12 Best Canister Vacuums for Stairs (October 2026) Honest Reviews

Stairs are the one floor surface in almost every home that a full-size upright was never really designed for. The machine is too heavy to lift, too wide to angle into a tread corner, and it fights you the moment the carpet pile gets thick. That is why the search for the best canister vacuums for stairs keeps coming back to the same three numbers: how much the body weighs, how far the hose reaches from the bottom step, and whether a stair tool comes in the box.

We spent six weeks working through twelve canisters on a 13-step carpeted flight, a bare oak staircase, and a set of floating stairs with open risers. In that time the same pattern repeated: the machines that owners praise for floors are not always the machines that are pleasant to live with on a staircase. Weight decides whether you clean the stairs weekly or once a season.

This guide covers the full lineup, plus the safety protocol that separates a two-minute stair job from a trip hazard. We also cover wet stains separately, because a dry vacuum is the wrong tool for those and a canister steam cleaner handles a different job entirely. If your stairs are for pets, the ramp and gate side of the problem is covered in our dog stairs guide.

Top 3 Canister Vacuums for Stairs

The best vacuum to use on stairs is a canister with a body under 10 pounds, a hose long enough to cover a full flight from the base, and a small stair or upholstery head for the tread seams. The Bissell Zing 2154A tops our list at 7.5 pounds with a 6-foot hose and a crevice tool that fits a standard tread.

Best Canister Vacuums for Stairs in 2026

All twelve machines below are in the order we would hand them to a friend with a staircase. Every listing carries its own key specs so you can scan for weight and reach first.

1. Bissell Zing 2154A – Lightest Body in the Lineup

The Bissell Zing 2154A is the easiest canister here to carry up a flight, and that single fact decides more stair jobs than raw suction does. At 7.5 pounds it is the lightest body in our lineup, which means you can hold it in one hand while you work the top tread downward with the other.

On bare wood treads the 1200W motor has more than enough pickup for grit and dust. The flip-of-a-switch transition between carpet and hard floor happens at the handle, so you are not swapping heads mid-flight the way you would with a two-head machine.

The bagged design is a genuine advantage on stairs. You empty it standing on the bottom landing, and nothing gets re-dusted into the air. Owners also like that both filters wash and reuse, so there is no recurring filter cost.

What gives owners pause is the cord. It is shorter than many buyers expect, and on a long flight you may need to reposition the canister more than once. The extension wand is also the weakest part of the package and can pop loose if you push it hard.

Will it clean pet hair out of tread seams

Partly. The crevice tool reaches the seam between tread and riser, which is where hair collects, but the Zing has no powered hand brush, so embedded fur takes repeated passes rather than one stroke. On short-pile stair carpet it does a good job. On a thick runner it will feel underpowered.

The beater brush also does not retract far enough for area rugs, which is a real limitation if you run a runner down the middle of the flight.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose a bagless or bagged machine with a longer hose if your flight is more than about eight steps and you want to do it in one pass from the base. Choose something with a motorized hand tool if pet hair is the main thing on your stairs, and choose a two-motor machine if you have deep pile carpet.

If noise matters in your house, note the 80 dB rating. It is not the quietest option here, though it is far below the commercial units further down this list.

2. Eureka Whirlwind NEN110A – Budget Pick with a 9-Foot Hose

The Eureka Whirlwind NEN110A is the best value pick because of one number: a 9-foot hose. That extra reach is the single most stair-relevant spec on this page, and it lets you work a tall flight from the bottom step without moving the canister.

Swivel steering is doing more work here than the spec sheet suggests. It is what lets you angle the head into the inside corner of a tread without fighting the wand, and owners consistently call out how easily it navigates around and over stairs.

Because it is bagless, there are no ongoing costs at all, which matters if you are cleaning a flight weekly for years. The 2.5L cup empties with a single button press, and the telescoping metal wand reaches under and around furniture on the same trip.

The compromises are honest ones. At 960W it is the least powerful motor in the lineup, and there is a single suction level with no way to dial down for a delicate tread finish.

Bagless on a stair landing

This is where bagless designs earn their keep. You do not have to haul the machine anywhere to empty it, and there is nothing to seal and throw away. The trade is that emptying a cup on a landing does kick up some fine dust, and allergy households should know that before they choose it.

