Small Carpet Cleaners

A word of warning before we get to our recommendations

Small carpet cleaners are light, easy to handle, and relatively inexpensive, but they do come with some downsides as well. Please consider the following negatives before you buy a small carpet cleaner.

Small Carpet Cleaners - Three Major Negatives

Negative 1 – small tank size

Because they’re small in size, small carpet cleaners have small water tanks.

Tank size may not seem like that big of an issue, but it really makes a big difference in the overall ease of using a carpet cleaner.

That’s because carpet cleaners use a LOT of water to clean. They run through water really quickly.

Small carpet cleaners with small tanks have to be refilled with clean water and soap very frequently. They also have to be emptied of dirty water very frequently. Most of the small carpet cleaners we tested had to be refilled and emptied after only a few seconds (not minutes – seconds) of use.

Negative 2 – no spot cleaning

Because they’re small and inexpensive, small carpet cleaners have more limited functionality compared to full size cleaners.

One of the more prominent features missing from small cleaners is spot cleaning functionality.

Most full-size cleaners have a port on the front and come with a hose and spot cleaning tools for cleaning stairs and upholstery.

Small carpet cleaners don’t have this port and don’t come with a hose and spot cleaning tools so they cannot be used for any above-the-floor cleaning – like cleaning upholstery, for example.

Negative 3 – narrow cleaning path

All of the small carpet cleaners we tested had a cleaning path (the path over which the cleaner washes carpet) that was measured to be only 7.5” wide.

Most full-size cleaners have a cleaning path that was measured to be at least 9 to 10” wide.

Because they have such a narrow cleaning path, small cleaners are very inefficient cleaning even medium size spaces. They really can only be used to clean very small spaces.

The Best Small Carpet Cleaners

With those caveats out of the way, we’re now ready to discuss the best small carpet cleaners we tested.

#1 Bissell TurboClean

The TurboClean was measured to have the most suction of any small cleaner we tested.

It was also the only small carpet cleaner we tested that cleaned well throughout its whole cleaning path. Competitors like the Hoover PowerDash did not.

The TurboClean also cleans very fast. In our upright stain test it cleaned the peanut butter and urine stains almost twice as fast as average. It cleaned the ice cream, caramel, and chocolate syrup stains much faster than average as well.

On the negative side of things, the TurboClean does have very small tanks and it uses a lot of water to clean, and so it can cover only a very small area before you need to refill its clean tank (with soap and water) and empty its dirty water tank (of dirty water).

It also left carpet wetter (28% moisture reading) than average (27% moisture reading) after cleaning.

Overall though, it’s the best small carpet cleaner we tested, because it cleans stains very fast and it cleans them better (throughout its whole cleaning path) than its competitors.

#2 Hoover PowerDash

The PowerDash was measured to have the second highest suction of any small carpet cleaner we tested.

It also cleans stains very fast, but only through the center of its cleaning path. It has much worse edge performance than the Bissell TurboClean.

Another major negative for this cleaner is that it can be difficult to clean itself. There’s only one small hole on the side of its dirty water tank through which you have to rinse the tank. There’s also limited clearance around its brushroll to clean the compartment that surrounds it. It’s definitely more difficult to clean the PowerDash than the Bissell TurboClean.

On the positive side of things, the PowerDash can clean a slightly larger area than the TurboClean before you need to empty and refill its tanks.

It also left carpet drier (25% moisture reading) after cleaning than the TurboClean (28% moisture reading).

Overall, we think the TurboClean is a better cleaner because it has more (measured) suction, cleans better throughout its whole cleaning path, and is easier to clean itself.

The PowerDash is a decent alternative option though, especially if you value its larger area of coverage and the fact that it leaves carpet drier after cleaning than the TurboClean.