The New York Times - We behaved like mud-covered toddlers

Our two picks for best Carpet Cleaners, displayed side by side on a carpet, each one next to a bottle of their included cleaning formula.

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

Imagine six mud-covered toddlers and one adult in a white-carpeted room. Serve the kids sugary drinks, peanut-butter-and-Nutella sandwiches, and chocolate ice cream with caramel syrup. Give the tots some colorful slime to play with, hand the adult a bottle of red wine, and step away for a few hours.

We simulated this not-inconceivable scenario to test how well carpet cleaners tackle the worst gunk, grime, and goo imaginable.

How our favorites fared→

(Psst—our new top carpet cleaner pick is on sale here for $175 off with promo code TINECO10, which is the lowest price we’ve ever seen on it.)

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›

Scrub-a-dub

A silver baking sheet layered with soap suds and scrub sponge inside of a sink.

How to clean your baking sheets

You can restore your baking sheets’ shine with some scrubbing. Here’s how.

A dirty fan next to a yellow bowl of soapy water and a towel

Get rid of the grime in your fan or air conditioner

As summer comes to a close, it’s time to tackle your cooling unit. Here’s how to get yours dust-free.

Why we love these surprisingly chic rags

A stack of white and light green Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mops on a light gray kitchen counter, to the left of a kitchen sink. A spray bottle filled with water sits to the left of the towels.

Photo: Marki Williams

Aside from being good for obvious uses like drying dishes or hands, these towels are great as everyday spill soppers, crumb collectors, blackboard erasers, muddy-dog-paw cleaners, emergency bath mats, and substitute pot holders. And they don’t look too shabby, either.

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Super cheap, highly absorbent, and cute→

One last thing: Behind the scenes of our carpet cleaner testing

Six of the upright carpet cleaners we tested for this guide, in a row in front of a long test carpet that has been methodically soiled in a grid pattern with a bunch of different household items like soda, dirt and red wine.

We imagined a carpet nightmare scenario, then made it a reality. Photo: Marki Williams

Thanks for reading.

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The New York Times - We behaved like mud-covered toddlers

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