your cleaning a lot easier—and more thorough. Unfortunately, it’s quite a heavy product that can be difficult to carry around.
Pros: it has a water heater, easy to use, compact to carry, special tools
Cons: heavy
Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner
This loud and powerful machine is capable of blasting through most any stain, even the most resistant one. It is highly versatile and can be used on carpets, rugs, cars etc. Although it is powerful, this carpet cleaner is also very respectful of your furniture, using scrubbing as opposed to heat to get stains out.
This carpet cleaner moves on wheels, making it easy to carry around with you. Its only downsides are being very loud (be careful, the neighbors might complain!) and being less durable than some higher-end products that come with a longer guarantee.
Pros: good cleaning power, great suction, good stain removal, scrubbing brush
Cons: very loud, lacks durability
Bissell 1400B – Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
Yes, Bissell has many products on this list, but it’s for a good reason. Like all Bissell products, this handheld cleaners is a great option if you’re looking for quality, and reliability. The special touch on this one is that 50% of its parts are made out of recycled plastic and that it uses a PVC-free tank.
This makes it the most eco-friendly carpet cleaner on the list, and is a definitive plus to those looking for a more sustainable cleaning tool. But this cleaner is not just good for the planet, it’s good for your surfaces too! The inbuilt water heater that goes up to 25C together with its special stain brush make it very effective even on tough stains. Overall, it is a powerful eco carpet cleaner that specializes in stain removals and offers excellent, consistent results.
Pros: long hose, large tank, special stain brush, built-in heater, eco-friendly
Cons: loud, heavy
Bissell SpotClean ProHeat 5207F
This handheld carpet cleaner combines a whole lot of advanced technological options to make your cleaning easier in any kind of situation. Let us mention its ability to neutralize odors, especially when used in combination with Bissell Oxy-Boost formula . It also has special Heat-Wave technology that prevents it from over-heating.
Finally, its Deep Reach Tool targets the toughest stains, lifting them up using a mix of temperature and suction. Overall, this is a very technological piece of equipment that is well-engineered and reliable for pretty much any situation.
Pros: works great on stains, anti-odor technology, special tools
Cons: noisy, heavy
Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner, FH50700
This carpet cleaner by Hoover is as powerful as it is portable. In spite of its compact design, it has a surprisingly high power and hosts a dual water tank that is easy to fill, empty and rinse. It’s easy to use and drying is fast and makes for efficient cleaning.
Although this one doesn’t have many special brushes, its all-in-one function can be useful for any type of cleaning, from regular carpet washing to removing stains from furniture. It’s an ideal carpet cleaner for pet owners.
Pros: uses a powerSpin pet brush roll, long extension cord, powerful cleaning, easy to store, lightweight
Cons: the power cord is short (about 20 ft)
Bissell 1716b – Bissell Spotlifter Powerbrush Handheld Deep Cleaner
Bissell’s 1716b deep cleaner is a very compact machine that uses some serious power. It specializes in cleaning tough stains, with a special suction and brushing formula that is particularly effective on soiled upholstery. The rotating brush makes it fast and efficient in cleaning stain. Be careful however, this is one of the loudest models out there.
Pros: great on stains, compact, very powerful
Cons: heavy, noisy
Bissell SpotLifter 2X Portable Deep Carpet Cleaner, 1719
This is another great handheld carpet cleaner by Bissell, which, as others on the list, distinguishes itself by the quality of its materials. Where this one is a bit different is in its cordless function, meaning you can use it literally everywhere, even without electricity available nearby. The downside of this cordless function is that the cleaner comes with a relatively short battery life of only 15 minutes. However, it might be the price you want to pay for a cordless, powerful and durable handheld carpet cleaner which is also the most affordable of all Bissell products on this list.
Pros: lightweight, cordless, odor removing
Cons: very short battery life
Bissell SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot and Stain Carpet Cleaner, 2694
This highly portable handheld cleaner is lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry around and store. It comes with quite a few handy options, including a spraying tool which aims to get even the toughest stains hidden away in inaccessible corners. Equipped with Bissell’s own Heat Wave technology, it prevents the machine from over-heating, while ensuring a steady temperature throughout use. Its main downside is the high-pitched noise which it emits, which can easily get annoying.
Pros: portable, great on stains, Heat Wave technology, lightweight, flexible hose, spraying tool
Cons: high-pitched noise
What Should I Look For In A Handheld Carpet Cleaner?
What you should look for in a handheld carpet cleaner will vary a bit depending on your home and your cleaning needs. As a general rule however, try to find a carpet cleaner that offers more options: even if you don’t end up using them, you can rest assured that you won’t have to find another carpet cleaner should a specific need come up. Our advice is to get a handheld carpet cleaner that comes with a range of scrubbing brushes and heads to target any situation.
Next, you’ll want to find a carpet cleaner that is powerful. The more powerful the carpet cleaner, the quicker it gets the job done, and the more it is able to clean.
Finally, just like looking for a vacuum cleaner, you’ll want to make sure that the cord is long enough for you to clean around the house without having to replug it too often. Alternatively, you may want to consider a cordless vacuum but keep in mind that you will have to recharge the batteries often.
Final Thoughts
Using a handheld carpet cleaner is a great way to save time cleaning and it gets the job done! A good carpet cleaner is portable, easy to use, powerful, and can be used on a range of surfaces and objects. There are a lot of great options for handheld carpet cleaners on the market today, so you’ll need to really think about which one is the best for you.
We hope that the guide which we’ve put together can help you to decide for yourself. After doing our research we have to conclude that the Bissell SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner is our top choice best handheld carpet cleaner. Choose which one will become your new cleaning tool!
Just because the Bissell is our top choice, doesn’t mean that some of the other cleaners are not a good fit for you. It will depend on your own personal needs. However, we do believe that our top choice is the most ideal for most people.
If you still want to do more research on this, I suggest you take a look at the reviews when going through each link above.
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