The 10 Best Carpet Shampoos

For dark traffic lanes and ground-in grime, the Bissell Deep Clean Pro 4X is the formula Bissell calls its most powerful for upright machines. A few ounces go into each gallon of hot water, so one bottle mixes into about nine gallons. It leaves a coating meant to help fibers shrug off the next spill, and it carries the Safer Choice label. It isn't made for small spot cleaners, and it can sting eyes.

Rugs that keep meeting a puppy or an older cat are the job for the Bissell Pet Pro Oxy. Its oxygen cleaner breaks down urine, vomit, blood and mud stains, and Febreze adds a light laundry scent. It also leaves a coating that helps fibers resist the next accident. Bissell made it for upright machines, and it fits most other leading brands. The fragrance is strong if you prefer a home that smells of nothing.

Enzymes in the Hoover Pet formula, once sold as Paws & Claws, keep breaking down urine and other organic messes after the machine has moved on, which helps when a pet returns to the same spot. Hoover makes it as a double-strength mix for upright machines and leaves out phosphates, phthalates and parabens. It also cleans rugs, stairs and car interiors. Enzymes act slowly, so a set-in stain may need a soak before the cleaning pass.

If you have a lot of carpet to cover, the Zep All-Purpose Carpet Shampoo stretches furthest. Zep says one jug makes up to 25 gallons of solution, and the label names Bissell, Hoover and Rug Doctor machines along with commercial extractors. It's a low-foam formula aimed at plain dirt and traffic grime rather than pet smells. There are no enzymes and no odor claims, so old urine spots need their own treatment first.

Renting a machine for the weekend? The Rug Doctor Oxy Deep is the oxygen formula the rental brand sells for its own big uprights, and it works in other upright cleaners too. Rug Doctor, now part of Bissell, says it lifts wine, mud and cat urine and cuts odors in homes with kids and pets. It also suits area rugs and upholstery. This bottle is a newer release, so there's little owner history behind it so far.

Coming from a pet stain brand, Nature's Miracle Carpet Shampoo brings an enzyme formula at a low price. Mixed thin in the clean-water tank, it suits most water-based machines because it barely foams. Poured straight on a stain, it doubles as a spot soak if you let it sit for 15 minutes before blotting. The scent splits people, and the maker warns against using it on velvet, silk, vinyl, leather or all-cotton upholstery.

Families who read ingredient labels tend to land on the Puracy Carpet Shampoo Concentrate. It's plant-based and made without sulfates, chlorine, parabens or optical brighteners, and Puracy says it works in any carpet machine. Besides washable carpet, it suits sofas, pet beds and changing-table pads. The bottle mixes into only about a gallon of solution, so it runs out quickly. It can also foam more than you'd expect, so start with a light dose.

Small spot cleaners such as the Bissell Little Green take their own formula, and the Bissell Oxy Spot & Stain is the one to keep beside them for pet accidents. Its oxygen cleaner works on urine, vomit, coffee and wine, then leaves a coating that helps fibers resist the next mess. It's handy for stairs, sofas and the patch by the back door. It isn't meant for full-size upright machines.

Store brands rarely carry a federal label, but the Amazon Basics Oxy Carpet Cleaner earned the EPA's Safer Choice mark, which means its ingredients were screened for health and environmental risk. Hydrogen peroxide does the stain work, and the directions give a light dose and a double dose per gallon, so routine cleans use less. It fits most home and rental machines. Peroxide can lighten some dyes, so test a hidden corner first.

One bottle of Sunny & Honey Carpet Miracle works in both full-size uprights and handheld portables, which helps if you own one of each. It's a strong concentrate: a splash per gallon handles routine cleaning, and a heavier pour tackles muddy traffic lanes. The maker says it rinses out without a sticky film, and the U.S.-made formula gets its scent from mint oils. The bottle is small, so it only pays off at the light dose.