"Classic" Hoover SteamVac Discontinued?

[niclonnic]

Lately, I've noticed that the "classic" Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub with Clean Surge carpet cleaner (F5914900) is gone from Hoover.com, Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. Did this model of SteamVac get phased out? I would greatly appreciate it if anybody could shed some light on this for me.

I've observed that this machine has gone through many variants throughout its production run.

 

[crazykirbydude]

I trash picked one of these cleaners recently. It seemed to do a fairly good job on both domestic and commercial carpeting. Construction is a little cheap though (broken handle release). Also, it will start to suck water into the motor before the float cuts off the suction, so you have to stop it early.

 

[niclonnic]

Ironically...

Hoover has some instructional videos on how to empty the dirty water tank on different SteamVac models, and said videos show foam getting sucked into the motor at the beginning of each. Here's a video for this particular machine.

 

[huskyvacs]

Suds getting to the motor have plagued Bissell for the past 2 decades. I have no idea how they haven't figured out how to stop that yet. My earliest Bissell shampooer bought new in '98 or '97, if you use it longer than 10 minutes, the motor exhaust turns into a bubble blower. Somehow water is getting in there and because of that, it hasn't been used for probably 15 years. Just kept buying cheap used ones and piling them up when they broke. Have had a ProHeat pet since 2016 and it's still going.

 

[niclonnic]

As a matter of fact...

I had a failed experiment last month regarding suds in the motor of a Bissell. My mom was given a Bissell QuickSteamer Plus last month from a friend of hers, who stated that occasionally, the soap doesn't come out.

I went over there to try and resolve that problem. I removed the nozzle, brush and spray bar, then washed those parts out. The nozzle was clogged with dog hair, which was most likely the cause of the machine not spraying.

Next, I filled up the solution tank with nothing but hot water and gave the machine a quick test run. While the suction was good, there was some water spitting out of the vent on top of the dirty water tank, and I thought nothing of it.

However, during the middle of cleaning another section of carpet, the motor suddenly made a HORRIBLE noise and I immediately shut the machine off. Turns out that water got sucked into the motor! I didn't want to turn the machine back on again after that. I think that happened because I squeezed the trigger while going forward AND reverse. Perhaps next time with this machine, I should squeeze the trigger ONLY on the forward stroke.


 


On the other hand, I have owned a Lift-Off Deep Cleaner since 2012, and it's still going strong. Even though this machine features a hot water heater for the upright portion, the heater has never failed on me.

 

[mark40511]

Sorry to revive this

but if someone happens along.......I have some questions:
I recently bought a Hoover spinscrub carpet cleaner - not the classic Hoover Steamvac but very similar.

I know Hoover discontinued this but my question is...what's the major difference? I don't see much at all. Maybe slight design changes with the tanks and the extraction lens is removable.. but other than that....It's the 2 tank system (clean water/dirty water) spin scrub brushes, forced air drying...10 amp motor (I know some of them were 12 amps) On mine, I can't turn the brushes off, but the suction is amazing even not being able to turn the brushes off. I'm totally happy with the extraction on my berber.

I'm wondering if Hoover is actually going to discontinue the SpinScrub all together? I know retailers still have the power scrub, power scrub elite, and turbo scrub (all very similar) to the classic hoover SteamVac. I had a hoover SteamVac years ago (2 of them) and I really don't remember a HUGE difference between them and the one I have now called (Turbo Scrub)... I almost feel like they discontinued the Hoover SteamVac, but they really didn't.

From what I've learned when figuring out which one to buy.....Mostly there are 3 weak points where the machine can fail.

1. The trigger
2. The turbine can rust causing the brushes not to spin
3. the pump can leak (I think the pump for the upholstery hose)
(and these were all issues with the classic SteamVac too, from what I understand) although I never had any of these issues with the 2 I had.

I know the old SteamVac's had the hose on board, these new ones don't.

Does anyone know if Hoover is going to discontinue the SpinScrub all together? Really, if they did that, all that would be left is the SmartWash and Power Dash..I can't imagine going to look for a Hoover deep cleaner and the only full size cleaner available would be a SmartWash

 

[ridgidwd0670]

classic SpinScrub is still available; but I've had mine since 1999 until I sold it around 2012 once I bought a Rinsenvac & then last yr I bought a Thermax CP3 (former rental)

@mark40511
how well does power scrub compare to your old Agility? I haven't owned or used either of them other than the classic

 

[mark40511]

I thought

the classic spinscrub was discontinued a couple of years ago. The power scrub, turbo scrub, and elite resemble the classic but they are not the classic..I looked all over Ebay and I saw ONE new old stock one....JUST ONE, but I'm not even sure if it was spinscrub or just the stationary brushes...so to me, this was the closest thing...I've already used it 3 times and I never remember having a carpet cleaner that sucked this much water out of my carpets and that's with the brushes going because you can't turn them off. Have those turbines always been prone to rust or is this something new? I don't ever remember having that issue with the ones I had.

I wasn't a fan of the Agility at all. I'm not sure it's been so long, but I remember I felt like there wasn't enough weight at the front (the tanks were on the side). The LENS on this one is different too. I think the LENS and the weight of the front is much better than the agility. I could really soak the carpets and go a few dry passes and they were just barely damp..

It's been so long I can't remember but it was around 2002 (give or take) and I almost think I had a Widepath or at least a classic steamvac...I gave it to someone after having it a few years....which if I had to do over, I wouldn't have (LOL)

I'm not sure - but I get the vibe that the spinscrubs might not be around much longer (I could be totally wrong)..It's just that on Hoover, the two they sell on their site are always on sale and the prices are really LOW like they're trying to get rid of them.