A spot cleaning apparatus comprises a housing, a fluid distribution system, a fluid recovery system, an agitation system, and a controller system to automatically monitor and control inputs and outputs to said systems for removal of spots and stains from a surface without attendance by a user. A suction nozzle and agitation device are mounted to the housing for movement over the surface to be cleaned relative to a stationary housing. Optionally, the spot cleaning apparatus can be operated in a manual mode.