Best carpet cleaners UK 2022: wash your carpet with cheap energy efficient cleaners from Karcher, Vax, Bissell

A great carpet cleaner machine is far from a luxury: in a busy household, it will make your home cleaner, safer, and more hygienic
Deborah Cicurel
By Deborah Cicurel
13th May 2022, 4:23pm
Updated 13th May 2022, 4:28pm

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Best carpet cleaners UK 2022Best carpet cleaners UK 2022
Best carpet cleaners UK 2022

Those of us with carpets in our home will know all too well the sinking feeling when food is dropped, a pet has an accident or muddy shoes make their way up the stairs.

Stains, spills and spots are, unfortunately, a part of life in a carpeted home - unless you have a good carpet cleaner to come to the rescue.

While traditional vacuum cleaners will leave everything looking tidy, a carpet cleaner will do much more than that. They penetrate deep into your carpet’s fibres to draw out and remove stubborn stains, smells and bacteria, making for a much more hygienic and clean home.

Best carpet cleaners at glance:

Carpet cleaners typically come with a range of tools and accessories included, but once you get the hang of putting it all together, they are simple to use with pushing and pulling motions, using a combination of water, cleaning solution and powerful brushes to tackle dirt and grime.

We have included seven of the best carpet cleaners in a range of budgets. Some of these are targeted towards pet owners, some include smart technology for an easier clean, and some can also be used on hard flooring for homes with different floorcare needs.

We’ve included products of a range of different sizes, too, so you’ll find one to suit you no matter how much storage space you have.

Those of us with pets know exactly how much joy they bring to a home - but also how much mess.

Whether it’s mud and dirt from walks, moulting hair or accidents, pets and carpets aren’t the best combination - unless you have the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner, recently named the best carpet and upholstery cleaner by Channel 5’s The Gadget Show.

The machine powerfully deep cleans carpets, removes tough stains and comes with a six-year guarantee, and it also works its magic fast, drying in 30 minutes.

It cleverly includes a pre-treater to target spots and stains, as well as a pet upholstery tool and an express clean mode. It’s also really lightweight, manoeuvrable and fits under furniture to make cleaning easier.

There are few things more frustrating than a pesky stain in an otherwise pristine carpet.

The BISSELL SpotClean Pro is the tool you need to tackle unwanted spots and stains, whether they’re years old or brand new.

This machine may be lightweight, but it’s still super-powerful, with a combination of vacuum suction, brushing action and cleaning solution working magic on spills and stains.

Its included selection of brushes enables you to pick the best option for the stains you’re tackling. It’s also really lightweight, compact and portable, with an extra-long power cord to enable you to carry it around the house with ease.

A brilliantly portable option that offers great value for money too.

If you’re looking for a carpet washer to do your thinking for you, providing an effortless clean, go for the Platinum SmartWash from UK-based floorcare brand VAX.

The gadget boasts motion sense technology that kills over 99% of bacteria within your carpet fibres, leaving your carpets immaculately clean, and dry in just an hour.

Rather than holding down a trigger as you might with other machines, the VAX Platinum SmartWash uses its clever motion sense technology to automatically dispense the right amount of clean water and solution as you push forward to wash, while drying as you pull back.

The brand says this deep clean is seven times more effective than vacuuming alone, so this is the one to go for for a beautifully clean home.

If you’re after an affordable carpet cleaner to effectively tackle dirt and grime, the Russell Hobbs 1.8 Litre Refresh and Clean Carpet Washer & Cleaner is a great choice at under £100.

The cleaner is lightweight with an extra-long power cord to make cleaning around the home easier, while its wide jet spray and bristle brush help to penetrate deep into the carpet fibres, dislodge dirt and muck and suck it all up into its dirty water tank.

It’s easy to use and get the hang of, and represents fabulous value for money.

Another great option for households with mixed floorcare needs is the Karcher SE 4001 Carpet Cleaner.

The eye-catching yellow machine is truly versatile, and can be used on everything from car seats, mattresses and upholstery as well as carpets.

Thanks to Karcher nozzle technology, this product boasts a 50% faster drying time to help cleaning times be as fuss-free as possible.

The carpet cleaner can also be used as a multipurpose vacuum cleaner thanks to the multitude of included accessories.

If your home has a mixture of carpets and hard floors, a good option for you is the Henry Wash HVW 370-2 Carpet Cleaner.

The powerful machine can revitalise everything from upholstery and carpets to vinyl and tiles.

It comes with a range of accessories to help you deal with any sort of spill or stain in your home or car, and can even come to the rescue with blocked sinks and showers.

Its rotating brush bar gets right into fibres to get rid of stubborn dirt and bacteria, making it a great choice for pet owners too.

For a powerful all-rounder, a brilliant option is the VAX Platinum Power MAX.

Proven to clean five times better than a high-performance vacuum cleaner, and removing 93% of bacteria hiding deep within your carpets, the gadget is as good at removing hidden stains and bacteria as it is obvious ones.

There’s a treatment wand tool to tackle stubborn stains and a smart “Automix” technology to take the guesswork out of how much solution to add to how much water.

When cleaning, you can choose between a deep clean mode for a really thorough clean, or a quick clean function to help your carpets dry in as little as an hour.

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