When it comes to tackling the inevitable stains from kids, pets and even ourselves (surely not?!), it’s handy to have a go-to product to help you tackle them head on, prolonging the life of a much loved rug, armchair and more.
The bottle and brush combos offer a great solution for smaller spills that you want to treat quickly and efficiently, making them invaluable in your cleaning kit. Where as the more powerful, plug in machines prove their worth when tackling larger areas and giving your sofa, car seats and stairs a more thorough spring clean.
We’ve tested a range of these products with budget in mind, starting at £3.50 for Dr Beckmann’s upholstery stain remover right up to £169 for Bissell’s SpotClean Pro. Many boast unique features, such as a range of attachments that allow you to tackle the toughest of stains in the most awkward of spaces or being among the most eco-friendly upholstery cleaners available. All were put through their paces to see how worthy they were of a place in our under sink cupboard.
How we tested the upholstery cleaners…
We considered everything from packaging and how easy they are to use, their performance as well as value for money. We tested the cleaners on feet tip pen marks made on sofa cushions.
Features (3 points):
Handheld unit - Weight | Attachments/brush quality etc | Battery charge/run time
Shampoo - Odour | Coverage | Brush quality (does it stay on/drip etc)
Results (6 points):
Handheld unit - Time taken to be ready for use | Noisy | One or two tanks | Does it make it all very wet | Good on new as well as old stains? | Does it leave water marks?
Shampoo - Does it flood with water? | Does it tackle all stains? | Does it leave water marks?
Value for money (1 points):
Price | Quality | Warranty
Which are the best upholstery cleaners?
Best eco-friendly cleaner: Clean Living Biological Odour and Spot Remover starter pack
Best budget upholstery cleaner in a bottle: Dr Beckmann Upholstery Stain Remover
Most versatile upholstery cleaner: VAX SpotWash Home Pet-Design
Best handheld upholstery cleaner: Swan handheld carpet cleaner
Best compact upholstery cleaner: Bissell SpotClean Pro
The best upholstery cleaners for 2024
Dr Beckmann Upholstery Stain Remover
Score 9/10
Pros
- Fragrance
- Product and brush in one
Cons
- Once the lid is pierced the bottle needs to be upright to avoid leaking
Features
Dr Beckmann Upholstery Stain Remover comes in a compact bottle that is 100% recycled plastic. The lid features a 2-in-1 foam brush and bristle brush to help you tackle the stain straight on, without the need for additional cloths or sponges at the initial application stage.
It boasts an anti-odour formula, tackles pet stains and is even suitable for use on mattresses, as well as car upholstery.
The active oxygen formula with patented anti-odour FreshplexTM technology, gently penetrates the fibres and can remove a selection of stains including wine, juice, sauces and pet stains.
The product does have an odour to it, but it is pleasant and doesn’t linger on the upholstery after use.
Results
The Dr Beckmann upholstery stain remover gave great coverage to the stained sofa cushions. I realised after use, that I squeezed the bottle to drizzle some of the product onto the stain before brushing - this isn’t necessary as the small hole I made in the foil top is enough to let the solution gently flow out to clean the stain as you brush. So, despite making the area wetter than it needed to be, it didn’t have an adverse affect on the upholstery and no water marks or strong odours remained after cleaning.
I really liked the brush and bristle combo to tackle the stain, getting right into the grooves of the fabric to ensure every last trace is cleaned away. I was slightly concerned how the bristles might affect the feel of the fabric and if the over use of the solution on the material might make it dry stiffer, but once dry you couldn’t tell what part had been treated as neither the colour, the feel or the smell of the upholstery was altered. Phew!
The only downside of this product is that there is no lid to shut off the solution from dribbling out of the bottle if it was knocked over in storage. Although the hole in the foil lid is small, it would be enough to let the liquid come out if left in the wrong position for long enough.
