Carpet Cleaner Reviews

After reading the reviews on this machine, most of which were positive, I ordered the model 7950. When it arrived, we took it out of the box and put it together...and nothing happened. The motor was working, but nothing else. It wouldn't spray any solution, nor would it take up anything. It just made noise. I have since returned it. I am very disappointed because I was really looking forward to using this machine. Thank you to Amazon for being understanding and making the return process so easy. Maybe if I could get one that works.....

I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS UNIT AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER.IT IS VERY POWERFUL AND CLEANS BETTER THAN ANY MACHINE I HAVE EVER OWNED OR RENTED. THE SELF PROPELLED FEATURE IS WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN ASPIRIN FOR ME OR MY WIFES ACHING BACK.THIS MACHINE IS VERY WELL CONSTRUCTED AND FEELS LIKE A SUBSTANTIAL AND WELL LAYED OUT UNIT.THIS IS THE MACHINE TO BUY IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE MISERY OUT OF CARPET CLEANING

This powerful machine really sucks up dirt and the pile of your carpet, restoring it to a newer appearance. It also removes imbedded pet hair. The heated water and self-propelled features, along with the easy to fill small water container ( I used the bathroom sink) make it easy to use. It's also very quiet, didn't even scare my new kittens and old dog. This is the best carpet cleaner I've owned, and I've had several.

This is my first steam vac and the carpet had never been cleaned since purchase. How brown was my water! This is a very light machine. [even lighter than my bissell vac] I had trouble with my trigger, the tool attachment worked but I had to call customer service to get the trigger working. I hope that's the only trouble I have.

We used this shampooer in the kids dirty bedroom and it was Fantasic. I would buy this again if need be. The Bissel cleaner is kind of costly. I did notice Wal-Mart has thier own brand. Thinking of tring it. For the money you can't beat this shampooer.
Did as or better jpob then rug doctor. Did way better then the shop vac set up from sears. In short great buy.

This machine does exactly what it says. Wonderful, the floors were a wreck now all the carpet looks brand new.

So much in fact that when a friend came over they asked when we got new carpets.

The tools made it easy to do work on other things besides just the floor, pay the extra money and get this model.

The good suction:
I have used this cleaner on my entire house. I must say that both the clean and the dirty tanks are easy to clean and fill. The extraction is so good that the carpets usually are dry in about 1/2 hour. I have successfully removed dried cat vomit, gooey unknown substances left by a 4 year old, as well as standard filth with this cleaner.

The bad suction:
I have had problems getting the dirty tank to remain snapped into place to get a proper vacuum for removal of the solution. The cleaner does NOT like going from carpet to linoleum - I have multiple areas where my carpet is set next to the linoleum with no running strip near it. The solution usually gets sprayed unusually heavy in patches on smooth surfaces, and the machine has a hard time switching from carpet to smooth surface for extraction (i.e. it leaves a puddle on the linoleum). The rotating brush attachment for stairs is a total disappointment. No matter how many times I try to use that thing (at least 10) - it will not pull an adequate vacuum for extraction. The manual says to "purge the air from the system" by holding your hand over the inlet - still doesn't work. I end up using the upholstery tool on the carpets with adequate results - it usually takes a couple of days for them to dry due to excess solution being left behind though. Also, it is VERY hard to clean the extraction part of the cleaner, especially if you have short haired cats. I cannot for the life of me remove all the hair, even with the little flexible tool that is intended for this purpose.

For those with homes that do not have carpeted stairs - I think this cleaner would be fine, especially if you do not have unusual levels of filth from pets and kids. If you have stairs, keep looking.

In helping my son clean his new office, I used a 5-brush Hoover machine for the first time. It did such a great job, I just had to have one for my home. I have a Bissell and thought it did a good job until it tried this. I saw Amazon had a good price and I ordered this, the deluxe 6-brush model. It took 7 days to deliver and indeed,the box showed it had been on the road that long. When I opened it, fearing the worst, I was surprised that the machine was in undamaged condition. I immediately tried it on my ceramic tile kitchen floor, shower tile, and of course, the carpet. I WAS AMAZED ! The powered scrub pad and brushes on the hand tool were the nicest things imaginable for a person like me,with a bit of arthritis in the hands. I had cleaned my carpet last month with the Bissell and this Hoover removed dirt my other machine missed. I am very happy with this machine, and I'm like a kid in the candy shop with the neat accessory hand tools !

