Pets with small bladders or children who love a mess? That’s no problem for eco-friendly carpet cleaning products that do the trick without dirtying the environment—or endangering us with toxic chemicals.
In addition to our green cleaning tips, non-toxic carpet cleaners can help show some love to your rug.
Many professional carpet cleaning chemicals are associated with a variety of health problems like asthma, birth defects, and chemical burns. Non-toxic ingredients aren’t just better for cleaning; they mean a healthy planet and human body, too.
For these brands of carpet cleaner, non-toxic is just natural. We also looked for brands that offer vegan, cruelty-free, and palm-oil-free formulas, practice ethical sourcing, and use sustainable packaging for their products.
Our new Brand Rating System scrubs up even further with 22 criteria considerations, like climate action and ingredient sourcing policies, so we can more confidently rank and score these brands against each other. We’ll be refreshing our articles with this new system soon. In the meantime, you can learn more here.
We independently research all featured brands, and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. We explain this further in our Terms of Use.
Elevate Your Floors With The Best Non-Toxic Carpet Cleaning Brands
We love Dr Dronner’s for 18 reasons—namely the 18 different uses their pure castile All Soap is quoted as being good for. And that includes carpet cleaning!
Earthy Edith’s chemical-free carpet cleaner is about as green as it gets with just three natural ingredients and a zero waste reusable shaker.
Index: Eco-Friendly Carpet Cleaners
- Earthy Edith’s Jump to brand
- Dr. Bronner’s Jump to brand
- Grove Collaborative Jump to brand
- BioKleen Jump to brand
- Dropps Jump to brand
- DIY Eco-Friendly Carpet Cleaning Jump to brand
Earthy Edith’s
Earthy Edith’s Carpet Cleaner
Price Range: $17–$20
Earthy Edith’s Simple Carpet Fresh sure works with its simple, effective blend of sodium bicarbonate and certified organic lemon and grapefruit essential oils to green-clean dust and dirt from your carpets.
Their earth-friendly carpet shampoo receives rave reviews for its refreshing natural smell and deep clean without those volatile organic compounds or nasty chemicals to inhale. Sprinkle onto the carpet, let sit, and vacuum to revive your carpet.
It comes in a reusable and refillable stainless steel shaker.
About Earthy Edith’s
Earthy Edith is a family-operated business passionate about simple, non-toxic cleaning solutions, just like Grandmother Edith herself was. In fact, their founder has eaten every one of their products and lived to tell about it!
Their USA-based factory is zero waste, and they use exclusively reusable and recyclable materials in every step of production. All products are vegan, zero waste packaged, and shipping is carbon offset. They also offer a refill program for certain products.
Dr. Bronner’s
Dr. Bronner’s Carpet Cleaner
Price Range: $15–$70
Dr Bronner’s doesn’t sell an eco-friendly carpet cleaner per se, but their Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner is a wonder-cleaner you’ll likely end up purchasing by the gallons.
The brand has a near-mythical status for their all-in-one cleaners and soaps, except it’s not a myth… Dr. Bronner’s is the real green deal. It’s made with plant-based surfactants and natural fir and spruce essential oils, and has no synthetic dyes, fragrances or preservatives. It cleans and rinses with deep cleaning gusto, while remaining mild on the skin and being 100% cruelty-free and 100% biodegradable.
To use, fill your carpet cleaner’s cleaning solution compartment with water and 1 drop of Sal Suds (yes, one drop.). Take care not to oversaturate the carpet. Pre-treat carpet spots with 1 Tbsp. Sal Suds in a spray bottle filled with 1 quart water and spray sparingly. Blot clean with a damp cloth.
Sal Suds is 2-3 times more concentrated than other products, so use sparingly and follow recommended dilutions on the bottle.
About Dr. Bronner’s
Since the 1960s, Dr Bronner’s has had cult “cosmic” status for their powerful, otherworldly products with only the purest fair trade and organic ingredients. Their credentials speak for themselves: Certified B Corp, Regenerative Organic, USDA Organic, Fair For Life, Oregon Tilth Organic, NS, Leaping Bunny, and Non-GMO Project Verified.
They use renewable energy manufacturing, 100% post-consumer recycled plastic packaging, and give back in more ways than we can fathom.