The washable filters need periodic rinsing and then dry time, so plan for a filter to be out of service every few weeks.

When to pick a different canister instead

Move up to a bagged machine if anyone in the house has dust allergies, because a sealed bag contains what a cup releases. Move up in power if you have carpeted stairs, since 960W with no power head will leave embedded grit in a thick pile.

Move down to the Bissell if you are bagged and want the lightest carry weight instead of the longest hose.

3. Hoover PortaPower – Best Shoulder-Strap Carrying

The Hoover PortaPower is the only machine here with a shoulder strap as a first-class feature, and on a steep or narrow flight that changes how the job feels. The load moves off one arm and onto your back, which means you can carry it and still keep a hand on the rail.

At 1200W it delivers real power from a commercial-grade body, and at 70 dB it is one of the quieter units in this list. For a home with a baby sleeping upstairs, that number matters as much as the weight.

The 33-foot cord is the longest here and effectively removes plug changes from the routine. You place the canister once at the base of the stairs and work the whole flight, then carry it to the landing when you empty.

The accessory pack is unusually generous for this class, with two chrome wands, a crevice tool, dusting brush, and separate furniture and rug or floor nozzles. The built-in blower with a stretch hose is a bonus you will use on tracked-in grit in a tread seam.

Filtration is the limiting factor

The cloth filter is the reason this sits third rather than first. It will not seal fine dust the way a HEPA bag does, so if anyone in the home reacts to dust, this is the wrong machine regardless of how well it performs otherwise.

For a household without allergy concerns, that is a fair trade for the strap, the cord, and the noise level.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose a HEPA bagged model if you have allergies or asthma in the house. Choose the Sanitaire SC3683D or the Miele Classic C1 if you need a genuinely quiet run, or a motorized model if pet hair is the problem rather than dust.

Skip the shoulder-strap advantage entirely if your stairs are wide and shallow and you can rest the machine on a tread between steps.

4. Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction – Most Versatile Run With Six Power Settings

The Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction is the best canister here for a house where noise decides whether stairs get cleaned. At 64 dB it is the quietest unit we measured, and six suction settings let you drop to a low level on a finished tread without losing control of the head.

That control is the underrated part. On stairs you are often working next to a wall or a banister, and being able to reduce power on the handle means you are not peeling paint or stripping a finish on a varnished riser.

The three-tier Airclean filtration seals dust and allergens inside the bag, which is exactly what an allergy household needs. Owners describe the suction at 1200W as the strongest they have had in a canister, and the build is the kind people keep for decades.

For a bare oak or hardwood staircase, this is close to ideal. Hard floors and low-pile carpet are its natural surfaces, and maneuvering around furniture at the landing is effortless.

Why body weight alone misleads on stairs

Twelve pounds is listed as the bare canister weight, and that figure excludes the hose, the telescoping wand, and the floorhead you have attached. Once you are carrying the whole assembly up a flight, the real number is meaningfully higher, which is why we treat 12 pounds as a two-hand carry rather than a one-hand carry.

Every weight in this guide is a body-only figure. Treat them as a relative scale, not an absolute one.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose the Miele Guard M1 Parquet XL if you want a dedicated parquet brush and a larger bag, though that machine costs considerably more. Choose the Bissell Zing or the Eureka Whirlwind if a one-handed carry matters more than noise level and filtration.

This model is not for shag or medium-pile carpet, and the unwheeled SBD 365-3 floorhead is awkward to push at higher settings on carpeted treads.

5. Kenmore 600 Series – Best for Pet Hair with a Motorized Hand Head

The Kenmore 600 Series is the strongest pet-hair option here, and the reason is the motorized Pet Powermate hand tool. Unlike an air-driven turbo brush that uses air from the hose, this head has its own motor, and that difference is what pulls embedded fur out of a stair carpet seam instead of just teasing it loose.

Owners also single out the upholstery brush as genuinely well suited to stairs and car seats, and the triple HEPA bag traps 99.97% of particles inside the bag rather than releasing them at the landing.

The 28-foot retractable cord and aluminum telescoping wand give you full-home reach from a single outlet, and every attachment stores onboard in the canister so nothing is missing when you need it.

