 Worth Every Penny |
| Date Of Review: June 9, 2003 |
| Reviewed by: , |
| I was hesistant only because of the price... but I'll tell you compared to the cost of professional carpet cleaners it will pay for itself with a few uses and the results are great. The rotating brushes do a good job scrubbing and grooming carpet and ALL parts are easy to remove, fill, carry, replace, rinse out or clean. Easy minimal assembly. Easy to get the hang of and use on carpets. Haven't tried it on my kitchen tile yet. One of the best features is that you control shampoo application and can set machine to automatically rinse(apply suction)on the backward stroke. It will rinse with water and immediately suck it up on the backstroke if you tell it to (by holding button)or you have the option of just sucking alone(no water added). The benefit is you can scrub an area several times without wetting the carpet excessively AND you can use the suction without water to get the carpet very dry (which means it is dry enough to walk on pretty fast).
I've used the handtool with rotating brushes on the stairs and in hard to get to places. This tool is not fabulous, but good. You really have to follow the directions and get the hang of which direction to pull the tool in, when to spray the shampoo, etc. Maybe with practice I'll like it more. 2 things - this machine uses hot air forced onto the carpet for added cleaning and drying. When you have the hand tools plugged in, the brushes don't rotate on the big vac, but be aware that the hot air still comes out the bottom. The area where the vac is sitting while you're using the handtools will get quite warm if not moved periodically. Also the clean water/shampoo tank will drip a tiny bit from the valves on bottom for a second when removed during/after use so do this on tile or have a paper towel handy. |
I ALMOST bought another cleaner, but I'm glad I didn't
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| Date Of Review: November 9, 2002 |
| Reviewed by: VA Mom, Ashland, VA USA |
| Like I said, I ALMOST purchased the earlier model F6030-900 SteamVac, because of all the good reviews I saw. I had decided against the V2 based on reviews of the earlier models, incl. F7220-900. BUT, when I couldn't seem to find just the model I wanted and was tiring of driving all over, I decided to try this model. I have an elderly dog who has lots of urinary problems and I just had to have something that would work well. I've got to tell you, I am VERY happy with the results. I especially like how all the removable parts are easy to remove and re-install. I like that the detergent isn't mixed with the water, so you preserve that. PLEASE NOTE: Make sure to watch the upper, clean water tank, to make sure you have water in there, otherwise you will be using straight detergent, like I did. The dirty water tank indicator is great. It seems the suction is just great too, as it has also been in my Hoover WindTunnel vacuum cleaner. The unit is also VERY easy to clean afterwards. I couldn't be more pleased! |
fantastic design.. fantastic tool!
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| Date Of Review: December 31, 2002 |
| Reviewed by: , Gallup, NM USA |
| Where do I begin?? We rented a rug doctor over the weekend (YUCK!) and much to my dismay, the rugs still looked dirty this morning! I was disgusted with the condition of the rented machine, not to mention the gunk I had to clean out of it even before we used it. I noticed some stains that the rental machine left and decided to look into buying a machine instead. This one was very highly rated on [Amazon.com] so we tracked one down at another store here in town (we were lucky, it was their last one)... I am thrilled. There are several features I'd like to point out; 1. machine can be used to soap and then rinse with out the soap, nice to have that choice when one is trying to get all of the soap out. 2. soap is automatically mixed from an easy to access compartment (just pour it in!... no guess work or measuring) 3. when you don't press the trigger, the machine just vacuums which gets A LOT of the excess water out at the end. 4. brushes can be off or on.. there's a switch for that too! (they thought of everything!) 5. this little gal is LIGHT WEIGHT! Plus, you can push it back and forth like a vacuum.. can't do that with a Rug Doctor! 6. bottom container holds two runs with the top container.. plus has a "full" indicator. Fewer trips to the toilet (that is where we dump our dirty water) Good luck in your rug machine search.. as a clean-freak.. I highly recommend this! |
We are thrilled with this steamVac
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| Date Of Review: January 6, 2003 |
| Reviewed by: J. Alenskis, Sun City, AZ USA |
| We read all the reviews, both plus and con and checked out the Hoover web site. We were ready to consider ordering on-line but wanted to "feel" the item. We checked Target, Costco, Sears, and walked into another national store and found this unit for $$$! We couldn't believe it so immediately bought it Jan 4. My husband immediately (after reading the manual thoroughly) began the test runs. After forgetting the dry phase, he went back and sucked all the water up. Some grease stains had come back after professional cleaning and they are now gone. Coffee was spilled on upholstered chair and carpet and they are gone. The upholstery unit worked well and at this moment we are definitely happy. Oh yes, in today's paper Kmart has this unit on sale at a considerable savings. We also have tried some left over Bissell solution and it works very well. We will be trying, as suggested, less cleaner from a supply house. We are retired and live in about 2000 sq ft, 1 level home with carpet in all rooms except the kitchen. We will not be putting it to the same test that an active family with kids and pets would but the ease of operation and knowing we can keep the home clean is a big plus. |
A Great Product
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| Date Of Review: December 28, 2004 |
| Reviewed by: BBS, Bay Area, CA, Bay Area, CA USA |
