Customer Reviews

Hoover F6215-900 SteamVac Agility Carpet Cleaner

5 star:		(205)
4 star:		(87)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

With a husband, a 2 year old boy, 3 cats and after dropping my quarterly carpet cleaning contract with a local company, it was time to buy a carpet cleaning machine. After doing several days of researching and shopping, I decided to buy the Hoover Agility from Wal*Mart for about $185. My husband told me that I wasted our money, well....he was wrong!!!! After thoroughly vacuuming my carpets, I cleaned out my bagless Hoover Wind Tunnel, and as usual, the bagless cannister was full of cat hair, dust, and dirt. I then proceeded to clean the carpets in my house. The water was disgustingly dirty, almost black!!! After allowing the carpets to dry, I vacuumed my carpets to remove any 'shading'. I was completely amazed!!! The only thing that my vacuum cleaner picked up was a small amount of loose carpet fibers!!! Yes, just carpet fibers!!!

Pros: Comes pre-assembled, extremely easy to operate and I did this without ready the manual, the water tanks are easy to remove, fills, and they snap very back into place with little effort.

Cons: The electrical cord in my opinion is not long enough.

We'd been using a Kenmore canister carpet cleaner a couple times a year for 12 years- a gift from my dad along with a puppy. Well, the dog is 12 years old now and doing fine. The carpet cleaner has been iffy about working and finally broke tonight. We quickly did research on the internet and decided that a Hoover was the one to get. At 10pm we drove down to the local Wal-mart to look at the two Hoover models that were there. We decided on the Agility because of the hand held power brush attachment. Since the downstairs was all prepped (furniture moved and carpet vacuumed) we opened the box and got started. It was truly ready to go right out of the box.
I have never used carpet cleaner soap and I ran across a review that mentioned it wasn't necessary and any soap residue left in the carpet can attract more dirt. Don't hesitate to try plain water yourself. You will still have a muddy filled collection tank.
The Agility is very easy to manuver, the containers were easy to fill and dump (into the toilet)and it left the carpet dryer than our previous machine. It wasn't as noisy as I expected and one of our pups followed me around and laid down- on the finished part of course. I would have continued on the upstairs but my husband found his turn with the machine was lulling him to sleep!
Cleaning up was quick- best done in the kitchen in case of drips.
The booklet mentioned vacuuming after it is dry to remove the tracking lines. I've always done that and find it also removes the last of the dirt that has been drawn up to the surface.
We've been in our new house for 7 months and have 4 dogs (2 under a year). The Agility is a welcomed addition.

I also own the Hoover V2 which is amazing. For cleaning there's nothing like it. Problem is it is so flimsy. From the time I got it the V2 has fallen apart everytime I used it. Other users have had similar problems. It feels like a toy (actually toys are built better...bad example).
The Agility doesn't have a "rinse" feature and leaves the carpet more than fairly damp. Those are my gripes. Other than that it is my staple. Very sturdy and well built (hard to believe it's the same company). Weighs nothing and is so easy to manuveur- unfortunately I think the lack of suction is responsible for that :(
It still does a good job cleaning and the separate rinse session I have to do (I add alittle vinegar to the clear water my second time) probably does a better job cutting the residue. I hate to say it (after all the money I spent on my V2 and the incredible way it cleans) but the Agility is my keeper.

I have always considered myself to be a clean person, thanks to the OCD I inherited from my father. With three small children and two dogs, I clean constantly, vacuum daily, scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors on my hands and knees. Suffice it to say, I thought my house was pretty clean.

Most of the carpet in our home is fairly new, ranging from a few months old to just over a year old, all of which is very light in color. We have a very nice, high-end bagless upright vacuum cleaner (I won't mention any names) which I use and empty every day... I swear!! With three kids and two dogs, wouldn't you?? Our carpets looked clean, smelled clean, felt clean. I thought our carpet really was clean... until I used the Agility.

I bought the Hoover Agility to cover the high-traffic area near our back door where our Rottweiler "wipes her feet" after coming in from outside and to tackle some stubborn apple juice stains on my bedroom carpet. I plugged the Agility in, filled the solution tank, added some carpet detergent and I was off and running.

