Vax SmartWash Pet-Design Carpet Cleaner review: we put this user-friendly carpet cleaner to the test

How we tested

Mumsnet editor Poppy tested the carpet cleaner in her family home over the course of a month. She tried out all the features on a variety of carpets and rugs, taking detailed notes on how effective, user-friendly and comfortable it was to use.

Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet-Design: what's in the box?

The carpet cleaner comes with lots of useful attachments, a generous helping of antibacterial solution and pet odour treatment liquid and a hanging accessory bag to keep it all in. Here's a full rundown:

• Pre-treatment wand

• 2 in 1 Antimicrobial Wash Tool

• SpinScrub™ Hand Wash Tool

• 2.5m Hose

• Accessory Bag

• 2 x 250ml VAX Platinum Antibacterial Solution

• 250ml VAX Pet Stain & Odour Remover

Read next: The best floor mops for spotless kitchen floors

How easy is the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design to assemble and start using?

The carpet cleaner comes in a big, heavy box and there are quite a few pieces to fit together before you can start using it. Everything clicks easily together so after referring to the instructions booklet, it was up and running after a few minutes' building.

I did have to look at the instructions quite a few times to make sure I was filling up the right tank with the right liquid - there are 4 tanks in total: one for water, one for carpet cleaner solution, a small one for pet odour remover liquid and a fourth where the dirty water is collected.

Once plugged in, it's ready to roll. Make sure you give your carpet a thorough once-over with a vacuum cleaner before you get to work with the carpet cleaner. There are two pedals - one for power and the other to allow the handle to be held at an angle.

What's the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design like to use day-to-day?

The carpet cleaner is very effective. Although it took some effort to set up and get it going, it really does take all the hard work out of cleaning carpets. There's a pre-treatment wand for spraying pet odour remover over your carpets, which is designed for targeted spraying of stains or patches. With two young dogs I gave the whole carpet a spritz before cleaning, for a really fresh finish.

Now to the carpet cleaner itself: it's very smart - it measures and mixes the solution for you, and an integrated motion sensor means every push forward washes, and every pull backwards dries. The powerful spinning brushes distribute the cleaning solution efficiently, then draw dirt and water up into the machine.

The amount of dirt it can find in your carpets is really quite disturbing. I was amazed by the colour of the water after putting no more effort into cleaning the carpet than I would have with my cylinder vacuum cleaner.

While the carpet cleaner dries as it goes, it also has a dry only setting, so I went over the carpet with this after I'd finished cleaning. The carpet was still slightly damp to the touch so it needed an hour or so to get completely dry.

With a 2.5m hose included, stair carpets needn't be left out of your deep cleaning efforts. The carpet cleaner comes with two attachment tools - a 2-in-1 anti microbial wash tool and a spinning handwash tool. The spinning handwash tool mirrors the main carpet cleaner, so I used this to give my stair carpet a good scrub. The carpet cleaner is pretty bulky and heavy at 8.9kg, so I was glad to be able to leave it at the bottom of the stairs. The hose comfortably stretched up the main part of my staircase, but wasn't long enough to make it round the corner to the very top.

The anti microbial wash tool is great for targetted scrubbing of stains. There's a removable silicone brush for an extra layer of dirt-removal, and it's nice and compact for cleaning small areas.

I found the carpet cleaner quite awkward and heavy to carry up and down the stairs, and the power cord is quite long - I'd have liked the option to wind it away. I also found it picked up a lot of hair from my carpets (despite my initial hoover of the room), which is a positive thing but it did mean that hair was trapped in some parts of the machine, which got pushed out in little bundles when I came to clean the next carpet.

That said, the carpet cleaner definitely does what it says on the tin. My carpets are fresh, clean and soft after a quick 10-minute clean from the SmartWash. It's not something I'd do as often as I vacuum my house, but when my carpets are due a deep clean, I'm glad to have the Vax SmartWash in my cupboard.

Related: The best vacuum cleaners for pet hair

How easy is the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design to clean?

The grimy water was pretty gross, so I gave the carpet cleaner a good wash before storing it away - I certainly did not want to encounter that water six months down the road.

There was a lot of hair caught in the tank and head of the carpet cleaner, which was tricky to remove. Don't do what I initially did, which was to empty the water tank into the bath - you'll end up fishing hair out of your plug hole.

Once I'd dealt with the hair, the tank was simple to rinse and replace into the carpet cleaner. I also gave the clear plastic hood on the head a rinse, as the dirty water had left marks here.

Is the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design good value for money?

At the time of writing, the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design Carpet Cleaner has an RRP of £350, but is available from plenty of retailers at £229. This is just about in the middle of the market for carpet cleaners - you could get a cheaper one, and you could spend up to £650 on a top-of-the-range model.

The Vax Platinum SmartWash is the top pick on our best carpet cleaners round-up, thanks to its frequent and glowing recommendations on the Mumsnet forums. I was impressed by how quick and easy it was to clean a carpet with, as well as how good my carpets looked and smelled afterwards. While it may not get as much use as a cordless vacuum cleaner or robot mop, if you have space to store it, hairy pets and plenty of carpets in your home, the Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design Carpet Cleaner is an invaluable tool.

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She's been researching and reviewing baby and child products for 3 years, with a particular focus on baby essentials, toys and books for toddlers and outdoor play equipment. From potties to paddling pools and bunk beds to bedtime stories, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the best products out there.

Poppy is also an award-winning, best-selling children's and parenting author of books such as Don't Worry, Be Happy, The Extraordinary Book That Makes You Feel Happy and Mother Power. She specialises in children's mental health and her books are used by therapists, teachers and SENCOs across the UK. She won a The Week Junior Book Award in 2023, her books have been translated into several languages and she's been featured in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Sun.

After earning a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Leeds and a PGCert in Fashion and Lifestyle Journalism from University of the Arts London, she worked in fashion for most of her 20s. When her children were young, she undertook an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester and re-trained as an author and freelance writer.

About Mumsnet reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.