Portable carpet cleaners (also known as spot cleaners) are similar to vacuum cleaners but are specifically designed for spot-cleaning a range of fabric surfaces, including car carpets and fabric seats.
They’re capable of removing tough marks and stains that even the best vacuum cleaners would struggle with, such as ink or lipstick using a combination of concentrated suction and injecting carpet shampoo into the fabrics.
For those of you who transport kids, pets, groceries, and other messy things in your car, a carpet cleaner will be just the tool for treating those inevitable stains. They tackle stains that any normal corded car vacuum simply couldn’t clean.
Best car carpet cleaners at a glance:
Editor’s choice: Bissell SpotClean Pet Pro – Buy now on Amazon UK
The best car carpet cleaner for versatility: George Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner – Buy now on Amazon UK
The best car carpet cleaner on a budget: Vax Spotwash – Buy now on Amazon UK
There’s use for a portable carpet cleaner beyond the car too, they’ll make cleaning your home easier and more effective too. Take a look around the average home, and you’re sure to find plenty of upholstered surfaces that are a magnet for spills and stains. All of which a spot cleaner will tackle just as well as a handheld vacuum cleaner.
The best spot cleaners for car carpets and fabrics
Editor's choice
Rrp: £189.99
Rrp: £189.99
It was hampered by its size, but the build quality more than made up for these shortcomings. It’s an excellent way of breathing new life into a car and get’s our top pick for a car carpet cleaner.
Read our full BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro review here.
Pros
- Ergonomic design
- Excellent stain-removing abilities
Cons
- Rather large
| Dimensions | 25 x 36 x 35.6 cm |
| Water tank capacity | 2.8 Litres |
| Motor | 750W |
| Hose length | 1.5 metres |
| Cord length | 6.5 metres |
| Weight | 5.8kg |
The best car carpet cleaner for versatility
The suction offered as a regular vacuum is exceptional, and the number of attachments included means that this vacuum can be used for upholstery and even on delicate surfaces. As a spot cleaner it’s equally powerful and is capable of dragging years’ worth of dirt out of fabric. This all comes with Numatic’s famed dependability and it features that iconic smiley face too, lovely stuff. It’s a bit of a faff to swap parts over but it’s the ultimate fabric-cleaning device currently on sale.
Read our full George Wet and Dry Vacuum review here.
Pros
- Bank-vault construction
- Perfect for car cleaning
Cons
- Heavy to carry around
| Dimensions | 35 x 51 x 35.5 cm |
| Water tank capacity | Nine litres wet, Siz litres extraction |
| Motor | 1060W |
| Hose length | N/A metres |
| Cord length | 10 metres |
| Weight | 14.68kg |
The best car carpet cleaner on a budget
Rrp: £129.99
Rrp: £129.99
The stand-out feature of the SpotWash is that it can plug into itself to flush out debris and keep everything clean. For budget carpet cleaning, it’s a solid choice. it is a fantastic little machine for around the house as well as the car.
Read our full Vax SpotWash review here.
Pros
- Affordable but mostly effective
- Self-cleaning feature
Cons
- Not the most powerful
| Dimensions | 38.2 x 35.8 x 24.1 cm |
| Water tank capacity | 1.6 litres |
| Motor | N/A |
| Hose length | 1.5 metres |
| Cord length | N/A |
| Weight | 3.9kg |
A very capable machine despite it's size and reliance on batteries, it's even comes with swappable head attachments for crevices and wider cleaning. If you're wanting a properly cleaned car interior (or home), and don't want to be reliant upon power sockets, this takes some beating.
Read our full Vax SpotWash Home Cordless review here.
Pros
- Fully cordless
- Genuinely solid performance
Cons
- Limited battery life
| Dimensions | 28.9 x 23.4 x 21.6 cm |
| Water tank capacity | 0.28 litres |
| Motor | N/A |
| Hose length | N/A metres |
| Cord length | N/A metres |
| Weight | 3.2kg |
Best heated spot cleaner
Rrp: £139.99
Rrp: £139.99
This is all very handy when reaching the back seats and boot of your car. It is hindered however by a tiny dirty water capacity of just 1.4 litres - which is a massive downgrade from the Pet Pro's 2.8 litres.
Pros
- Heater to maintain water temperature
- Stretches out pretty far
Cons
- Tiny dirty water capacity
The best quality spot cleaner
The only major drawback is that you have to read carefully at the description. It's sold either with or without a battery, and unless you don't have a suitable 18V Karcher machine battery hanging around already, you will find yourself with a heavy, yellow paperweight.
Pros
- Great quality construction
- Powerful
Cons
- Battery not included in base purchase
The best newcomer for spot cleaners
With the pet model, you get two cleaning solutions from Shark: Carpet Xpert and Stain Striker bottles. The firm says when combined, they provide 20 times more cleaning power than the brand's Deep Clean Cro Formula solution.
Pros
- Immensely powerful
- Lots of attachments
Cons
- Only at its best with Shark's specific cleaning solutions
Things to consider when buying a carpet cleaner
What’s the difference between a spot cleaner and a carpet cleaner?
A carpet cleaner will more than likely be shaped like a traditional upright corded or cordless vacuum cleaner and will be designed for use on a floor. They’re only useful if you remove the floor mats and can clean them in an open space. A spot cleaner on the other hand is much smaller and designed to be far more portable. They should be your number one choice if you’re planning to use one in a car’s interior.
A spot cleaner is not the same as a steam cleaner either. Spot cleaners use water, cleaning solution and vacuum extraction, whereas steam cleaners only eject super-heated water. Household-grade steam cleaners are not generally so effective at cleaning fabric because they are not powerful enough to lift carpet and upholstery stains. They sanitise very well, but that’s about it. Thanks to the way spot cleaners work, they do indeed work very well for fabric and upholstery stains. And don’t get the terminology mixed up with wet and dry vacuum cleaners either – those are just more heavy-duty for normal vacuuming jobs.
The best vacuum brands for spot vacuum cleaners
The two stand-out brands for spot cleaners are BISSELL and Vax. Both offer a selection of excellent spot cleaners that are portable, powerful and will make a difference to a car’s interior. BISSELL is generally more expensive but does have a small performance bonus and a slew of nice ergonomic touches while a Vax will be better value and still top-notch quality. Looking further afield, the Numatic George is a behemoth of carpet care but features a price tag to match. And newcomers from established brands have also joined the field, notably Shark and Karcher. We have strong impressions of the latter brand’s WD2 Plus Wet and Dry Vacuum. This can only mean there is quite some more competition than there used to be.
Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for Parkers, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. A veteran car cleaner; if it details, waxes or washes he’ll be on hand to make sure it’s worth your money.
Sign up to the Parkers Newsletter to keep up to date with more of the latest reviews, news, and recommendations from the Parkers team.
Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections – read why you should trust us
