A carpet spot cleaner is a necessary piece of cleaning equipment when you have pets at home. Our dogs and cats often love to pee on carpets and rugs, leaving a bad smell and urine on these surfaces. With a spot carpet cleaner, you can conveniently remove the pet stains and urine in a breeze—no more worries for the pet owner.
Not all portable carpet spot cleaners have the same performance. For example, Bissell has over 20+ models, some models have a high motor rating (equal to high suction power), some models have smaller water tanks (so they are lightweight and compact). Hoover and Rug Doctor also have quality portable carpet cleaners too. Ultimately, the best cleaner for pet stains will depend upon your budget and the features you require.
Lets discover what model will be the best choice for your home.
Top Spot Cleaning Machine Price Comparison
Before we get to our featured product, let’s first take a quick peek at how they compare in terms of cost. Since Amazon is a good indicator of average price across the net (plus they often have great discounts), we used their current prices for our comparison. This table includes different versions of each of our reviewed products, so you can easily see the price differences within a model line.
When we put together this list, the products were in order from high to low. However, because prices often change, especially if there is a discount or promotion running, this may vary from day to day.
Best spot carpet cleaner for stains Reviews 2021
After analyzing over 30+ portable carpet cleaners, we come up with a shortlist of 5 models with the most popular choice, high ratings, and high quality from three reputable brands for you to consider. These models are considered the best portable spot cleaners available in the market.
Our best carpet spot cleaner list includes three Bissell cleaners, one Hoover spot cleaner, and Rug Doctor spot cleaner. These models are popular and the best portable carpet cleaners on the market, which are the right choice when dealing with stain cleaning and urine removal.
Lets discuss the value, pros, and cons of each model to see which one is better for your home.
Hoover Spotless Portable Carpet Stain and Spot Cleaner
The Hoover Spotless is Hoover’s best portable carpet cleaner line released in 2017. The sweetest part of Hoover spotless is that it offers a throughout cleaning performance which is similar to many Bissell spot clean pro models, but at a cheaper price when we last checked.
The Hoover Spotless FH11300PC has a slim profile with a decent motor power of 3.5 amps (which is the norm of a portable unit), nice water tank capacity, tools for cleaning stains and stairs. It a good model for removing stains.
Why Hoover Spotless FH11300PC is recommended as the first choice if you are dealing with pet stain? The main reason is that this model has 2 unique features, that are the auto-flushing hose and the brush is made of anti-microbial materials.
In fact, the most common issue with a portable carpet spot cleaner is the hose leakage, the bad odor in the hose. This is because the hose is not rinsed properly after use.
Hoover Spotless has an auto-flushing hose feature, allowing you to rinse the hose automatically, so it will prevent bacteria growth, thus reducing the bad smell and hose leaking after years.
The stain brush system of Hoover Spotless is made with anti-microbial materials, which is a great feature for pet stain cleaning. Thanks to the use of new materials, the bacteria can no longer live in these areas so the brush system will have a longer using time.
To recap, Hoover Spotless portable spot cleaners have a nice suction level, efficient water tank capacity, slim profile, new features, better materials, and lower price. It will be the first choice to clean stains or urine in terms of both price and performance.
NOTE: We also recommend the newer, Hoover BH12010 ONEPWR Spotless GO Cordless Carpet and Upholstery Spot Cleaner if you want to be free from power cord for true portability. It is a highly recommended upholstery cleaners ever made. We have a separate review for this spot cleaner for more details.
Bissell Little Green Cleaning Machine – Strong Power
Affectionately known as the Bissel Little Green Machine, these models are the best powerful carpet cleaners in a small package and have been popular since first released in 2011. The Bissell14259 is often overlooked because Bissell has another model (called Little Green 1400B), which has a 90% exact appearance.
The Bissell Little Green ProHeat 14259 is highly recommended to get rid of stains if you deal with ground-in dirt, embedded stains, pet old stains and old urine, vomits, and more. As the name suggests, this model has a built-in hot water heater for enhanced results (unlike the other models in this line).
