Carpets can be really hard to clean, which is why carpet cleaners were invented. However, cleaning carpets on stairs is whole different ball game, because those steps can make it really hard to maneuver with most normal carpet shampooers.
Today we are here to help you find the best carpet cleaner for stairs. We’ve got a great buyer’s guide to help you figure out what the most important features and purchasing factors are, plus we have reviewed some of the best possible stair carpet cleaning units out there too.
Click here to skip to our recommended pick!
- Powerful rotating brush
- Deep clean function with included cleaning solution
- Lightweight and maneuverable
- Lightweight
- Portable and space efficient
- Powerful suction
- Large tank capacity
- Steaming and shampooing with 2 in 1 tank
- Many accessories for various jobs
- Great price
- Ideal for high traffic areas
- Can deal with dirt, pet hair, and everything in between
- Extremely lightweight and compact
- Perfect for stairs and small areas
- Great for pet stains and pet hair
- Super lightweight and portable
- Easy to store and maneuver
- Great for small spots and stairs
- Large enough for full scale use
- Small enough for stairs
- Great brush roll for deep cleaning
Our Overall #1 Rated Pick
BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Full Size Upright Carpet Cleaner
When it comes to the best carpet cleaner for stairs, the number one top pick would have to be the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Full Size Upright Carpet Cleaner.
It’s a great stain remover and carpet cleaner that combines powerful rotating bristles with professional carpet cleaning liquid that has the power to remove virtually any and all stains, odors, and hairs from all of your carpets, whether thick or thin.
- 12 rows of rotating bristles
- Low profile and lightweight
- Professional carpet cleaning formula included
The BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Full Size Upright Carpet Cleaner is a full size carpet cleaner, yet it weighs only 18 pounds, which is of course something that helps make it ideal for use on stairs.
This carpet cleaner features 12 rows of fairly stiff rotating bristles that can remove stains, dirt, hair, and more from deep within carpets, even thick carpets.
It comes with a so called max clean mode that is said to be able to lift nearly anything and everything out of carpets. All in all, it’s just a very lightweight, convenient and user friendly device.
To make life easier for you, it comes complete with a 7 foot hose and various attachments, such as spot cleaning and special pet hair attachments, plus it also includes 2 special carpet cleaning formulas as well.
Moreover, you can then pour this carpet cleaning liquid into the tank, which then combines with the power brush bristles for great stain cleaning power, and carpets dry fast afterwards too.
Carpet Cleaner for Stairs – Buying Guide & FAQ
Considerations to Make when Buying a Carpet Cleaner for Stairs
Before you go out and buy any carpet cleaner for stairs, there are some major considerations that you need to keep in mind first.
Weight & Size
Something that you should look out for when purchasing a carpet stain remover for steps is how large and heavy the unit in question is. Simply put, you can’t use a large full size carpet cleaner designed for flat surfaces on stairs. The unit in question needs to be small and lightweight enough to maneuver up and down stairs with relative ease.
Tank Size
Something else to keep an eye on when purchasing a stair cleaning machine is how large the water tank or cleaning solution tank is. Simply put, the larger the water tank is, the more you can clean without having to refill it.
Keep in mind that a good stair cleaner needs a tank for the clean water or cleaning solution, as well as for the dirty water it needs to suck up after the carpet is clean. On a side note, finding a unit that is easy to fill and to empty is a bonus.
Steam and/or Shampoo
Yet another purchasing factor to look out for is how the unit in question actually cleans carpets. Does it use only steam or hot water? Does it allow for some sort of detergent or cleaning solution to be used? Or does it maybe allow for both?
For the toughest and deepest carpets, and for the most serious of stains, finding a unit that can do both is a big deal. Generally speaking, the hotter the water can be heated up to, the more effective it will be at removing tough stains.
