Karcher Battery Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner

Purchased the Karcher Spot cleaner SE-18 Compact online via 'My Deal' in April 2025. Followed the instructions & charged the 18V battery to full o/night. Following day, connected the battery (seating properly), turned the on/off knob - nothing! Tried numerous times, but it would not work. Contacted 'My Deal' who promptly refunded the purchase price easy enough, & advised to discard it! Avoid it and buy the Bissell.

Love Love Love this spot cleaner! – Such a great little unit. It's compact size, light weight and being battery powered makes it the perfect grab and go spot cleaner. As a mum, I find it extra handy for those quick clean up's created by grubby hands & spills on fabric sofas, carpets & rugs. I’ve use this spot cleaner on everything from car seats, my sons stroller, fabric armchairs, cushions, to my dogs bed. I would definitely recommend this spot cleaner. Show details ·  1

Great Spot Cleaner! – I’ve had this spot cleaner for about a month now and I honestly can’t even remember what I did before it. It’s become such a staple in my cleaning routine. I have 2 dogs who for some reason absolutely love to wipe their noses all over my couch. In the past I’ve struggled to keep the couch clean and remove the marks caused by the dogs but this… Read more ·  1

spot cleaner has made it so easy to remove the marks and keep my couch looking clean and fresh. I also got the pet odour cleaning chemical to add into the machine and it has such a fresh smell to it, it truely does remove odours. It is also great for a quick car refresh and getting out any accidental spills

Fantastic Cleaner – The SE 3-18 is a fantastic cleaner with lots of power for such a small compact unit. My wife was able to carry it around the house and car with not stress at all. I highly recommend buying the SE 3-18 for those tough stains and the occasional car cleaning task. Show details ·  1

Convenient cleaning – I have wanted to purchase this item for a while, but was not sure if I needed another cleaning product and have a corded spot cleaner from a different brand At first i was skeptical about the battery run time , but it does everything I’ve needed to do in that time. I am so glad I ended up purchasing this, it is so convenient especially with a… Read more ·  1

young child and takes less than a few minutes to set up, perfect for quick cleaning of accidental messes.

I now use this regularly on my couch , car, child’s car seat , and for spills on my carpet.

I would definitely recommend this for anyone who needs a convenient, affordable spot cleaner , especially if you have children and animals. The cleaning time I save with this is amazing.

Super Convenient! – I recently bought this unit, and I’m very impressed by its effectiveness! As someone who’s always dealing with accidental spills and stains, I was hoping this portable cleaner would be a game-changer, and it certainly delivered. The device is compact and easy to use. It’s suction power is surprisingly strong for such a small unit especially since… Read more ·  1

it runs on a battery. I used it on a variety of stains, from coffee spills on my couch to pet accidents on the carpet, and it did an excellent job lifting the stains without any additional scrubbing or hassle. The included cleaning solution worked well, but I also tried it with just water, and it still performed admirably.

One of the best features is the nozzle, which is designed to focus the suction on specific spots, so I didn’t have to worry about cleaning areas I didn’t intend to. The cordless nature of the unit provides convenience although the 5A battery lasts roughly 25 minutes but I think that’s plenty for the manner in which I use it.

Overall, I’m really satisfied with this purchase. If you’re in the market for a quick, effective solution for spot cleaning, I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s powerful, easy to use, and has definitely saved me a lot of time on cleaning sessions!

I thought it was great at first, then realised it was leaking internally!!! – Pros - - Love the idea of the 18v battery - portable design, it last about 35 minutes which is impressive from the 5ah battery. - The length of the hose is perfect, especially for doing couches etc - Suction is impressive for how quiet it is. - Noise levels are amazing, much quiter than another branded spot cleaners Ive used. - I did one large… Read more

couch and with a 5ah battery, still had 50% to go. I loved the battery display, telling you how much battery life you have left in minutes. - Easy to clean everything, I really liked how easy the tanks were to remove and clean.

Cons - Well the first one I received leaks water, internally somewhere, had it on the ground and it went everywhere. Cant find where its leaking from unfortunately, but the water is clear. - Karcher replaced it but the second one had a faulty battery. This was replaced however, quickly and at no cost so happy with the warranty support, so greta job Karcher. - I see by some reviews online these issues seem to be common issue. - I wished that the head had bristles on it to lift stubborn stains.

