Vax Dual V Carpet Washer - Pics and Video!

[vintagehoover]

As mentioned previously, I've recieved a Vax Dual V, and I've now had the chance to put it through its paces! A few points to note:

- This is exactly the same thing as the Hoover Dual V. It's made in the same plant in Mexico. I've been told even the bottle which the detergent comes in is the same, but with a different label!
- It was awarded a 'Best Buy' recommendation from Which? Magazine.
- It comes with a 6 year guarantee.
- It arrived fully-assembled, hence the HUGE box!

 

[vintagehoover]

In the box...

 

[vintagehoover]

Ready to go!

I started in the dining room, because it's the highest-traffic area in the whole house. People carry food and drink through there from the kitchen to their rooms, and most of it ends up on the carpet along the way! Also, when the weather's nice, we have the patio doors open, and people come in and out, treading dirt in, and the dog comes charging in and out...

We usually hire the Rug Doctor machine once a year, but we didn't last year, so it was getting desperate for a deep-clean! This carpet really is the filthiest in the house!

 

[vintagehoover]

This is the dirt I got out of the carpet pre-vacuuming it VERY thoroughly with my Vax Mach 7. This was after I'd taken all the furniture out.

 

[vintagehoover]

And THIS...

...is what came out! I wasn't surprised, this is pretty much what we get with the Rug Doctor each year. I got 3 tanks of this stuff out of the dining room.

It does show clearly that no matter how frequently you clean (I do this room almost daily!), and no matter what brand or model of cleaner you use (I use all sorts of different cleaners!), there IS a large quantity of trapped dirt that dry vacuuming alone can't remove.

 

[vintagehoover]

...

 

[vintagehoover]

VIDEO!

Follow link.

Watch in High Quality!

 

[xraytech]

how did you like it Jack?

I am surprised that they come fully assembled, the Hoover Dual V herecomes in 3 pieces and needs assembled, and yes that shampoo is a relabled version of our Hoover shampoo here.

Sam

 

[vacfanatic]

Nice work Jack!!!

It looks like this has a much larger clean and dirty water tanks than my Bissell ProHeat 2X! The photos turned out very nice, as well as the video. Can't wait to see the video with the hand tool. Oh, and when are you stopping by to do my carpets?

Andrew

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Those machines...

Congrats, Jack! Those are really great cleaners.

Despite the L O T S of problems Hoover had with the tank when they first introduced it in 2002/2003, they've finally worked the bugs out. Very easy to us, and it's always surprising the amount of crap they pull out of the carpet. Try it with just plain hot water sometime. That does as good of a job as anything.

Although I am still a bigger fan of the original style Steam Vac... or the Agility models.

Nonetheless, the Hoover SteamVacs, I think, are the best portable extractors on the market. ((Except for the new machine in their "Platinum" line.))

~F

 

[vintagehoover]

Hey guys,

my impressions of this machine are very good; I think it did at least as well as the Rug Doctor - and now I don't have to pay to hire one each time!

Having cleaned all the carpets in my house over two days, I got a fairly good 'feel' for its performance - the carpets in this house were fitted a couple of years after we moved in, which would make them at least 10 years old now, so anything that can come close to restoring their correct pile and colour gets two thumbs up from me! They take a lot of punishment from an active family of 6, plus a dog and a cat, and they do look good now. Almost all of the serious stains washed right out, and they look much lighter and fresher.

In future, I'll try spot-treating any serious stains with the hand-tool first, before going over the whole floor in upright mode. The problem I discovered with doing it the other way round was that when the carpet was damp, the stains were hard to see - when it dried, you could see where they'd left traces!

It's really easy to set up for use, and I like how simple the machine is to take apart afterwards for cleaning and maintenance; the tanks lift out, and the suction nozzle and spin-scrub brushes just pull out.

The tools were especially good - I'm going to do a video demonstrating them next week, hopefully tomorrow!