This model is much stronger than Hoover Spotless in terms of suction power because it uses a motor of 9 amps rating. Actually, this is Bissell spot clean pro portable model carpet spot cleaner with the strongest motor power. Making it ideal for captain stain removal. The 9 amps rating motor is equivalent to a full-size upright unit, no wonder why it is called a little but mighty machine by thousands of users.
Besides using such a powerful motor, this unit has an internal water heater to heat up tap water to a warm temperature. You may not realize that the warm water temperature is better than cool water for stain removal because the heated water will loosen the connection of old stains and fibers easier.
The combination of a strong suction plus an internal heater makes this Little Green 14259 a great steam cleaner companion for stain cleaning even it is there for a long time.
Another useful feature of this unit, it has a built-in sprayer to give detergent to where needed. It is also compact and lightweight (around 11 lbs.) which is a good size for a portable design.
Bissell Professional Spot carpet cleaner – Great All in one benefits
The Bissell Spot Clean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner is an ‘all-in-one’ portable carpet cleaner. This means it is effective for stains and urine cleaning, but it is a complete solution for above surface cleanings like upholstery and curtains.
This Bissell 3624 spotclean pro model can clean many areas such as carpets and upholstery, rugs, mattress, car seats and interiors, stairs…faster than any models above. Bissell 3624 Professional carpet spot cleaner has the biggest water tank capacity (in portable design), which is 0.75 gallons (96 oz.).
This water tank size is equal to a full-size upright unit, therefore you can expect to clean more footage with less time changing water.
Besides the huge water tank size, this unit uses Bissell high motor of 5.7 amps rating (Bissell often uses this motor rating for upright carpet cleaner designs). Although it is a bit less than the Bissell Little Green 14259, it delivers more suction power than what a portable unit should have (3 amps motor is the most popular)
To give users more flexibility, this unit has a lot of attachments such as a long flex hose, stair tool, stain tool, sprayer, professional cleaning formula, long power cord (22 ft). If you are dealing with a lot of stains and spillage, the Bissell 3624 Professional Spot carpet cleaner is the best portable spot cleaners option for your carpet.
NOTE: For pet owners, our recommendation is the Bissell SpotClean Pet Pro™ Portable Carpet Cleaner which we reviewed separately if you want to learn more about it.
Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner – Professional performance
The Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner is another popular carpet washer. It is the best portable carpet known for professional cleaning performance because the unit uses the strongest motor on the market, which is up to 10 amps.
Thanks to the use of such motor power, the Rug Doctor Portable 93300 spot cleaner offers 2X suction power compared to a standard canister unit (like Hoover spotless or Bissell Proheat portable).
Not only has the strongest motor, but Rug Doctor best Portable Spot cleaner also has a special brush for effectively removing the old stains. Making it a recommended tough stain tool remover.
The brush of this Rug Doctor 93300 model is a motorized type, meaning it uses electricity to create a highly scrubbing activities (up to 1200 times per minute) to break set-in stains, old stains.
The model has 2 handles (one is collapsible), a long cord, 2 carpet-friendly wheels and the whole machine is made with rigid plastic for durability.
You should also realize that while the unit is powerful, it is also the heaviest portable design which is about 20.2 lbs (2X more than Bissell Little Green 14259).
The Rug doctor portable spot is the problem-solver to carpet stains mode.
UPDATE: Since this review was written, our recommendation for pet owners is the Rug Doctor Pet Portable Spot Cleaner. We’ll have a separate review for this shortly but for now, you can view it on Amazon for details.
Bissell SpotBot Pet handsfree Spot CleaneR – Automatic cleaning
The Bissell SpotBot® Pet Portable Carpet Cleaner is the only automatic portable carpet cleaner (and we don’t mean the only one on our list, we mean at all as of this writing). This means, you set the Bissell Spotbot 33N8 on the stains, then walk away and the machine will clean on it own.
