Best Handheld Carpet Cleaners for Pets
A portable spot cleaner handles smaller messes: isolated stains, pet accidents, stairs, upholstery, rugs and car interiors rather than entire rooms. The cleaning itself is , which is sometimes called steam cleaning.
You want a deep clean every 6 to 12 months in most homes, and more often in a home with pets and children or a high traffic room. A handheld covers the days in between: the accident on the stair tread, the hair on the couch, the spill on the car seat. Those are the jobs the best portable carpet cleaner for pets is built for, and the best handheld carpet cleaners cover the same jobs.
Best Handheld Carpet Cleaners for Pets Reddit
If pet hair is the mess you fight, get the Shark StainStriker HairPro, because the brush and cage keep the hair out of the suction path. It scored 165 on dried-in stain against a 145 category average, the best score recorded for a portable spot cleaner.
Hair is the other half of the mess for pets, and this is the machine built around it. Four brush attachments ship with it against a category average of two, including an extractor that funnels what it collects into an internal cage so the hair stays out of the suction path. A Mini Stain Eliminator and a 3.5 in Stain Eliminator with reversible bristles round out the box.
The two tanks keep the Deep Clean Pet formula and the Oxy Multiplier apart until the trigger mixes them into an oxy boosted spray, and both formulas come in the box, 6 oz of Deep Clean Pet and 12 oz of Oxy Multiplier.
Shark states the machine's suction is the strongest among consumer spot cleaners based on ASTM F558 with its strongest suction tool, and lists the PX251 at 8.51 lb, a 12 ft cord, a 4.5 ft hose, 450 W at 3.3 amps and a three year limited warranty.
The machine weighs 8.51 lb, runs a 12 ft cord and a 4.5 ft hose, and carries a three year limited warranty.
Best Handheld Carpet Cleaners for Pets Amazon
If oily or sticky messes are the ones your pets leave, a heated carpet cleaner is worth it, and we'd get the BISSELL Little Green HydroSteam Pet. The BISSELL heats the water with a flow-through heater and a temperature sensor inside the machine, turning the water and the cleaning solution into steam.
It has three modes. SteamWash takes oily and sticky messes and cleans oily stains up to 50 percent better, so it's the mode that matters most. Steam refreshes upholstery, grout and tile. Wash covers spills and pet accidents, so if you were about to shop for the best carpet shampooer for pet urine as well, this machine already has the mode for it.
It's built for cars and garages as well as the house, and the reach shows it: 15 ft of cord, a 4.8 ft hose, and a 5 in Tough Stain Tool plus a Multi-Surface Tool in the box.
Owners rate the Shark StainStriker HairPro 4.5 stars across more than 6,000 reviews, which makes it our answer to what is the highest-rated portable carpet cleaner and what is the number one rated carpet cleaner alike.
If you're buying a Little Green on Amazon
Match the model number to the one in our link before you buy. BISSELL lists twenty models as similar to its basic Little Green, and that number decides whether you get one of the BISSELL carpet cleaners that heat the water or a machine you fill with hot tap water.
Questions
Which handheld carpet cleaner is best for pet hair?
The Shark StainStriker HairPro is the pick for pet hair. Its brush and cage keep hair out of the suction path. It ships with four brush attachments against a category average of two, including an extractor that funnels what it collects into an internal cage. It also scored 165 on dried-in stain against a 145 category average, the best score recorded for a portable spot cleaner.
Which handheld carpet cleaner is best for oily or sticky pet messes?
The BISSELL Little Green HydroSteam Pet is the better choice for oily or sticky messes. It heats the water with a flow-through heater and a temperature sensor inside the machine, turning the water and cleaning solution into steam. Its SteamWash mode takes oily and sticky messes and cleans oily stains up to 50 percent better, so it is the mode that matters most.
How often should you deep clean carpet in a home with pets?
Most homes want a deep clean every 6 to 12 months, and a home with pets should lean toward the more frequent end. Homes with pets and children, or with a high traffic room, call for cleaning more often. A handheld cleaner covers the days in between, such as an accident on a stair tread, hair on the couch, or a spill on a car seat.
What can a handheld carpet cleaner clean in a home with pets?
A handheld carpet cleaner handles smaller messes rather than entire rooms. That includes isolated stains, pet accidents, stairs, upholstery, rugs and car interiors. It cleans by hot water extraction, which injects hot water and cleaning solution into the carpet fibers, then vacuums the loosened soil back out. This is sometimes called steam cleaning.