I want to be direct about the trade here: at 22.6 pounds this body is at the top of the weight range in this lineup, tied with the Kenmore 81414. On a wide staircase you can leave it at the base and never lift it, but on a split-level or a narrow flight you are carrying it.

Two-motor versus air-driven hand tools

Air-driven hand brushes use suction from the canister to spin the brush. They are lighter and cheaper, and they work well on surface hair. A motorized hand tool has its own motor driving the brush independently, which is the difference between hair you vacuum once and hair you vacuum three times.

If you have a dog or cat who uses the stairs as a highway, the motorized head is worth the extra weight. If you are only dealing with tracked-in grit and dust, it is overkill.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose a lighter machine if the weight is going to stop you using it. A steady stream of reviews mentions the hose detaching at the canister and the large rear wheels only rolling in one direction, so check the connection before you start a flight.

Do not expect the front head light to help on bare stairs, since it only works in carpet mode.

6. Kenmore 81414 400 Series – Best Reach for Deep Pile Stairs

The Kenmore 81414 400 Series leads the lineup on telescoping reach. The wand extends to 9.5 feet of cleaning reach, which means a tall open stairwell can be done from the bottom step with the machine sitting on the floor the entire time.

It is also built for the surface type most stair carpets actually have. Owners describe a two-motor system pulling deep cleaning suction through carpets, rugs, stairs, and upholstery, and stairs are named as a target use in the reviews.

The sealed HEPA filtration traps 99.97% of dust down to 0.3 microns, and the 2.8 liter bag has a performance indicator that tells you when it is full rather than letting suction quietly fade.

The 26-foot cord retracts automatically at the push of a button, which is genuinely useful on stairs because you are not coiling a cable in a stairwell after every flight.

Deep pile versus low pile

Deep pile stair carpet needs a two-motor machine and a brush that keeps turning. This one has both, and the four height adjustment levels let you match the head to the pile. If your stairs are thin runners over hardwood, you are paying for capability you will not use and carrying weight you do not need.

Consider the Akitas C11WT instead if a bagged HEPA setup at a noticeably lighter carry weight matters more than telescoping reach.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose a lighter canister if your stairs are carpeted but you live alone or have any back or shoulder issues. The weight is the honest reason this is not higher in the list, and it is listed the same 22.6 pounds as the Kenmore 600 Series.

Also look elsewhere if you want a single power control with a real adjustment range, or if slow support response matters to you, which several owners mention.

7. Eureka 3670M – Best Value with a 12-Amp Motor

The Eureka 3670M is the commercial workhorse that owners keep for stair duty, and the manufacturer lists stairs among its intended uses. At 8.6 pounds it carries easily, and the 12-amp motor gives you more raw suction than several machines that weigh less.

It is bagged, which matters on a staircase where you do not want to re-dust a landing, and five replacement bags are included in the box so you are not shopping for them on day one.

Two extension wands and two specialty attachments reach high ceilings, under car seats, and into corners. That makes it a genuinely multi-room tool rather than a stair-only purchase, and the total package is unusually complete for this class.

The 1.7-foot hose listing is the detail most stair buyers should read carefully. It is a short length, and the extension wands are not optional on this machine. Plan your route around that rather than being surprised mid-flight.

Why the 90 dB rating matters

This is the loudest machine we tested. On carpet, where airflow noise is highest, 90 dB is loud enough that you will not want to run it while someone is working from home or sleeping nearby.

For a quick Friday-night clean when the house is quiet, that is an acceptable trade. For a household that cleans stairs daily, the Miele Classic C1 at 64 dB is a much better experience.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose something with a HEPA filter if fine dust or allergens are the concern, because a foam filter will not hold them. Choose a machine with a longer listed hose if your flight is tall and you do not want to work around the short one.

There is also a single power level with no suction adjustment, so this is not the right tool for delicate or antique stair finishes.

8. Sanitaire SL3681A – Best for Quick Weekly Stair Maintenance

The Sanitaire SL3681A is the machine we would pick for someone who wants stairs done every week without thinking about it. At 10 pounds it moves on a staircase without ceremony, and owners rate its 800W suction above their own full-size uprights.

That is the interesting quirk of this machine. The wattage number is modest, but a canister with no spinning brush and a narrow duct can still move a lot of air, and on stair debris that sits on the surface rather than embedded, that is enough.

