Hoover Floor Mate™ SpinScrub™ H3000

[charles~richard]

Gee, a year or so I guess, I found what appeared to be a brand-new Hoover Floor Mate™ SpinScrub™ H3000 -- it was very clean, no goop underneath, no marring or scratches on the housing, the cord was spotless and it was complete.

This is the low-tier "bare bones" model without the attachments, which is exactly the one I had wanted to get but couldn't see spending almost $200 for, for a plastic machine. Then here one came along for $9.99 that looked brand new -- that's more in line with my budget!

Well, I finally got around to trying it out. (I usually clean our impossible-to-clean roll-out vinyl kitchen floor with a mop. I ==HATE== that stuff. It was put down a couple of years ago when a new owner "made improvements" to the building, using in every instance the cheapest stuff he could find. The original kitchen floor was linoleum and much easier to clean. Yes, it was old and needed to be replaced, but had I any idea the crap the owner was going to put down, I would have pitched a fit about it. But I digress.)

Anyway, it was time to clean the kitchen and I thought it would be fun to try out the Floor Mate™.

I had gotten the cleaning solution from my good buddy at Boulevard Vacuum. Some kind soul sent me a PDF of the instruction manual (forgot who it was, sorry) and I followed the directions to prepare the machine for wet pickup, and away we went. Boy, did it ever do a bang-up job of cleaning! It's really a fabulous machine!!

One thing I really like about it is the low profile of the front nozzle. It's the first floor scrubbing machine I've ever seen that can actually -- easily -- go under baseboards. Even the older metal Electrolux air-powered floor polisher is too high to get under there, and from the many numbers of them I've seen over the year with scratched-up tops testifies to the number of people who have tried to force them under there!

However, there is a problem with this machine. It will not suck up the dirty water. It would suck up into the front nozzle but then just stay there, and the minute I would move the machine it would slop back ut. I ended up having to go along with a mop and keep sopping up the water with it, then wringing it out. Gee, what a big pain in the butt!

I took the thing apart and can't see anything wrong. The hose that goes down into the nozzle is not clogged up, it makes a tight fit at both ends, and there does not appear to be anything broken or missing.

Anyone have a clue as to what might be wrong with it? I really would like to get it to work, if possible.

And could I have some thoughts and opinions on it please? Now, I know all the Hoover Enthusiasts will rave about it, but I'd like some balanced and unbaised opinions too, smile! I googled around and did find some pretty negative reviews of it, including "cheaply made," "looks like a toy," "does not clean very well," "does not pick up the dirty water" etc etc etc.

The last comment really echoes my experience; I just hope it's due to there being something wrong or out of adjustment and not because, well, it just doesn't pick up the dirty water."

Thanks--



http://store.a1avacuum.com/hvh3000.html

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Hey Charles Richard-

There's a filter that sits in the lid of the dirty water tank. On top of this filter is a square filter cover with a hole in it, that sits on top of the filter. That's what makes a seal with the "suction port" immediately above.

That's one of the most common things I'd see when the FloorMate wouldn't pick up water.

That, or the clear hose that actually carries the water from the squeegee to the tank (you can see it with the handle in the operating position) would crack, and there'd be the suction loss.

Either of those two things help at all?

~F

Here's a picture of the filter cover--from the owners manual:

 

[filterqueen83]

slow an steady

I found that slow and steady wins the race with mine I paid 9 dollars for mine used and I love it and would not clean my floors with anything else now.

 

[normvac]

Charles, thank you for taking the time to ask the question. I picked one up at a thrift store for about $9.00. Really was
excited and had the same problem. So I took it to my favorite
Hoover vac shop had them go over it. I told them what the problem was. Brought it back home knowing that it would work
for sure now! NOTA, the darn thing still dose not pick up !
Hope you get some good answers. I'll ck mine out on what Fred
has to say, hopefully that will get it. As my daughter has the bigger model and loves it.
Norm

 

[aeoliandave]

I fixed up one of these for a gal at work. After disassembling most of the machine and removing the clear nozzle's top plate to clean out all the impacted dried dog hair, I found the suction loss problem to be a thin split in the vacuum line spiral hose in two places, at each end.

Under the hood from all the constant flexing where the hose takes a tight 90 degree bend and exits the brush head body. The hose also gets a twisting torque applied to is as the vacuum body is rotated back and down in use.

Second strain was at the top of the hose where it is clamped. Note that the hose has a small diameter nylon hose inside that carries the clean water down to the nozzle - the hose coupling is specially molded to let this nylon water line exit to the side.

There was enough hose, once released from its clamp up top, to slice off the 1" split bottom end portion, re-fuse the hose to the molded connector, and re-clamp up top after allowing for enough slack to ease the strain. Works like a charm now.

Dave

 

[charles~richard]

Fred, that is precisely the problem -- the filter on the top of the dirty-water tank is gone.

I'm going to stop by Boulevard Vacuum tomorrow and see if he can order a replacement for me.

Thanks!!

 

[normvac]

thanks Dave for the extended information on what to look for and what to do to fix the floor mate.
As I do have the fiilter in mine.
It may be awhile befor I have a chance to ck it out.
Will let ya know what I find.
Norm