If it didn't have the issues mentioned above, I'd probably gove this a 5 star review as it did an impressive job otherwise.

Easy to use Spot Cleaner – I am a mother of 3 children who are always eating and dropping things in the car. This Spot Cleaner is a game-changer when it comes to cleaning car upholstery! This compact and lightweight cleaner offers impressive suction power, easily lifting dirt, grime, and stains from fabric and upholstery. The long hose and flexible nozzle are particularly… Read more ·  1

convenient for reaching tight spots and awkward corners, like between the seats and in the crevices of the car's interior.

Perfect for Furry Friends – I've purchased the SE 3-18 about a month ago now, looking to clean my carpets as I have 3 pets and I've used it a few times. My carpet has never felt or looked so soft and clean before. I cannot believe the colour of dirt that was removed from my carpets and couches. The machine is very simple to use with just a turn on switch and a trigger-style… Read more ·  1

handle. You can see the level of dirtiness removed in my photos, and that even it's box was a hit with the pets.

Great little machine - so easy to use – I bought this spot cleaner for my car seats, rugs and upholstery, with it far exceeding my expectations. Super simple to use, it has made my car seats look like new and added years back to my couch. Highly recommend this product Show details ·  1

Pet Owners, this is a Winner! – As a pet owner, I'm constantly battling with little paw prints, accidental spills, and the occasional "surprise" my furry buddy leaves behind. I recently decided to try the SE 3-18 spray extractor, and it has been a game-changer! I loved that this machine effortlessly removed even the most stubborn stains and odours. My carpets look and smell… Read more ·  1

brand new! The tank size is good for one room at a time, which is quite large for a spot cleaner.

It's so easy to use, setup was a breeze and the controls are simple too. The noise level is fine it didn't startle my pets.

The Kärcher SE 3-18 spray extractor has made cleaning up after my pets so much easier. It's powerful, efficient, and specifically designed for the unique challenges of pet ownership. I highly recommend this product to any pet owner who wants to keep their home clean and fresh. It's worth every penny!

Pesky Stain removal made easy – I finally tried out the SE 3-18 because I was looking for a cleaner to get rid of the stubborn stains on my fabric chairs! I was happy with how easy this product was to use. The instructions were clear and precise which enabled me to set up the unit quickly. It cleaned the stains effortlessly and removed them very quickly with the super hero… Read more ·  1

stain remover, a makeup stain I had been trying to get rid of for a while. The battery time is sufficient to clean multiple stains on the chairs. I found the unit to be compact and easy to move around and wasn’t heavy whilst holding it and cleaning. I’m very happy with this product as it made pesky stain removal effortless.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this product for household cleaning. It has taken away the time and money for professional cleaning of the couches and chairs in my house, especially with pets. I recommend it for anyone looking for a quick, easy and affordable alternative.

Unreal machine! – This is a ripping product which can tackle any nasty stains and spills. It's easy to carry and very compact which is great for storage. I especially loved using this machine in my car to clean my dirty seats. You should see the colour of the dirty water afterwards its amazing what comes out! Highly recommend trying the SE detergents too for maximum spray ex performance. Might have to look at the other Karcher battery products now Show details ·  1

Twice the charm – Welcome to the Karcher SE 3-18 5Ah Spot & Spray! When approached to be a part of this product, I was more than happy. It’s a new product to the market, it’s a great and well-known brand, and it’s a product that I’ve been curious about for some time. But, it was not a smooth road here unfortunately. I don’t feel it’s worth making conclusion… Read more ·  1

online, but I will tell you that the initial Karcher Spot & Spray sent to me for this product review, failed. In fact, it didn’t work at all. I used the instruction, looked at every app, read the manual many times trying to work out what I did wrong… turns out the machine was a dud - a failure. After chatting with Karcher it was sent away, and a swift replacement sent to me about a week later.

Thankfully (and cautiously!) the replacement machine was set up and operated with no scientific investigation required to begin. Success!