The Brush Roll
The next factor to look out for when purchasing a steam and carpet cleaner is what kind of brush roll it features. This is an important component, because the quality of the brush roll will determine how deep of stains the unit in question can remove from carpets, and how well overall it cleans the carpet.
A good brush roll will have plenty of rows of brushes, it will move fast, and be stiff enough to penetrate deep into carpets.
Vacuum Power
Any carpet shampooer and cleaner worth its money should also come with very strong suction power. Once the cleaning solution, hot water, and the brush roll have loosened dirt and removed stains from a carpet, that dirty dark water then needs to be sucked back up.
Therefore, any model you get needs to have suction power strong enough to remove as much water and dirt from any given area as possible.
Carpet Drying
A select few carpet cleaners will also come with a drying function to help dry carpets quickly, so you can get back to walking on them. Some may not come with heated drying, but all models should work to suck away as much water as possible, thus allowing for quick drying.
Full Size vs Handheld
The other thing to consider here is whether you want a handheld or full size unit. Full size units, ones that are not too large, can be used for large areas and stairs alike, although some may be too large for stairs.
On the other hand, handheld units are much smaller and way better for maneuvering stairs, but you won’t be cleaning full size carpets with them, at least not very efficiently.
How long after carpet cleaning can you walk on it?
Most professional services will recommend that you wait at least 6 hours for the carpet to dry before walking on it.
What do carpet shampooers do?
Carpet shampooers or carpet cleaners are designed to spray a hot cleaning solution onto a carpet, loosen stains and dirt with a brush roll, and then suck up the dirty water via vacuum suction.
Will all carpet cleaners work for pet hair?
Generally speaking no, if you want to suck up lots of pet hair, you will need a brush roll specially designed for such. Pet hair will usually cause tangles with normal brush rolls.
Should I vacuum before steam cleaning?
It does help to vacuum carpets first, just to remove as much loose dirt as possible before moving on to using a steam or shampoo cleaner.
The Best Carpet Cleaner for Stairs
Here is a selection of the best steam cleaners for stairs, and yes, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
The top best product [hide]
BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Upright Carpet Cleaner
Moreover, here you also get two bottles of carpet cleaning liquid that can be poured right into the canister of this machine. This cleaning liquid has great stain fighting and lifting power, plus it’s tough on grease too. Simply turn the deep clean function on in order to utilize this feature.
The BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Upright Carpet Cleaner comes with 12 rows of bristles in the rotating power brush, and the bristles are large and stiff enough to remove all kinds of dirt and hair from your carpets. Of course, there is also the fact that this thing weighs well under 20 lbs, making it ideal for use on stairs.
Bissell 3624 Spot Clean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner
Yes, this carpet cleaner does come with a tank so you can insert water and/or carpet cleaning solution, which it then dispenses out of the hose, and then sucks back in using the suction feature. In other words, this is a powerful vacuum that has more than enough suction power to inhale even heavy pieces of debris on your carpets, plus it also cleans stains with liquid cleaner.
The Bissell 3624 Spot Clean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner also comes complete with a stair cleaner attachment and a tough stain tool. Moreover, this machine is great for removing pet hair from carpets as well.
BISSELL PowerBrush Full Sized Carpet Steamer
Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner
BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner
Bissell SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot Cleaner
Rug Doctor Deep Carpet Cleaner
Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner
Our top pick, to reiterate, is the Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner, and the reason for this is because it’s small and lightweight enough to easily maneuver up and down stairs, and to store in small places, yet large enough to deal with some fairly big jobs. It does an amicable job at removing pet hair, dirt, and all sorts of stains from carpets, and even dries the carpet at the end of it all.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that if you expect to get carpets clean, especially ones on stairs, you need a unit designed specifically for the task at hand. A small and portable unit that can douse the carpet in hot water and cleaning solution, remove stuck on stains and dirt with a high powered brush roll, and then suck up all the dirty water is what you need. We would highly recommend checking out any of the carpet cleaners and shampooers which we have reviewed today.