Fred, thanks for the tip about the plain hot water; I'll give that a try next time! I'd be interested to hear about the initial problems Hoover had with the tank. I like the look of the new Platinum line carpet washer, especially that dual-brush feature. I'd love to test one out!

 

[andy]

Hi Jack

Thanks for posting those pics! Those machines clean like nobody's business. Fred is right, the first tank style was nothing but trouble. They cracked and leaked all over the place. The turbine/gear box that turns the brush was also a problem too, as they would rust and lock up. However it sounds like they have fixed the bugs which is great!

 

[vintagehoover]

Thought you guys might be interested to hear that although this machine is manufactured alongside the Hoover version in Mexico, the motor used in the UK version is actually different - and not just in terms of voltage, it's a different unit.

Also, the bristles in the UK spinscrub brushes are stiffer.

Thirdly, the formulation of the detergent is different - the US stuff is stronger, and requires rinsing, whereas the UK fluid does not, although it is recommended to make the carpet look fresher.

Perhaps these factors explain why my experience of using this machine are pretty different than people's findings with the US version!

 

[ridgidvac]

why did Vax UK steal Hoover USA design? That's crazy 4 some dumbass 2 steal someone else's design (like Ridgid & Craftsman with their shop vacs) But that shampooer is nice in red trim just like our Hoover in green.

View attachment 5-7-2009-16-30-1--ridgidvac.jpg

 

[tristar]

Uh......because they're owned by TTI? Might have a little bit to do with it...

 

[vintagehoover]

ridgidvac:

No one stole anything! Have you not read the rest of this thread?! Please do so before you start calling other people 'dumbass'!

 

[kirbysthebest]

Rigid

Hello--you are joking right?
TTI owns both Hoover and VAX.
Dirt Devil and Royal have the same owner, which I think is also TTI. They didn't steal the designs, they already own them.

 

[vintagehoover]

Here's my video of the Dual-V. Let me know what you think!

*watch in HQ*

 

[ridgidvac]

SORRY!

but I meant before TTI aquired Hoover. I guess Ridgid makes tools & shop vacs 4 Craftsman. It just 'burns' me when someone steals another's ideas or designs; its happened 2 me before.

 

[ridgidvac]

I had no idea TTI owns VAX; when did TTI acquire Royal & Vax?

 

[vintagehoover]

TTI acquired Vax in 1999, and Hoover in 2007. We've only had 'cross-over' products since 2007, as far as I know. Before that, when Maytag were in charge, we had things like the new Constellation, badged as the Mayag Satellite (since Hoover UK own the rights to the Constellation name with regards to vacuum cleaners), the Maytag Windtunnel in the early 2000's, and as I mentioned on another thread, we were supposed to have the Hoover Z as a Maytag, but that plan fell through.

Since TTI took over, we've shared the Mach upright range, the Floormate hard floor washer, the Dual-V carpet washers, etc. We've also now got the Hoover Anniversary Windtunnel Canister as the Vax Maxima, although it's been through what's known as a 're-skin' process, so it looks very slightly different. It also lacks the Windtunnel powerhead, sadly.

Hoover US' Platinum Collection Cyclonic Canister was actually designed and developed in the UK.

Under TTI, Vax have become the largest-selling brand in unit-sales in the UK. This is followed by Dyson (who I believe are the winner in terms of sales value, since their machines are more expensive), then Hoover, Electrolux, and one other brand (I've forgotten which!) continually battle for 3rd place.

Hoover's European operations are owned by Candy - they were sold off after the DISASTER which was the 'free flights scandal' in the UK, which lost the company £46,000 000, and ruined Hoover's reputation over here forever (a process they neatly finished with the equal disaster which was 'The One' range of cleaners!)

It's a weird state-of-play: American Hoover products are rebadged as Vax, and fight aggressively for a market-share against UK Hoover-Candy models!


http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands/by_division/floor_care

 

[countryguy]

The VAX looks very similiar to the Miele line of vacs.

Gary