Imagine six mud-covered, diaperless toddlers and an adult in a white-carpeted room. Serve the kids sugary drinks, peanut-butter-and-Nutella sandwiches, and chocolate ice cream with caramel syrup. For good measure, give the tots some colorful slime to play with, hand the beleaguered parent a bottle of red wine, and then step away for a couple of hours.
We simulated this not-inconceivable scenario to test how well carpet cleaners tackle the worst gunk, grime, and goo imaginable. The bad news: We had to throw out the carpet. The good news: Our picks—the Tineco Carpet One Smart Carpet Cleaner and the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner—cleaned up most of the stains they were confronted with in our testing.
Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352
This reliable, effective, easy-to-use, and reasonably priced bagless upright vacuum cleaner will work well for most people in most homes. It’s been our pick for six years running.