The next job was to find some work to see what this baby can do. I took this job beyond just a bit of a clean - I found the best stain I could find. I must admit, the carpet was getting replaced soon, so there was no necessary rush or even pressure to perfor, but getting this carpet section in specific would be more than impressive. See the video/photo images below for the footage.

I am impressed. Very impressed. I was not expecting to have a very clean garpet.

Getting to know and understand how to use the machine for the first two or three uses, I had to learn what I was doing wrong. Wrong, being leaving the spray running longer than needed, using all of the product extremely quickly, and generally using too much chemical. Instructions Fail!

The instruction to put the machine together, where to fill and what the system does are well made and easy to read, albeit there was a little bit of guessing, but thankfully not many things to put together.

Rather than name every usage, flooring, carpets, spot, I focused on the worst that I could find and assess from the top and work down.

Would I use this machine again? Yes

Would I buy this machine again? Yes

Did this machine perform as advertised? Yes - in fact it has performed better than I expected, albeit with the machine not working for the first machine received.

Was the customer service prompt and easy to talk to during the warranty issue? Yes

The only setback to me would be the confidence in the machine not facing an issue like initially, although I’m confident this was a one-off.

Excellent spot cleaner and fabric freshener!!! – Using the Karcher Battery Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner/Revitaliser was equivalent to spending tens of thousands of dollars on new carpets, furniture etc. We used the Karcher Battery Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner to revitalise the fabrics throughout the large old house we live in. The carpets are decades old with many years old, perhaps… Read more ·  1

decades old carpet stains from years of use from people and pets. We moved in about 4 years ago and the house is from around 1950 and the carpets, curtains etc are all at least 50 years old.

There were black stains throughout the carpet and the carpet also smelled.

We have used the Karcher Spot & Spray Cleaner on baby seats, car seats, chairs with almost white upholstery and on carpets. My mum always told me not to but chairs and lounges with light coloured upholstery because it was impossible to clean - problem solved!

We were amazed at how light weight the cleaner was and how easy it was to assemble! The practical handle was probably the easiest and best handle we have seen on a cleaner of any sort that we needed to carry around.

The 5Ah battery was quick charge at about an hour and half for a full charge, which was great given it gave us about 45 minutes of use. The 18V battery ensured we had a very high power cleaner and our use showed this ensured it cleaned deep into the fibres of all our fabrics.

The first use we had with the magical cleaner was with a light coloured fabric chair that had dark discolouration where people rested their head, down cracks behind the bum and on the seat. Many of these stains were years old and as per the attached photos, the Karcher Cleaner made even the worst stains disappear. The stains on the head rest and within the cracks completely disappeared and the fabric looked like new. The years old stains on the seat where people, babies, and pets have sat almost disappeared completely. The Karcher cleaner also removed some red drink stains from something like cordial or an icy pole.

The Karcher cleaner will leave the fabric feeling moist but in the middle of winter it completely dried by the next day. We were a bit unsure about how it would look while it was moist but it dried looking incredibly refreshed.

The hose was more than long enough and was super flexible. The distance from the cleaning unit to the end of the cleaning accessory is about 1.9 metres. The cleaning accessory had a spray underneath which was very easy to use and very convenient. The flexible hose and the swivel joint on the hose made it very easy to reach those difficult to reach areas and narrow spaces.

Next we tried a black baby seat which we had obtained second hand "free to a good home" with stains all over the place. The Karcher Spot & Spray Cleaner cleaned all the old stains as well as all the extra stains from our use.

The 2 tank system was incredibly easy to fill and empty. You will be shocked at the dirty colour of the water that is sucked up and the great thing is you can just pull the container out and empty without coming into contact with the dirt and grime. It is incredibly easy to top up the fresh water - in fact it is not much different to topping up a glass of water.

What really amazed us about our Karcher Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner is how it worked on carpets. Our carpets are about as dead as carpet will be without being in the tip - in fact many carpets in the tip probably outshine our carpet. Our carpet had decades old black stains everywhere, they smelled and they looked more like flat latex as opposed to carpet as the pile looked completely worn out.

We were shocked to see that after using the Karcher Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner that we actually had a standing up pile and the ugly and embarrassing stains had been eliminated. With some of the decades old stains in our carpet we did need to use the Karcher Cleaner more than once to completely remove the stain.

