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Here at Utterly Home, we have provided our readers with a lot of DIY carpet cleaning ideas and you can even find guides to choosing a vacuum for pet hair.
In the past, you may have had experience with portable vacuums that were just not up to the standard of suction power and functionality that you normally get from a traditional full-size vacuum. However, a lot has changed.
One of the best tips on carpet cleaning we can offer though is that you invest in a good quality handheld carpet cleaner.
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10 Best Handheld Carpet Cleaner
We’re not suggesting that if you want a high-powered vacuum cleaner that a handheld will ever be as good as a full-size cleaner. The gap between the two has gradually shrunk over the years though.
More than likely you will want to invest in a portable vacuum cleaner for smaller jobs & emergencies, rather than big and extensive jobs encompassing all the flooring throughout your home.
In the following post, we’ve made the task of finding a suitable handheld / portable carpet cleaner easy with our guide to the 10 best on the market, in our opinion and our handy, but brief buying guide.
1. PurSteam Chemical-Free Handheld Carpet Steam Cleaner
First up, we have the exceptional PurSteam chemical-free handheld pressurized steam cleaner. This comes with a 9-piece set of accessories and has been designed with various surfaces in mind.
It reportedly produces a steam flow of around 30% higher than others. Others often double the price. This portable carpet cleaner is ideal for getting rid of everything from stains and mold to grime, grease and even bed bugs without toxic chemicals. Extremely portable and lightweight it features a 9.8-foot cord making it ideal for outdoor and indoor use.
Whether you need to clean washable wallpapers, woolen or cotton carpets, laminate tiling, waterproof wooden floors, a barbecue, granite or even ceramic tile, this will deliver.
There’s no need to wait impatiently for the PurSteam to heat up because it takes three to four minutes and then it’s good to go. One of the key selling points of this kit is the accessories that come with it.
You get an extension hose, window squeegee, straight nozzle, ironing brush and ironing brush cloth, nylon brush, and bent nozzle.
2. HoLife Handheld Cordless Handheld Carpet Cleaner
Second, in our guide is this extremely affordable model from HoLife. Powered by a 90-watt motor, this handheld vacuum provides powerful suction, radial cyclonic tech and multi-layered filtering for very efficient cleans, every time.
The rechargeable batteries give you enough power on full for 30-minutes of continuous use, while the 600ml dust container is perfectly sized.
It’s perfect for use cleaning your kitchen surfaces, car crevices, those corners on your staircase and any other hard-to-reach spots like the seams on your sofas. This is possible thanks to the dusting brush, rubber jar tool, and crevice tool.
Another major benefit is the fact it produces lower than 78dB of noise, meaning it can be used comfortably and confidently at just about any time of the day. You no longer need to worry about disturbing your kids or even your pets. The filters are washable, so there is no need to replace them after only a few uses.
The only major downside we can find with this small carpet cleaner compared to others that you might be interested in is the fact it’s not wall mountable. Aside from that, it would be a great addition to your home and car cleaning arsenal.
3. Deenkee Handheld Carpet Cleaner Vac
Next, we have the Deenkee with a 90-watt motor that produces 7Kpa of effective and powerful suction. This has clearly been made with those tricky nooks and crannies in mind so if you are looking for a car carpet cleaner machine amongst other things then this is the tool for you.
With a weight that is not even as heavy as four cans of Coca-Cola, it’s not just marketing nonsense to say this is lightweight. It is perfect for portable carpet cleaning in just about any room in your house and as its cordless, you get 25 to 30-minutes of run time on full. Full power only takes around 3.5 to 4-hours to charge it to.
The HEPA filter is removable and easy to wash, while the head is also completely detachable that helps with maintenance.
Overall, while it might not be quite as all-singing, all-dancing as the others so far, it’s still available for a very attractive price and has an exceptionally large number of positive reviews.
4. Fujiway Handheld Cordless Vacuum Carpet Cleaner
This Fujiway is an updated and upgraded version of the previous wet and dry portable carpet cleaner from Fujiway. The change is a suction power upgrade to 65Kpa.
The high-performance 100-watt motor makes that impressive suction power possible, while the lithium battery that powers it takes 3 to 4-hours to charge for the expected half an hour of continued usage.
What we especially love about this model is its ability to work at cleaning wet and dry surfaces. It even has an LED light to help illuminate those tricky corners and tight spaces you’re trying to clean especially if you are looking for one of the best car carpet cleaner machines.
Along with the flexible hose, you get a brush tool and a crevice tube and even a little cleaning brush to maintain the cleanliness. All the attachments and extras, including the HEPA filter, fit in the sturdy bag.
This makes it especially great for when you’re going away somewhere and want to stay clean in your caravan, motorhome or even just your car.
5. EletecPro Handheld Car & Carpet Vacuum Cleaner
One of the lowest-priced carpet cleaners in our guide, the EletecPro is a stunning appliance that offers so much more than the price tag would suggest.
For one thing, it’s backed by a standard 90-watt motor and has a 360-degrees cyclonic suction design. This ensures that all dust is lifted and collected inside it and not spread around. Despite its size, you get a plethora of great accessories to have your car looking as great as it did the first day you owned it, therefore surely, it is up there as one of the best portable carpet cleaners.