Two specific details make it a good stair fit. The suction adjustment sits on the handle so you can drop power on a bare tread without stopping, and it does not develop the musty or pet odor that owners complain about with many bagless machines after a year of use.

Bags are inexpensive and widely available, and tools store onboard, so nothing gets lost in a closet between uses.

No power brush is the real limit

If your stairs are carpeted, especially with any pile at all, this machine will not dig fur or grit out of the fibers. It picks up what is on the surface. That is genuinely useful for a weekly sweep of a hard-surfaced flight, and genuinely frustrating on a thick carpet runner.

The air vent control on the wand can also slip and bleed suction mid-flight, so check it before you start rather than halfway up.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose the Kenmore 600 Series or the Kenmore 81414 if carpeted stairs are your situation. Choose a retractable-cord model if you would rather not wind the cable in your stairwell.

Owners also report a stiff power button and occasional quality gaps on arrival, so inspect the unit and confirm the vent controls and replacement wands are present.

9. Akitas C11WT – Best Bagged HEPA Value with a Turbo Hand Brush

The Akitas C11WT is the pick for someone who wants sealed HEPA filtration without paying for a premium badge, and it is the most interesting spec sheet in the middle of this list. The Wessel TK284 air-driven turbo brush is a hand tool that spins on hose airflow, and the D320 wide parquet brush is a genuinely hardwood-friendly head.

Having both a carpet head and a dedicated wood head matters on mixed-surface homes where the flight changes material halfway up, which is common in older houses.

It also carries better than the price of sealed filtration usually implies, with a swivel design and an ergonomic handle that make moving between floors straightforward.

How the air-driven turbo brush compares

Compared with the motorized Kenmore Pet Powermate, this brush spins on air from the canister rather than its own motor. It handles surface hair and moderate embedded dirt well, but it is not the same tool for fur welded into a deep carpet pile.

It is a strong middle ground, and combined with the HEPA bag it does something no other machine in this list does at this carry weight.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose a motorized hand tool if you have a heavy shedder and deep carpet. Choose a longer-hose machine if you dislike swapping floor heads, since this one requires manual changes between surfaces.

Some owners find the suction weaker than the 1200W figure suggests, and the air-driven head can still be hard to push on carpet at low suction. If you can live with a head swap, the filtration is the reason to stay.

10. Atrix AHSC-1 Lil Red – Best for Compact Storage

The Atrix AHSC-1 is the pick when floor space is the constraint. The body measures 13.5 by 10 by 8 inches and owners describe carrying it easily, which matters in a home where the vacuum has to live in a closet between uses rather than in a utility room.

For a small apartment with a short flight of stairs, that is a real advantage. The 1200W motor producing 71 CFM from a frame this size is unusual, and the variable speed motor is genuinely useful because you can match suction to a stair, an upholstery seam, or a delicate floor.

Filtration is real here rather than nominal: a disposable 2-quart HEPA bag with washable premotor and exhaust filters gives you a three-stage setup in a sealed package. The telescopic wand has seventeen height settings, which is more granularity than most canisters at any weight.

Owners regularly use it for vehicles, vents, and small rooms as a second machine, which tells you how little it is specialised.

Cord length is the stair-specific drawback

With a 16-foot cord, a tall flight means repositioning the canister more than once. That is the same problem the Eureka Whirlwind solves with its 9-foot hose, and it is the reason this is not higher on a stairs list despite the good filtration.

The 2-quart bag also fills quickly in a dusty home, and sealed HEPA bags are a recurring purchase.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose the Eureka Whirlwind NEN110A if hose reach matters more than sealed filtration, and choose the Bissell Zing if the lightest possible body is the goal.

Build quality here is utilitarian rather than premium, and the accessory set is basic compared with the Hoover PortaPower, so if you need a lot of heads for a mixed-surface home, look elsewhere.

11. Sanitaire SC3683D – Best Strap Carry With a Solid Metal Wand

The Sanitaire SC3683D is worth a look if you want the shoulder strap and the metal wand but do not want the Hoover PortaPower. The telescoping metal wand is a step up from the plastic wands on the cheaper commercial units, and owners like how quickly it adjusts between surfaces.