I have to say the Karcher Battery Spot & Spray Extraction Cleaner was a bit of a slow burn for my wife and I and we didn't love it out of the box. It is extremely simple to use but the instruction manuals were confusing and not even labelled as manuals which doesn't help when the contents contain dozens of languages. There was a barcode to scan with a linking video which was easy to understand but a little more information with tips and hints would be useful. It was simple to use easy to workout for ourselves but it didn't create the best first impression. The Karcher Cleaner is incredibly easy to use but it did take a bit of experimenting before we got the hang of it.

The great thing after we finished cleaning was that it was easy to put away as all the accessories are attached to the cleaning unit. We have other cleaning units which are hard to store because they have poles and attachments floating around everywhere. This also made it easy when visiting my mum as she wanted to use it at her home and given the very sturdy and practical design I was able to very easy put in the boot of my car or in the backseat.

Convenient cleaning – PROS: > Well built; high quality > Easy to use > Cordless operation makes this unit really convenient > 5Ah battery consistently lasts over 30 mins > love the 'run time in mins' and 'time left to full charge' on the battery LCD display > Instructions were easy enough to follow > Cleaning solutions smelled nice > Surfaces not too wet after… Read more ·  1

cleaning (but drying time obviously needed)

ONLY REAL CON: I had to use less cleaning fluid than recommended as it foamed too much. This caused a little bit of leakage (so be careful where you sit the unit) and caused the waste-water cut-off to activate too early. This stopped happening when I used less solution.

OVERALL: I had some mixed results. While everything I've tried it on so far is definitely cleaner, I wouldn't say it was 'clean' in some instances. Unsurprisingly, some fabrics and stains were cleaned better than others. That said, this may sometimes be unfairly comparing to industrial cleaners (e.g. how my sofa cushions looked after a spot clean versus proper steam clean.) But for a battery cleaner at this price point, I'd say it's good. (See photos and judge for yourself).

Would love to try this on a 'fresh' stain or spill (not that I want to have one!) I think this is where this product would really shine. I will update the review in this unfortunate event! For now I'd say this is a quality product that produces good results.

Easy to use and very portable battery spot cleaner – I was really excited to be offered this Karcher SE 3-18 5Ah unit to be able to write a review for it via the Ambassador Program. It was just the thing we had been needing to help with cleaning up messes from the kids and the dog who has a habit of vomiting on occasion and always on the mats/rugs and on a few older stains that we could not get off… Read more ·  1

years ago.

That said, it’s great, and we cleaned up the lounge and it made quite a difference, but… being battery powered, it lacks the oomph of a corded unit, and a stronger suction would have helped a lot. But first, to the beginning.

The package arrived quite quickly, and the delivery driver even called me the morning of delivery to check timing.

The boxing is excellent, and the unit is kept very safe in the packing and certainly catches the eye being bright yellow, good for the shops so its sticks out from the rest. There was also a 2nd smaller box with a couple of bottles of cleaning solution, 1 was the Super-hero Stain Remover 500l in a concentrate form that makes up to 10 litres, and the 2nd was the Sticky Fingers Adhesive Remover, also 500ml concentrate to make up to 10 litres. Both are suitable for use in all the spot cleaner/spray extractor products.

In the main product box, it came with carpet cleaner liquid and stated to be a quick drying formula, essentially spray on and vacuum off in one motion, or for heavier soiling, leave on for 5 or so minutes and then vacuum out.

This unit came with the 5ah battery, which I was very happy to see, I think anything less just won’t be enough, and on this I feel I was proven right.

The battery is a little larger than most of my other battery-operated items, like my 6ah AEG power tool batteries. But the digital display on the battery itself is great. This display will tell you how much longer it needs to charge and when being used in the product, it tells you how much more use you have before needing a recharge. Much more accurate and more detail than any other battery and charging systems I have.

The unit was quite easy to put together and there are some reasonable instructions and videos to help where you become unsure.

Firstly, use hot water, as that will help greatly with the cleaning, but not too hot, the instructions detail what is acceptable.

We mixed in the cleaning solution into the freshwater tank and got to work on our lounge. I did remove the cushions and cleaned them outside, not knowing how much water would be used and I’m glad I did as you will get some excess runoff etc.