I started in my bedroom (high-pile, pale sage carpet) to tackle those stubborn apple juice stains (gotta love those spillproof sippy cups!!) The Agility made short work of the stains, which was no surprise. What was surprising (and revolting) was the amount of sludge it sucked out of my "seemingly clean" carpet. I'm not talking about water that is simply dirty, I'm talking about water that has so much dirt in it, that it creates a layer of crud at least an inch think on the bottom of the recovery tank. The water in the recovery tank was such a dark black/brown/gray-ish color that is completely opaque. You expect to see that type of output from a high traffic area such as an entraceway, but not from your bedroom!!

After dumping three tanks of sludge from my bedroom carpet which was only a year old, I headed off to the high traffic area by the back door. Now, this is the only carpet in our home that hasn't been replaced. It is left over from the previous homeowner, so I have no idea how old it actually is. The carpet is mocha in color (like a medium brown), low pile, and appeared to be pretty clean, aside from the area by the back door and a few stains from my younger children.

I started cleaning the mystery carpet, and the Agility sucked even more sludge out of this carpet than it had from our bedroom. Six tanks of sludge came out of this carpet over a 2 1/2 hour period. Even more amazing than the amount of sludge it pulled out of the carpet, was the effect that it had on the pile. This carpet had visible high traffic areas from the previous homeowner who used it as a rec room. The Agility actually improved the texture of the carpet so much, that the high traffic area actually blends right into the room. The carpet is actually soft and fluffy again. Not to say that this carpet looks brand new, but the Agility definitely took a few years off of its age.

The Agility is simple to use. The tanks pop out with the push of a button. Each tank has a built-in handle on the side to make it easy to lift and carry. The top of the solution tank pops off for filling and has a measuring cup built into the lid for adding carpet cleaning solution. The lid of the recovery tank pops off just as easily for easy disposal of the dirty water and sludge. The Agility is suprisingly easy to push and maneuver. The handle leans back almost completely parallel to the floor, making it easy to clean under tables, beds, etc. All of the controls are exactly where you would expect them to be, especially the solution lever and the clean surge button. Best of all, Hoover included a small window on the front of the unit which allows you to monitor the dirty water recovery. You can actually see if the water is still dirty or completely clear, which completely eliminates guesswork. You know exactly where the dirt is!!

The Agility recovers approximately 2/3 of the solution it dispenses, leaving the carpets slightly damp. My bedroom carpet, which required only 1-2 passes, dried in about three hours in 40 degree weather. The carpet by the back door required several more passes; it dried in about 18 hours.

Equally as important, the Agility is super-easy to clean. The hood pops off, the brushes pop out, the filter screens are easy to clean. I cleaned the entire machine in less than 15 minutes. I highly recommend this SteamVac... it is money well spent. Just makes me wonder what my vacuum cleaner has been doing all this time....

After doing extensive research online regarding Carpet cleaners/extractors, I stumbled on the brand new Hoover model called the "Agility". My first thought was that this was a small and weaker unit than the other Hoover models due to its size. I could not have more wrong. I went to the my local Target store and picked up the last Agility model they had. After paying the relatively steep price of 199.00 plus tax, I toted my new steam cleaner home. The coolest thing is that this model is ready to be used right out of the box. No parts to put together, no hassels!

Overall, I was really really impressed with the quality and job that this machine produced. I have a five year old daughter, an English Bulldog, and a French Bulldog who love to wreak havok on my plush cream carpeting. I quickly filled the tank with very hot water and mixed a little of the Hoover cleaning solution and turned it on! That was all their was to it. Like others who have tried the "Agility", I was amazed at the brown water that was coming out of my carpet! I thought my carpets were relatively clean! It is safe to say that I was hooked. I also cleaned my couch which is black with the same results. The "Agility" comes with two very easy and handy attachments. Again, I cannot stress enough how easy these were to use!

PROS: Small, relatively lightweight, sturdily built, easy to use, fast drying, high suction power, see-through canisters to see the progress, seperate containers clean/dirty water that are easily cleaned.

