13 best spot cleaners and spot washers for eliminating dirt and spills

Score: 95/100

This lightweight, simple Vax was a hit with our testers. All the controls are clear and easy to understand, and we didn't have to refer back to the instructions once, making cleaning straightforward throughout. It’s cordless, so you don't need to worry about stray wires or limited plug sockets, and the 25-minute battery life should be ample to tackle the odd spill.

Cleaning immediate and set-in stains from hard floors was a breeze. Mud, tea and coffee disappeared easily from carpet and upholstery too; it struggled a little with red wine, leaving faint discolouration behind, but the stains were much less noticeable after they'd been treated.

Score: 95/100

Yet another Vax – it's a market-leader for a reason – and our panel loved this more affordable model. On hard floors, it didn’t scrimp on cleaning power either, which meant minimal scrubbing was needed. Testers also liked how evenly it sprayed the cleaning solution across the floor and the fact that surfaces were almost dry afterwards.

Wine and mud proved stubborn to remove on carpet, while coffee lingered on our upholstery. Ultimately though, only traces remained, so if that happens at home, another few passes with the cleaner should shift the remnants. Overall, our experts were pleased with the appearance of our carpet after cleaning – the colour and pile looked pristine, with no water marks left behind.

Score: 94/100

The cordless design of this spot cleaner ticked all our boxes; it’s lightweight, easy to carry and simple to store away. Our experts praised the ergonomic design of the handle and trigger too, which made it possible to tackle multiple tasks in one go without getting sore hands.

It excelled on our upholstery test, removing both immediate stains and set-in spills. Testers didn’t need to scrub, and the hose attachment meant they could get right into crevices and awkward spots. On carpets (it’s not suitable for hard flooring), the spot cleaner struggled a little with fresh wine, mud and coffee stains but another pass would do the job. And when it tackled dirt that had been left to dry, it cleaned up everything without a trace – even red wine.

Score: 93/100

With a multipurpose design that combines a stain cleaner, wet vacuum and dry vacuum, the EveryMess certainly lives up to its name. Unlike other spot cleaners, it doesn’t use water to tackle dirt – instead, you spray the mess with the included bottle of StainStriker solution, scrub it and then suck up the grime.

It proved extremely capable on all kinds of stains – it removed coffee, tea and red wine with minimal effort on carpet and upholstery, and even banished dried-in stains (mud was the trickiest, needing a little extra work). It also impressed as a handheld vacuum, achieving near-perfect pickup across our dry debris tests, including fine pet hair. A worthy investment for busy, mess-prone households.

Score: 93/100

Vax's pet-specialist spot cleaner boasts excellent cleaning credentials. But it was the accompanying attachments that stole the show for our testers – an extra wide cleaning attachment ups the space you can cover in one sweep while the ‘messy tool’ makes hard floor scrubbing a lot easier.

For pet owners, it's the ‘Spin scrub’ hand tool you should pay attention to if you’re tackling carpet stains. It has automatic rotating bristles, doing even more of the hard work for you than usual and removing ingrained dust and dirt effectively. Just note that the tool can be fiddly to detach and there isn't enough space for them all on board.

Score: 93/100

Just like the Vax above, this is a powerful cleaner that’s made for removing stubborn pet messes and everyday household stains. It has a larger tank, so you can clean bigger areas in your home without the need to empty the tank midway through.

It aced our upholstery and hard floor tests thanks to an array of attachments that let you tailor its cleaning to suit the task at hand. It fared well on carpet too, but dried-in wine stains were stubborn on all surfaces, requiring extra treatment. That's not too unusual though, and overall, our floors and carpets emerged in relatively good shape – dry with no lingering watermarks.

Score: 92/100

Easy to set up and fill, Bissell’s SpotClean Cordless model got off on the right foot in testing. It tackled both immediate and 24-hour stains with impressive results – the carpet was well-lifted, vibrant in colour and fairly dry. Getting rid of red wine stains took some scrubbing, but that’s a given really.

For cleaning upholstery, testers followed the manufacturer’s recommendations, switching to Eco Mode. Don’t be fooled by the name though, as this slightly lighter setting still put in an effortless performance – it just left our car seats slightly damp.

In fact, there wasn’t much to dislike about this cleaner. It’s portable, easy to store, and comes with a bottle of cleaning solution, so you can start tackling stains right away!

Score: 91/100

Our testers were impressed by this spot cleaner's ability to remove all kinds of stains from upholstery. Whether a recent or dried-in stain, the cleaner lifted dirt well with no scrubbing needed, thanks to the range of attachments.

It cleaned well on carpets too, removing all traces of immediate stains and restoring the carpet pile. Only dried-in mud and red wine caused issues, leaving slight outlines where the stain had been. As long as you deal with spills and footprints quickly, this effective and affordable cleaner should do the job.

Score: 90/100

This compact spot cleaner from Shark has a completely different design to the others on this list: you spray solution on the stain, then use the cordless, one-handed machine to agitate and suck up the grime. No water refills or cables required. Our testers found it exceedingly convenient to use, and we liked the caddy design that makes the unit and spray bottle easy to carry and store together.

This machine did a fantastic job of removing many kinds of stains, even red wine that had set after 24 hours (something many spot cleaners struggle with).

Interestingly, it was sometimes more effective at cleaning dried-on stains than fresh ones – particularly when it came to mud. The solution also left our carpets quite damp. But overall, this spot cleaner offers power and convenience in spades, which probably makes it much more likely to see regular use.

Score: 89/100

If pet hair and mud are a common problem in your household, then this spot cleaner should be a handy cleaning companion. It combines Shark’s powerful suction with anti-clogging, anti-clumping and anti-tangle technology, plus four handheld attachments, to ensure your carpets are left mess-free.

On test, we used a bit of scrubbing to help the solution penetrate deeper into the carpet (as requested in the instructions) – doing this helped lift both immediate and set-in stains with little extra work needed. The only struggle was with coffee, where a slight dark ring remained.

Our upholstery was left sparkling too, with no traces of stains left behind – impressive. The surfaces were left a little too damp for our liking but that’s something we think we could cope with in exchange for its cleaning power.

Score: 89/100

With up to 57 minutes of cordless cleaning time, this spot cleaner is very convenient for tackling household stains. It removed all fresh spills from our carpet with ease, and the turbo mode worked wonders at lifting excess solution from the carpet, leaving it only slightly damp. Even dried-in stains were removed with some scrubbing, although a faint tea mark remained after the carpet had dried.

The results weren’t as impressive on upholstery though. The surfaces were left quite damp, and we had to apply cleaning solution a few times to clear up wine and tea spills. Overall, however, we were impressed by how easy this spot cleaner was to use, from its comfortable, intuitive controls to the different tools, which made manoeuvring into corners and edges a breeze.

Score: 89/100

This spot cleaner punched well above its price point in our tests, delivering impressive results for just under £70. It tackled fresh spills on carpet with ease, removing mud, tea, coffee and wine in just a few passes, and left fibres refreshed with only slight dampness. Dried-in stains needed a bit more effort, particularly coffee spills on upholstery, but overall performance was strong – especially for a budget model.

Our testers found the cleaner easy to use, with a comfortable handle for carrying, intuitive controls and attachments that click neatly into place. The self-cleaning function is a real bonus at this price, making maintenance simple. While the 5.5-metre power cord may limit reach on stairs or in the car, this is a powerful, well-designed spot cleaner that offers excellent value for money.