Best carpet cleaner machines for home carpets and rugs

Top pick: Bissell Big Green Professional. It's the closest thing to a rental machine you can own — a big 8L tank, strong 1400W extraction and a long cord, so you can do whole rooms and thick rugs in one pass without refilling constantly. It's heavy and bulky, so it's the one to get if deep cleaning is the job, not a corner stain.

Who the others suit:

• Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 — the other rental-grade upright; pick it if you want the biggest tank and don't mind the weight.
• Hoover SmartWash+ — the easy everyday upright: automatic detergent mixing and heated drying, far less fuss for regular whole-house cleaning.
• Bissell Little Green — for spots, stairs, upholstery and pet accidents rather than whole carpets.
• Aqua Pro Vac spotter — a step up for pros or heavy pet messes, with a big following of happy owners.
• Heated extractor — for stubborn, set-in soil where hot water matters.

Skip the tiny handhelds if your goal is wall-to-wall carpet.