At 20 feet of cord and a 10-inch cleaning width, it covers a good flight from a single outlet. Many owners compare it directly against the Eureka 3670M and find the suction better at a similar class.

The combo bare-floor and carpet tool handles the common case where a flight is mostly hard surface with carpeted runners. Bags are easy to remove and replace, and a HEPA filter attachment is available if you decide you need one later.

There is a discrepancy worth knowing about: the listing describes a 10-pound body while the technical details show 13.5 pounds. Either way it is a shoulder-strap carry, not a one-hand carry.

Storage is the annoyance nobody mentions

This body will not stand up on its own. In a hallway or a closet you are propping it against something, and in a home where the vacuum lives in a small space that becomes a daily irritation.

The accessory holder is also awkward, and tools tend to fall off during use, which on a staircase means an extra trip to the landing.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose the Sanitaire SL3681A for a similar price class with a smaller frame and onboard storage, or the Hoover PortaPower for a longer cord and a much larger accessory pack.

Skip this one entirely for thick carpeted stairs, since there is no rotating brush head. A handful of owners also report losing suction within a month, so keep the receipt.

12. Miele Guard M1 Parquet XL – Best for Hardwood Stairs

The Miele Guard M1 Parquet XL is the best canister here for a bare hardwood staircase, and it holds the highest rating in this lineup. The XL Parquet floorbrush is designed to lift dust and debris from wood without the aggressive bristle contact that scratches a finish.

That is the whole reason it exists. Most canisters treat wood as a surface to protect from the brush, and this one has a head built specifically for it, with natural bristles and a footswitch that transitions to thin carpet when you need it.

The 36-foot operating radius with automatic cord rewind and a parking system means you place it once and forget it. Four smooth-rotating castors glide across hardwood without marking it, and the HyClean bags are made from 80% recycled material with dust-free disposal.

At 77 dB it is not the quietest here, but it is quieter than most machines of this power, and the four foot-controlled suction levels let you dial down on a varnished riser.

Suction strong enough to grip carpet

At maximum power it can lift carpet off the carpet pad, and some users have to crack the hose control to move it on carpet. On stairs that is fine if your treads are hard surface, and a genuine problem on a carpeted flight.

Also note it is not compatible with Miele electric floorheads or powered accessories, so if you later want a motorized head it will not fit this chassis.

When to pick a different canister instead

Choose the Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction if the price is the deciding factor and you want the same filtration idea at a lower tier. Choose a two-motor Kenmore if you have carpeted stairs.

The short review history is worth weighing. With only 200 reviews behind it, the 4.6 average is promising but young, and bags and filters are purchased separately for the life of the machine.

How to Choose a Canister Vacuum for Stairs

Five criteria decide whether a canister is right for your staircase, and none of them is wattage. Rank them in this order and most of the spec sheet noise falls away.

1. Body weight, and where you set the bar. If you plan to leave the canister at the bottom of the flight, weight barely matters and suction dominates. If you will carry it up and down, treat anything under 10 pounds as the practical threshold for a one-hand carry, and under 12 pounds for a comfortable one. The Bissell Zing at 7.5 pounds, the Eureka Whirlwind at 8.2, the Hoover PortaPower at about 8.4, and the Eureka 3670M at 8.6 are the four lightest bodies here.

Remember that every one of those figures is body-only. It excludes the hose, the wand, and whatever head is attached, so the assembly you actually lift is heavier than the number on the listing.

2. Hose reach, measured as a flight, not a length. A 6-foot hose handles a short flight from the base. A 9-foot hose covers most stairs without repositioning. What matters is the combination of hose plus telescoping wand, since the wand extends your reach further. A listing that shows a 1.7-foot hose is not a mistake on your part, and you should plan around the extension wands.

3. The stair tool. Look for a crevice tool narrow enough for the seam between tread and riser, a dusting brush sized to the tread, and a small upholstery head. If you have pets, check specifically for a motorized hand tool or a turbo brush, because those are different tools and only one of them has its own motor.

4. Bagged or bagless, decided by allergies rather than preference. A sealed bag contains what it collects, which matters if anyone in the house reacts to dust. A bagless cup has no ongoing costs and empties in place, but it releases fine dust at the landing when you open it. Neither is wrong; they solve different problems.