I pre charged the battery and plugged in the battery into the Karcher spot cleaner about 2 hours later. Firstly, I pushed the trigger to see what would happen, as expected water came out of the jet and this was fanned out by the shape of the cleaning head, with some pressure and you could hear the vacuum kick in, it is reasonably quiet and isn’t noisy, but it is a vacuum after all.

Originally I pushed the trigger and just let the sprayer do its thing and spray onto the cushion, I then stopped that and used the vacuum to bring the water out, in this way it seemed to struggle to get the water up into the hose, but when I placed the cleaning head on the cushion and squeezed the water on button and dragged it over the chaise cushion, quite a bit of water comes out and the vacuum readily sucks it back up, I then go back over the material again without adding further water so you can vacuum out the excess from the cloth, it does seem to struggle a bit to get the water to go back up the hose, so I tried to angle the head so it wouldn’t have a steep incline and use gravity as well.

I am glad I took the cushion outside as some excess water can and will drip on to the floor if you aren’t very careful, in fact, I don’t think you can stop it, so use a towel if you use it inside the house.

Firstly, use a normal vacuum cleaner to ensure there are no contaminates on what you want to clean. This chaise cushion had an old stain that I had previously tried to remove without success and this time was no different, but I probably set it in years ago.

Even though it didn’t remove the stain, it did certainly lesson it and the rest of the cushions came up looking so much better, the amount of dirt and grime that seemed to come out was incredible, the colour of the water shows it was doing a pretty good job.

I think if you have a spill or some other mess and you get onto it reasonably quickly this Karcher product is so very easy to setup and use and extremely portable, you will have no issues in either removing or minimising any possible stain.

The unit has a float system so that when the water tank is full of the dirty water from cleaning, it will close off the tank, but you need to also switch the unit off as soon as you hear the change in noise.

After use, you do need to tip the dirty water out of the container and rinse well, you then place fresh clean water into the appropriate container and the unit will do a self-clean, essentially stick the suction hose into the clean water container and it sucks through the clean water into the dirty water tank, this will ensure there are no contaminates or residues left in the attachments, hoses or within the unit and it does not take long at all.

The couple of attachments it comes with can be attached to the unit itself, but the cleaning head cannot be placed on the side properly and it has to point awkwardly to what I think is the wrong way, rather than neatly against the unit.

All in all, I was using it for about an hour and the battery was not quite empty but was close, so it lasts well, if you have the 5ah.

Do I like it, well yes, I do. Does it do a good job, yes it does, but not so much on old set in stains, it is a spot cleaner after all and when used appropriately the results are quite good.

Its very easy to setup, easy to use and easy to clean once used.

It will certainly assist in maintaining the lounge and the numerous mats/rugs and cushions we have through the house.

Great product and the battery is a game changer! – This is a fantastic product no doubt about it. I have owned Bissell spot cleaners in the past and the fact that this runs off a battery makes it SO much easier. Especially when using it in the car. Not having to worry about extension cords and coiling and uncoiling the cord makes me much more likely to attempt cleaning ;) It's very simple to use… Read more ·  1

but I did make sure to watch the video demo first which was handy. Everything feels well made and sturdy, no flimsy plastic or finicky switches.

The formula is not overly smelly which is good as some I find are way too strong. You seem to only need a small amount per tank so hopefully it lasts awhile.

I cleaned up kids messes (x 100) and even a dog accident and it did it all with ease. It was easy to empty the dirty take and the battery is very easy to put in and out.

I would 100% recommend this and its not often I don't have any cons. If I tried really hard I guess it would be good to have a cord as back up in case I want to use it for longer than 25 minutes but I could always just buy another battery!

An effective spot cleaner – Karcher Spot Cleaner Review This is an effective spot cleaner which would come in handy should you require lots of this type of cleaning, I.e pets and toddlers! The assembly of the cleaner is super simple, and you need to ensure the battery is charged before placing it in the machine. The instructions make this all very easy to follow, and there… Read more ·  1

is a video tutorial to follow as well.

I have a cream rug that was in desperate need of a refresh, so it was the first item to be cleaned by my new Karcher Spot Cleaner.

