6 Upholstery Cleaners That Will Clean Your Sofas and Rugs in a Flash

Plush carpets, high-pile rugs, and buttery-soft upholstery add warmth and comfort to any space. But, inevitably, life happens — a spilled coffee here, a puppy pee puddle there, and suddenly the fabrics in your home are in serious need of cleaning. While there are a few simple ways to refresh your carpet on a regular basis, stubborn stains require a tool that’s up for the job. 

Enter: upholstery and rug cleaners. These handy devices use suction and a liquid cleaning solution to treat stains, then suck them up, up, and away (so satisfying!). We’ve rounded up a handful of excellent cleaners, most of which we’ve put to the test ourselves, for a range of use cases. Read on to find your carpet or couch’s new best friend.

• For heavy duty cleaning: Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Upright Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
• For small spaces: Bissell Little Green Mini Carpet Cleaner 
• For pet owners: Shark StainStriker HairPro Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
• For cordless freedom: Kenmore SpotLite Go Cordless Brushless Portable Carpet Spot Cleaner
• For an arsenal of attachments: Shark Carpet XPert HairPro Upright Carpet Cleaner 
• A budget-friendly pick: Dirt Devil Portable Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner

Corded cleaning tools offer more suction power than cordless models, so if you’re hoping to clean an entire carpeted room, you’ll want to go with a corded (ideally upright to spare your back!) cleaner. However, if you’re just looking to tidy up the occasional spill, a free-roaming cordless design might work just as well for you. 

Cleaning up a pet mess often means cleaning your tools — that is, unless you’ve opted for a rug and upholstery cleaner that is designed specifically for pet hair. There are two Shark models on this list that catch pet hair to prevent tangles, and the Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Upright includes a brushroll cover to keep debris from cramping your style.

As we mentioned above, if you’re planning on cleaning a large area, you’ll want to opt for an upright carpet cleaner that you can push around like a vacuum cleaner. On the other hand, if you’re hoping to clean inside your car, suck up the occasional spill on your rug, or get into the nooks and crannies of your couch, you’ll want to consider a tool that comes with the appropriate attachments.

Cordless tools are great for getting around — but, just like vacuums, corded carpet cleaners simply pack a bigger punch. If you’re wanting a tool that’s not messing around (pun definitely intended), this pick from Bissell is a great choice. In addition to a cleaning solution and heavy duty suction, the Revolution HydroSteam cleaner uses steam to loosen up pesky messes for an even deeper clean. It also features an extra large, 1-gallon clean tank and includes a handy hose attachment for upholstery.

Bissell’s Little Green has been an AT staffer-beloved cleaning tool for years. And while the Little Green is, well, little, the brand now offers a Little Green Mini which is ideal for folks with not a lot of storage space for cleaning supplies. It weighs in at just seven pounds and is compact enough to fit in most kitchen cabinets. 

While the Little Green Mini is portable, it’s not cordless, which means it doesn’t compromise on suction and effectiveness. However, it does have a smaller cleaning tank capacity (16 ounces), so it’s better for the occasional cleanup job as opposed to regular maintenance.

If you have a pet, a stain cleanup is almost inevitable — and that’s fine, because they’re perfect and worth it! Still, having the right tools on hand can make all the difference when you’re cleaning up after your fur-children. That’s where this pet-specific cleaner from Shark comes in: in addition to the tool’s powerful suction and the brand’s odor-removing cleaning solution, this pick uses Shark’s HairPro technology, which includes a hair filter that prevents clogs and tangles (cat owners, we’re lookin’ at you!). 

As the name implies, this is another portable option, although it’s not cordless (again, that means more power!). The tank cleaning tank capacity is also a little bigger than the Bissell Little Green Mini, so it can work for slightly longer. 

If the cordless life is for you, check out this pick from Kenmore. While, yes, corded tools are more powerful than their free-roaming counterparts, the Kenmore SpotLite Go offers 16Kpa (decent suction power) and 55 minutes of runtime. In addition to not being tethered to an outlet, this spot cleaner has a 6-foot hose and two attachments to reach tight spots. 

The Kenmore SpotLite Go has a 25 ounce capacity for dirty water, so you can cover a good amount of ground before returning to the sink. Plus, it comes with a self-cleaning hose tool to keep gunk and grime from building up over time.

For stain busters who mean business, the Shark Carpet XPert HairPro comes with a full arsenal of attachments to tackle any job. It’s a similar design to Shark’s portable StainStriker (above) but the upright corded design gives it an extra oomph in the carpet cleaning department. We’ve reviewed this cleaner firsthand and can attest: it’s up for the task. 

The versatility of this tool is awesome. Whether you use the bristle brush to scrub tough stains, detach the included hand vac to clean carpeted stairs, or attach the wedge tool to tidy tight corners, no mess is too big or too small. One thing that is big, though, is the footprint of this cleaner — make sure you have ample storage! 

A budget-friendly pick: Dirt Devil Portable Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner, $56.94

For something small and affordable, try this pick from Dirt Devil. It’s another upholstery cleaner we’ve reviewed firsthand, and our tester was thrilled by the lightweight design, ease of use, and stain-removing ability. It doesn’t have any swanky attachments beyond the included hose and bristle brush, but the 19-ounce canister holds plenty of gunk and the corded design helps it pack some serious suction. If you’re looking for a carpet and upholstery cleaner that is easily stowed, won’t break the bank, and can tackle the occasional spill or pet mess, it’s a great pick.