The Hoover SteamVac carpet cleaner (model F5914900) is a carpet cleaner with “Clean Surge”. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this carpet cleaner with a built in shampooer?
Pros of the Hoover Carpet Shampooer
You can use tap water with this carpet cleaner, whereas some of its rivals required distilled water. Use hot water for best effect, but boiling water isn’t needed unless you’re picking up grease.
The Clean Surge feature lets you kick it into high gear to clean bad spots instead of having to make repeated passes. But the unit saves energy and water by not using this high setting all of the time.
The manufacturer offers pet specific cleaning solutions that get pee and poop stains and smells out of your carpet that work wonderfully with this machine. And while the Hoover brand carpet detergent is reasonably priced, you can use cheaper alternative products with this carpet cleaner.
It separates dirty water from clean water, so you don’t have to worry about the quality of the cleaning job deteriorating as you go.
The machine comes with a hand attachment for cleaning upholstery or stairs. The only concern is you have to remove the lid of the dirty water tank to attach its hose, which is not as convenient as some models.
At twenty pounds, this unit is lighter and more maneuverable than the carpet shampooers you rent from the grocery store.
Cons of the Carpet Cleaner
If the seals are not lined up perfectly, the unit stops working. If there’s an issue with suction, it is because something isn’t seated properly, and the unit is not built in a poke yoke (mistake proof) manner to assembling it so that it can’t be assembled wrong.
The cord is short.
The relatively small clean water container is not easy to latch in. And you have to refill it periodically.
It is a challenge to clean all of the dirt and debris out of the dirty water tank to ensure it doesn’t smell.
Observations
Do not use the powered cleaner with the carpet cleaner unit on velvet furniture. You can use a utility tool instead.
The clear water tank holds more water than the dirty water tank, so you have to empty the dirty water tank multiple times while cleaning a large room. This is a hassle, but it may be tolerable since the dirty water tank is smaller and more manageable, while a large dirty water tank may be prone to being spilled.
Some units leak badly from the get-go. If you receive one of these machines, return it immediately for replacement because there is no way to fix it. Others leak very mildly. You can minimize the odds of the minor leakage issue by going through the initial set up procedure where you squeeze the trigger and push the button for the Clean Surge function to lock a critical rod into place. It may sound like a snap or something breaking when you do this, but it is actually forcing a key component that otherwise leaks mildly when the unit is run – and you can’t prevent that leakage after you’ve used it the first time.
Hoover has had mediocre service with this particular machine.
Dry vacuum the carpet before you use this carpet cleaner / shampooer for the best effect.
Always clean the brushes after you’ve used it so the brushes won’t gum up with hair and fibers and then won’t turn the next time you try to use it.
Summary
This is an affordable and decent performing carpet cleaner and shampooer if you take the time to assemble it correctly, run it properly and maintain it between runs.