Value for money
I thought this was a great cleaner, it tackled the stain with ease and didn’t need as much solution as I used to do so! It’s great that the brush is part of the bottle, so you don’t have to hunt around for a separate brush or cloth to get the job done, saving time and money. Great for tackling smaller spills and grubby upholstery, an all round great addition to my cleaning supplies.
VAX SpotWash Home Pet-Design
Score 9.5/10
Pros
- Number of attachments and cleaning solutions included
- Can tackle large and small areas easily
Cons
- Dripping from handle
Features
The VAX SpotWash Home Pet-Design comes with a number of features to help get the job done in the most hygienic way possible, all in one compact piece of kit. It comes with two cleaning tools - one messy one for tackling unhygienic spills and stains and another for everyday cleaning, so there’s no concerns about cross contamination.
All of the attachments contain an antimicrobial treatment which helps to protect against the growth of bacteria, which is reassuring.
There’s also a spin head tool, a crevice tool (great for car seats and down the back of sofas!), as well as carpet and hard floor cleaning attachments, an antibacterial solution and pet stain remover. All of the attachments feel of good, durable quality.
Also in the box is a VAX stain remover kit, which includes three bottles of stain remover spray - ‘original’ for tackling everyday stains, ‘antibacterial’ killing 99.9% of bacteria and ‘oxygen lift’ for tough stains and breaks down embedded dirt.
It has two water tanks, one for the clean and one for the dirty water.
The product itself is compact at just over 30cm tall, making storing in a kitchen or utility room cupboard convenient. It is fairly light weight to carry about, however, the power cable has a long lead and the hose stretches too, allowing you to tackle stairs or rooms without having to be lifting it too often.
Results
The VAX SpotWash Home Pet design is easy to prepare for use, simply unpack from the box, click the attachment you need into place, fill with water and solution, plug in and you’re ready to go. There is no waiting time or heating up required, you can get straight on with the job in hand.
Filling the clean water tank with water and solution was easy, no measuring out required. Great! I really like that the tank has markings to show where you need to fill it to for water and the solution, depending on if you’re tackling a small or large area - so you’re not wasting water or product if the stain is on a smaller area.
The machine is quite noisy, but no more than I expected from this type of kit.
I was able to control the amount of water dispensed onto the sofa cushion using the trigger on the underside of the handle, so I was able to gauge if more was needed as I was using it. Pulling the product backwards allows the excess water on the fabric to be sucked up back into the unit and into the dirty water tank, so you can repeat this process without spraying the solution to suck up as much water as possible so the upholstery isn’t left too wet.
The VAX SpotWash tackled the felt tip pen markings with ease, and although the cushion was quite wet after cleaning a few hours later and it was dried and ready for use. There were no water marks or difference in upholstery to show that it had been cleaned.
The only downside to this product was that water appeared to dribble out from the handle around the spray trigger, this left my hand quite wet after I’d finished the job and it would occasionally drip on the area I was trying to use the suction on to dry it off, which was frustrating. But this could be a fault of this particular model, so it wouldn’t put me off the product altogether.
Value for money
The VAX SpotWash Home and Pet design is the second most expensive product I tested, it came with noticeably more attachments and cleaning solutions to tackle a whole host of areas and stains, which is very impressive and helps to justify the price tag.
I liked how its compact design tidied away the power cord, hose and two attachments, then a nifty bag was provided to neatly store the rest.
This product comes with a two year guarantee which offers peace of mind for any issues you might have when investing in this type of upholstery cleaner.
If you have a busy household, and want to be able to tackle areas such as sofas, car seats, stairs and rugs quickly, then this product boasts all you could ever need.
Clean Living Biological Odour and Spot Remover starter pack
Score 8.5/10
- Buy now from Clean Living (£12.40)
Pros
- Eco-friendly
Cons
- Price
Features
Clean Living’s Biological odour and spot remover starter pack is the most environmentally-friendly product I tested in this category. It’s packed with green credentials to make it the more conscious choice.