I have had my SteamVac Widepath LS for approx. 2 months and have already used it 4 times. I have used it for regular carpet cleaning, cleaning car floor mats, and, more importantly, to remove VERY SCARY messes (if you have a child/dog you know what I mean). So far, I have been very satisfied w/ the results. For the scary messes, I have had success using the following approach: first, I use the SteamVac in the upright position to clean and then, when things are less scary/smelly, I get down on the floor and use the tools. I've done this twice now and both times my carpets have come completely clean - no stain or smell!

I have owned both a Bissell Big Green Clean Machine and Little Green Clean Machine - the SteamVac cleans much better and is easier to use and maintain. Also, I was just as happy w/ the results of using the SteamVac as I have been when I've paid to have my carpets professionally cleaned. I have recommended this product to all of my friends.

This product consists of a passive brush the size of a chalkboard eraser, a spray and a vacuum. Because the brush neither rotates nor vibrates, it can't deep scrub carpeting. Indeed, the product is so lightweight, the brush just really laps at the surface of the carpet, at best lifting off any surface dirt, but little else. Saying that this device has "6 rows of powerful cross-action brushes" is a meaningless term that reflects the fact that the bristles in the eraser-sized brush come in 6 rows. But there is no power to the brush, and there is nothing "cross-action" about it. It's just a soft brush that sits there doing nothing.

So in addition to the fact that the bristles aren't capable of releasing embedded dirt, the vacuum filled up after I covered a 4x5 foot area. My floor is wet, and not discernably cleaner than the portion that I hadn't cleaned. With a little more elbow grease, I should have saved myself nearly $70 and bought myself a bottle of Resolve and a new laundry brush. Spend more money and get something with a rotating brush, a bigger tank, and preferably heavy enough to actually put pressure on the brush; or spend less and do spot-treatment by hand. The Bissell 19603, which would take impossibly long to clean my 15x18 foot room (the only room I have with carpeting), and which would do so poorly, is not a happy medium between those two extremes.

I just purchased the Bissell Quicksteamer Plus at Target on January 21, 2003. I had priced other models, but they were quite expensive. I opened the box and thought, "How is this going to get my carpet clean - it's so small and light!" Well, I tried it, and was amazed. It got my carpet clean and smelling wonderful. It is surprisingly powerful. The best thing is that it's easy to refill, clean and store because the design is so simple. Having two small dogs, we need a good carpet cleaner. I also have a Bissell vacuum cleaner and Little Green Steam Machine - they all work wonderfully. Don't let the size or price fool you - this thing really works!!!

"We Mean Clean" is Bissell's motto, and they live up to it in this lightweight beauty.
For small areas, and carpets that do not need a heavy-duty machine, this is ideal. I was horrified at how nasty the liquid in the "Dirty Water Tank" was the first time I used it, and amazed at how soft my rugs were after only one cleaning. I have almost wall-to-wall Persian rugs (I filled the "Clean Water Tank" with warm instead of hot water for them), with terrific results. A "rug expert" might scream "carpet abuse" at using a Bissell on Persians, but these are tough old Iranian tribal rugs, and seem to be very happy in their immaculate, fresh-smelling state, and have never looked better, with a velvety texture and lustrous colors. It also works wonders with the less than ideal carpeting under my rugs, that came with the apartment.

It is very simple to assemble; all you will need is a Phillips head screwdriver and about 5 minutes. The components are easily removed from the body of the machine to fill, empty and clean, and the only thing I would give a word of caution to, is that if you want to empty the "Clean Water Tank", not to unscrew the opening at the bottom, but use the filling hole, with its "Formula Measuring Cap", instead. The bottom opening, which has the nozzle that sends the water into the cleaning aparatus, is hard to screw back on, and if not done correctly, will cause a leak.

