Hoover Carpet Cleaners, Which One?

[weltron]

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I am shopping for a new steam cleaner for my mother. Her two year old Bissell died, and with the budget she has, she is looking at a Hoover unit. Now, I was telling her to get a new SpinScrub (now PowerScrub) unit. I thought those were pretty decent for what they were. But now, she saw this new model called the SmartWash+. I was looking at the differences, and apart from the SmartWash having what looks something like 2 Quadraflex agitators in series, and not having a dedicated solution release trigger, is this one any better? Or should I just stick with the SpinScrub?

 

[crazykirbydude]

Just skip the Hoover and rent a Rug Doctor machine every 6 months or so. If you only clean your carpet once every 6 months, why keep a bulky machine around when a rental is much cheaper and you don't have to store it? Plus, those consumer grade machines overwet the carpet and don't suck the water back up, which can easily cause mold if you're not careful.

 

[relhall]

Pick one that has an authorized service center in your area, if available.
You'll need it...

None really last {with regular use, and average home-owner (lack of) maintenance} so don't get too attached. This is not a machine to get sentimental towards.

They are handy to own if you have the space and/or pets.


just my .02 ~

 

[eurekaprince]

I’m always a bit leery about renting these rug washer machines. I’m a bit OCD and don’t trust the rental companies to fully sterilize the machines between renters. Who knows what germs and bacteria these machines bring into your house?

Much prefer to own my own washer and know it’s been thoroughly cleaned and rinsed between uses.

 

[superocd]

I actually went from a Hoover SpinScrub 50 to a Rug Doctor

I had to replace the turbine assembly for my brushes--TWICE. Moisture condenses in there after a while and rusts out the bearing inside. The fit and finish is kinda on the flimsy side and from day one, things feel like they might break so I broke down and ordered a Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3 this past Christmas and donated my SpinScrub to Goodwill as it still worked after replacing the turbine assembly. It should last for a good year or two for its new owner, for around the 20-30 bucks Goodwill priced it at.

Aside from the lack of good build quality, I will say that it did a good job. Of course, I had to confirm this as my carpets are very clean and you can't tell how well something performs if you start out with a clean object, so I took some various things and rubbed it into an area of my carpet (wine, mud, ketchup, etc.) and tested it out one day. For a $100 disposable-grade carpet cleaner, it aced my little tests. So, my verdict is, buy one but don't expect it to last, and it just might be cheaper to save up some $$ to put toward a more heavier-duty machine like the Rug Doctor X3 or the Bissell counterpart (BigGreen Commercial).

 

[got2bjennyg]

FYI-
You can get some decent deals on the Bissell 86T3 Big Green if you keep an eye out for specials. I saw it for $319 a few months back both on Amazon and through Best Buy. That is $100 more than one of the more disposable Hoover carpet cleaners, but longer term, it's a much better investment IMHO.

 

[huskyvacs]

I know it's not what you originally asked, but I have a Bissell ProHeat Pet that I have owned for 4 years and I love it. It does a great job, and when you follow the directions and read the manual on the technique to use (I additionally add in 2 dry passes to suck excess water out) you never have soaked carpet. Now I still have an older Bissell from the late 90's, and that thing really does soak the carpet and guzzle down water. It must have fireman's nozzles for sprayers!

But anyway, I made a video last fall when I used my ProHeat Pet to clean a rug I got from the curb.

 

[kirbyklekter]

What did you end up getting for her?

For what it's worth I have both spin scrub and a Bissell Pro Heat and I believe the Bissell did better at cleaning and leaving the carpet a bit dryer. Heard a lot of good about the Big Green Commercial. Hope to hear what you ended up buying. Billy