Which Carpet And Upholstery Spot Cleaner Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 12 carpet and upholstery spot cleaner options head to head. Bissell HydroSteam came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Some figures on this page were transcribed from the test video and have not been independently re-verified. Treat the numbers as a close guide and watch the full video for the exact readings.
Bissell HydroSteam
Price shown in test: $250, most expensive of all 12 machines
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Vacmaster and Shark, tied for 2nd overall with an average finish of 3.2
Price shown in test: $75
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Vacmaster
Price shown in test: $75
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“the Bissell HydroSteam came out on top with the best average finish of second place”
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Mustard stain removal ranking.
Placed top three in 1 of 9 measurements.
Placed top three in 1 of 9 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1Bissell HydroSteamjust over12 lb
- 2Vacmasterjust under8 lb
- 3Shark8.18 lb
- 4WURESE8.13 lb
- 5Bissell Little Greenjust under9 lb
- 6Rivenara8.26 lb
- 7Armor All10.36 lb
- 8Hoover9.7 lb
- 9Dirt Devil7.8 lb
- 10Uwant9.84 lb
- 11STARRYBOT10.61 lb
- 12WECLEAN7.34 lb
Noise
- 1Bissell HydroSteam86.6 dB
- 2Vacmaster93 dB
- 3Shark88.5 dB
- 4WURESE84.9 dB2nd
2nd quietest of all 12
- 5Bissell Little Green88.8 dB
- 6Rivenara91.2 dB
- 7Armor All93 dB
- 8Hoover90.3 dB
- 9Dirt Devil96.3 dB
loudest of all 12 machines
- 10Uwant87.8 dB
- 11STARRYBOT83.8 dB
quietest of all 12 machines
- 12WECLEAN92.8 dB
Power draw
- 1Bissell HydroSteamclose to475 W
- 2Vacmasteraround510 W
- 3Sharkclose to480 W
- 4WURESE
very close to 485 W
- 5Bissell Little Greenclose to423 W
- 6Rivenara410 W
- 7Armor Allaround840 W
highest of all 12 machines
- 8Hooveraround490 W
- 9Dirt Devilaround330 W
- 10Uwant565 W
- 11STARRYBOTaround392 W
- 12WECLEAN
very close to 370 W
Suction/lift
- 1Bissell HydroSteam64 in3rd
of water column, tied for 3rd best
- 2Vacmaster70 in2nd
of water column, 2nd best of all 12, described as by far the most lift at introduction
- 3Sharkclose to56 in
of water column
- 4WURESE64 in3rd
of water column, tied for 3rd best
- 5Bissell Little Greenclose to48 in
of water column
- 6Rivenara50 in
of water column at introduction
- 7Armor All73 in
of water column, best of all 12 machines
- 8Hooverclose to52 in
of water column
- 9Dirt Devilclose to45 in
of water column
- 10Uwant64 in3rd
of water column, tied for 3rd best
- 11STARRYBOTclose to52 in
of water column
- 12WECLEANclose to46 in
of water column
Airflow
- 1Bissell HydroSteam24.48
peak CFM
- 2Vacmaster23.3 CFM
- 3Shark23.55 CFM
- 4WURESE12.9 CFM
struggled badly on this test
- 5Bissell Little Green27.87 CFM3rd
3rd best of all 12
- 6Rivenara22.3 CFM
- 7Armor Alljust over29 CFM2nd
(also reported as 29.03 CFM in the final recap), 2nd best of all 12
- 8Hoover29.53
peak CFM, best of all 12 machines
- 9Dirt Devil20.5 CFM
- 10Uwant20.85 CFM
- 11STARRYBOT12.78
peak CFM, worst of all 12 machines
- 12WECLEAN21.56 CFM
Mustard stain removal ranking
- 1Bissell HydroSteam1st
described as by far the best job
- 2Vacmaster2nd
- 3Shark4th
- 4WURESE8th
- 5Bissell Little Green10th
- 6Rivenara3rd
- 7Armor All6th
- 8Hoover9th
- 9Dirt Devil7th
- 10Uwant5th
- 11STARRYBOT12th
worst
- 12WECLEAN11th
Chocolate syrup stain removal ranking
- 1Bissell HydroSteam1st
- 2Vacmaster6th
- 3Shark2nd
- 4WURESE7th
- 5Bissell Little Green3rd
- 6Rivenara8th
- 7Armor All9th
- 8Hoover11th
- 9Dirt Devil10th
- 10Uwant4th
- 11STARRYBOT5th
- 12WECLEAN12th
worst
Coffee stain removal ranking
- 1Bissell HydroSteam4th
- 2Vacmaster1st
- 3Shark7th
- 4WURESE2nd
- 5Bissell Little Green3rd
- 6Rivenara11th
- 7Armor All12th
worst
- 8Hoover9th
- 9Dirt Devil8th
- 10Uwant10th
- 11STARRYBOT6th
- 12WECLEAN5th
All measurements (1 more)+
Grape juice stain removal ranking
- 1Bissell HydroSteam3rd
- 2Vacmaster2nd
- 3Shark1st
- 4WURESE8th
(inferred by elimination; the transcript labels this ranking slot 'WeeClean,' which is a duplicate of WECLEAN's already-assigned 12th place in this same test and is resolved as a mislabel rather than a genuine repeat placement)
- 5Bissell Little Green6th
- 6Rivenara4th
- 7Armor All5th
- 8Hoover9th
- 9Dirt Devil10th
- 10Uwant7th
- 11STARRYBOT11th
- 12WECLEAN12th
worst
How it was tested
- mustard stain removal, 2 minutes of cleaning time per machine after a 48-hour stain set, full 12-place ranking given
- chocolate syrup stain removal, 2 minutes of cleaning time per machine after a 48-hour stain set, full 12-place ranking given
- coffee stain removal, 2 minutes of cleaning time per machine after a 48-hour stain set, full 12-place ranking given
- grape juice stain removal on a freshly created (not 48-hour-set) stain, full 12-place ranking given
- ketchup stain removal, announced in the video's introduction as one of five stains tested, but no result narration or ranking for this test appears anywhere in the transcript
- motor oil stain removal, announced in the video's introduction as one of five stains tested, but only 1 or 2 fragmentary, unclearly attributed sentences about an 'oil stain' appear in the transcript (merged into the grape juice test discussion), with no ranking or per-brand results
- suction/lift measured in inches of water column, both as an individual spec at each machine's introduction and as a separate top-3 ranking in the final recap
- airflow measured in peak CFM with an anemometer and sealed test box, full ranking given for most brands with a top-3 final recap
- noise level measured at 12 in from the machine, individual spec given for all 12 with a partial top-3 quietest ranking in the final recap
“the Bissell HydroSteam came out on top with the best average finish of second place”
