Photography: Martina Gemmola | Styling: Bea Lambos
Has your once-crisp white sofa turned into a sad shade of beige, or does it feature pet stains and memories of dinners in front of the TV? If you’re reminiscing about its former glory, don’t worry – giving it a face lift is easier than you think, thanks to one game-changing tool: an upholstery steam cleaner.
If your couch is in need of a refresh but you’re not quite ready to replace it (especially since it’s a big-budget item), a deep clean with a steam cleaner is the perfect solution. But while it’s easy enough to call a professional to have your soft furnishing look like new, these services can cost you a pretty penny, especially if you’re a family of messy eaters, pet lovers or tend to have the occasional slip up yourself.
Among the many options out there, one model consistently stands out for its powerful performance and rave reviews: the Bissell SpotClean, currently on sale at Amazon. Below, we explain why it remains a top pick, plus a few alternatives based on your needs.
(Hot tip: Check out our honest comparison of the Bissell SpotClean, Shark StainStriker and Anko Spot Cleaner to find the best one for you!)
2025’s top upholstery cleaners in Australia
- Best upholstery steam cleaner in Australia overall: Bissell SpotClean Turbo + Antibac upholstery cleaner
- Best upholstery steam cleaner in Australia for homes with pets: Shark StainStriker portable carpet and upholstery cleaner
- Best upholstery steam cleaner in Australia for multi-surface floors: Vax Platinum SpotWasher
After hours of scrolling, reading reviews, and testing products ourselves, we’ve curated a list of the best upholstery cleaners you can buy in Australia. What’s great about upholstery cleaners is that they’re often multi-functional, making them useful for cleaning carpets, furnishings, and even hardwood floors. Check out the comparison table below:
Read on to find out which sofa steam cleaner machines made our carefully curated roundup so you can bring your furniture back to life.
The best upholstery steam cleaners in Australia
01
Bissell SpotClean Turbo + Antibac upholstery cleaner
$319 (usually $449), Amazon
Best for: top spot cleaner for tough stains
We can’t talk about upholstery steam cleaning without mentioning Bissell. The SpotClean Turbo + Antibac upholstery spot cleaner is the brand’s most powerful unit and combines powerful suction, scrubbing action and cleaning to remove stubborn stains, dirt and so much more. It’s perfect for sofas, carpets, rugs and even car seats.
Capacity: 2.8L clean tank, 2.2L dirty tank
Weight: 5.8kg
Power: 750W
Key features:
- Lightweight and portable
- 3-in-1 upholstery tool
- Antimicrobial formula
- Full-size machine suction power
- Two-year warranty
Available at:
- $357 (usually $449) from Appliances Online
02
Bissell SpotClean carpet cleaner
$187 (usually $269), Amazon
Best for: compact storing
Unexpected spills and messes are no longer a headache with the Bissell SpotClean carpet cleaner. With its handheld design, this upholstery cleaner is perfect for spot-cleaning carpets, rugs, sofas and more, including tough stains. Plus, with its slimline design, you can store it away easily in your cleaning or laundry cupboard when not in use.
Weight: 3.86kg
Power: 330W
Key features:
- Lightweight compact design
- Slim design is easy to carry and fits conveniently on a stair
- Heatwave technology helps maintain constant water temperature
- Permanently removes most spots and stains from fibers in carpets, rugs and upholstery
- Easy storage
- Wrap around power cord and hose
- Two-year warranty
Available at:
- $267 from Appliances Online
03
Shark StainStriker portable carpet and upholstery cleaner
$249.99, Myer
Best for: households with pets
Shark’s brand new addition to the upholstery cleaner market comes in the form of the StainStriker: a portable, lightweight and powerful design set to rival Bissell. It features a dual-activated system to spot clean stains and several tools, including a special pet tool with a chamber to capture more, well, solid messes… if you know what we mean…
Size: 30cm H x 30cm W x 26cm D
Weight: 3.943kg
Power: 600W
Key features:
- 3.6-metre cord
- Dual-activated stain removal
- Comes with a pet tool with a chamber for solids
- Easy to assemble
Available at:
04
Anko spot cleaner
$99, Target
Best for: an affordable option
For under $100, this budget-friendly upholstery cleaner may seem too good to be true. However, it’s not because we tested it here. Designed with a water spray function, it lifts dirt and grime from your sofa, carpets, and stairs with ease. Plus, it comes equipped with a suction hose, vertical nozzle, vacuum floorheads, and a scrub brush for all your steam-cleaning needs.
