When I moved into a new apartment one year ago, I remember it taking a long time to choose a new carpet. I couldn't settle on a design, not because I had hyper-specific interior decor choices, but because I needed to find the perfect "busy" pattern that could hide any and all future stains. You see, I'm an aunt of three (very-soon-to-be four) under 3, and while I love my nieces to death, they are still toddlers who absolutely love to spill, drop and throw things — especially if those things are food and toys that stain.
Another year wiser — not saying much for a 34-year-old, but alas — I realize that I probably should have just spent that time researching effective stain removers to prepare for those inevitable situations. As part of Shop TODAY's Ranked series, I recently took on the task of trying 10 carpet cleaner solutions to test their ability to tackle stains and remove odors. After hours of testing and with expert advice in tow, read on to find out which ones you should stock up on.
Most fast-acting$8.98$9.46
How I tested each carpet cleaner solution
All of the products were used on the same stain types: one tablespoon of non-alcoholic red wine, two tablespoons of coffee, some wolf urine (for testing animal odors — and yes, that is safely sold on the internet) and pure blue ink. Each “stain” was applied to its own individual carpet square and left to sink into the material for at least five minutes before cleaning.
Each carpet stain remover was used in accordance to their respective instructions (if and when provided on the product bottle). A microfiber towel was used to dab or scrub the formula and eliminate the stain; the only exception being any cleaner that required the use of a stain-removing vacuum.
Best overall carpet cleaner solution, as tested by the author
Red wine: 5/5 | Coffee: 4.75/5 | Urine: 5/5 | Ink: 4/5 | Scent: 5/5 | Spray functionality: 5/5 | Overall average score: 4.79/5
When I'm in a panic over a sudden stain, nothing calms my nerves more than a cleaning spray that offers immediate visual confirmation that it's working. This OxiClean spray foamed up on contact, getting deep into the rug almost instantly.
The directions state to fully saturate the affected area of your rug and allow it to sit for 10 minutes for the formula to penetrate the stain, followed by blotting it with a cloth. However, if you need a second round of spray, you need to let the area dry before repeating a second time. I had to wait a few hours for my carpet squares to be 80% dry, so this cleaner is not for the impatient. All that being said, the second round was a major success and removed the wine, coffee and urine stains completely.
The ink was a very tough stain for all the at-home cleaning solutions (throughout the testing period, it was made clear that the type of ink we purchased, as well as the amount used, was extremely potent and required a professional for permanent removal). However, it's important to point out that this OxiClean formula put up a valiant effort. It was by far one of the more effective cleaners of the bunch. When blotting the ink stain, it was clear to see that a ton lifted from the carpet and adhered to the microfiber cloth.
Also, if you're picky with scents, this OxiClean formula is your best bet. It's not overwhelming and is so fresh, it doesn't feel right to refer to it as a "fragrance."
More carpet cleaner solutions, as tested by the author
Best for wine stains:
Red wine: 4.75/5 | Coffee: 3.5/5 | Urine: 5/5 | Ink: 4/5 | Scent: 4.75/5 | Spray functionality: 5/5 | Overall average score: 4.5/5
This isn’t my first rodeo with Folex’s Instant Carpet Spot Remover. I reviewed the cleaning spray over two years ago and still remember how impressed I was with how powerful the formula was, especially on wine stains. Thankfully, the spray performed just as well this time around. As expected, the cleaner started to work instantly on the red spot and I was able to tackle it completely after two full-saturation sprays.
I’m not a big fan of “dabbing” or “blotting.” In my opinion, it’s less efficient than scrubbing and takes more elbow grease to do than you’d think. So I’m a big fan of the “gently agitate” direction Folex gives, which I took as permission to — lightly — scrub away. I think it allowed the formula to sink in deeper and tackle the stains more efficiently.
Unfortunately (and unexpectedly), the formula reacted poorly to the coffee. No matter how many times I blotted or scrubbed, it could never fully remove the stain; in fact, it actually left a strange yellowish shading behind.
