Dirt Devil Portable Carpet and Upholstery Spot Cleaner (FD13000) Review

The Dirt Devil FD13000 is a small, budget-friendly portable spot cleaner, and after testing it against real carpet stains, it earned the Just A Dad sticker — with one clear exception worth knowing about before you buy. Here's exactly how it held up.

What's in the Box and First Setup

In the box you get the machine, the 4-Inch Stain Tool, the 2-in-1 Rubber Nub (Pet) Tool, the Antimicrobial Upholstery Tool, and a trial size of Dirt Devil's cleaning solution. Setup is simple: the clean-water tank lifts off, the lid comes off, and you fill it with water up to the water line, then top it off with solution up to the solution line — screw the cap back on and slide the tank back into place.

Cleaning Performance: What It Actually Picks Up

Stain Test

I hit it with Hershey's syrup and ketchup — a genuinely bad chocolate stain and a classic kid mess. It sprayed a good, even pattern, and I was able to really scrub with it when needed. The suction pulled both stains up well. It's not a showstopper of a spot cleaner, but it passed — a solid, good-not-great performance for the size and price.

The Hair & Pet Test — the One Real Fail

This is the thing to know before you buy it: testing marked the Hair & Pet Test a fail. It clogs when it picks up hair. If you've got pets shedding regularly, or long hair is a routine part of your household's mess, this isn't the machine to reach for — a dedicated pet-hair spot cleaner will serve you much better.

Ease of Use

This is genuinely simple to run. There's one tank to fill — water first, then solution — one cap to screw on, one tank to slide into place, and a single power switch on top. Press the trigger and the solution comes out under pressure right at the nozzle while you're getting suction at the same time, so you can spray and scrub and suck up the mess in one motion. The cord is 15 feet and the hose is about 4.5 feet and kink-free, with a built-in storage area so the wand and hose wrap around the base for easy storage.

Maintenance Reality

Cleanup is straightforward. The hose-clean tool is permanently mounted on the back of the unit — take the cleaning nozzle off, push it onto the hose-clean mount, pull the trigger to run solution and water through the hose, then let air run through it to dry out. For the dirty-water tank, lift it out by its own handle (not by the lid, which can pop off) and dump it, and you can get a bottle brush inside if you want it spotless. Rinse the tank out and it's ready for next time.

Size and Weight

This is one of the smaller, lighter spot cleaners I've tested — genuinely easy to carry one-handed to a spill, up the stairs, or out to the car. That portability is a real strength for quick, everyday jobs, even if the tanks are on the smaller side (19 oz clean water, 16 oz dirty water) compared to some larger spot cleaners, meaning more trips to refill and empty on bigger jobs.

Is It Worth It?

For everyday carpet and kid-mess cleanup, yes — it's small, light, affordable, and the suction genuinely surprised me for the size. I was reluctant going in, but it did a good job. Just know the one real limitation going in: it clogs with hair, so pet owners and anyone dealing with long hair regularly should look at a dedicated pet-hair spot cleaner instead. For everything else — spills, syrup, ketchup, everyday stains — it earned the Just A Dad sticker.