Capacity: 1L clean tank, 0.46L dirty tank
Weight: 3.4kg
Power: 400W
Key features:
- Super affordable
- Includes a variety of accessories
- Made from recycled plastic
- Comes with dog brushes and various nozzles and heads
- Suitable for carpets, rugs, fabric furniture, auto interiors and more
05
Vax Platinum SpotWasher
$167, The Good Guys
Best for: versatile use
Efficient, compact and powerful, there isn’t really a box that the Vax SpotWasher doesn’t tick. It’s also one of the few models that can tackle hardwood floors, meaning it can stand in for a regular steam mop but at a fraction of the size and price. Possibly one of its best features is the self-clean function, which ensures everything is properly flushed out and prolongs the life of your device.
Capacity: 1.5L clean tank, 1.01L dirty tank
Weight: 3.9kg
Power: 400W
Key features:
- Comes with a hard floor tool, a multi-surface tool and a 250ml cleaning solution
- Ideal for carpet, upholstery, car interiors and even hardwood floors
- 1.45 metre hose and 10 centimetre cleaning path for quick and effective cleaning
- Self-clean function
- Two-year warranty
Also available at:
- $208.95 from Amazon
06
Kogan StainClean carpet and upholstery spot cleaner
$109 (usually $219.99), Kogan
Best for: eliminating odours
A pocket-friendly alternative to the big-name brands, Kogan’s StainClean carpet and upholstery spot cleaner packs all the punch without the price tag. Rated five stars by over 100 reviewers, this powerful little unit removes tough stains easily, thanks to its efficient three-step cleaning process and spray feature that eliminates nasty odours.
Capacity: 1.08L clean tank, 0.8L dirty tank
Weight: 4.5kg
Power: 750W
Key features:
- Powerful 15kPa suction power effectively lifts dirt from deep carpets
- Compact and portable design makes cleaning stairs or car interiors easy
- Includes two brush sizes
- Spray feature removes unpleasant odours
- One-year warranty
Also available at:
- $99.99 (usually $219.99) from Dick Smith
What are the benefits of upholstery steam cleaning?
If your interests lie in cleaning in the sense that you find yourself in an infinite scroll of satisfying cleaning videos on social media, then chances are you’ve seen the satisfying power of an upholstery steam cleaner – sucking out all the dirt and grime off of couches, sofas, carpets and more. It’s a killer unit that gives your most prized home pieces a new life.
An upholstery steam cleaner is designed to clean upholstered surfaces using the power of high-temperature steam and suction. It is equipped with a reservoir that heats water to produce steam, which is then directed through a nozzle attachment onto the surface you are cleaning. With the combination of steam and pressure, an upholstery steam cleaner breaks down dirt, stains, bacteria, allergens and odours, leaving your upholstered furniture pieces looking as good as new.
Is steam-cleaning good for sofas?
Steam cleaning can penetrate deep into the fabric of the sofa to remove dirt and grime stuck within the fibres. It’s also a great way to spot clean stains and sanitise surfaces. However, it is important to check if the fabric of your sofa is suitable for steam cleaning (more on this below).
What fabrics are suitable for steam cleaning?
The first step to steam-cleaning any surface is to check the cleaning labels from the manufacturer. If your sofa allows for wet cleaning, they are safe for steam cleaning. Generally speaking, the following fabrics are safe for steam cleaning:
- Polyester
- Nylon
- Acrylic
- Microfibre
- Cotton
Steam cleaning is not suitable for delicate fabrics such as:
- Silk
- Leather
- Suede
