Shark StainStriker HairPro Portable Carpet, Upholstery & Area Rug Cleaner with Pet Mess & Hair Tools, Self-Cleaning, Perfect for Pets & Car Interiors, 4 Cleaning Tools & Pet Solution, Copper, PX251

Based off the reviews and hype surrounding the bissell little green (pet pro version) I ordered it hoping to clean a water-stained Facebook marketplace couch and stair runners that were dirty/stained when we moved into our place. After cleaning half the couch though I realized how much I disliked the bissell and ordered this instead. This machine fixes several of my complaints with the bissell and it managed to get every stain out (which the bissell did not).Pros to this over the bissell:1. It has much better attachments, including a wider head and scrub brush that makes cleaning large areas much more manageable.2. The brush heads come apart for easy cleaning (bissell does not)3. Brush heads include a rubber scrub side and a bristle side for different cleaning needs (rubber worked better on our couch, bristle worked great for the floors and getting stains out)4. Cleaning solution smells better, works better, and full size bottles were included5. Spray actually goes where you think it will unlike the bissell where it was predominantly on my floors rather than the couch6. Easy to set up and maneuver due to small size7. Much lighter to pick up and transportCons/ways bissell was better (or equal):1. The shark has a much smaller water tank due to its compact size so I had to refill it several times throughout the cleaning process whereas the bissell did not require frequent filling2. The bissell had a slightly better suction and required less force to be used to get water back up (I still felt I got plenty up with the shark however just noticed it’s not as powerful)3. Both have very small hoses and you have to pick up /move the machine regularly to reach what you’re trying to clean which can be a painFor the price, I am very happy with this purchase and definitely would recommend it if in search of a portable upholstery/carpet cleaner!

We grabbed the Shark StainStriker for those “uh-oh” moments—think pet messes, mystery couch stains, and whatever chaos kids manage to spill. Right out of the box, this machine impressed. It’s lightweight, easy to carry room to room, and the included attachments make quick work of everything from upholstery seams to wide carpet patches.What I Liked:• Suction power is no joke. It pulled deeply embedded gunk out of our area rug like a pro.• The dual cleaning solution (no premix needed) feels like magic—squeeze the trigger and let the foamy vengeance begin.• Tools are versatile and well-designed, especially the wide path and pet-specific attachments.• It’s small enough to store in a closet without needing a new zip code.What Fell Short:• The clean/dirty water tank sizes are decent, but not huge. For bigger jobs, expect a few refills.• If you’re switching tools mid-clean, you’ll want to keep a towel handy—some dripping is inevitable.Pro Tip: Use a slow pull when extracting liquid—going too fast won’t give the suction time to do its best work. And always flush the system with clean water when you’re done to keep things smelling fresh.Overall, if you’re dealing with pets, spills, or just want your furniture to look less… lived on—this little machine is a solid investment.

I was very pleasantly surprised. My husband has a professional carpet cleaning business, and we were both happily surprised with the results of this little machine. I needed something small, portable and easy to grab to clean up an area where my little-old-lady cat is having accidents couple times a week while trying to make it to the litterbox in a closet. I should have bought one of these a long time ago. The pictures of what it removed from the carpet were after I had already hand scrubbed the carpet with cleaner and a scrub brush; the suction works way better than I thought it would and got the carpet almost perfectly clean again.

::EDIT:: This review is for both the PX202 and the PX251 HairPro.PX202 -- I initially bought the PX202BRN to replace an old Bissell that has started leaking from the clean water container (second tank I bought for it...I've had several Bissells and they all leak after a while). After looking at pretty much every review and Youtube video I could find, I picked this Shark PX202 because it had all of the features I wanted including a self-cleaning attachment for the hose. My old Bissell didn't have any way to clean the hose and it was disgusting after several years of cleaning up pet messes.When I unpacked it I discovered that it was missing the self-cleaning attachment. I searched the reviews here and it's a pretty common issue. Other reviews mentioned that Shark did not have the part available when they were contacted about it. Shark also doesn't show this part on their website so it's not even available to buy separately. I found this unusual because you can find parts for pretty much any Shark product all over the place. Parts for their carpet vacs in general seem to be hard to find though.It's possible that Shark customer service can send this part out if you call them but I didn't want to deal with the hassle so I ordered a PX251 HairPro instead.PX251 HairPro review -- 5 stars for this one. It had all the accessories and attachments as advertised. Fortunately or unfortunately I got to try it out right away because my dog got a very upset stomach and woke us up at 1:30 a.m. when he had a pretty large accident on the carpet. I grudgingly work up, filled up both tanks and got to work. Everything worked great, first with the pet mess tool, then with the regular cleaning head. It picked everything up without any problems and was much easier to clean the dirty water tank and the cleaning heads than my old Bissell.The self cleaning system on the PX251 is very easy to use and doesn't require the external attachment like the PX202 does. Just press the cleaning head or plain nozzle on the top part of the cleaning tank and it does its thing and flushes out the hose. Very well designed system.Very happy with the PX251. The only minor negatives are that the PX251 doesn't come with a lot of cleaning solution and niether the PX202 or PX251 come with anything in which to store the extra attachments. A minor but noticeable oversight. In contrast, the PX202 comes with almost double the amount of cleaning solution than the PX251. You would think the more expensive top-of-the-line one would come with more solution. But that's minor because I usually just make my own DIY solution. I'll be buying more of the Oxy Multiplier though.Overall both are a good choice but be aware that the PX202 might not come with the cleaning attachment. If that is important to you like it is for me, the PX251 is the better choice.So, 5 stars for the PX251 but rated everything 4 stars overall because of the missing attachment on the PX202, the lack of any storage for the various cleaning attachments, and the miniscule amount of cleaning solution the PX251 comes with.I like Shark products and have several of them including a stick vac, a regular upright vac that is still working great after almost 15 years, a robot vac, now the PX251. Overall I think they make decent stuff for the money.