I have previously used the
Bissell 9400 ProHeat 2X Select Upright Deep Carpet Cleaner to clean the inevitable stains associated with cats and potty training little boys from my Berber carpet. A friend has that cleaner, so I borrowed it on several occasions before finally deciding to get one of my own. Just before I was ready to buy, Good Housekeeping ran a review on the Hoover SteamVac so I looked it up on Amazon. I read the reviews and decided to take my chances with it.
I am amazed at the difference in the two machines. The Bissell used to shear off fibers from the carpet and leave a nasty trail of what looks like hairballs behind as I worked. The clean and dirty tanks are in the same unit which is clever, but almost impossible to clean.
The Hoover has two tanks - one for clean hot water with a compartment for the cleaning solution, and one for the dirty water. Both water tanks hold a gallon. I had no problems loading the clean tank or removing the dirty tank. No dripping of dirty water, no puddles on the rug or the kitchen floor when changing tanks.
Like I said before, I've cleaned my entire house several times with the Bissell machine, but I was amazed at the almost muddy water that came out of the carpet. It was as if I'd never cleaned the floors before. The dirty tank is easy to rinse out and reattach. The trick is to "recline" the machine so the clean tank is laying on the ground attached to the handle. Unsnap the clips and the dirty tank comes right off with no problem at all. Clean it out, snap the lid back on and clip it back into place and then you can stand the handle back up and deal with the clean tank.
The suction on this machine is amazing. It used to take hours and hours for the carpet to dry when I used the Bissell. I'd have to turn the fans on high and let them go overnight to have dry carpets in the morning. Two hours after cleaning the carpet (2 cleaning/rinse passes plus a rinsing only pass) and the floors were nearly dry.
I tested the Hoover on my kitchen tile. I hate ceramic tile. I will never have it in another house, but I'm stuck with it for now. I usually use the Vapor Clean II steam/pressure cleaner on the tile, but decided to give the Hoover a try since it came with the cleaning solution for the job. I wouldn't want to use it every time I clean the kitchen floor, but for a quick cleaning before company comes it'll do the trick. Again, I did not have any puddle problems. If you release the trigger just before you finish your pull stroke you won't have any puddling to speak of. The Hoover does a great job sucking up the water on the tile and even gets the water from the grout. It doesn't do a great job on grout because that's not what it's designed to do. I'll stick to my VaporClean and the special brush I have for that.
I'm also happy with the amount of cleaner used. The Bissell goes through cleaning solution at a much faster rate than the Hoover does. I like that, since leaving soap on the fibers is just going to make the floor get dirty faster.
The only things I'm not thrilled with:
The cleaning solution dispenser is integrated with the clean water tank. I wish it came with a spout or something attached so that pouring out leftover solution wasn't so messy. I know I could leave the solution in there between uses, but I have already had to pour out leftover carpet solution to switch to the hard surface cleaner - then I had to put the hard surface cleaner back in the bottle to switch back for more carpet work. Some sort of retractable spout or a reversable plug with a spout attached would be great.
The hose attachment is kind of flimsy. I've had the whole hose assembly fall off several times as I was changing tanks. It's not a huge deal, but it's annoying to the point that I'm considering taking that part off and storing it separately until I need to use the hand tools.
Buy this cleaner - you won't be disappointed!
UPDATE: January 2011
I still love this machine. I don't consider the drips that come from laying the handle down to be a problem. It's how the unit was designed. It's certainly not a return-worthy concern. I am capable of placing a towel on the floor to wipe up the drips from that, and it's never more than a few drips. And it's clean water, so who cares?
It still works great for me with no problems at all since I got it in 2007. I quit buying the detergent that goes with it and only use vinegar in the detergent tank now with no problems.
As far as the performance on carpet, it's still great. I shampooed the white carpet at my grandparents' house recently and they were mortified by how much black water came out of the machine. They've had their home professionally shampooed within the last year, too. Their carpet came clean and looked fantastic when I left.
I haven't used it on my carpet upstairs lately because I don't allow food up there, so there's not much need for more than regular vacuuming. I do use this machine more frequently on my kitchen tile than I thought I would, and I'm still happy with it. It gets the job done quickly, and the floor is dry when I'm done. It's loud, but not so loud that I don't want to use it.
Maybe they've changed things with the model since 2007, but my unit is still going strong. There may be better tools for the job out there, but until this one breaks I'm happy with what I've got. I'm not crazy, just satisfied. I'm not sure why that's so difficult to believe.
SpinScrub
Pressurized Edge-to-Edge Cleaning
Max Extract DualV Nozzle Technology
Auto Rinse
Clean Surge
Multi-Surface Cleaning
Included Tools