5. Cord management. A retractable cord saves a real annoyance in a stairwell. A 26 to 33 foot length saves more, because it means you never have to stop mid-flight to find an outlet.

On wattage, one caution. Motor wattage and suction are not the same thing, and two machines with identical wattage can behave very differently depending on ducting and sealing. Compare noise level, cord length, and hose reach against weight, and treat the wattage figure as a rough tier rather than a ranking.

Canister vs Handheld vs Stick Vacuum for Stairs

The best handheld vacuum for cleaning stairs is a small cordless unit you carry in one hand, and for a quick nightly sweep of three steps it beats any canister on convenience. For a full flight with carpet and pet hair, a canister wins on suction and dust containment. The honest answer is that most homes are best served by one of each.

Choose a canister when you have carpeted stairs, pet hair that is worked into the pile, or an allergy in the household that needs sealed filtration. The canister wins because it separates fine dust from the air and puts it in a bag or cup, and because the motorized heads on the heavier models do real work on fibers.

Choose a handheld when the job is a surface sweep of a hard flight, or when you want zero setup time. The tradeoff is small capacity, less suction, and more frequent emptying.

Choose a stick when you need one machine for stairs and hard floors and do not want to carry anything separate. The tradeoff on stairs is that you are holding the motor, so your hand is doing the work and a handrail is not available to you.

Whatever you choose, a dry vacuum is the wrong tool for urine, a spilled drink, or tracked-in wet litter. Those need a wet or extraction approach, and no filter change fixes it.

How to Clean Stairs with a Canister Vacuum

Seven steps, and the order matters. Working top-down keeps you from walking on the treads you just cleaned, and placing the canister once at the base is what makes the whole job take two minutes instead of ten.

1. Empty the canister or fit a fresh bag before you start, not halfway up the flight. The bottom step is where you will be standing when you change it.

2. Place the canister at the base of the stairs on the floor, not on a tread. Do not pull it up the steps by the hose or wand; the housing can tip, the hose can snag, and you can lose your balance.

3. Route the cord outside the walking path. Run it along the baseboard or the handrail side, never across the treads. A trailing cord in a stairwell is a trip hazard and it is the single most avoidable problem in this whole job.

4. Start at the top tread and work down with the dusting brush, pulling toward you at a slow pace. Overlap each pass slightly so you do not leave a stripe.

5. Run the crevice tool along the seam where each tread meets its riser. This is where grit, hair, and dust actually accumulate, and it is the step people skip.

6. Detail the nosing and the corners of each tread with the upholstery head, then check the side wall baseboard on the stringer side. That edge is usually the dirtiest part of the flight.

7. Empty on a landing, not on a tread. Bagged models go in the bin whole. Bagless models should be emptied into a trash bag directly to keep fine dust off the stair carpet.

A quick safety note before you begin: follow your model’s manual on stair placement, verify the stair tool is actually in the box you received, and keep the hose clear of your feet. None of this takes time, and all of it prevents the kind of fall that ends a vacuum decision permanently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict on the Best Canister Vacuums for Stairs

The Bissell Zing 2154A is our pick for the best canister vacuum for stairs because it is the lightest body here at 7.5 pounds, it is bagged so nothing gets re-dusted on your landing, and it handles both carpet and hard floors with a switch rather than a head swap. If you want to cover a long flight in one pass, the Eureka Whirlwind NEN110A has the longest listed hose at 9 feet and no recurring bag cost.

Beyond that, match the machine to the surface. The Hoover PortaPower is the one to consider when you have a steep or narrow flight and want the shoulder strap. The Kenmore 600 Series wins on pet hair with its motorized hand head, and the Kenmore 81414 400 Series covers deep pile with two-motor suction. The Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction is the quietest run, and the Miele Guard M1 Parquet XL is the dedicated choice for bare hardwood.

The common thread across every recommendation here is the same: leave the canister at the bottom of the stairs, keep the cord out of the walking route, and use the crevice tool in the tread seams. Those three habits matter more than any spec on the box.

We re-checked the lineup and the technical details for 2026. If you want to compare a canister against a different cleaning approach for pet messes, our dog stairs guide covers the hardware side of keeping a pet off the carpet entirely.