A full-size carpet cleaner can be awkward to store in a small home and difficult to carry up stairs. The best small carpet cleaners offer a more manageable way to tackle carpet stains, spills and everyday messes without taking up too much space.
Our top pick is the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact, a lightweight upright designed to clean carpeted areas without the bulk of larger machines. If you mainly need to remove spots from carpets, clean stairs or refresh upholstery, the portable BISSELL Little Green is a better fit. Below, we compare the best compact options to help you find the right cleaner for your space and cleaning needs.
Our top 3 small carpet cleaners
See how all 6 small carpet cleaners compare in our side-by-side comparison chart ↓
The 6 Best Small Carpet Cleaners
Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact
- Light at about 13 pounds
- Slim 10-inch-wide body stores in a narrow closet
- Stains gone in three passes in a hands-on test
- Carpet dry to the touch in about 2 minutes in that test
- No hose or tools for stairs and upholstery
- Small 0.5-gallon tank means refills
- Dirty tank is awkward to empty
- 1-year warranty is short
Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact review
The PowerDash Pet Compact is our top pick because it solves the main problem with small homes: you want to clean whole rooms, but you don’t have space for a big machine. Hoover’s body is about 43.5 inches tall and 10 inches wide, and at about 13 pounds it’s easy to carry up a flight of stairs.
It doesn’t feel like a toy on carpet. In one hands-on test, it removed the test stains in three passes in under five minutes, and the carpet was dry to the touch about two minutes after the last pass. HeatForce blows warm air as you clean, which helps. The low-profile nozzle also reached under furniture, and the 20-foot cord covers a typical bedroom from one outlet.
The trade-offs come with the small size. There’s no hose, so you can’t clean stairs, couches or car seats. The 0.5-gallon tank needs refills in larger rooms, and testers found the dirty tank awkward to empty.
Choose it for carpeted bedrooms, living rooms and rugs in apartments and condos. If you need to clean stairs or a couch, add a small portable like the Little Green or the StainStriker.
BISSELL Little Green
- Light at about 9.7 pounds
- Large 48 oz clean tank for a portable
- Red wine out of a white shag rug in under a minute in testing
- HydroRinse tool cleans the hose after use
- Too slow for wall-to-wall carpet
- Loud
- Tanks can leak a little if tipped over
- Thick stains like peanut butter needed pretreating
BISSELL Little Green review
If you live with small kids, pets or a light-colored rug, most of your carpet cleaning is fast reaction to fresh spills. The Little Green is the small carpet cleaner that handles that best. You carry it to the mess, spray, scrub with the tool and suck the dirty water back up.
Independent testers liked it a lot. One team cleaned red wine out of a white shag rug in under 60 seconds. Another said it handled dirt and fresh stains easily and greatly improved older stains. Its 48 oz clean tank is large for a portable, so you won’t run back to the sink after every stain. The HydroRinse tool flushes the hose so it doesn’t smell.
It has limits. Thick, greasy stains like peanut butter and chocolate needed two rounds of pretreatment in testing. It’s loud, and the tanks can leak a little if the machine isn’t kept upright. It’s also far too slow for whole rooms.
Get it for spots, stairs, upholstery and the car. If you also want to clean whole carpets, pair it with a compact upright like the Hoover PowerDash.
Shark StainStriker
- Removed about 86% of a dried stain in lab testing
- Mixes oxy formula as it sprays
- Perfect self-cleaning score in that testing
- 3-year limited warranty
- Only two tools in this bundle
- 38 oz tank and 12-foot cord are on the small side
- Needs Shark’s formulas
- No pet hair tool
Shark StainStriker review
The StainStriker is our pick for stains that don’t come out with one pass. Shark’s design keeps two formulas apart and mixes them as you spray, which adds an oxy boost to every pass. In one lab’s spot cleaner testing, the original StainStriker design ranked second overall and removed about 86% of a dried grape juice stain.
It’s also the easiest spot cleaner here to keep clean. That lab gave it a perfect self-cleaning score: you click the hose into the body and it flushes itself with water and solution. Testers also praised its hose storage, so setup and cleanup take seconds. At under 9 pounds, it carries easily to the stairs or the car.