These attachments include the flat nozzle, crevice attachment, rubber flat brush, high-speed scroll cleaning nozzle, and the flexible extension hose. You plug it into your car’s 12-volt cigarette lighter charger port and have the benefit of an extra-long cable.
With a HEPA filter, your car will be a hygienic haven for those daily journeys and longer trips in no time.
6. Shark Cordless Pet Perfect Handheld Carpet Cleaner
If you’ve never seen those infomercials or never heard of Shark products before, where have you been? They have become incredibly popular in the last few years and with good reason.
Using ‘Twister’ suction tech, you get more powerful suction power than many similarly priced models from other companies. This model, the Pet Perfect, as the name suggests, has been made with pet owners in mind.
As well as the main vacuum, you also get a motorized brush that is effective at cleaning pet hair and dander from carpets, upholstery, car seats, and mats. So makes it an ideal small carpet cleaner as well. It also features a handy crevice tool. At just 2.48lbs its also lightweight and portable and therefore easy for anyone to use, whether young or old.
7. Shark Pet Perfect II Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
Another great cleaner from Shark, the Pet Perfect II is one of the best 18-volt cordless compact carpet cleaners of its kind on the market.
It has an extra-large version of the motorized and detachable brush that makes it quick and easy to clear dog and pet messes. This, like the one above, is still exceptionally lightweight and portable and offers the direct suction option and can be used on just about any surface you want.
As is the case with all Shark products it’s also got a HEPA filter that can be removed and washed, saving you money as you won’t have to replace it very regularly.
Even at 4.92lbs, this small carpet cleaner is still lighter than a lot of others available.
8. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Cordless Handheld Carpet Cleaner
Bissell is a name that most people are familiar with and like Shark and PurSteam is known for designing and building high-performance and cutting-edge electrical goods. The Pet Hair Eraser is just another great addition to the Bissell family of products.
The first thing we feel it’s worth mentioning is the robust 14-volt lithium-ion rechargeable battery that powers the Pet Hair Eraser. This provides a much longer run time and with the large and easy-to-empty dust and dirt bin, you can clean for longer.
To ensure the cleaning is always to a high standard, you get not just single or double-layered filtration but triple-level filtration. If that wasn’t enough to sell you on it, what about the motorized pet hair tool, the upholstery tool and crevice tool you get as extras?
9. Tureal Cordless Handheld Carpet Cleaner
The penultimate portable and lightweight vacuum cleaner we have is this one from Tureal. Like many of the others, this has a cyclonic system that ensures no dust or dirt is left lying and is contained, rather than being blown back out.
It also has an incredibly quiet motor that produces noise lower than 70dB. Which is surprising considering it’s capable of 6000Pa suction. Usable in both the car and the home, it can collect leaves, cigarette ash, paper scraps, food debris, wool, crumbs, dust, other dirt and pet hair.
Cordless and rechargeable, the battery charges to full in just 3-hours, offering the expected 30-minutes of run time. As with any of these portable vacuums though, the key thing for a lot of you reading this will be the attachments.
The Tureal cordless comes with a soft and flexible tube hose, brush nozzle, crevice nozzle, and flat nozzle. In other words, more than enough for this to be used in a versatile range of applications.
10. Novete Handheld Cordless Carpet Vacuum
The final product we wanted to discuss is the very highly rated, with 4.6 stars out of 5 on Amazon. It’s powered by a 100-watt motor and features the cyclonic tech that’s popular right now with a truly amazing 7000Pa of suction power.
It runs on 4 x 2200mAh lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that give you 30-minutes of continuous use on a full charge. We love that it’s both a wet and dry vacuum with three handy accessories – the brush nozzle, rubber nozzle, and crevice nozzle.
Like many of the other models of portable carpet cleaning models that are on our list, it features a detachable dust cap and comes with the powerful HEPA filter. Not only will your home and car by clean and hygienic, but Novete has made it easy to look after and keep the vacuum itself clean too.
Things to Consider when Buying Compact Carpet Cleaner
Now that you have seen our portable carpet cleaner reviews, to further help your decision we thought it would be a good idea to give you a brief buying guide.
Below, you will find some of the important things you need to consider when buying a portable carpet cleaner.
Key Accessories
Although a vacuum cleaner is great for cleaning large surface areas with just the foot tool, you need other tools to help get into corners, collect pet hair and deal with other issues.
To finish your home or car to a professional standard, look out for the small vacuum cleaners that come with the following;
Flexible Extendable Hose – Great for reaching those difficult areas, like up high and under the seats in your car.
Turbo Pet Tool – These are motorized and ideal for lifting pet hair that’s been worked and tangled into upholstery, carpets, and stairs
Crevice Tool – One tool that you’ll find comes with just about every vacuum cleaner, these are perfect for getting down the sides of sofas and into those awkward edges of carpeted floors.
What You Should Look For
Some of the key specification information you need to be aware when looking for the best small carpet cleaner or vacuum for your car includes the following:
Charge Time/Battery Life – Most rechargeable and cordless carpet cleaners have 30-minutes of run time (all the models in our guide do, anyway!). The charge time is another thing you should pay attention to too because while some take a few hours, some take longer.
Weight – As the main reason you are looking at portable carpet cleaners is for convenience, you want one that’s not only quite small and compact but also lightweight too.
Hopefully, you now have all the information you need to find the best compact carpet cleaner for your home, car or wherever else you need to clean!