CONS: None, high price

After our cat decided that she wasn't very happy with us, for some reason, she decided to let us know in a way that couldn't go un-missed. I was shopping at Home Depot for other stuff at happened upon the carpet cleaner section. I read the descriptions for each one and was deciding between this and the Bissell. Because this motor was a little more powerful, had a detachable tool caddy, and just plain looked cooler.

I brought it home, pulled it out of the box and it was completely assembled and ready to use. I spent a couple minutes reading the user's manual because I had never used a steam cleaner or carpet shampoo machine before. After I was satisfied I know where everything went I filled the cap with the hoover shampoo that came with the cleaner and filled the canister. This was all very easy to do. The part that took the longest was waiting for the canister to fill with water. I started it up and pushed forward with the trigger pulled, released the trigger and pulled the machine back, watched the brown water come out of my less than 1 year old carpet. That's it. After I was done I dumped out the return canister, rinsed it and dumped out the remainder of water in the solution canister.

Bottom line, this machine was really easy to use, clean-up and gave me great results.

About seven months ago, I purchased a Bissell Proheat carpet cleaner. It lasted long enough for me to clean 3 rooms worth of carpeting (I must add, though, that it was a refurbished machine that I got a pretty good deal on). The solution release trigger kept sticking in the "on" positon (not very convenient, since a person eventually wants their carpeting to dry). I could finally get the water to stop shooting out if I repeated smacked the button with some force. I returned this machine to the store I bought it at (I think I had it 3 days or so). I wanted to get a different carpet cleaner, but couldn't decide which kind I wanted to try next. I felt the Bissell cleaned well, but wasn't impressed with its quality.

Since my luck with Bissel wasn't grand, I decided to try a Hoover. And the Hoover Agility seemed to have the qualities I was looking for in a carpet cleaner. I ordered this machine thru Amazon, and was very happy to see that a person really did only have to pull this machine out of the box, lift the handle, read the instruction manual, add cleaning solution and get started. Although, if I had written this review after my first use of the Agility, I probably wouldn't have given it a very good review. Initially, I thought this machine left my carpet very soggy. I had used two to three passes releasing cleaning solution, and sucked out as much as I could. This left the carpet very oversaturated. It took 10-12 hours for it to dry. I was not impressed. But I figured I'd modify my approach and try again. The next time I used it I only did one forward pass releasing solution and then sucked out as much water as I could. This time it only took 3-4 hours to dry... very acceptable. And I was shocked with the amount of dirt it pulled out of my relatively new (3 year old) carpet. I also choose to use mostly just hot water (little or no shampoo) because I have heard that the shampoo can attract dirt once it dries on the carpet. Even with just very hot water, it pulled an incredible amount of dirt out of my carpets. I have had this machine for a week and a half and have cleaned most of my carpeting (about 7 rooms worth) and the Hoover is still going strong. No indications it is going to start malfunctioning, like my Bissell did. The only reason I am rating this a 4 instead of a 5 star, is if a person does the maximum passes suggested in the manual (2 forward and 2 back) releasing solution, it way oversaturates the carpet and can't suck it all out. So I'd advise cutting way back on the amount of cleaning solution used. But I feel the quality of the Hoover surpasses that of my previously owned Bissell by a long shot. The Hoover is easy to use, easy to clean up, and does it's job well. It is nice to have a carpet cleaner in my closet that I can use at my convenience. A great product for the money I paid! Very pleased!

I read the reviews and decided to buy plus Amazon was offering $25 off when I bought making the best place to buy here. I just wanted to answer questions I couldn't find answers to when reading reviews. It arrived earlier than expected Thanks Amazon and UPS. I just finished using it. I did not get the very dry carpet others seemed to mention after cleaning, but it was not any more wet than other cleaners. I suggest using less cleaning solution. It calls for 2 measures, use 1 or just hot water. 2 made it too soapy. It sucks water when you pull back. The tool caddy is removable. It's not so light but not so heavy either. There is no difference between the purple or blue machines. I have animals and the brushes did not clog up, they spun off the hair into little balls easy to pick up by hand. Yes I did vacuum first. Everything is easy use, clicks into place or remove. Clean up is easy. Overall I'm pleased, I did wish it pulled a little more water out of the carpet. But the stains came out and it did a decent job on my old stains too. I feel I got a great buy here and a very good cleaner. I wish the warranty was more than 1 year, but I intend to work it hard this year. My 2 cats and dog will make sure of that. I do recommend this cleaner.