This bundle includes only a 3.5-inch stain tool and a crevice tool. The 38 oz tank and roughly 12-foot cord are smaller than the Little Green’s, and it works with Shark’s formulas. There’s no pet hair tool, so shedding pets slow it down.
Choose it for coffee, wine and juice stains on light rugs and couches. If you mostly clean pet accidents and want a bigger tank, the Little Green is the better fit.
BISSELL Little Green Mini Cordless
- No cord, so it cleans cars and far-off spots
- About 6 pounds
- Above-average stain removal in lab testing
- Self-cleaning HydroRinse tool
- Up to 20 minutes per charge, per BISSELL
- Weakest suction in one lab’s group
- Small 16 oz clean tank
- Short 4-foot hose
BISSELL Little Green Mini Cordless review
The Mini Cordless is for people who want a tiny carpet cleaner and don’t want to hunt for an outlet. It’s the right tool for a spilled drink in the car, a pet accident on the third stair or a coffee drip on a sofa in a room with few plugs.
It’s small but not weak on stains. In one lab’s dried grape juice test, it removed about 87% of the stain, above that lab’s average and close to the best spot cleaners. BISSELL’s 4-inch Tough Stain Tool does the scrubbing, and the HydroRinse tool flushes the hose after each use.
The battery and suction set its limits. BISSELL rates it for up to 20 minutes in BatteryBoost mode, and the same lab measured the lowest hose suction in its test group. That means the carpet stays a bit damper than with a corded model. The 16 oz tank also needs refills for anything bigger than a few spots.
Buy it for cars, stairs and quick cleanups. If you’ll always be near an outlet, the corded Little Green Mini does the same job for less.
Hoover PowerDash Go
- Light at about 6.5 pounds
- Two pet tools in the box
- Two-tank design keeps dirty water separate
- 2-year warranty
- Tiny 8 oz clean tank
- Better on fresh spills than old stains
- Little independent testing
- Amazon stock can be limited
Hoover PowerDash Go review
The PowerDash Go is for the smallest homes: studios, dorms and apartments where a closet shelf is the only free storage. It weighs about 6.5 pounds, so it’s easy to carry up the stairs or out to the car, and the 14-foot cord gives you room to move once it’s plugged in.
Hoover includes a Spot & Stain Pet Tool for scrubbing and a Rubber Nub Pet Tool that grabs hair from upholstery and stairs. Clean solution and dirty water sit in separate tanks, which makes filling and emptying simple. One hands-on review of the pet version praised how easy it was to carry up and down stairs.
The tiny 8 oz clean tank is the big trade-off. You’ll refill it often if you clean more than a few spots, and it’s better on fresh spills than on old, ground-in stains. We also found less independent testing for it than for the BISSELL and Shark picks, and Amazon stock can be limited, so we rank it lower.
Choose it if size and weight matter more than anything else. For older stains, the Little Green or the StainStriker cleans better.
BISSELL Little Green Mini
- Stores in a cabinet or closet
- Performed well in lab stain tests
- Self-cleaning HydroRinse tool
- Formula sample in the box
- Small 16 oz clean tank
- Only one tool in the box
- Needs an outlet
- Short 4-foot hose
BISSELL Little Green Mini review
The corded Little Green Mini is the simplest small carpet cleaner here. It’s the same compact body as the cordless Mini without the battery, which keeps the cost down and means it never runs out of charge halfway through a stain.
In one lab’s spot cleaner testing, it made the top five and performed well in the stain tests. BISSELL includes a 4-inch Tough Stain Tool with a removable lens, so you can rinse out hair and gunk, and a HydroRinse tool that flushes the hose after each use. It also comes with a bottle of Little Green formula.
The limits come from its size. The 16 oz clean tank and 13.5 oz dirty tank need emptying often, you get only one cleaning tool, and the hose is about 4 feet long, so you’ll keep the machine close to the stain.
Buy it for occasional spills, pet accidents and car seats in a small home. If you clean spots every week or have several pets, the full-size Little Green holds three times as much water.
