Carpet spot cleaner reviews

A good carpet cleaner should get you out of trouble ... unless you live with a budding Pro Hart.
 
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  • Updated:25 Sep 2007
 

02.Results

The following cleaners scored the best results in our test.

What to buy
Brand Price
Long Life Carpet Cleaner (exclusive to Bunnings) $7.99
Glitz Carpet Stain Remover (exclusive to Bunnings) $4.98
Bissell Homecare Portable Oxy Deep $7.49
Cavalier Bremworth Carpets Carpet Stain $6.89

The top two performing cleaners on both nylon and wool carpet are exclusive to Bunnings. If you can't get to Bunnings, try the next two on the list.

Results were generally better when the cleaner was applied immediately, and in nearly all cases the top performing carpet cleaners gave better results than just sponging with water.

Water was effective at removing coffee stains after one minute. Only one carpet cleaner, Karpet Stain Removing Powder did the job better.

It’s a good idea to try any of these cleaners on an unobtrusive piece of carpet first. Many contain bleach — but they don’t necessarily warn you about this in their instructions. If you have dark carpet, they could leave you with a light patch. Some cleaners also make the cleaned spot more vulnerable to further staining.

The chemicals in these cleaners are quite harsh, so avoid inhaling or exposing bare skin to them for prolonged periods. After using them it’s a good idea to open a window and ventilate the room.

 

 

Results table

Carpet cleaners - test on wool carpet

  Performance Specifications
Brand / product Wool overall score (%) Treated area after resoiling Colour change to carpet after stain removal Size Price ($)
Long Life Carpet Cleaner 58 Noticeably darker None 500ml 7.99
Glitz Carpet Stain Remover 54 Noticeably darker None 750ml 4.98
Bissell Homecare POD Portable Oxy Deep Cleaner 52 No change None 175ml 7.49
Cavalier Bremworth Carpets Carpet Stain Remover 49 * No change Slightly lighter 400ml 6.89
Preen For Carpets OxyAction 48 Slightly darker None 510g 7.25
De-Solv-It Sticky Spot and Stain Remover Natural Citrus Base 44 Noticeably darker None 750ml 13.97
Orange Power Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner 43 Much darker None 375ml 4.68
Preen For Carpets Powershot 42 Noticeably darker None 1000ml 7.26
Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain Remover 42 Noticeably darker None 375ml 7.99
Citro Clean Multi-purpose Cleaner 41 Noticeably darker None 500ml 6.45
Scotchgard Oxy Carpet Cleaner Plus Stain Protector 40 Slightly darker None 400ml 7.89
OzKleen Carpet Power 37 Much darker None 750ml 5.99
Karpet Stain Removing Powder 34 No change None 500g 8.01
 

Carpet cleaners - test on nylon carpet 

  Performance
Brand / product Nylon overall score (%) Treated area after resoiling Colour change to carpet after stain removal
Glitz Carpet Stain Remover 85 Much darker None
Long Life Carpet Cleaner 76 Much darker None
Bissell Homecare POD Portable Oxy Deep Cleaner 73 Noticeably darker None
Cavalier Bremworth Carpets Carpet Stain Remover 73 * No change Slightly lighter
Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain Remover 73 Noticeably darker None
De-Solv-It Sticky Spot and Stain Remover Natural Citrus Base 69 Much darker None
Citro Clean Multi-Purpose Cleaner 66 Much darker None
Preen for Carpets OxyAction 66 Noticeably darker None
OzKleen Carpet Power 59 Much darker None
Preen for Carpets Powershot 59 Noticeably darker None
Scotchgard Oxy Carpet Cleaner Plus Stain Protector 59 Much darker None
Orange Power Carpet & upholstery spot cleaner 55 Much darker None
Karpet Stain Removing Powder 52 Slightly darker None
 

Table notes

* Only trialled in 24-hour test, as the instructions state it's for dry stains only.

Scores

The overall scores for each product are made up of:

  • Stain removal effectiveness: 70%.
    • Each agent (red wine, cordial, coffee and shoe polish) is equally weighted.
    • The one-minute score and the 24-hour score were also equally weighted.
  • Carpet damage score: 30%.

How we tested

The carpet spot cleaners were tested on carpet stained with red wine, diluted raspberry cordial, coffee and shoe polish. Each staining agent was deposited on a 25x25cm piece of carpet, left for one minute, then blotted and treated with one of the carpet cleaners. The cleaner was applied until the stain came out, up to a maximum of five times.

The same process was used for the 24-hour test, minus the blotting.

Resoiling
Testers also looked at resoiling resistance, as some carpet cleaners can leave the spot they cleaned more prone to dirt collection. A strip of each carpet was treated with carpet cleaner, left overnight, then the whole piece was uniformly covered in sieved dirt. After 24 hours, the carpet was thoroughly vacuumed and checked to see if it looked darker or lighter.

Evaluation
All the pieces of carpet were then evaluated. Testers rated each product for:

  • Cleaning effectiveness.
  • Gentleness/damage to carpet.
  • Stain resistance after resoiling.
 

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