I used the Karcher stain remover solution diluted with hot water and by the time I had gone over the rug once, the water that filtered back into the machine was black with dirt. It was satisfying to see how much had come out! A whole charge got me two good goes over the large rug so one battery charge gets you a long way.

Cleaning the compartments of the cleaner is easy too, just follow the video tutorial and change the nozzle attachment.

The cordless function is great, especially with an active toddler running around, and the unit isn’t too heavy. I’m very happy with it. If I had to make a slight criticism it is the size - I had an Anko spot cleaner which was much more compact and easier to store away, but this is much more effective overall.

A very compact light cleaner – Update : 20/3/2026 1. We had the first replaced that we had to test . 2. Second time I went to use the battery would not charge they replaced and charging station . Worked for about 2 months I rarely use . 3. Battery replaced again worked for one charge 4. Battery won’t charge again . Just threw it away . Works amazing when you can get… Read more

it to work . Not worth purchasing a new battery.

The first spot cleaner i was sent did not work not a great start.. lol but . I rang Karcher and their customer service was excellent . They fixed the problem quickly and i had a replacement within 48 hours.

PLEASE NOTE**

The customer service person did not know at first that i was a reviewer at first so this is a honest feedback of the customer service . If you have read my other reviews it’s so rare to get good customers service.. you can have the best product in the world but sometimes the customers services or after service is just terrible.

The call centre no extra follow up was needed they quickly followed up with me and emailed as well as called..

On receipt of the second machine i watched the video link again which was great made by Karcher it was easy to follow. The machine is very straight forward. Not too much fiddling around .

We have a few dogs and cats, and foster animals. Yes so if you see what i have reviewed (not paid) i do love a vacuum.

Pros:

I put the battery (which i found out is also water proof from he videos) on charge .. it has a digital count on it so you can see how much its charged. The battery didn’t use up much life when i used it for many spots around my home.

I used the cleaner on carpet that we have been having lots of problems with getting rid of a cat smell and it actually worked. I had used another cleaner i had a few times and it didn’t work so success at last. I have waited a few days to see if the smell returned and it hasn’t. The cleaner revived the carpet where it had been left with stain buildup .

I used it on an entry rug and it was amazing.. now i need to clean the whole rug as it’s great the stain is out . It did not damage the rug either.

Very light even with the fluid in . I was able to move around the house easily it a really great size.. no cord so easy for inside and outside . Also I put the bottles next to the cleaner to show the size of the machine.

The cleaning fluid smells amazing. I have used a lot of different cleaning fluids over the years and i really like the Anti- bacterial (pet odour remover) . It’s a nice clean smell not overpowering and it does not linger .

Its very compact.

The fluid container is small i did get to about 5 stain removals of different sizes so it was ok .

It really is easy to set up and light so refilling it is not a problem.

It also has a self cleaning function . love it

Cons

I didn’t really have any cons to be honest. I used it and my husband used it and we found it all very straight forward and easy to use.

Maybe the option for maybe one more attachment with a wider scope on it.

Definitely lifts the stains and paw prints – I had fun cleaning up my dog’s messes with this. Brian, (the chocolate Labrador culprit) loves to run around and get muddy/ grass clipping-y/ dusty/ wet paws and then climb on the sofa. We foolishly bought a new sofa despite being fully aware of Brian’s predilection. The Karcher cleaned it up nicely! I didn’t use it exactly as instructed because I… Read more ·  1

didn’t feel that the default instructions provided a great clean. Instead of pulling the trigger and drawing the vacuum head towards me, I pulled the trigger and pushed it away. This meant the detergent and water had time to do its thing before I sucked it up. This is less a design flaw and more an instruction flaw. You can’t really expect the detergent and water to work in less than a second. You can’t get around the basics. I used it to clean the sofa, the car, and some carpet that the cat had soiled. It impressed me. The stains came up well and the dirty water tank spoke volumes about how much gunk was lifted. It was nasty by the time I emptied it. I particularly like how it cleans itself once you’re done with cleaning your surfaces. I asked my son to try it too. He said the Bissell had better suction but the Bissell was a plug in and far less portable. Getting a plug-in appliance out to the car is a pain. What you lose in suction, you gain in portability.