Small carpet cleaners compared
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Best overall
Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact
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Best portable
BISSELL Little Green
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Best for tough stains
Shark StainStriker
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Best cordless
Little Green Mini Cordless
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Lightest corded
Hoover PowerDash Go
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Best value
Little Green Mini
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| Type | Compact upright | Portable | Portable | Portable | Portable | Portable |
| Weight | About 13 lb | 9.7 lb | Under 9 lb | About 6 lb | About 6.5 lb | Under 7 lb |
| Clean tank | 0.5 gal | 48 oz | 38 oz | 16 oz | 8 oz | 16 oz |
| Power | 20 ft cord | 15 ft cord | 12 ft cord | Battery | 14 ft cord | Corded |
| Hose for stairs | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cleans whole rooms | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ease of storage | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Current price | $109.99 | $99.99 | $99.99 | $110.93 | $89.95 | $86.73 |
| Read review | Read review | Read review | Read review | Read review | Read review |
Small carpet cleaners compared
Prices and availability change often. Weights, tank sizes and cord lengths come from maker listings and published reviews. Star ratings are our editorial judgment based on published independent tests and specs, not our own lab tests.
What counts as a small carpet cleaner?
A small carpet cleaner is any carpet washing machine light enough to carry with one hand and compact enough to store in a closet or cabinet. Most full-size uprights weigh around 20 pounds, and the biggest ones top 40 pounds. Every pick here weighs about 13 pounds or less.
Small carpet cleaners come in two shapes:
- Compact uprights, like the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact. You push them across the floor like a vacuum. They clean whole rooms, but they have smaller tanks and narrower cleaning paths than full-size machines.
- Portable spot cleaners, like the Little Green, the two Little Green Minis, the Shark StainStriker and the Hoover PowerDash Go. They sit next to you while you clean with a hose and hand tool. They’re best for spots, stairs, upholstery and cars, not wall-to-wall carpet.
Compact upright or portable: which do you need?
Pick a compact upright if you have carpet in one or more full rooms and want to deep clean them a few times a year. It’s much faster than a spot cleaner on open floor.
Pick a portable if most of your carpet cleaning is spills, pet accidents, stairs or the couch. It sets up in seconds, so you treat stains while they’re fresh.
If you have both needs, many small homes keep a compact upright for the rooms and a portable for stairs and spills. If you have space for only one, pick based on what you clean most often.
Need a cleaner for a specific job?
- Carpeted stairs: see our best carpet cleaners for stairs.
- Pet accidents: see our best spot carpet cleaners for pet stains and our best carpet cleaners for cat urine.
- No cord at all: see our best cordless carpet cleaners and our best handheld carpet cleaners.
- Car seats and floor mats: see our best car carpet cleaner machines.
- A bigger home with lots of carpet: a full-size upright saves time. See our best carpet cleaners for home use.
- A tight budget: see our best affordable carpet cleaners.
- Everyday cleaning between washes: see our best vacuums for small apartments.
How to choose a small carpet cleaner
This decides between an upright and a portable. Whole rooms need an upright, while rugs, stairs and spots suit a portable.
A small home has little closet space, and you may carry the machine up stairs.
A hose lets you clean stairs, upholstery, car seats and corners the upright head can’t reach.
Smaller machines carry less water, so you refill more often.
Wet carpet in a small home is hard to avoid walking on, and slow drying can lead to odors.
Dirty water left in a hose or tank starts to smell fast.
Is a small carpet cleaner as good as a full-size one?
On stains, it can be. A good portable spot cleaner removes fresh stains very well, because you scrub one spot slowly with a hand tool. In one lab’s tests, the best small spot cleaners removed more than 85% of a dried grape juice stain. Where small machines fall short is speed and capacity. A compact upright has a narrower path and a smaller tank, so a large room takes longer and needs more refills.
For a studio, a one- or two-bedroom apartment or a home with a few area rugs, a small machine is usually all you need. For large homes with carpet everywhere, a full-size upright or a rental machine saves time on big jobs.
How to use a small carpet cleaner the right way
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Vacuum first
Pick up loose dirt and hair with a regular vacuum. Otherwise it turns to mud in the carpet cleaner and clogs the nozzle.