| First of all, without doing any homework and relying on the fact that Bissel has a long standing and good reputation I succumbed to their advertising and bought the Bissel top-of-the line Pro-Heat Steamvac because it was self propelled and heats the hot tap water up to 180 degrees. BIG MISTAKE!! Sure it's self propelled but on my Berber carpeting it wouldn't even move at all when trying to push it against the grain of the carpet with the normal force exerted by a healthy male. If you pushed really hard it would move in a stuttering fashion making really nasty, unpleasant noises that sounded as if the plastic nozzle would soon break if I persisted. On a cut pile carpet it moved in any direction just as a Steamvac is supposed to. Apart from that the suction was pathetic and all it removed was a little dirt and hair. The tank inside a tank concept is also a very poor design in my opinion. Next I did what I should have done in the first place, i.e did some Internet research and talked to a few people. I then realized I needed a Hoover and not a Bissell. I took the Bissell back to Sears and got my $280 back. I then bought the top-of-the-line Hoover for the exact same price - the model number has changed to F7431-900 but it is the same Steamvac as the F7425-900. Maybe they have made some minor changes but the appearance and specs. are the same. Having 6 separate soft brushes that rotate about a vertical axis versus the single roller brush rotating about a horizontal axis on the Bissell makes all the difference in the world for moving on closed loop carpeting such as Berber. The other major improvements are the suction of the Dual V nozzle, the absence of belts, ability to turn the brushes on or off, and the completely separate, one gallon, clean and dirty water tanks. I ran some tests and the Hoover sucks up almost all of the water it sprays on the carpet and even using no detergent whatsoever the dirty water ended up looking like black coffee with lots of grounds, and the carpet only felt damp to the touch. Both of these machines are not built like the high quality, made in the USA, vacuum cleaners of many years ago, almost everything is made of plastic (unlike the old Kirbys) and they will not take much abuse or ignorance on the part of the user. It is essential to read the manual thoroughly and get to know how to connect and disconnect the tanks correctly so that they seal properly and you don't get leakage. You also have to clean out all lint buildups that may occur. There is also a right way and a wrong way to clean carpets and this is all explained in the manual. I also don't think it's a good idea to loan out your Steamvac if you want it to remain in good working order. The tool caddy on both machines is best left in the closet, hanging on a coat hangar for those rare occasions when you need it. All and all I think the Hoover F7431-900 is a great, very compact, Steamvac and it sure beats the old machines where you had to trail a long hose connected to your hot faucet and also drag around a heavy canister along with its hoses. If you follow all the directions and keep your Steamvac to tank interfaces nice and clean you shouldn't have any leakage problems unless of course you damage one of the tanks. I believe the Hoover is overly generous on the amount of detergent it adds to the water (after all they make a nice profit on detergent) but you can easily dilute it with as much water as you like when you fill the detergent tank. Unless you have several messy pets (or children) you can probably get by with either no detergent at all, or with a greatly diluted mixture. |
3 year owner - one of the best applicanes we own
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| Date Of Review: June 10, 2005 |
| Reviewed by: Joe S, Dallas, Texas |
We have had this machine for about three years. It is one of the best appliances I've ever owned. I have used it on average once a week which means I've gotten at least 150 uses from it. These are not exaggerations. It does precisely what it advertises and more. We have had cats puke and do other business on our floor and it cleans it perfectly. Keep in mind many of these were years ago and you cannot tell that there ever was a stain there. We've had numerous other spills from wine to soft drinks of course but we have yet to find something it can't tackle.
Addressing some concerns people have: I think people complaining about leaky tanks and such didn't read the manual or use common sense. Like all things you own you should care for them and use common sense. The water tank is made of plastic. If you pour very hot water into it, then it will eventually warp. This is simply obvious to me. I was later told by a technician that this was true and that Hoover is making the tanks thicker. I think this is possibly what happened with many people. You can pour warm water into it and it will clean all sorts of messes just fine. Certainly, my carpets are proof of that. Further, the manual says not to store the unit with water in the fill tank. It says you can leave detergent in the soap tank but I do not. I empty it back into the container it came from over a sink. It might seem a hassle but once you've used the unit many times (as I have) it becomes routine and easy. Did the people with trouble use overly hot water, not empty the tank, and leave soap in it? I don't know but it seemed to me simple common sense not to do these things and I haven't had these problems. Its certianly possible that many would have a well functioning appliance for many years like I have had if they taken a little more care of it.
I did have one issue which required service. As I noted we have cats and the brushes got clogged with hair and had difficulty turning. The unit was under warranty and I simply had it fixed. Again, this was a user operation problem as I would not expect any machine to put up with that abuse absent proper care. Now, every few times I use the machine I simply take a paper towel and remove excess dirt, and hair from the brushes and throw the paper towel away. That was years ago and no problem since. The owners manual addresses cleaning the brushes (which are even removeable by the user) so again had the user (me) used common sense and read the manual I wouldn't have had a problem with brushes at all.
If I rank all of the appliances in my house, if I had to recommend only one this would be it. I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could. So I highly recommend it but like any appliance its not magic and still obeys the laws of physics. Use common sense and care for it and it will care for you. |
Really works, less back-breaking than Rug Doctor
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| Date Of Review: December 8, 2002 |
| Reviewed by: , |
| We historically have rented a Rug Doctor to clean our carpet (big house, 2 dogs, 3 kids) and it always worked pretty well, except that it was a hassle to rent (and expensive), and you had to do the whole house at one time to get it back to the rental place in 24 hours. We have also had our carpets professionally cleaned a few times, with mixed results. My main hesitation about buying a SteamVac was that it would not do a good job (waste of money) or would be prohibitively difficult to use. I am extremely happy on both points. The carpets are clean, I can pace myself over several days, and the machine is very easy to use, relative to a Rug Doctor. A handy feature is the rinse mode, which uses no detergent. I think this really fluffs up the carpet. There are also separate "wet" and "dry" strokes, depending upon whether you hold down a trigger on the handle. This allows you to get the carpet pretty dry (as good or better than a Rug Doctor). I would recommend this cleaner to anyone who needs to frequently clean their carpet. |
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