Hoover Carpet Cleaner Max Extract Dual V WidePath Carpet Cleaner Machine F7412900,Black

I have low pile carpet and young kids and my carpets hadn't been cleaned for probably a year because my other carpet cleaner broke and I didn't have enough money to buy a new one or even rent a machine, so when I saw this one for the low price of approximately $160.00 and I just happened to have been able to work it out in my budget, I snatched it right up.Now, let me tell you -- My carpets were so bad that I probably should have used a more professional machine, but this one did an exceptional job, considering the job it had to do.Because of how bad off my carpet was, it took me all day just to do most of my living room - I had to use the cleaner at a snail's pace, literally, to give the brushes the opportunity to scrub the dirt and yuckies out of my carpet. This was not a typical, ordinary carpet cleaning and by all rights this machine should not have gotten my carpet as clean as it did - that's how bad my carpet was!I am impressed that my old, stained carpet actually has luster now.I like the ability to wash and rinse at the same time, but I think it would be great if I could turn the heat function on and off at will because I'd rather not try to dry the carpet until after it is rinsed, but I can work around that.Additionally, the hand tools do not have a rinse function, so if you are cleaning furniture or stairs, you won't be able to rinse the detergent out. A rinse function for the hand tools would be awesome.The tanks are easy to fill and empty and the entire machine is easy to use, easy to push and pull, and easy to keep clean. I love the scrubbing hand tool, too! With my lower back problems and fibromyalgia and associated chronic fatigue, I found this machine no more difficult to operate than my vacuum cleaner (which is a very inexpensive, light weight machine), with the exception of how often I had to empty and fill the tanks, but again, that's because of how bad my carpet was. Normal carpet cleaning would go much faster and without so many times having to fill and empty the tanks, I assure you.The "magic mixing" function is a plus, too - no more having to mix the detergents, it mixes itself into the water - no fuss, no muss, and no spilling detergent all over yourself and the floor. No more squinting through my Coke-bottle bi-focals to get the right measurements, either.The whole thing is simple and fantastic. I'm so impressed! I would definitely recommend this product to everyone - especially for the price! It's so easy to use I'll bet a married man could use it with one hand tied to the tv remote.Now if only they'd make one of these that moves the furniture, too... ;o)

Many have pointed out the excellent cleaning of this machine. I can only add to that. I just received mine and cranked it up with the sample cleaner that came with. Cleans like you would not believe and sucks up the water/dirt very well. We have 2 dogs also.This thing is so well engineered it's pretty amazing. I assembled it easily and I was very impressed with the thoughtful design that went into this machine. The tanks are easy to remove, easy to clean and refill, easy to replace on the machine. Of course your are going to get some drips on the floor, you're toting around water tanks (referring to some negative reviews). We happen to have a utility room sink that is large and helps with this process. You will need a filter for a sink drain or use the toilet to empty the dirty tank. The amount of dirt and fuzzy stuff this machine picks up is amazing. The whole cleaning/suction path of the machine can be removed to rinse/clean including the suction "Dual V" part. There are minimal small valves that can leak.I researched two machines before I bought this: the Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer and the Bissell products. I do not like the Bissell design with the collapsible bladder inside the clean water tank. Other have tried this (iRobot) for a cleaner and the bladder does not last. Also looks harder to clean. We have the Bissell Spot Bot for pets and the Hoover FloorMate Deluxe Hard Floor Cleaner, FH40160PC. We like both but the Bissell machine started leaking right away from the rubber valves at the bottom of the tanks right away. We have learned to live with this. This Bissell design has 2 separate tanks that are also easy to remove/clean. We also have the Hoover Hard floor cleaner and it uses a similar 2 tanks system and my wife and I love it. No issues with cleaning or maintenance. I am glad I bought this over the Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer as the path is wider=less clean time. All the machines this size and type are going to be heavy (referring to negative reviews). The Power scrub deluxe is lighter, but I (husband) will probably be the one to use this more. I was thinking of the rental machines for carpet cleaning with only the hose to maneuver and clean as you go, as I was using this Hoover. On those machines the motor/tank are all in the unit separate so handling only the hose is easy. What I like about this machine, that those do not have, are the spinning brushes to "scrub" the carpet. It's also more compact and less floor space than the rental machines. Also the tank designs are a plus along with no hose to clean out.I had to look over the Reviewers who posted a "1". Seems the vast majority were from 3-4 years back.Cleaning tips/address some negative reviews: I rinsed out the dirty tanks after every clean tank/area I did.Lot's of dirt and fuzzy stuff that needs to be rinsed out of the dirty tank each time.After 3 areas I removed the brushes to clean. The cleaning is a little tricky as there was fuzzy stuff around the inside of the plastic housing for the brushes. As I rinsed some of this balled up and made it hard to turn the brushes. Some negative reviews said they had been through multiple brushes after breakage. I can see that if this area is not cleaned, it will bind and the brushes will eventually stop>something has to give. I was able to rinse the fuzz balls out and /or pull out with my fingers, but a set of forceps or something else small to reach in and grab might be needed. I tried to open the housing but was not successful. I imagine the green plastic drive shaft is made to give to protect the motor/inner gears.The Dual V housing is removable to clean also. Again some fuzzy stuff gets straddled across the inside reinforcement areas that takes a little patience to clean out. This was not cleaned until the end and before outing away.Beware of fuzzies laying across openings/gaskets as you are removing and replacing tanks.I did have some drainage after parking the machine for tanks rinse/refills, but I use the machine to suction the floor and picked the water right up. One time after being on the carpet during tank refills it did leave some dirty drainage. This came right up when I cranked up the machine again. This is fluid/residue from the suction path and the area just cleaned. Given the long path of the Dual V and the vertical nature of this path, I can see where it came from. Perhaps while the machine is still running you could lift the front a little and suck more air to prevent this. But it came right up again so...Per the instructions I emptied the tanks and let them dry before storage so I have not had a leaking problem.Great Machine. It's a rainy wet day today so I cleaned carpets instead of working in the yard. It is big and slightly heavy, but this allows more cleaning in a shorter period of time. It moves back and forth on the carpet easily. Like other, Hoover has placed the carry handle low so it is easier to lift/tote. We also have a 2 story house. I can't help but wonder when people complain in reviews about this type of machine being too big or heavy, if they are the same people who drive around an extra 5 minutes looking for a closer parking space at the gym so they do not have to walk so far.If you want the convenience of a carpet/rug cleaner that you can crank up whenever you want, and not have to schedule/have strangers in to clean your carpets, this is a great machine.Update 3 March 2015.Just used this on a wool "zebra" rug. Please see photo. I was worried this machine would have trouble with this rug as there are high spots and low spots. I tried to show this in the photo. These high and low spots are substantial for a cleaner like this. This rug is in the den/TV room where we hang out and the dogs chew their bones on this rug. Again the amount of dirt this thing extracts is amazing. I would show you but that would be, well, airing your dirty rugs in public. This machine had no trouble with the hi and low points on this 12X9 rug. Cleaned very well.Again, at the end, clean the brush housing well and remove the fuzz balls.