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Fill with warm water and the maker's formula
Use warm tap water, not boiling water, and the brand’s own solution. Other cleaners can foam up and leave sticky residue.
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Pretreat old or greasy stains
Spray the stain and wait a few minutes before scrubbing. Thick stains like peanut butter may need a second round.
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Make slow passes
Push forward while spraying, then pull back slowly without spraying to suck up the water. Finish with one or two dry-only passes.
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Empty and rinse right away
Pour out the dirty tank, rinse the nozzle and run the self-cleaning tool if your machine has one.
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Let it dry before storing
Leave the tanks open and the brush roll out to air-dry, so mildew doesn’t grow inside the closet.
Small carpet cleaner FAQs
What is the best small carpet cleaner?
For most small homes, the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact. It weighs about 13 pounds, cleans whole rooms and dries carpet fast. If you mostly clean spots, stairs and upholstery, the portable BISSELL Little Green is the better choice.
What is the lightest carpet cleaner?
In this guide, the BISSELL Little Green Mini Cordless at about 6 pounds, followed by the corded Hoover PowerDash Go at about 6.5 pounds. The only upright here, the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact, weighs about 13 pounds.
Can a small carpet cleaner clean a whole room?
A compact upright can. The Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact is made for whole rooms. Portable spot cleaners can technically do it, but it takes a very long time.
Which small carpet cleaner is best for stairs?
A portable with a hose, like the BISSELL Little Green, the Shark StainStriker or the Hoover PowerDash Go. Hose-free uprights like the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact can’t clean stair treads well.
Are small carpet cleaners good for pet stains?
Yes. Pet accidents are usually small spots, which suit portable cleaners well. Use an oxy or pet formula, and clean the stain while it’s fresh for the best results.
How long does carpet take to dry after a small carpet cleaner?
Usually a few hours, depending on the machine, carpet and airflow. In one test, carpet cleaned with the Hoover PowerDash was dry to the touch about two minutes after the last pass. Extra dry passes and a fan speed things up.
Where should I store a small carpet cleaner?
A closet, cabinet or under the sink works for portables, and a narrow closet works for compact uprights. Empty and dry the tanks first so the closet doesn’t smell.
Which small carpet cleaner should you buy?
- Best overall: Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact
- Best portable: BISSELL Little Green
- Best for tough stains: Shark StainStriker
- Best cordless: BISSELL Little Green Mini Cordless
- Lightest corded pick: Hoover PowerDash Go
- Best value: BISSELL Little Green Mini
Start with how much carpet you clean. For whole rooms in a small home, the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact is the light, slim upright to get. For spills, stairs and couches, the Little Green is the best all-round portable and the StainStriker handles the toughest stains. The Mini Cordless goes where there’s no outlet, and the PowerDash Go and corded Little Green Mini fit the tightest storage spaces.
How We Picked and Tested
Our recommendations are based on published hands-on reviews and verified manufacturer specifications. We reviewed test results from Bob Vila, HGTV and Vacuum Wars, plus Bob Vila’s portable carpet cleaner tests, and spec pages and listings from Hoover, BISSELL and Shark, Kohl’s and Amazon.
We started with intent. People searching for a small carpet cleaner usually live in an apartment or a smaller home, or they want a machine that is easy to carry and store. So we set a weight limit of about 13 pounds, which rules out full-size uprights, and built the list around one compact upright for whole rooms plus portable spot cleaners for spills, stairs, cars and upholstery. Each product got a distinct job based on where its test results and specs were strongest.
From there, we weighed stain removal and drying results in published tests, weight, storage size, tank size, cord length, hoses and tools, and upkeep. Each review explains who should choose something else, and we ranked models with less independent testing lower.
Weights, tank sizes, cord lengths and runtimes are manufacturer ratings unless a review is named, while cleaning results are attributed to the independent sources above. We did not test these carpet cleaners ourselves.
Why trust CleanTheFloor?
CleanTheFloor publishes practical floor-care advice and buying guides for homeowners and pet owners. We base our picks on published test results and verified specifications rather than marketing claims, and we point out each product’s drawbacks.