The starter pack comes complete with a 300ml reusable aluminium container, a Living Areas glass microfibre cloth and a 30ml biological odour and spot remover concentrate sachet. The product contains naturally occurring microbes that attack spots and odours to completely remove marks and bad smells from fabric. The cloth is of good quality and seems soft, yet robust.
It’s suitable for use on most carpets, rugs and upholstery, but the brand also recommend it as a spritz to freshen up mattresses, trainers, dog beds and more. However, they do highlight that it shouldn’t be used on velvet upholstery or anything unsuitable for wet cleaning.
You can purchase refill sachets for this product which are priced at £1.99.
To enhance its eco-friendly credentials, the packaging is recyclable, the product uses natural cleaning ingredients, it’s vegan friendly, 100% biodegradable and is sodium hydroxides chlorine, phosphate, solvent and ammonia free. Practically ticking every eco box going!
Results
I tested this cleaner on the sofa cushions from our play room which have to withstand a lot - the latest was some creative mark making from our two-year-old twins.
After mixing the solution in the sachet with water in the aluminium bottle I sprayed the whole of the stained area. There was a scent to the product, it wasn’t a horrible odour, but it also wasn’t my favourite either - fortunately it wasn’t too strong, so that even once dried there wasn’t a trace that a product had been used.
The spray gave a good, even coverage without soaking the area. After leaving it to work its magic for a few minutes it was time to blot it with the microfibre cloth, dabbing away the solution and the stain at the same time. I was a bit sceptical about how ‘dabbing’ the stain would clean it, surely I’d need to apply some elbow grease right? Wrong. I was so impressed with how easily the markings came away, there was no trace of the orange felt tip pens and it didn’t take long before the sofa cushion was dry without leaving a trace of the stain or the cleaning product. Win!
Value for money
Although a little on the pricey side when compared to other bottle-style stain removers, I didn’t need to use much to tackle the stain, so I get the impression it would last a while. If, like many, you’re wanting to make more environmentally friendly choices when it comes to household products, I would definitely recommend considering this Clean Living spot remover starter pack. Even the packaging it arrived in is recyclable and the sachet containing the solution can be posted back to the brand in the envelope provided for recycling. It tackled the stain with ease with no lasting marks or odour, so a great buy for tackling smaller stains with an eco conscience.
Bissell SpotClean Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner
Score 8/10
Pros
- Efficient
Cons
- Price
- Noisy
Features
The Bissell SpotClean Pro boasts a compact design keeping the hose and long power cord neatly tidied away when not in use. The unit is slightly on the heavy side when the clean water tank is full, but both the power cord and hose make up for this meaning there’s little need for it to be moved around anyway.
The product comes with two brush attachments, one wide and one narrow depending on the spill you need to tackle. Both feel durable and capable of repeat use cleaning different types of upholstery. It also comes with a 236ml bottle of wash and protect solution that you mix in with the water to clean the upholstery.
The SpotClean Pro is mains powered and boasts a long cord so that you’re not restricted and can clean large areas without having to stop and plug in elsewhere.
Results
The Bissell machine is pretty much ready to use out of the box. I simply chose the preferred attachment for the area I was cleaning, I went for the narrower brush head as I was only cleaning a section of the sofa cushion.
Next I had to add water and solution to the clean water tank. The instruction booklet is purely image based and seemed straight forward enough, however one part didn’t correlate to the product I had in front of me. The instructions indicate one line for water and another for the solution, which would have been nice and easy, however, the water tank had a line for the water and stated I had to add 59ml of formula. Searching around for something to measure it out into was my first hurdle and then using something we usually use for cooking wasn’t an ideal option (but it was my only one!). Once this was all added to the tank I slotted it back into place in the main unit (I’d advise having a cloth handy to catch the drips as you tip it upside down!), plugged it in and I was ready to go.
The unit is quite noisy when you turn it on, louder than I had expected - so don’t use it if the kids are asleep!
I used the trigger button on the handle to spray the stained area, so I could control how wet the area got. I found that spraying the area and then moving the brush attachment back and forth over it was the best technique and the felt tip marks were soon cleaned away. The pull back motion allows the attachment to suck up the excess water so I could use this feature to dry out as much of the area as possible.
