While both vacuums and carpet cleaners are used to clean rugs and carpets, they ultimately serve different purposes. Depending on your needs, you may find having both machines on hand quite useful.
Vacuum cleaners — which come in a variety of sizes and forms such as stick, upright, handheld or canister — use a fan motor to suck dry material such as dirt and debris off of surfaces into a canister or bag. Carpet cleaners are slightly bulkier machines that put water and cleaning solution into carpets and other soft surfaces to remove embedded dirt and stains.
In simple terms, vacuums are used to clean dry messes while carpet cleaners deal with wet ones as well as stubborn stains. People tend to use vacuums daily or every other day, while a carpet cleaner may be brought out a few times a year during deep cleaning sessions.
What is a vacuum?
Vacuums come in a variety of formats, with upright vacuums and cordless stick vacuums the most popular. The former features a brush head, dirt canister or bag, motor and handle all on one waist-high machine that stands upright. Users bend the unit toward them and push the brush head over surfaces (modern vacuums are designed to work on both carpets and hardwood floors) to pick up dirt and debris.
Stick vacuums are lighter units with the motor and canister near the handle at top and the brush head at the bottom. While these are more maneuverable, they have less suction power than upright vacuums.
Depending on the unit, vacuums come in different sizes, offer varying degrees of suction power, have smaller or larger storage for dirt and need to be plugged into an electrical socket or use a battery. Typically, vacuum cleaners come with accessories designed for specific cleaning jobs, such as for hard-to-reach areas or for pet fur and hair.
Based on the unit type, expect to pay at least $50 on the lower end for a vacuum or over $1,000 for a more premium vacuum.
“Usually the lower-cost vacuums are a bit smaller in size, a bit smaller in capacity. They trade off some features and performance such as motor power,” said Joe Perry, director of engineering at Bissell. “As you go up in price point, you get better features, maybe better tools, accessories, perhaps lighter weight, more powerful suction, better cleaning performance, more versatility.”
Pros and cons of a vacuum
Pros
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They’ll save you time and effort: A vacuum will save a lot of time cleaning compared to using a broom and dustpan on hard surfaces or beating your area rugs.
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They’ll reach dirt deep in your carpets: Vacuum cleaners typically feature higher suction power to knock loose and remove dirt and debris from the bottom of your rugs and carpets, leading to a cleaner home. “They do a really good job to get the debris, the dirt, the allergens out of your soft surfaces, out of your carpet, off of your floor,” Perry said.
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Vacuums feature a variety of accessories for different tasks: Typically, vacuum cleaners come equipped with various accessories designed for specific cleaning tasks. For example, an upright vacuum may have a detachable hose with different heads for cleaning surfaces such as your couch or window sills. Other attachments can be used for cleaning pet fur and hair.
Cons
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Vacuum cleaners can be noisy: Depending on the model of vacuum and its suction power, these machines can be quite noisy while in use and pets may find them upsetting.
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Maintenance becomes its own chore: To keep your vacuum in good working condition, you’ll not only have to empty the dust bin regularly but keep the filter and brush head clean. If you’re not careful emptying the dust bin (these days, they’re usually bagless), dirt and other debris could end up back on the floor. Cordless vacuums may also need recharging after every use.
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Some vacuums may be heavy and/or have a cord: Many vacuums, especially uprights, have to be plugged into an electrical outlet for power. This may present challenges as you’ll have to navigate your living space with the cord, or plug it in a different outlet. It can also be a pain to carry a vacuum up and down stairs.
What is a carpet cleaner?
A typical carpet cleaner is similar in design to an upright vacuum. You plug it into an electrical outlet, bend the unit and roll it over the area you want to clean. The notable difference is that carpet cleaners feature a tank that you fill with water (higher-end models heat the water or even boil it into steam).
