The 5 Best Upholstery Cleaners (2022 Review)

No matter if you prefer a spray cleaner, steam cleaner, or vacuum cleaner, there are products out there to help you keep your upholstery in pristine condition. To guide you in your search, the This Old House Reviews Team researched the best upholstery cleaners on Amazon. Here are our top recommendations.

Longest Cord: Bissell Portable Carpet Cleaner

This machine has the power of a deep cleaner but the portability of a handheld cleaner. It maneuvers easily with its 13-pound frame, reaches far with its 20-foot power cord, and cleans various surfaces with its six-inch stair tool and three-inch tough stain tool.

Key Features

• Weighs 13 pounds
• Has a five-foot hose and 20-foot cord
• Includes two tools and a trial-size bottle of solution
• Has a two-year warranty

What Customers Are Saying

Satisfied customers liked this cleaner’s versatility, durability, and suction. However, a common complaint among unhappy customers was that the hose broke easily. They didn’t like how loud the machine was either.

Best Spray Cleaner: Rocco & Roxie Stain and Odor Eliminator

This spray cleaner is made with natural enzymes that activate when they make contact with stains or odors. The enzymes feed on the ammonia crystals and organic matter until they’re gone. Though effective on multiple surfaces, this formula is non-toxic and safe to use near pets and children.

Key Features

• Comes in a 32-ounce spray bottle
• Has a bio-enzymatic formula
• Sits for 30–60 minutes

What Customers Are Saying

Customers said that this solution effectively cleaned urine, feces, vomit, and other pet messes from various carpeted and upholstered surfaces. Some customers did have to scrub a lot to remove tough stains. Others felt that it had an overpowering and unpleasant scent.

Best Hose: Hoover Portable Carpet and Upholstery Spot Cleaner

Hoover thoughtfully designed this machine with several useful features and functions. It has two tanks to separate the clean and dirty water, an insert to flush grime out of the hose, and a lightweight frame with a handle to carry it from room to room. For tougher stains, you can also use the included bottle of solution.

Key Features

• Weighs nine pounds
• Has a five-foot hose and 14-foot cord
• Includes one tool and a trial-size bottle of solution
• Has a two-year warranty

What Customers Are Saying

Positive reviews mentioned this machine being easy to assemble and effective on furniture. They also liked the self-cleaning hose function. However, those who left negative reviews for this product said that it sometimes left colored marks on their carpet and upholstery.

Best Steam Cleaner: McCulloch Steam Cleaner

Built with power in mind, this steam cleaner holds 48 ounces of water in its tank that turns to steam in eight minutes and keeps producing steam for 45 minutes. Though bulky, it has wheels to drag it across your floor. It’s also sold with a jet nozzle, water funnel, measuring cup, and 15 other useful accessories.

Key Features

• Weighs 12 pounds
• Has a nine-foot hose and seven-foot cord
• Includes 18 tools
• Has a one-year warranty

What Customers Are Saying

Happy customers said that this cleaner was easy to use and had a long hose. Some homeowners also mentioned using it to do a deep clean of their home after a bed bug infestation. On the other hand, unhappy customers claimed that the brushes broke and the hose had little suction.

Best Handheld Cleaner: Bissell Pet Stain Eraser

This convenient cleaner is handheld, lightweight, and cordless. It uses a rotating brush to fight tough stains on your carpet and upholstery. It also comes with a solution that pours directly into the machine’s chamber without dilution until you’re ready to use it.

Key Features

• Weighs 4.4 pounds
• Has a cordless design
• Includes one tool and a trial-size bottle of solution
• Has a two-year warranty

What Customers Are Saying

Customers gave positive feedback about this cleaner’s lightweight, easy-to-use, and sleek design. Customers who left negative reviews said that it didn’t offer enough suction. Some also struggled to get it in tight spaces, such as underneath furniture, because of its bulky shape.

Buyer’s Guide

As you can tell from our review, not all upholstery cleaners are created equal. To make sense of the specifications and features an upholstery cleaner can have, read our guide below.

Type

Upholstery cleaners fall into one of the below categories.

Spray

Spray cleaners are applied directly to a stain and wiped away with a cloth or paper towel. They’re specifically formulated to clean upholstery and carpet. Though inexpensive, you have to buy more bottles down the road.

Wipes

Upholstery cleaner wipes don’t provide a deep clean. Instead, they remove dust and debris. Like sprays, they are inexpensive but require frequent repurchases.

Vacuum Cleaners

Cleaning upholstery with a vacuum is another option. These machines typically operate like a normal vacuum cleaner except they have an upholstery attachment that treats the material gently to avoid damage.

Carpet Cleaners

These cleaners look like vacuums. However, they use a mixture of water and solution to treat tough stains before sucking the remnants into a dirty water tank. Though they’re advertised as carpet cleaners, they’re usually also safe to use on upholstery.

Steam Cleaners

Instead of mixing the water with a solution, steam cleaners turn the water into steam. The powerful steam blast pulls dirt and grime to the surface.

Portability

Some upholstery cleaners, such as spray cleaners and handheld cleaners, are easy to transport from one place to another. If you plan to use your upholstery cleaner in both your home and vehicle, this portability is useful. It’s also helpful if your children or pets wreak havoc in several rooms around your home.

Versatility

While some cleaners are specifically formulated for upholstery, many work on carpet as well. Steam cleaners, vacuums, and wipes also work on hard surfaces, such as hardwood floors and concrete countertops.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is upholstery cleaning different from carpet cleaning?

The major difference is that upholstery cleaning can’t use an excess amount of water, as this can cause bacteria and mold to grow in your furniture. You also have to be more gentle, or you risk tearing or otherwise damaging the fabric.

How do you clean leather upholstery?

Leather upholstery can be cleaned with leather-specific wipes or sprays. Don’t use too much moisture on the leather, and wipe off the solution after you’re done.

How do you clean upholstery in cars?

First determine whether your seats are made of nylon or polyester. You can clean nylon seats with a mixture of hot water and mild detergent that you scrub gently on the surface. For polyester seats, use microsuede-specific cleaning solution on a cloth. Steam cleaning is also an option for polyester car seats.

Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team

This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.

We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.

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