Other than death and taxes, there’s one guarantee in life: messes. Kids bleed, dogs have accidents, and no matter how careful you are, the spilling of a wine glass is unavoidable. However, there’s a simple and easy way to restore your carpet to its former glory after an accident. Enter: portable carpet cleaners. They’re lightweight, they’re effective and they’re one of the only household essentials that make us ‘ooh and ahh’ as we’re using them. And, because there’s no one size fits all when it comes to cleaning, we’ve rounded up the best carpet cleaners based on effectiveness, ease of use, portability and price range.