As far as the urine, this formula did a decent enough job lifting the stain from the carpet, but I noticed that some of the odor lingered behind. But if we're being fair, this brand didn't say anything about being effective on animal stench.
Best multi-purpose:
Red wine: 4.75/5 | Coffee: 4.5/5 | Urine: 4.5/5 | Ink: 4.25/5 | Scent: 4.75/5 | Spray functionality: 3.5/5 | Overall average score: 4.38/5
This formula’s oxy-powered foam instantly appeared the moment I started scrubbing, and I could actually see it fighting the stains underneath. The fact that a sponge is directly attached to the cap is pretty genius. All I had to do was turn the bottle upside down and give it a light squeeze before scrubbing each carpet. The sponge seemed to hold up well, and I loved the accompanying bristled that gave it an extra scrubbing boost.
As far as performance, this formula seemed to work the best on the near-impossible-to-eliminate ink stain and helped to pull it up from the bottom of the carpet. This could be a good pre-treatment product to use before involving a heavy-duty machine on high-level stains.
Unfortunately, I am fairly certain that the bottle shipped to me was defective. The directions state to poke small holes into the foil that keeps the liquid in the bottle. However, the foil wasn’t secured properly in the first place, having fallen off immediately after twisting the sponge cap off. As a result, too much of the cleaning formula was allowed to fall into the sponge once turned over, which caused major leaking and half the bottle to be emptied after just a few uses. I may have to use my imagination at this point, but I can see a correctly packaged bottle working well.
Most fast-acting:
Red wine: 4/5 | Coffee: 5/5 | Urine: 4.25/5 | Ink: 3/5 | Scent: 4.5/5 | Spray functionality: 5/5 | Overall average score: 4.29/5
While I can appreciate cleaners that require their formulas to sit on stains for a specific amount of time to get the best results, I can also admit that I still prefer something that works fast and doesn’t require so many time-consuming steps. That’s where this Resolve spray comes in. The directions are simple: spray, wait for three minutes, blot and repeat as needed. The only particular instruction given is to blot stains from the outside edges and work your way in.
While dabbing each stain, the carpet got sudsy rather quickly — to a point where I had to rinse and wring out my microfiber cloth a few times, because I was only scrubbing at soap at some point. However, the formula still only needed a single round of a spritz and blotting to remove the urine and coffee stains, and two rounds of sprays to get rid of the wine.
Similar to all of the other cleaners used during the testing period, this couldn’t defeat the ink stain. But it should be noted that this formula was designed for small daily stains, per the brand.
Best for spot cleaning:
Red wine: 4.5/5 | Coffee: 4.5/5 | Urine: 4.5/5 | Ink: 4/5 | Scent: 2/5 | Spray functionality: 4/5 | Overall average score: 3.92/5
The spray action on this bottle is intense — perfect for spot cleaning splotches of food or ink marks after accidentally swiping your pen across a fabric chair. The bottle has two spray modes: one that is gentler and more widespread, and another that feels like you’re spraying water bullets. While using the latter mode, every area that was directly hit with formula had its stain practically wiped out. Even the ink seemed to pull up just from the sheer force of the spray.
I’m not sure I would use this cleaner for stains with a bigger surface area, as the wine and coffee quickly spread to other areas of the rug squares, but still left the middle portion clear of the stain.
I can’t allow this to get best overall simply because the scent is appalling. It’s funny that this is referred to as an odor eliminator — it was the worst smelling liquid in the testing room.
Best for pet odor:
Red wine: 2.75/5 | Coffee: 4/5 | Urine: 4.75/5 | Ink: 2/5 | Scent: 3.5/5 | Spray functionality: 5/5 | Overall average score: 3.67/5
Something I wasn't expecting to learn during my carpet cleaning trial is that wolf urine gives off a super strong smell. I've experienced plenty of my late dog's accidents, but they don't hold a candle to the odor of, well...a wolf. So I'm very glad this formula from Rocco & Roxie upheld its promise to eliminate that odor. I'm not the biggest fan of the formula's scent in general, but at least that one goes away over time.
