In a busy family home, carpets can take a big hit every day yet are often overlooked when it comes to deep cleaning. Shark CarpetXpert with built-in StainStriker aims to make caring for your carpet quick and easy, so we gave it a whirl to see just how effective it is.
Getting Started with Shark CarpetXpert
Unboxing and building the CarpetXpert was fairly easy. Some construction is required, but it’s not complicated, and the instructions are nice and clear. As soon as it was ready to go, I filled the clean water tank with warm water and topped it up with some deep clean carpet shampoo included in the box. There is a separate chamber for the oxy multiplier shampoo which is specifically for the StainStriker, so I filled that too and got ready to give the rather second-hand-looking hallway carpet a once-over.
I was glad I waited until I got the Shark upstairs before adding the water, as it is pretty heavy and a little awkward to carry. Once plugged in and under power, it’s easy to manoeuvre, pushing the water and shampoo into the carpet on the forward stroke and vacuuming it up again on the backward stroke.
Is It Easy To Use?
It took a few passes to get the hang of the timing. Unlike vacuuming, where you can be as erratic as you like, with the CarpetXpert it’s best to try to create evenly matched forward and backward strokes so that a similar amount of water goes in as is vacuumed out of the carpet. This will help to reduce the drying time once you’re finished.
There were a few more stubborn marks that needed some extra help, which is where the StainStriker comes in. A little spray and scrub with the attachment loosened the dirt. I gave it another quick pass with the CarpetXpert for good measure, and it worked a treat.
The Results
I was thrilled with the results — for a carpet that had been somewhat neglected, it came up rather well. The state of the water was a testament to the great job that the CarpetXpert did in a very short time, and it was embarrassing for us as it was pretty grim.
Elated by this success, I decided to clean the carpet in one of the bedrooms. The carpet here has a slightly deeper pile, so I was interested to see how that might impact things. After the first outing, the CarpetXpert needed a bit of a clean-up, so I rinsed the tanks, removed the brush cover and brush and gave them a quick clean before I carried on.
I’d sent the robot vacuum cleaner in to give the bedroom a thorough vacuum the day before, so I headed straight in with the CarpetXpert. Something immediately felt different this time — the amount of water going into the carpet far outweighed the amount coming out. A quick investigation revealed that on reassembly, I’d not correctly attached the brush cover, which connects the suction hose. Despite the CarpetXpert having some warning lights for errors, this wasn’t one of them, but with a minor adjustment, we were off and running again.
With the pile being deeper in this room, I opted to switch to dry-only mode and give it another pass to extract as much moisture as possible to help with the drying time. It was definitely a good idea, as a surprising amount of extra water came out.
Pros and Cons of Shark CarpetXpert
The Shark CarpetXpert with StainStriker is quite cumbersome, but it does do its job well. The carpets that I tested it on were noticeably cleaner afterwards and, despite my initial worries with the deeper pile carpet, both were completely dry within a couple of hours.
The water reservoirs are easy to fill and empty, but they are small, so you will have to fill them several times during each clean. While the small reservoirs make it lighter to manoeuvre, the constant refilling can be frustrating.
CarpetXpert isn’t suitable for wool carpets, so make sure that you know what your carpets are made from before you purchase.
The amount of cleaning solution you add to the clean water tank seems relatively small, but using three or four tanks of water per clean means that you use much more than you expect, so the bottle that comes with the CarpetXpert won’t last long. It does leave your carpets smelling fabulous, though, which is always a plus point.
Cleaning the CarpetXpert after use is quick and easy. Everything clicks apart nicely and is simple to rinse. Be sure to correctly click it all back together, and you’ll have no problems — fill it up and off you go.
While the body of the Shark CarpetXpert is pretty weighty, the long hose length and multiple attachments give you the flexibility to clean carpets, stairs, upholstery or even car interiors with ease. The pet stain-trapping tool keeps pet hair and other nasty messes captured separately from the main unit for increased hygiene.
The Verdict
The Shark CarpetXpert with StainStriker is a good combination of value for money at £300
and ease of use. It will keep your well-trodden carpets looking fresher for much longer, potentially saving you money in the longer term. Cleaning your carpets won’t be a chore, and once you see how much dirt it removes, it could become an obsession. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