As someone who likes everything spiffy-spotless, and lives with two four-pawed friends that manage to cough up at least a couple of hair-balls each a week, this is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I also like walking barefoot, and love the clean, soft feel under my toes.

This is the greatest little shampooer, light weight, easy to use, easy to fill/empty and cleans beautifully. Cleans like a heavy expensive one. I highly recommend it. The only negative was the difficulty in assembling but if a mechanically inept person like myself can do it, anyone can.

I set it up in about 5 minutes. This is a great product for the small apartment.Small area rugs and for chairs with cloth. The only drawback is that you have to keep refilling the water. After the second cleaning my rugs were very clean and new looking. Well worth the price.

Easily assembled at 8 p.m. and shampooed living by 10 p.m.
Did a 12x12 room with 1 gallon of water, 4 oz of cleaner (16 oz comes with product), and cleaned out dirty water reservoir 3 times. Upholstery tools are handy too.

Great value for the price and the 2-year warranty!

The machine is very light, easy to set up and use, but the waxing, buffing and polishing that I wanted to do on my kitchen floors can ONLY BE DONE ON WOOD FLOORS, which I don't have. The instructions say it CANNOT be used on 'no wax floors"!(I tried it-took the shine off) The ads state you can wax and polish 'hard floors', which I took to mean non carpeted areas, so I probably would not have purchased it if I had known. There is no water extractor, so it's not good for large carpet areas. It will stay wet a LONG time. For just floor scrubbing, it's great! Light, easy, etc as above. Couldn't ask for an easier, lighter machine -- if only I could use it for more tasks!!!

This machine is great. A child can use it. It was very easy to put together. Less then 5 minutes. I have 3 cats, a dog and 3 teenage girls that have friends over all the time. They all spill on my carpets and forget to clean up. My carpets had so many stains. I used this machine with the stiffest brushes and man did it get the stains out. I was amazed. I had a hoover once before and it did a great job. I was concerned this time because the unit was smaller. But it did the job just as well. I am very happy with this unit and would advise anyone to use it.

My mother bought one of these way back in the 70s! It performed flawlessly for over 20 years and let me tell you, it's been through some pretty rough times. It's been knocked down a flight of stairs, accidently stepped on and tripped over, banged into walls and radiators, flipped over a banister and fell about 15 feet to the floor, and the worst time, my mother literally strangled my sister after she borrowed it for her apartment. It was 1984 and she had just moved into the apartment. She said she needed it to shampoo the carpets real bad cause' they were filthy. But apparently after she shampooed them she decided she didn't like the color of the carpets. So she filled up the tank with navy blue dye and turned it on. She was successful at dying all of the carpets navy blue but the entire base/bottom, scrub brushes, and the tank were permanently stained blue. My mother pulled up in the driveway one day to find the thing sitting on the porch. After seeing the condition it was in she had a nervos breakdown and brought it inside. She immediatly called my sister and caused one of the worst fights between them ever. Saying that she must "have a screw loose", she's "off her rocker", etc. etc. My sister didn't talk to her for weeks and in the meantime my mother was nagging constantly and telling the whole town about what her daughter had done to her Hoover Carpet Shampooer Machine. The day that it happened, my Aunt was visiting and they tried to clean it and removed massive amounts of dirt clumps and cat hair from the scrubber area. For weeks I never heard the end of her nagging and swearing over the whole ordeal. But it still worked perfectly for many years to come! The blue stains faded over time and my mother and sister are close again. But my mother hesitates whenever she asks to borrow anything! Sadly, the mighty maching performed it's last shampoo job the other day straining to finish the job so it could finally rest in peace after it's long, hard knock life. It was a good carpet machine and will be greatly missed.

After reading all the reviews posted here I was excited to give this machine a try. I had only used about two thirds of a gallon of clean water solution when the motor started to smoke. Before I could hit the off switch with my foot sparks flew out, then a small flame, and finally puffs of black smoke out each side of the machine.

Needless to say it's going back in the box and being returned.

To Hoover's credit the water in the dirty water bucket was quite dirty so it was getting dirt up before it blew up.

