To avoid over-wetting the carpet, never use more than four shampooing strokes on a single section and, as a precaution, be sure to test-clean a small hidden patch of carpet first just in case the detergent causes discolouration. When it’s dry, slide your foot over the carpet to ensure all areas of the pile are facing in the same direction or it may look a little odd.

It had no impact on old, dried-in stains, but easily dealt with a new spill of red wine after just three passes. Aside from one mishap when the water lid’s catch inadvertently popped off and spilled slightly, this top-tier cleaner performed with aplomb. The third container is a 1.9-litre waste tank for dirty water. On any particular cleaning cycle, you’ll need to empty the water tank a couple of times for each full tank of water that goes in. Setting up the machine is relatively simple. You simply fill the 3.5-litre water tank, connect the 2.5m hose and add Vax’s Platinum Antibacterial solution, which comes in the box. The main brush head built into the body is around 32.5cm wide, which means you can cover an ample amount of carpet in one glide. The Vax Platinum SmartWash Carpet Cleaner looks like a vacuum cleaner. Well, an absolutely massive vacuum cleaner. Measuring 1070 x 325 x 480mm and weighing a hefty 7.4kg, this is an absolute beast of a machine, so you’ll need some space to store it when it isn’t in use.

The best carpet cleaners to buy in 2023

We actually found that the multi-purpose Antimicrobial Tool was just as efficient for rugs and carpets, but it’s nice to have the option of a secondary solution. There’s also a 250ml pre-treatment solution included in the box, designed for tougher stains, and a handy accessory bag to keep all the tools, hose, and cleaning heads compactly stored when not in use.

Key specs – Weight: 7.4kg; Cable length: 9m; Cleaning width: 32.5cm; Clean capacity: 3.5l; Hose: Yes; Heater: No; Warranty: 6 years Key specs – Weight: 8.8kg; Cable length: 10m; Cleaning width: 30cm; Clean capacity: 9l; Hose: Yes; Heater: No; Warranty: 1 year The Vax Platinum SmartWash Carpet Cleaner also comes with the SpinScrub tool, which has two automatically rotating brushes. With all of the handheld tools, cleaning solution is dispensed manually by squeezing the trigger, and you then vacuum up the dirt as you go. This is a top-tier carpet restorer that not only deep cleans but removes up to 93% of bacteria while it’s at it.The SmartWash also has a separate tank for cleaning fluid, where the Power Max had a single tank, requiring you to mix it manually. It’s lighter, too, and no longer comes with a pre-treatment wand. Everything about this carpet cleaner is over-sized, including the large floor head with two brushes. These have blue bristles thanks to an anti-microbial coating, and are similar to the those on the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet. The SpotlessGo is equipped with two scrubbing brushes (a nylon one for general duties and a rubberised comb for cleaning up after pets), a short 80cm hose, a small 28ml water tank and a much larger 400ml dirty-water reservoir.

With a Vax Carpet Cleaner, you can deep clean your carpets all year round, without the hassle of hiring or renting a carpet washer machine. You’ll save more money in the long term when buying your own and can use it as often as you want for carpets, stairs and upholstery cleaning. You can also clean your own home at your own convenience, without having to return a rented Carpet Cleaner.If you would prefer to use less water and get your carpets dry sooner, there’s an Express Clean option that’s not quite as thorough but leaves carpets dry within 30 minutes. There’s even a spot wash option that squirts an extra dose of cleaning fluid from the front so you can efficiently target a stain before you set it washing. It’s an effective carpet cleaner, however. Switching the machine on will set its rotating brushes and suction off, while a trigger on the handle releases a 2% mix of Bissell’s cleaning fluid (of which 236ml is supplied) and warm water. Squirt a bit of that into the carpet, then let the brush do its work. It wasn’t as hard-working in our tests as more expensive models, but it does an excellent job for the price. The two water tanks (one for clean water, the other for dirty) are clearly visible and easy to handle, although filling the main water tank is a bit fiddly since it requires careful measurements of both water and the detergent solution.

This carpet cleaner comes with three tanks, compared to the Power Max’s two. This is because this model includes a dedicated tank for the undiluted cleaning solution, which the cleaner mixes automatically with the warm water you put into the 3.5-litre main tank.

Domestic carpet cleaners are much bigger than vacuum cleaners so storage can be a real issue. However, whether you actually need one is solely based on how much carpet you have installed in the home and whether you have animals or clumsy kids about the house. To accelerate the drying process there’s a dry-only button, which stops adding more water when pushing it forward and just lifts water out of the carpet. I found I needed to do this a fair bit to collect the moisture from the carpet but it leaves it surprisingly dry considering the amount of water that’s passing through the system and collecting in the waste tank. It still needs a few hours after cleaning to completely dry, though. The Vax Platinum SmartWash isn’t going to replace your vacuum cleaner and it isn’t the kind of device you’re going to want to use every week. This means your mileage is really going to vary depending on how much carpet and upholstery you have that needs cleaning, and how regularly you’re willing to put up with the inconvenience of damp carpets, no matter how temporary.