After finishing the cleaning cycle, it will alert you, and you pick it up and move on to the next stain—no more hassle life. The Bissell Spotbot 33N8 is a great unit and a great tough stain tool add-on for the home with pets because sometimes you will not have enough time to care for all of the stains by hand. The Spotbot will do the cleaning job while you are cooking food or run errands.
Besides, you can use this unit to clean in some places that you cant reach by hand (such as under the bed). The model uses a standard motor (3 amps rating, so dont expect it can clean old stains as powerful as Bissell Little Green or Rug Doctor portable). Besides, it also uses anti-microbial materials in the main components of the machine to prevent the growth of mildew and bacteria.
In addition to the purple 33N8 model, we can equally recommend the blue Bissell 2117A SpotBot® Pet Portable Carpet Cleaner. Both of these portable spot cleaners feature Bissell Deep Reach Technology for deep cleaning of carpets and upholstery. Other than color, the only other real difference is with tank capacity. The 33N8 has a 32-ounce tank, while the 2117A has a clean tank capacity of 30.6 ounces and a dirty tank capacity of 29.2 ounces.
Since this difference in tank size is minimal, our recommendation is to choose whichever has the better sale price, however if you want more details, we have a separate review for the Bissell SpotBot Pet 2117A model.
How To Choose a Spot Carpet Cleaner for Stains and Urine Cleaning buying guide
Now that we have covered our favorite spot cleaning machines for carpets and upholstery, it’s time to turn our attention to additional information to help you choose the one that’s best for you.
Summary of Our Recommendations
To recap, we found the five best carpet spot cleaners for cleaning stains and spillages. Depending on your cleaning demands, the footage, nature, and the stains’ quantity, a tough stain tool model can be better than others. Here is our general recommendation
- Hoover Spotless Spot Cleaner – for users who are serious about price and want the best value for the money, for all medium stains cleaning.
- Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner – for users who need robust performance and lightweight, for set-in stains cleaning.
- Bissell Spotclean Professional – an all-in-one machine for all types of stains
- Rug Doctor Portable Carpet Cleaner – for users who need to clean the worst stains and can handle the weight of the machine
- Bissell SpotBot® Pet Spot Cleaner – for users who need an automatic cleaning machine.
What are the Benefits of a Spot Carpet Cleaner?
If you get to a spill or pet accident quickly and have the tough stain tool cleaning solutions on hand, you may be able to clean it out before the stain sets in. But if you have pets or kids, it’s highly likely you may not be able to act fast enough. This is where a carpet cleaning machine can be your best friend — especially if you don’t want to pull out the full-sized carpet cleaner.
More benefits coming soon.
Best carpet cleaner solution for pet stains
There are a lot of great carpet cleaner solution commercially available. When shopping for a cleaning solution, it is important that you get the right kind. Some are designed for full sized machines only, and others are just used for pretreating. For example, the popular Hoover Paws & Claws Deep Cleaning Carpet Shampoo with Stainguard is meant for upright carpet cleaning machines.
You can choose the stain formula recommended by the manufacturer when buying a carpet cleaner like the Hoover Oxy Pet Spot Cleaner Solution Stain Remover and Odor Neutralizer, the Bissell Pet Stain & Odor Portable Machine Formula, or the Rug Doctor Platinum Pure for Pets enzymatic cleaning solution. These formulas work very well on removing set-in stains and recovering old carpets. And yes, in most cases, you can use them with any brand spot cleaning machine.
Apart from these brands, Rocco & Roxie Supply Company, Bubba’s Rowdy Friends, and Nature’s Miracle are greatly appreciated by pet owners. Each of these companies offers various cleaning solutions, including enzyme formulas to break down odor-causing proteins.
Related: Best Carpet Cleaning Solution for Pet Stains Review
What are some tips to clean set-in stains and urine well?
To be able to remove the pet stains and urine effectively, you should clean it as soon as you can. The longer you let it set in, the more effort you have to spend to remove it. Therefore, make sure at all times you have the perfect tough stain tool remover.