I also tried calling customer service and had a hard time getting through. They were not very helpful and suggested I take this brand new machine into an authorized service agent. No thanks.

I always do a lot of research before I spend money on something like this - and this cleaner came up as a top buy. I have big dogs and cats that come in and out all day in all weather, and when we got new, lighter colored carpet(as opposed to our previous dirt-colored carpet) a cleaner that was easy to use, easy to store, and could handle the pressure of frequent use became a priority instead of a "one of these days" purchase. Now, I was lucky - because my in-laws purchased a similar model a year or so ago, so I got to try it out before buying.
But I still wasn't convinced this was the one until I did some checking, and surprisingly, more expensive *isn't* better. The more expensive models seemed more awkward to use, and I found lots of complaints about leaking, etc.
This machine keeps my light carpet looking great, and I have been very happy with it.

Okay, so maybe you're not like me. (Or maybe you are.) An impeccably clean house is just one of those things I take pride in. And while you can vacuum a carpet until you're blue in the face, let's face it: Some types of carpet soiling just does not and cannot disappear with a vacuum cleaner alone. Enter hot water extraction cleaners.

Like others here, I've previously used Bissell cleaners with mixed success. The canister style Bissell that I purchased a few years ago worked more or less. But it had a tendency to leave way too much water in the carpet with its anemic suction power. Plus the inconvenience of hooking the thing up to a faucet to use it (not to mention the clean-up process) meant that it lived in the closet more than it worked, and begged to be replaced with something better.

Despite that, when I began searching for something to replace it, I tended to look first at Bissell, thinking I'd give their self-contained cleaners a try. Thankfully I didn't limit my shopping to retail stores, and dropped by here not only to price the cleaners, but read the reviews. It saved me from making what could have been a mistake: another Bissell purchase.

Based on positive reviews of the Hoover, coupled with great experiences with Hoover vacuums, I decided to purchase one... Great decision. Why?

1. The Hoover has outstanding suction power, leaving the carpets barely damp after cleaning, and quick to dry completely. No waiting and waiting.

2. It works. You'll be amazed at what comes out of your carpets and into the cleaner's tank. (Or you'll just be grossed out.)

3. Clean-up is as easy as possible. None of these cleaners is (or could be) clean-up free. But the Hoover makes it as simple as I could imagine.

4. Hoover's cleaning solution -- unlike Bissell's -- leaves a nice, clean smell that's not too strong to start, but then dissipates as the carpet dries. No room-filling perfume scents that linger long after the cleaning's done (and rapidly become irritating).

I'll be the first to admit I have not tried Bissell's self-contained extraction cleaners, but my older, canister style Bissell extractor was a disappointment. In contrast, I love my Hoover SteamVac, and would highly recommend it for those who, like me, just sleep better at night knowing those floor coverings are as nice and tidy as possible.

After just a few uses, I encountered the same problems described below: clogged jet, unstiff brush, fair suction power, etc. Essentially I now have a $100 wet/dry vac. It looks cool though with that green plastic, I guess. By removing the brush, I can spray the solution, but will probably revert to using a bucket of hot soapy water, a stiff brush, and elbow grease and use the Little Green to then suck the water up. Remember: the key to getting your carpet spots clean is EXTRACTING; otherwise you're just moving dirty water around your carpet and leaving it there. You'll still need to bring in a truck mounted cleaning crew to really clean your entire carpet areas.

I like my little green proheat. It's compact and perfect for spot cleaning. The built in heater keeps water warm and aids in cleaning. It's very portable and I like the longer power cord. Seems that it would be perfect for the car. Filling and cleanup are a snap! I avoided a cordless cleaner after having heard you have to recharge every 5 minutes to get good power.

The clean water tank leaks a little when standing upright, but if you hurry up and slide it into place it's only a few drips. The turbo brush seems like a bit of a waste to me, it isn't powerful enough to clean better than the standard brush. Keep in mind also that this machine isn't meant to clean an entire room, it is compact.

The little green took care of the stains that resolve couldn't handle. I highly recommend the Little Green Proheat!

