How to choose the best carpet washer

Over time, carpets and upholstery build up with grime that isn’t removed through regular dry vacuuming. That build-up is likely to be more if you have pets. Buying or hiring a carpet washer can remove a lot of that grime.

Whether hiring or buying, find out how to choose the best carpet washer to clean your home.

What is a carpet washer?

A carpet washer – sometimes called a carpet shampooer or carpet cleaner – is a machine for shampooing carpet (and upholstery, in most cases). It squirts water and detergent into the carpet, agitates it with a spinning brush, then sucks the dirty water back out.

A carpet washer is not a wet & dry vacuum. Wet & dry vacuum cleaners are designed to be used for vacuuming up dirt (dry) and liquid spills (wet). Most carpet washers are not suitable for dry vacuuming, and a wet & dry vacuum won’t shampoo your carpet.

Types of carpet washers

• Domestic carpet washers are suitable for use at home. They’re typically smaller and lighter than commercial carpet washers, with smaller water tanks.

• Commercial carpet washers can be used at home, but they’re also suited to larger jobs and more frequent use. These are the models you’ll find available for hire.

Should you hire or buy a carpet washer?

If you’ve got the storage space and will wash your carpets and upholstery frequently, it could be worth having your own carpet washer.

Otherwise, you can hire a commercial carpet washer for as little as $39 for 4 hours (plus cleaning solution). However, all hire machines are not equal.

Which is the best carpet washer to hire: Bissell Big Green or Rug Doctor?

There are a few carpet cleaning machines available for hire. The Bissell Big Green and the Rug Doctor are two of the most widely available carpet washers. We’ve tested both and found one is significantly better than the other in several ways.

Bissell Big Green 64P8F

Hire price: $39 (4 hours); $49 (8 hours); $59 (24 hours) + cleaning solution
Overall score: 81

We recommend the Bissell Big Green commercial carpet shampooer – it's the best carpet washer we’ve ever tested. It’s significantly better than the Rug Doctor Mighty Pack MP-R2-A (the red Rug Doctor hire machine).

Although heavy, this Bissell carpet washer does a very good job of cleaning carpet and is the only model we’ve tested to score well for stain removal (80%).

This commercial carpet washer also removes more moisture from the carpet than any other model we’ve tested. Your carpet will be dry in just 4 hours, meaning you don’t have to worry about mould or musty odours developing.

The Big Green has very good controls and is easy to use. It has 7.8m reach and comes with an upholstery tool, brush tool and crevice tool.

The Bissell Big Green is available for hire from The Warehouse nationwide. If you’d rather buy one, it’s available from Bissell.co.nz for $1,699.

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Rug Doctor Mighty Pack MP-R2-A

Hire price: $40 (4 hours); $50 (8 hours); $60 (24 hours) + cleaning solution
Overall score: 70

The Rug Doctor Mighty Pack MP-R2-A is a commercial-grade carpet washer. This is the red Rug Doctor that's available for hire from supermarkets and hardware stores. It's different from the blue Rug Doctor X3 that can be purchased from Rug Doctor NZ online.

This red Rug Doctor carpet washer does a good job of cleaning carpet. But it only scored 50% for stain removal. Also, your carpet won’t be dry for more than 24 hours after using it, increasing the risk of developing damp smells and mould.

In addition, this Rug Doctor is not as easy to use as the Bissell Big Green or any of the other models we’ve tested previously. It’s only got 5.7m of total reach, and you’ll have to pay extra to hire an upholstery tool. No brush or crevice tool is available.

What to consider when buying a carpet washer

If you’ve decided to buy a carpet washer, it’s worth considering the brand and features.

• Which brand of carpet washer is best? We’ve previously tested carpet washers from a range of brands. We recommend Bissell carpet washers because Bissell made the best machines we’ve tested.

• Which is the best carpet washer for removing stains? Most carpet washers don’t do a good job on stains. If you want to use a carpet washer for stain removal, consider the Bissell Big Green – it’s the only model we’ve tested that does a really good job.

• Residual dampness: If your carpet stays wet for too long, it can grow mould and develop a musty smell. It can also be stained by the carpet backing. The amount of moisture that a carpet washer leaves behind varies a lot between models. Ask for an in-store demonstration to compare carpet washers.

• Tools: Choose a carpet washer that includes the tools you need, such as upholstery tools for furniture, a crevice tool for narrow spaces, a ‘deep reach’ brush tool for carpets and a hard-floor cleaning head.

• On-board storage: Pick a carpet washer with on-board storage if you want to keep attachment tools handy and avoid having to carry and store them separately.

• Water tank capacity: Choose a carpet washer with a water tank size that suits your typical cleaning area. Small tanks are lighter but need frequent refilling when cleaning larger areas. Large tanks don’t need refilling so often but add weight (about 1kg per 1L water) and can be harder to empty.

• Weight: If you have stairs, or think you might find a heavier machine hard to move or carry, consider a lighter carpet washer machine – probably one with a smaller water tank.

• Reach: The power cord and handle length vary between carpet washers. Pick a machine with longer ones if you want to clean larger areas without moving between power points too often.

• Noise: Some carpet washers are very noisy. Ask for an in-store demonstration to compare how much noise different carpet washers make. Consider ear protection if the model you choose is loud.

• Warranty: Warranty periods for carpet washers vary, typically from 1 to 3 years. Some manufacturers’ warranties are not transferable, so they’re not valid if you buy or sell the carpet washer second hand. In addition, some commercial carpet washers have different warranty periods for domestic and commercial use. Check before you buy.

Tips for using a carpet washer

• Prepare your carpet. Clear the area and thoroughly vacuum your carpet. But don’t use a carpet washer for dry vacuuming – use a standard vacuum cleaner for that.

• Don’t use overly hot water in the clean water tank. Doing so could damage the carpet washer and void your warranty. Check the user manual – most are designed to use water that’s 40oC to 60oC.

• Use the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning solution. Others may stain or bleach your carpet, damage the carpet washer and/or void your warranty. There are also different solutions for cleaning carpet or upholstery.

• Dilute concentrated cleaning solution as the manufacturer directs. Insufficient dilution could make a foamy mess. And it might be difficult to remove the excess detergent.

• Avoid over-wetting the carpet and suck out as much moisture as you can. Go over the carpet slowly with the carpet washer in vacuum mode several times after cleaning. This will shorten drying time, reducing the chance of stains, mould and musty odours developing.

• Keep furniture off the carpet until it’s completely dry. Otherwise, the furniture might stain the carpet.