You should pre-treat the stain. The blotting method is a trendy way to remove excess water from the carpet. Or, you can use salt to suck up water. Afterward, using a suitable cleaning formula with the best portable carpet cleaner to remove it will do the trick.
Some recommendations you may love to try are vinegar and water, baking soda and water, or commercial enzyme cleaners such as Pet Stain and Odor Miracle for dog and cat urine, feces, vomit cleaning
After using the portable unit, you should rinse it well. Pay attention to the hose, the tough stain brush head, dirty water where the bacteria can grow if you leave it wet.
Bissell spot cleaners – Best Selling Portable Carpet Cleaning Machines
Since Bissell takes several of the spots on our top picks list, we thought we would provide a bit of quick comparison information. Among many home owners, Bissell spot cleaners are the number one choice for cleaning spots, stains, urine smell. Bissell has a dozen of spot cleaners with different design to satisfy each individual.
- For example, if you are going to clean the sofa, car, stair, curtain, carpet and upholstery, then you can rely on its most famous model: Bissell Professional Spot Clean 3624.
- If you need a slim body spot cleaner to maneuver into tight spaces (car detailing jobs, for example) with heatwave technology, the Bissell SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot model is a great option.
- Besides, if you have to clean pet messes under furniture and bed, the best spot cleaner for this job is Bissell Spotbot 33N8 with an automatic cleaning feature.
Most Bissell spot cleaners’ best budget range from 100 to 150 dollars range. Depending on each model, you may get different cleaning formula in the package.
We can also recommend the Pet Stain Eraser if you are looking for a handheld spot cleaner for carpets. The Bissell 20037 Pet Stain Eraser Portable Carpet Cleaner stain eraser is a cordless unit designed for tackling stains in an emergency situation. It is very lightweight and uses a Li-Ion battery to generate scrubbing and suction activities. While this smaller unit won’t replace a regular spot cleaner or carpet cleaner, it is extremely convenient when you want to tackle a small mess quickly without bringing out the bigger carpet cleaning machines
Bissell Spotclean vs Little Green
These two models are quite similar in motor power and water tanks capacity. The main difference between the 2 spot cleaners is about heatwave technology. If you are undecided between the two models, read our comparison article.
What Is the Best Small carpet shampooer?
The smallest, most powerful carpet shampooer on the market is Bissell Little Green Proheat 14259.
This model has a slim body, similar to Bissell Proheat 3629 and Hoover FH11300PC spotless model. The secret weapon of this small-but-mighty cleaner is its motor power.
It uses 9 amps rating motor, which is about 3-fold more than any spot cleaner. The unit is recommended for pet owners dealing with an old stain and the worst stain. Please notice that this model (14259) has a small water tank; therefore, it is not suitable for big houses.
Best carpet cleaner for pets (and their Owners)
Apart from using spot cleaner models, you can also use an upright carpet cleaner for pet stain and pet messes cleaning. The upright design gives you more features and cleaning capacity to clean from floor carpets, rugs, upholstery fabrics, cleaning stairs, and more.
Use this carpet and upholstery cleaner on your carpet or couch for a fresher, cleaner home. It is also essential to clean those hard to reach areas in the house and remove the toughest carpet stains.
The most well-known and trusted carpet cleaner for pets over many years is the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro Full-Size Carpet Cleaner (model1986). If you are in the market for a larger carpet cleaning machine for your entire floors, we have a separate review for upright carpet spot cleaners (as well as one all about the Bissell Proheat 2X Pet 1986).
If you get to a spill or pet accident quickly and have the tough stain tool cleaning solutions on hand, you may be able to clean it out before the stain sets in. But if you have pets or kids, it’s highly likely you may not be able to act fast enough. This is where a carpet cleaning machine can be your best friend — especially if you don’t want to pull out the full-sized carpet cleaner.
To be able to remove the pet stains and urine effectively, you should clean it as soon as you can. The longer you let it set in, the more effort you have to spend to remove it. Therefore, make sure at all times you have the perfect tough stain tool remover.
The smallest, most powerful carpet shampooer on the market is Bissell Little Green Proheat 14259.