Wow! I bought this in-store and was unsure that a product under $200 could clean my carpets as well as the rental machines I have been using, much less perform a miracle in some places. I am SHOCKED at what came out of my floor that the rental machine left behind. This Hoover is amazing!!
I am renting a townhouse, and found stains from a previous tenant shortly after moving in a year ago. By "stains", I mean that the floor in one entire room (not a corner or a large spot - the ROOM from wall to wall) was soaked in dried urine, which was not visible in the brown carpet but only noticeable a few hot, sunny days after I moved in, and you could not sit in half of the living room and or stand in the hallway for the same reason. I could not get the smell or the non-visible stains out using the rental machine, even renting the machine on several occasions over the last year and a half. It was awful and embarrassing! This little Hoover got all of it out after a few hours of work, though! I don't know what the difference is between this and the rental, but it works and the floors no longer smell like urine! Several yellow lower tankfuls after starting, it is now finally gone from my carpet. Maybe it was the Hoover cleaning solution, maybe the rental loosened the junk up, maybe it was the heat from this Hoover or its spin brushes - I don't know, but the smell is gone! The machine, while plastic-y, is well designed and seems easy to push. The spin brushes scrub the carpet from all sides and, combined with the vacuum, leave the formerly matted carpet standing nice and fluffy - another surprise! I never noticed the carpet was that bad until I used this machine - the carpet is actually soft now, too!
The size of this unit is just right for a small townhouse or apartment, but be prepared to refill the solution at regular intervals, which was fine with me. It is not as heavy as the rental units and I can easily take it up and down the stairs. The carpet also dries within a few hours, although I don't know if that is because of the heat from the unit or if my place is just that dry (we are in the Southeast drought). The upper tank is for fresh solution and the cap doubles as a measuring cup - which takes the guesswork out of the cleaning! You just have to make sure that you have the tank locked in place before cleaning, otherwise you will not get solution into the carpet. The lower tank easily lifts out, but do note that there is liquid in the lid of the lower tank and it is dirty so be careful not to splash when you open that tank. The in-store model came with CleanSurge (for high traffic areas and my oh-so-fragrant "hot spots"), the upholstery/stair hose and tool, and an additional bonus power hand tool with smaller spin brushes.
The power hand tool will vacuum up to tight corners, but cleaning with the scrub brushes flush against walls or corners is a bit difficult. It gets within about half an inch or so, though!
Overall, I am very happy with this purchase and will be buying another one for my brother and future sister-in-law as a wedding present next year. I am a graduate student and money is tight, so I had to make sure that if I got something, it was going to actually work as described. I feel that this was definitely a good buy and am so glad I purchased it instead of a cheaper model of another brand with no hand tool. I bought this brand and model because reviews on other sites suggested it was the most reliable/least leaking/etc. in the price range and was the best value. The CleanSurge model, according to the instructions, also does hardwood floors. This is much more than the best I hoped for when making this purchase. Thank you Wal-Mart and Hoover!
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