Having recently adopted a new puppy, I needed a good carpet cleaner to get up those "accident" stains. I actually had purchased this carpet cleaner back in July, but only just now started using it.

Pros:
-INCREDIBLY easy to use
-Works GREAT on new stains!
-Heats up quickly
-Not too heavy, easy to lug around
-Attractive design

Cons:
-Sometimes leaks (I just suck the leaks back up)
-Suction could be better (does a decent job)
-Have to get down on your knees to use this machine
-Somewhat loud, especially when it's on "brush" mode
-Doesn't work that well on old stains

Overall, I have found it to be well worth the cost. It has some downsides, but it does its job well. This cleaner is NOT meant to do entire rooms with, it's best when used for spot cleaning.

While it doesn't work well on old stains, it does work a little. I scrubbed at some older stains with it and they faded to about half what they were before.

That being said, this is a decent product. I have not tried any similar products to compare, as this one does what I needed it to do. I highly recommend it for that reason.

I bought this model in December of 2002 and it immediately had a problem with a broken valve that required service at a local authorized service center that was covered by the warranty. It worked well after that but now, after the warranty has run out, another valve has broken on the clean water tank and I am having trouble finding a replacement...although it looks like when I do find the part it will cost about $50. It seems that the valves that control the input and output of water from the tanks are just made too cheaply out of weak plastic and they are going to continue to fail.

We got this steamer because we had an 8 week old puppy join our family and she did not know where the bathroom was. Decidedly so she made it our carpet! I used it in the house, our lobby, our elevators, the staircase, you name it, she pee'd on it and we steamed it up. Our neighbors could not be happier because we made the common area that much cleaner!

I would suggest buying the carpet cleaning solution either at costco or elsewhere. The Hoover one can get really expensive and it is gone after one use. However, we got the one from Bissel and it works just fine with the unit.

We did notice that sometimes if used exactly like the manuel tells you to then you can over-saturate the carpet and it takes forever to dry no matter how many times you go over it to suck up the water. However, if you just scrub it through once and then dry run it a couple of times, it works great and in less than 30 minutes you'll have clean carpet!

I couldn't be happier with the unit. The only thing I guess is that when you take the bottom unit out (the part that holds all the dirty water) to empty, it leaks water so be careful! Remember to take it apart somewhere you can wipe it up. I learned the hard way.

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised with this machine. My wife and I have been researching deep cleaning machines for a while, and we have gone back and forth on a few different models. We have 2 very crazy dogs, both under a year old, and we have a very wet backyard. So, with spring (mud season) coming, we finally decided to stop comparing and just purchase something. We went to Home Depot, bought the cleaner for a whopping 300 bucks, and I must admit, being a pessimist, I was fully expecting the product to work just "okay". After some very easy assembly and reading of directions, we were ready to go. We started in our family room, which has a deep blue small pile carpet, and was just vaccumed about 2 hours before. There were 2 stains from dogs urinating on the carpet, where the previous cleaning attempts didn't work too well. We followed the directions to the letter, and about 15 minutes later the entire room (15x24) was completely clean. The carpet was back to it's original deep blue, the week-old urine stains were totally gone, and the water in the waste chanber was utterly disgusting (almost black). I was totally surprised that it cleaned as deeply as it did. The carpet was a little wet, but with a few extra passes, it got dry enough to walk on. About 4 hours later, it was completely dry to the touch. After the family room, we went to our bedroom, which has a very plush, thick pile khaki-colored carpet. It had multiple doggy vomit stains as well as one very nasty doggy diarrhea stain that just would not come out. Neither myself or my wife figured it would work all that well, but we gave it a shot. The 5 vomit stains, some about 4 weeks old and repeatedly worked over with a sponge, came out in 7-10 slow passes. The diarrhea stain came out after about 15-20 slow passes. Now, this used a ton of water, but all the stains came out completely. I was shocked. This product really works, if you give it time for deep stains. We have paid $150 for Stanley Steemer to do our carpets a few times, and I have to admit, I think the Hoover did a better job. We have only had it for a few weeks, but we have been totally satisfied. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 for two reasons. The first is that you have to change the clean water, dirty water, and detergent tanks alot. When we were cleaning the family room, I think we had to change both the clean water and dirty water tanks 3 times, for a 15x24 room. The detergent tank (16 oz.) was empty at the end of cleaning the room. The second reason is that the Hoover does no better than a $5 mop for hard floors. We have both tile and hardwood floors, and we tried it on both. I was very unimpressed. DO NOT buy this product if want to clean your hard floors. ABSOLUTELY BUY THIS PRODUCT if you want extremely clean carpets, and total ease of use. It is fantastic.