“A carpet cleaner puts water and cleaning solution down into your carpet — or perhaps on your upholstery if you’re using a tool that comes with the unit — to go after those gross messes, things that a vacuum isn’t designed to clean up, such as embedded soil and dirt, that has over time changed the color of your carpet,” Perry said. “It’s also good if you have a pet accident or some yuck type mess, where you want to use a cleaning solution to get that deep clean all the way down to the backing of the carpet or into your upholstery.”
Carpet cleaners are typically heavier than vacuum cleaners, and even more so when filled with water and cleaning solution. It’s worth noting that many brands of carpet cleaners recommend you use their solutions for the best results.
Overall, you’ll use a carpet cleaner a lot less frequently than you would a vacuum cleaner.
Pros and cons of a carpet cleaner
Pros
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Using a carpet cleaner makes cleaning carpet stains easier: It may be a challenge to remove a stain from your carpet using a paper towel and spray cleaner like Resolve. Using a carpet cleaner will not only do a better job, but take less time.
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Carpet cleaners can get your carpet looking new: “The best thing about carpet cleaners is you’re getting probably the best clean you can for your soft surfaces,” Perry said. Their “cleaning solutions can sanitize or take care of bacteria that may be developing based on the stain type you’re cleaning. You can revitalize your carpet back to looking new.”
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Your carpets, and therefore your rooms, will smell better: If your carpets haven’t undergone a deep cleaning for an extended period of time, cleaning them with a carpet cleaner will not only help them look better, but make your rooms smell better, since many carpet cleaner solutions feature fragrances.
Cons
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Setting up the machines can be a pain: You’ll have to fill the carpet cleaner’s tank with water as well as put in a cleaning solution, which may be a specific product from the carpet cleaner company. Carpet cleaners typically extract dirty water into a separate tank, which will need to be dumped.
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Carpets will be wet after cleaning: Since carpet cleaners use water and cleaning solution, your carpets may be damp for a while after the job is done. You may have to avoid going into the room until your carpets are dry.
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Storing them can be a hassle: Carpet cleaners can be bulky, meaning you’ll have to find space for a machine you may not be using that often.
Vacuums vs. Carpet Cleaners: Which one should you choose?
Vacuum cleaners and carpet cleaners serve different purposes, but if you don’t have either type of machine, the choice is clear.
“If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner, that’s what you should buy,” Perry said. “That is the unit you’ll use every day or every week depending on your cleaning frequency. If you have pets or children, a lot of soft surfaces and already have a vacuum cleaner, then look into getting a carpet cleaner to just maintain your carpets as new as possible. Vacuum cleaners are a must have, while the carpet cleaner is good to have if your home life meets those requirements.”
You should also take into account your floors. If you don’t have much carpeting and your flooring is hardwood or vinyl, a vacuum is going to be a better option for cleaning your floors.
FAQs
Can a carpet cleaner replace a vacuum?
No, a carpet cleaner can’t replace a vacuum because they serve different purposes. “Carpet cleaners are really designed for putting down and extracting wet cleaning solution,” Perry said. “A vacuum is for all of your dry pickup everyday needs.”
How often should you use a carpet cleaner?
Perry recommends using a carpet cleaner for a full deep clean at least seasonally, so four times a year, to keep your carpets fresh. Of course, you may want to pull out the carpet cleaner in case your kids or pets make a big ol’ mess on your rugs or carpets.
Why can’t you have a vacuum cleaner and carpet cleaner in one device?
“It comes down to usability getting really challenging to be able to accommodate the different kinds of motors that you would need to drive a vacuum versus putting down water and cleaning up at the same time,” said Julien Levesque, SVP of product at SharkNinja. He added that consumers may have a certain ick factor if using one machine for multiple uses. “If you’ve just cleaned a white carpet in your living room, do you really want to bring that same exact machine into the bathroom?”
What should you avoid vacuuming?
“Vacuum cleaners are not designed to pick up liquids or wet messes,” Perry said. “Anything dry should generally be OK. If you start getting into really fine debris like drywall dust, that could start to degrade the performance of the vacuum and clog up the filters quite fast.”
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