I think a big part of the reason why this spray is so effective on powerful odors is because you need to let the formula sit on stains for 30-60 minutes. It's not ideal if you're in a rush, but as a former pet owner, this isn't a deal breaker if it adequately removes such strong smells. I also appreciate that this formula is designed to work on upholstery, concrete, wood, tile, mattresses and so many more surfaces, according to the brand.
While this cleaner performed well on the wolf urine and similarly-colored coffee stain, it unfortunately underperformed when used on the wine and ink. However, since it's technically not designed for products like those, I wasn't too surprised.
Most kid- and pet-friendly formula:
Red wine: 3.5/5 | Coffee: 3.75/5 | Urine: 3.75/5 | Ink: 3.5/5 | Scent: 4/5 | Spray functionality: N/A | Overall average score: 3.7/5
I think this is a great product for anyone who likes to keep chemicals to a minimum when it comes to their cleaning supplies. According to the brand, the formula is made without sulfates, phosphates, animal by-products, chlorine, bleach, dyes, petrochemicals, caustics, synthetic fragrances or optical brighteners. Plus, it was developed by doctors, so parents can rest assured they're not putting dangerous particles into the air (or on their carpets). So, what is it made of? Well, it's powered by plants and mineral-derived ingredients, which make it hypoallergenic, PETA-certified vegan and gluten-free.
With such a family-friendly formula, you're probably wondering if it actually works on stains. In my opinion, it's not the strongest of the bunch, but it can still tackle smaller stains. During my test, it worked best on the wine and urine patches. But be warned, the cleaning process involves a little more work. The solution doesn’t come in a spray bottle, so you’ll need to get the cleaning bucket out and pour approximately 1 ounce of cleaner into 100 ounces of warm water. You could also add the formula to a machine, if you have the right one. I chose the bucket method, and after measuring out the water and solution, I dipped my microfiber cloth into the mixture until it was fully saturated and gently blotted each stain.
This one needed two rounds to show a good amount of stain-lifting power. After the initial scrubbing, I let the carpet squares dry and didn't go back to the stains for a few days. I worried I had left too much time pass in between scrubbing passes, but the formula got right back to work during the second round.
Best for set-in stains:
Red wine: 4.5/5 | Coffee: 3.75/5 | Urine: 3.75/5 | Ink: 2/5 | Scent: 3/5 | Spray functionality: N/A | Overall average score: 3.4/5
Technically, this carpet cleaner is made for upright carpet cleaners. I tested it using my wet/dry cordless vacuum, but I don't think it's the right machine to truly activate Bissell's stain-fighting formula, mostly on bigger heavy-duty stains. The only exception was when I found a small pink stain on my own carpet — which may correlate to when my niece was trying to eat a brightly-colored Ring Pop a few months ago... I guess it never stayed on her finger. I crossed my fingers and pushed my vacuum over it; it worked like a charm. I was pretty shocked since I knew it had been there for quite some time.
I still wanted to give the cleaner a fair shot on the original testing stains, so I poured about half a cup of formula into water and did some old-fashioned scrubbing on each carpet square. It actually did well, to the point where I think I would forget the vacuum altogether next time and whip this out whenever another toddler accidentally drops something bright and sticky on my rug.
Why trust Shop TODAY
Danielle Murphy is the audience development writer for Shop TODAY. She joined the team in 2021 and has covered everything from beauty trends to the hottest sales to shop. Since she previously wrote about bath towels and kitchen sponges for Ranked, she’s no stranger to the testing process when it comes to finding the best home products, especially ones that keep it clean!
Meet the experts
At Shop TODAY, our reporters interview a range of qualified sources and experts to capture a wide scope of perspectives on carpet cleaner solutions and stain removers. We also make sure that all expert guidance and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Katie Sullivan is the director of issue communications at the American Cleaning Institute.
- Marco Carmo is the owner of Maid to Shine, a cleaning company based in Smyrna, Georgia. He is also a pro advisory board member for Thumbtack, a website that connects users with service professionals.
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