Grove Collaborative
Grove Collaborative’s Carpet Cleaner
Price Range: $5–$6
Grove Collaborative has your soiled carpets covered with hope thanks to their Carpet & Upholstery Stain Remover.
While the product comes in a 20-ounce bottle, Grove is plastic neutral thanks to partnering with rePurpose Global who collect and recycle an equivalent weight of plastic from the environment to offset any plastic used.
With 90% bio-based plant-based cleaning powers, no harsh chemicals, and no fake scents, this carpet stain remover lifts stains from most fabrics and erases them, so those messy reminders don’t have to remain on your furniture or rugs.
About Grove Collaborative
A one-stop for cleaning, beauty, and home essentials from their own factories and 150+ other sustainable brands, Certified B Corp Grove Collaborative sells laundry detergent, reusable paper towels, and anything in between. Products are available as needed or via subscribe-and-save options.
They aim to be 100% plastic free by 2025, donate regularly to reforestation projects, and all products are shipped carbon-neutral.
BioKleen
BioKleen’s Carpet Shampoo
Price Range: $24
BioKleen’s Carpet & Rug Shampoo harnesses the power of plants to break up stains, eliminate odors, and even get rid of pet stains—while staying safe for use around them and babies.
It is safe for all fabric fibers and has no chlorine, phosphates, ammonia, brighteners, artificial colors, or synthetic fragrances, meaning that the soft citrus scent is all-natural. Ingredients are all biobased, biodegradable, vegan, and cruelty-free.
This can be used solo or as a non-toxic carpet cleaner for machines and steamers, too.
About BioKleen
BioKleen was started by Jim Rimer, a former sales executive for a chemical supply company, after he became disturbed by the harmful side effects he saw in friends and colleagues. BioKleen began in his garage as Jim studied chemistry and botany to elicit the power of plants for a safe, non-toxic, effective, hygienic kind of kleen.
For 30+ years, BioKleen has been doing it better, with safe formulas and widely recyclable plastic #1 or #2 packaging.
Dropps
Dropps’ Carpet Cleaner
Price Range: $19–$25
Every drop spilled on your carpet will be eliminated, thanks to Dropps. These dermatologist-approved pods work wonders not only for laundry, but also as a non-toxic carpet cleaning solution.
Their Oxi Booster Pods are fragrance, dye, chlorine, phosphate, phthalate, and cruelty-free. The bleaching comes from a natural process of oxidation via oxygen-based bleach, which is effective and way less aggressive than chlorine bleach.
To use, dissolve the pod in ½ gallon of hot water like a paste and spot-apply to the carpet. Let sit for five minutes and blot with a cleaning rag. Repeat until the stain disappears, then rinse with cold water.
About Dropps
This Certified B Corp is on a mission to save every last drop in our oceans. That’s why the vegan and cruelty-free eco-friendly laundry heroes partner with Oceana, the world’s largest ocean conservancy organization.
Products come packaged in a 100% recyclable, repulpable, and compostable cardboard box and ship plastic-free in recyclable boxes made from recycled content.
DIY Eco-Friendly Carpet Cleaning
Turns out baking soda and vinegar are more than just a childhood science experiment. They work wonders as a chemical-free carpet cleaning solution. We’ve actually written a whole guide on making your own DIY carpet cleaning solution, but for the tldr here’s the summary:
- Sprinkle baking soda over the stained carpet area. Add your favorite colorless essential oils too, if you want a light fragrance.
- Let the baking soda sit overnight.
- Mix white vinegar and water in equal parts in a spray bottle and spritz the next day. After fizzing, blot out the stain with a cleaning rag.
- Repeat the whole process for stubborn stains.
So long, overpriced professional carpet cleaner!
Molly Willows is a Thailand-based writer for sustainability and purpose-driven publications and brands. She has a BA in Philosophy from the University of King’s College and an MA in Anthropology from Freie Universität Berlin. With a strong background in TV and advertising, she’s held top-tier roles such as Director and Executive Producer. Really, Molly loves being a semi-nomadic writer most of all. Today, she happily spends her days writing, researching, teaching yoga, meditating, and attempting to surf. Molly’s words are published by Huffington Post and The Guardian, and some of her previous film projects can be seen on Hulu, Apple TV, or at the iconic Onassis Stegi in Athens.
