While many people assume that a carpet cleaner and a steam cleaner are different names of the same product, they’re not identical.   A carpet cleaner forces a mixture of hot water and cleaning solution into the carpet to deepen it. So it doesn’t use steam for cleaning.  The steam cleaner is, on the contrary, designed to use actual steam to tackle all sorts of stains and spots on hard floors. While many homeowners use it to clean carpet as well, the steam might damage carpet fibers.