Best Shark Carpet Cleaners (2026)

The EX301 is the flagship because it solves the two things that wear out carpet cleaner owners: hair and stains. The brushroll combines CarpetXpert technology with HairPro, which is designed to pick up embedded hair without clogs, clumps or wrap, and the StainStriker system fuses concentrate at the point of use instead of relying on premixed solution that weakens on the shelf.

It carries the highest price tier among the uprights and needs real closet space. If you have no pets and a small house, the cheaper EX221 or EX501 will serve. The built in stain wand means you do not need a separate portable.

Pull the hose and use it for stairs and sofas. After each wash, run the flush and clear the tray. Keep a spare concentrate cartridge on hand, since the stain system is the recurring cost. Vacuum the carpet before you start, because even a hair resistant roll struggles when it meets a mat of wet fur and grit. The flagship rewards an owner who sets a routine, with a wash every month or two and the wand for incidents between.

CarpetForce is the line aimed at weight. The maker states the machine is up to 42 percent lighter than comparison models, a marketing figure but a meaningful one for stairs and storage. A PowerFins brushroll keeps continuous contact with the pile, and HairPro handles pet hair without wrap.

It lacks the built in stain wand of the CarpetXpert line, so a stain needs a separate tool or a portable. Next to the EX301 you trade stain handling for a lighter body. That is the right trade for a household that cleans open floors more than sofas.

Treat the lighter body as a reason to clean more often, with small areas weekly instead of a big job quarterly. Tanks need a rinse after use, and pull hair out of the tray. Choose the machine if lifting is the barrier. A staircase with carpet is where the weight saving shows most, since you carry the body to the landing and back. If you need to treat a sofa, pair it with a portable stain tool rather than expecting the upright to double up.

The EX501 is the CarpetForce without HairPro, which makes it the cheaper lightweight option. Two modes let you choose Deep Clean for a full carpet reset or Express Clean for a quick refresh, and that choice saves water and time on lightly soiled floors. The maker claims up to six times deeper cleaning than a traditional vacuum.

The missing HairPro means hair is cleared by hand, so a shedding dog will bring more upkeep than with the EX551. As a floor machine it lacks a built in stain wand. For a flat with a cat and no stairs, it is the sensible purchase.

Use Express Clean for weekly maintenance and Deep Clean a few times a year. Rinse the brushroll after each use. Keep the tanks open in storage. Because the claim of six times deeper than a vacuum is a comparison against a dry vacuum, treat it as a reason to wash occasionally and not as a promise about any particular stain. A pre vacuum pass still comes first, and a second dry pass leaves less moisture behind.

The EX234 is the CarpetXpert for people who want a complete kit. Tackle carpets and area rugs in upright mode, then extend the built in StainStriker for stairs and furniture with four tools and a storage tray. It puts the upright and the portable in one body.

It does not carry the HairPro brushroll in the data, so pet hair may need more manual cleanup than on the EX301. It also costs less than the EX301 while offering most of the tool kit. Against the EX201 it adds a fourth tool and a tray.

Store the tools in the tray so they stay with the machine. Rinse the hose and tools after each wash, since concentrate dries inside nozzles. Replace the brushroll when the bristles flatten. Treat the tray as the machine's parking spot, because a tool left on a shelf is a tool you do not use when a spill happens. In a house with kids and stairs, this body style often ends up replacing both a spot cleaner and an upright.

The PX202 is the portable for stairs, sofas and car seats. Its 20X more stain removing power claim relates to the StainStriker system, which fuses concentrate at use. Four specialized tools let you match the tool to the shape.

A portable does not wash rooms, so pair it with an upright if you have carpet. It costs less than the CarpetXpert uprights and fits in a cupboard. For a buyer who only has spills and furniture, it is enough.

Rinse each tool after use and keep the tools together. Empty the tank outdoors if the mess was pet related. Keep spare concentrate on hand. Work in small squares and extract before moving on, since a portable has little water and a lot of work to do. Chasing a spill across a whole sofa with a single tank usually leaves a tide mark, so treat panels one at a time.

StainForce is the odd one out, a cordless tool that soaks, scrubs and extracts spills anywhere. The bottle holds two solutions in one, so there is no mixing or measuring, and the caddy keeps the tools together. It is designed for cars, outdoor furniture and spills that happen away from an outlet.

That freedom costs runtime and capacity, since a cordless battery limits the job size. It is the least suited of the six to a full carpet. If a spill is the problem, it is quicker to fetch than any upright.

Charge the battery after use, and rinse the tool and bottle head. Store the caddy where you can find it. Treat it as the fast response tool next to a bigger machine. For a muddy car mat or a patio cushion, it can be in action within a minute, which is the reason to own one. Lithium batteries hold up better when kept partly charged, so avoid leaving the tool fully drained in a cold garage.