My first review on Amazon - here goes. I know how helpful these things are to me when I shop online! I bought this after I blew the motor on my previous Hoover steamvac. I don't recall exactly which model that was, but I assume it was comprable. This one is an overall improvement and I liked the old one! I have given it five stars because for a home carpet cleaner, I can't expect more.

I read prior reviews and did pause over some of the negative comments. Because I did like my prior Hoover purchase (that lasted 5 or 6 years with lots of relatives borrowing it) I decided to risk it again. Following are the negative comments I read that gave me pause and my take on them:

LEAKING - I have owned mine for a month and have used it 6 or 7 times (3 kids and a dog) and I have not noticed any leaking other than a few drips when you put the various tanks in or take them out. The older model did this too and I found it to be negligible.

POOR SUCTION - I have found that, if you operate the machine properly, it will leave your carpet just as damp as you would expect from having washed it. It is fully dry at my house probably within 4 hours - comprable to a commercial cleaning. Some tips - make sure you have the front clear plastic hood securely in place. Also, the tanks have to be properly seated in the machine and securely "snapped" back into place when removed. If everything isn't hooked together properly, it will not give you the suction that it should. Assuming that you are properly put together, it only seems to suck on the forward stroke of the vacuum. You also have to push it slowly enough forward to give it time to really suck up all the water you have there. Because the hood is clear, you can really see it coming up. I usually go over everything a couple times until I don't see any more water being pulled up.

COMPLICATED TANKS TO CLEAN - This is a vast improvement in design over the previous recovery tank. While there are still some nooks and crannys that can get dirt trapped in them on the tank top, it is MUCH easier to clean on this model. I wouldn't complain.

MADE OF FLIMSY PLASTIC - While it is made of plastic, it really seems pretty tough. The latches on the top of the two tanks could be a bit better designed. I haven't had any trouble with them, but that is the only part of the machine that seems like I have to be somewhat careful with it. I don't know how easily they would break, but I am mindful not to stretch them out too much. The machine seems plenty durable though.

One final tip. If you have a particularly stained area, I pre-treat it first with my own stain cleaner. Spot Shot is my favorite (those people should pay me for all the advertising I do for them!) but Oxyclean has a carpet cleaner that's pretty good too. Whatever happens to be your favorite - I spray all the significant spots on my carpet and then I use the steamvac on the whole thing. I have 10 year old white carpet that I have never liked since we moved into this house. We decided that we would replace it when it really got bad - as we assumed it would. I still have the carpet. I am a little disappointed to report that regular steamvac use has kept it looking not too shabby. I'm concerned that I may never get new carpet...

Good Luck on your purchase!

Being that I will not buy anything from cars to small appliances without reading everything I can about them I did just that I bought it without reading up on it. I had been researching the Hoover V2 and set out on a mission to get one for the wife. After 4 stops and days in Saturday morning traffic I decided to go to the local Wal-Mart and see what they had to offer. Again no V2, but they had a new item the Agility. After comparing some of the features and willing to take a gamble I got out on a thin limb and bought the Agility.
Now I am no professional carpet cleaner and neither is my wife, but I would assume that there are a couple of things that make a carpet cleaner effective practicality and results. Well as far a I am concerned this machine is both. It was extremely easy to use and the results were fabulous. Anything that can get my wife excited about cleaning has to be easy and the results have to be immediate....It did both...She cannot wait to do the whole house. I cannot compare it to any other machine as this is our first, but I don't think you will go wrong with this. The tanks are easy to attach and detach, it does'nt leave the carpet to wet, the attachment was easy to use(it did seem to leave the stairs a little wet, but they dried overnight).