Bought the machine approximately two years ago. Used it to clean five rental houses. Machine cleaned carpet very well.
However, the motor failed recently. Machine is not as rugged as it needs to me. I am surprised that Maytag, which owns Hoover, is not living up to their reputation.

I've had this about 6 months and have probably logged 5 hours total on it. The cleaner works great, but if the waste water container gets too foamy (no way to control amout of detergent dispensed), it starts spitting the dirty water back onto the rug. The dirt doesn't show up again until it dries, so its very important to empty the waste water before it indicates.
Another problem that has surfaced is that the clean water tank has developed a leak at the bottom valve and becomes a steady stream when the system is running...the net result is water everywhere...making for a slippery mess. I think the system is great, but it takes a while to learn the quirks of this machine.

I'm a cleaner and I also have allergies to dust, mold, pollen and also have two cats so I love when my place is fresh, clean and sparkling. I own this thing and I love it.

I originally borrowed my mother's and after using it was surprised at how clean everything was. I've had a number of comments from friends that the rugs look brand new. Better yet, I was dating someone who had severe asthma and when he walked in, he took a deep breath and said: "You cleaned your carpets, right?" He didn't wheeze one bit the entire time he was there.

I also own a Dyson vacuum. Love that, too. When I power clean, I'll vacuum over everything slowly and thoroughly first. All the cat hair picks up plus dust, dirt and my own hair. Then I'll start working with the Hoover. Despite the power behind the Dyson, the water in the Hoover is always dark when I'm washing. Within a short amount of time, the rugs feel great! There is a rinsing option as well if you want to make sure all of the cleaner is out of the rug and you can pretty much go over everything without depressing the clean button to suck up excess water.

This also has a squeegee attachment to do the linoleum floors. Good idea. Scrubs then scoops up the water and sucks it up. There is a a different detergent for linoleum so take a look around. However, it is very LOUD when doing bare floors. Not recommended at night. :)

Also, there are two Hoover SteamVacs, one with more brushes. My mother's had the fewer amount and I haven't noticed any difference between the two. I just ended up with the bigger one because when I ordered the smaller from Sears, they sent the larger by mistake and said: "Oh, well, you get it for the other price." Good deal!

Good tip: If you want to clean in the winter -- don't hesitate! Especially when it's really cold outside. Not only does it get the dirt that's been laying around while your windows are all shut but when it's so cold that the humidity is at 0 you'll be surprised how fast the rugs dry. I did mine just now an hour ago and they're all dry.

The only thing I'd recommend is to buy a allergenic detergent. The best one I've used is Bissell 720 Multi-Allergen Removal Formula, which you can find on Amazon.com. This really seems to do the trick when it comes to getting out the junk in the rugs.

Things do snap apart for cleaning and can take a little time, but if you vacuum thoroughly enough before hand you shouldn't have this excess of junk to pull out. There are some crevices where things can get up into, but snap it off, turn on the garbage disposal and get the faucet hose and you should be good.

With all vacuums and rug machines, I have this advice: You have to go slowly with ANY machine. Not snail-slow, but don't go so fast! Give both time to really pick up. If you sweep too fast, it misses the dirt. Quick swiping is alright for last minute company cleaning, but once a week I really take my time with my vacuum. A good rule of thumb for cleaning (if you really want that fresh look without overloading the machine with dirt) would be vacuum once a week -- wash once a month.

The combo of both these machines has well been worth it. I recommend this machine for any household and if you want super clean, get the Dyson vacuum as well.