Quick Answer: Consumer Reports’ current top-rated carpet cleaner is the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus 3588F (about $240), scoring “excellent” on drying and “very good” on cleaning and convenience, with the Shark CarpetXpert EX201 (about $250) close behind. On the other end, CR’s lab tests have flagged the Hoover Power Scrub Elite Pet FH50251, Bissell DeepClean Deluxe Pet 36Z9, and Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC for weak cleaning, poor drying, or excessive noise. The pattern CR’s own reporting calls out: Bissell holds both the best and one of the weaker results, so brand name alone doesn’t tell you how a specific model performs.
Consumer Reports tests carpet cleaners for cleaning power, drying speed, and convenience, then publishes its verdicts behind a membership paywall — but enough leaks into free excerpts and its own summaries to know which specific models it currently ranks highest and lowest. Here’s what that actually says, and where it lines up with (or splits from) the models this site already covers.
CR’s current top picks, by the numbers
| Model | Approx. price | CR cleaning | CR drying | CR convenience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus 3588F | $240 | Very good | Excellent | Very good |
| Shark CarpetXpert EX201 | $250 | Very good | Very good | Very good |
| Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Pet 3432 | $400 | Very good | Very good | Very good |
| Tineco Carpet One Cruiser | $490 | Good | Good | Very good |
The ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus leads on the strength of a separate tank that keeps clean solution away from dirty pickup water, plus a nearly 7-foot hose long enough to reach stairs and furniture without dragging the whole unit. Our own full ProHeat 2X Revolution review covers its pricing and specs in more depth.
Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus
- "Excellent" drying and "very good" cleaning and convenience — CR's highest-scoring current model.
- Separate clean/dirty tanks and a roughly 7-foot hose for stairs and upholstery.
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The Shark CarpetXpert EX201 lands just behind it — but this is the point where SKU numbers matter. This site’s own Shark CarpetXpert review covers the base EX151, not the EX201 CR names here. The EX201 is the step-up model that adds the dual-chemistry StainStriker pretreater; the EX151 is still a strong independent performer (a 90.1 Vacuum Wars stain-removal score against an 83.5 category average) but it’s a different test result than the one in CR’s current rankings. Confirm which model number you’re actually buying before assuming the EX151’s price gets you the EX201’s CR score.
The Bissell Revolution HydroSteam Pet 3432 and Tineco Carpet One Cruiser round out CR’s upper tier at higher price points — the Tineco in particular is the priciest of the four, and CR’s “good” (not “very good”) cleaning and drying scores put it a step behind the cheaper Bissell and Shark picks despite the higher cost. Our Tineco lineup guide covers the Carpet One Cruiser against the rest of Tineco’s range, and our dedicated Cruiser review digs into why CR’s “good” score and Vacuum Wars’ harsher 24th-of-30 ranking still land in roughly the same place despite testing it differently.
The models CR’s lab tests score poorly
CR’s testing has also turned up specific models worth avoiding, and the reasoning is instructive, not just the verdict:
- Hoover Power Scrub Elite Pet FH50251 — posts the poorest cleaning score of any model in CR’s tests, despite drying the carpet well. A machine that leaves carpet dry fast doesn’t matter much if it isn’t lifting dirt in the first place.
- Bissell DeepClean Deluxe Pet 36Z9 — only so-so at cleaning and worse at drying, while costing more than better-performing alternatives. Higher price didn’t buy better results here.
- Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC — struggles with both cleaning and drying, and tests as notably loud on top of it. Its main selling points (a carrying handle and extended hose) don’t offset the core performance gap.
That last one is worth flagging directly for readers of this site: our Hoover SmartWash+ review covers the FH52000, not the FH53000PC. They share the same auto-dispensing wash/dry mechanism, but the Pet Complete (FH53000PC) is a heavier unit with a smaller 16-oz tank and an added Spot Chaser pretreat wand — a genuinely different SKU with its own separate CR test result. A poor score on the FH53000PC isn’t a verdict on the base SmartWash+ this site recommends.
Same brand, opposite results
The single most useful pattern in CR’s own reporting: brand name doesn’t predict the outcome. Bissell holds CR’s current #1 spot with the ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus and also owns one of its weaker results with the DeepClean Deluxe Pet 36Z9 — same manufacturer, opposite scores, because the tested detail is the specific machine, not the logo on it. That’s consistent with what this site has found checking individual models against manufacturer specs elsewhere — see our carpet cleaner warranty guide for another case where two models from the same brand cover very different ground despite similar marketing.
CR’s portable-cleaner picks are a separate list
Everything above comes from CR’s full-size carpet cleaner category. CR tests portables separately, and the current list names four models: the Vacmaster 400 Series SCB301, Shop-Vac 5430225, Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet PX251, and Bissell Little Green Max Pet SmartMix 38572 — per Consumer Reports’ own current portable-cleaner roundup. CR’s own framing is worth repeating directly: a portable “might not clean your wall-to-wall as thoroughly as a large cleaner would,” which is why these show up on a separate list rather than competing against the full-size machines above. Our own best portable carpet cleaner guide covers this site’s independently-tested picks, including the standard Little Green Max Pet 3860 — note the SmartMix 38572 CR names is a different SKU, not the same model under another name.
What CR’s ratings don’t cover
Consumer Reports only tests models it can buy at retail, which means its rankings are necessarily a snapshot of a handful of current SKUs rather than the full market — brand-new releases and less mainstream models (several of the compare pages and single-brand roundups on this site cover machines outside CR’s tested set entirely) simply won’t appear until CR adds them to a future test cycle. Treat CR’s picks as a strong second opinion on the models it has tested, not a complete ranking of everything sold.
Bottom line
Consumer Reports’ current data lines up closely with what independent testing elsewhere on this site has already found: the Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus is a genuinely strong all-around pick, and the Shark CarpetXpert platform performs well — provided you’re buying the EX201 CR actually tested, not assuming the base EX151 carries an identical score. On the flip side, the specific poorly-rated models (the Power Scrub Elite Pet, DeepClean Deluxe Pet 36Z9, and SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC) are worth avoiding by model number, not by brand — Bissell and Hoover each show up on both the good and bad side of CR’s results. Check the exact SKU before you buy, whichever list you’re reading from.
Last updated: October 6, 2026 — added Consumer Reports’ separate portable-carpet-cleaner picks (Vacmaster 400 Series SCB301, Shop-Vac 5430225, Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet PX251, Bissell Little Green Max Pet SmartMix 38572), confirmed via CR’s current portable-cleaner roundup; full-size ratings table re-checked, no changes to report beyond that addition.