Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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181 of 181 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This house is clean!!!, July 30, 2008
I had the older version of this machine. I bought it about 6 years ago and after attempting to clean the rugs last month I realized it was no longer picking up the water. Opened it up and saw that the internal suction hose had split in half. That was it .. time to find another cleaner. I have had good luck with Hoovers but did a TON of research before settling on this machine. I have a dog and a toddler and both do a number on my rugs. Juice, food, crayons, spit up, urine and everything else under the sun has ended up on my carpet in the past 2 years. I did not take care of my previous Hoover so it wasn't the best in its later life. I just brought the new one home and oh my god, the water was black. I did not think anything could bring my carpets back but this did. They are so soft and clean. I love this machine because it has a rinse button if you want to make sure you have gotten all the soap out. I use really warm water and the machine directs hot air onto the carpet as you make your passes. The carpet dried super fast and just looks fantastic. I had to fill and empty the containers 4 times for my combination living / dining room but hey, I'm not complaining now that I see the results. I also like this machine because you do not mix the detergent in with the water. This is great because if you have detergent left over you just pour it back into the bottle. Based on my previous experience, here is what I learned and can pass on to future Hoover SteamVac owners:
1. Clean your machine after each use. That means taking apart the brushes and washing out the front nozzle. This is an investment and if you want it to continue working like it did the first day, you need to take care of it.
2. Do not leave left over or dirty water in the tank when you put it away. This will wear away at the joints and increases the chances the leaks.
3. Do not leave left over detergent in the tank .. see #2.
4. Read the directions when you put it together and make sure you read how to use this rather than just take it out and turn it on. I never read the first manual and didn't realize I should have been cleaning and using the spray button a totally different way.
This is a great machine and I hope it will last just as if not longer now that I know how to take care of and use it properly.
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47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best carpet cleaner I've ever used, August 26, 2008
I just got this carpet cleaner from Amazon.com and I am so happy with it. It outcleans everything I've ever used before, including professional cleaning companies. I owned a Kirby years ago and it can't hold a candle to this Hoover cleaner. I found it was much easier to use than the rug doctor, which I've rented many times, and since I own it, I don't have to haul it back to the store and I have all the time I want to clean my carpets.
It was very easy to use, and I particularly like the clean water rinse feature. It gets all the detergent residue out, and my carpet was soft and lofty after cleaning. Just think, you wouldn't wear your clothes washed and not rinsed.
The power is awesome, my carpet was practically dry when I finished. I got back very close to the amount of water that was dispensed. My carpet was dry enough to walk on in an hour and vacuum in 2 hours. This machine is so well made that I look forward to having soft clean carpet for years to come. It has the quality that I expected from a Hoover. I researched all brands of cleaners dilligently on the net and even looked at some brands, including Bissell, in a store before I decided on this particular Hoover machine. I've never been so happy while cleaning my carpets before. I had it out of the box and ready to go in minutes. It's as easy to use as a vacuum cleaner, plus, Amazon's sale price was cheaper than any price for the same machine that I found. I am a happy camper with this purchase!
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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
So disappointed, March 9, 2009
I'd like to share my experience of using the "steamvac" model # "F7411-900"
This is my second, improved model which replaced the model # "F5918-900" I had for about five years. Eventually the plastic hose of the previous model's attachment wore out at the bend. I was about ready to go with the costly replacement for the whole hose subassembly, because there was no way to replace just a broken part itself, when the electric motor burned out. Although I thought that five years for a non-professional water vacuum is too short a lifespan, I needed a water vacuum, so I went shopping.
In a local store I saw the new model # "F7411-900" offering better and improved features, so I purchased it. As of today I have had this model for six months, but I am already highly dissatisfied with the design, manufacturing, and quality of the vacuum.
First of all, just a few days ago, two plastic bosses were broken from the `dirty' tank. These plastic pins hold the handle and secure the recovery tank lid. Now, that whole container is useless and requires replacement. I am an engineer myself, and I'm absolutely sure that the problem is due to bad design and manufacturing defects in the molded part. After hundreds of times closing and opening the handle, the stress accumulates in those small plastic pins, eventually breaking them. Other things which I have become frustrated with in this model are:
1. When hose is attached and used, the dirty water drips back to the carpet through the main inlet nozzle. The position for the hose attachment seems poorly placed. Every time I use attachment, I have to clean the residual dirty stains on the carpet caused by leakage.
2. The hose attachment has very tiny little plastic hooks for attachment to the hole. These eventually can and will break from simple use. I have yet to find separate replacement parts for these, so I assume that the whole attachment must again be replaced.
3. We have some pets, but even if we dry vacuum carpet before using the water vacuum, the main inlet accumulates hair and other litter from the carpet. The fur particularly accumulated into inlet nozzle slot, and there is no way to remove them without using a specially made wire hook to slide into the very thin slot space in order to remove it. Why is there no hatch for this purpose? The issue had to have come up during testing, or did manufacturer assume that the vacuum would only be used on absolutely clean carpet?
4. The black rubber seal gasket in the rectangular hole on which the dirty container sits has come apart and lost its continuous shape, so there is now a gap in the sealing material, causing decreased suction. Again, this can only be caused by the manufacturing or design flaws, because the part does not see enough wear to warrant such quick deterioration. Even if I find a replacement seal for purchase, how long can I expect it to last given the history?
5. The upper tank has two compartments: one for water and one for the cleaning solution. Once I put the solution in the compartment, it looses a few drops of solution every time I install the clean container in place on the valve. Overall, it looses a lot of cleaning solution and makes a mess.
6. The plastic tool caddy that is supposed to hold the hose and hose attachments on the back of the vacuum is absolutely useless. Not only does it not hold any parts reliably, but it also comes off by itself from the simple motions of vacuuming.
I truly believe that this model should be taken off of the shelves and redesigned because of its many manufacturing and design flaws.
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