Despite the area I tackled being left quite wet after cleaning, no water marks were left and after a few hours the seat cushion was dry and fit for use. The solution doesn’t leave an odour on the treated area which is good.
There are two tanks, one for the water and solution and the other for the dirty water. Both are easy to use and empty to make clean up fuss free. The attachments are easily cleaned too to keep the product in top condition for each use.
Value for money
The Bissell SpotClean Pro is the most expensive of all the upholstery cleaners I tested, it did a great job at tackling the stain on the sofa cushion and I also tested it on an old stain on a rug and it did a great job on that too. It boasts a three year warranty to offer reassurance for this type of product which is a plus point. For the price, and when comparing it to other similar models, I was disappointed that it didn’t come with more attachments for tackling a variety of upholstered areas. However, if you’re after a product to clean more straight forward upholstered areas this will get the job done.
Lynsey TVs Queen of Clean Handheld Carpet Cleaner
Score 7.5/10
Pros
- Compact all-in-one design
Cons
- No additional attachments
- Clean water tank hard to remove
- Water leaks from the bottom of the unit
Features
The Swan handheld carpet and upholstery cleaner is lighter in weight than I had expected from the slightly bulky look to it.
It comes with one built-in brush that is attached to the dirty water tank, so that dirty water goes straight into the tank to be disposed of when the job is done with no hose to clean out.
The product is mains powered and comes with a long lead so you are not restricted when cleaning areas such as stairs and larger rugs.
It doesn’t come with any cleaning solution, but recommends Swan’s Dirtmaster Carpet detergent for use with the product, which is priced at £12.99 per litre.
Results
Setting up Swan’s handheld carpet cleaner was really simply, out of the box all I needed to do was add the water and solution to the clean water tank and plug it in. I did, however, struggle to remove the clean water tank. Getting purchase on the tank to pull it out was really stiff, it got easier as time went on so I’m putting it down to the product being new.
Similar to the Bissell upholstery cleaner, I needed to measure out the amount of solution in a separate container to add to the water in the tank. It’s a small inconvenience, but it does add time to what could be a quick clean up job.
The instructions advise you to have a cloth or towel to hand to lay on the floor nearby as water can leak from the underside when not in use. This was the case when I tested the Swan handheld carpet cleaner - the water comes from the join on the underneath of the unit, which is directly below the clean water and solution tank. Even though the instructions warn you of this issue, it’s still not something I would expect from this type of machine. Having to move a towel around the floor space or sofa area isn’t the most convenient, but I wouldn’t want to clean up puddles on the floor either.
The noise level from the machine wasn’t as loud as I’d expected which was a plus point.
As mentioned, there are two water tanks, the clean water tank holds 300ml and the dirty water tank capacity is 200ml.
A button on the top of the unit controls the spray, allowing you to make the stain as wet as necessary to clean stains away. Although the handheld carpet cleaner removed the orange felt tip pen markings, I found it hard work to move the unit back and forth across the sofa cushion. I needed to hold the cushion in place as the stiff bristles on the brush just wanted to push the upholstery away. If I was cleaning a carpet, rug or fabric fixed to the sofa I probably wouldn’t have this issue.
Although the unit wasn’t too heavy I found it quite cumbersome, you can’t get into corners or tight spots with it, so it’s definitely more suited for larger surface areas in a fixed position.
Despite the above the stain was cleaned away and no water marks were left once it was dry, so a successful cleaning attempt!
Value for money
The Swan handheld carpet cleaner comes with a two year guarantee which is a plus point together with the more affordable price tag. It would be nice if the product came with cleaning solution, like the other models I tested, and additional attachments would help to make this a more versatile product. Despite its drawbacks it did clean the upholstery, leaving no negative effects on the material once dried. If you’re on a budget and are after a machine to tackle larger, more straight forward pieces of upholstery (without awkward corners or crevices), then this product could be a consideration.
