The Dirt Devil Featherlite Carpet Extractor MCE6000 is as lightweight as its name suggests. With the tank filled, it weighs only about 20 pounds, making it one of the lightest carpet cleaners we've tested, especially for its substantial size.

It also is designed a bit differently than other Dirt Devil models we've encountered. Rather than using side-by-side tanks, the Featherlite Carpet Extractor MCE6000 has one tank nested vertically in the main body and another tank that sits horizontally atop the brush head. The vertical tank holds 1 gallon of hot tap water along with cleaning solution, while the horizontal tank is used as a 1-gallon collection canister. While we don't necessarily prefer this design over the side-by-side version, both canisters seem to work as intended. It makes sense that the dirty water extracted from the carpet travel only a short distance to a collection chamber. Both canisters are easy to remove and replace.

The Dirt Devil Featherlite MCE6000 has an 11-inch cleaning path, which is smaller than average, and uses five rows of brushes. During our testing, we discovered it did not clean carpets as well as expected. While most brushes will spin or agitate to lift and clean carpet fibers, the Featherlite's bristles become coated with loose carpet fibers, allowing the bristles to ineffectively glide over the carpet without loosening soil. While we might then turn to a carpet cleaner's onboard attachments as a last resort, the Featherlite simply doesn't have any. Without attachments or a brush head that works effectively, the MCE6000 doesn't perform very well.

Like other Dirt Devil steam cleaners, the Featherlite lacks an internal heating mechanism. This means that one must use hot tap water, and that the machine does not heat the water to produce steam. As the name suggests, the Featherlite extracts a concoction of tap water and cleaning solution from carpets. The hope is that it will remove dirt and soil as well, but in this case we were disappointed.

For about the same price as the Featherlite Carpet Extractor, there are other Dirt Devil models that clean better, weigh just a bit more and offer spinning brush heads. Our advice? If you are in the market for a lightweight carpet cleaner that will really get the job done, keep shopping.


Pros: Affordable price
Cons: Doesn't clean carpets very well, brushes don't rotate

Warranty
2 years, parts and motor