Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge, F5914-900
by Hoover
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List Price: Our Price: $139.83 You Save: $40.16 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge, F5914-900
Customer Review: For the price an excellent purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
Sixteen years of living with the same family room carpet (through two growing kids, a husband who does not like to take off footwear when coming into the house plus a total of four dogs) ended this past March. The old rug had been professionally cleaned on occasion, but the time had finally come to say good-bye. New wall-to-wall was purchased & installed. And while knowing that this rug would receive, while not as much traffic (kids & dogs gone) but still a good amount, I opted for a medium beige rug instead of a more realistic darker shade...silly me.
After 1-2 months noticed a definite difference in color, especially the entrance areas into the room although all precautions were being taken to keep the rug as clean as possible. And since this room is still the one where everyone gathers to relax, the high traffic "path" is still a problem. Had borrowed my daughter's Bissell 'Little Green" for spot cleaning but decided to spend the money to purchase a more professional-type machine. Spent the summer doing research (with and without onboard heaters). Came very close to getting a Bissell 2080 Quicksteamer upright, but one of the things I wanted was the hose attachment for upholstery/stair cleaning; the Bissell does not have this feature.
Ordered the Hoover through Amazon on Sat., 10/24 (the price plus free shipping was the final consideration), received it on Tues., 10/27 (love Amazon's service). Didn't get the chance to use it until this morning but couldn't be happier. Rug just over 7 months old, vacuumed at least twice a week, no dogs, no kids - even with the lessened traffic the dirty water coming into the tank was dark mud color. Took about 25 minutes to do the carpet with excellent results. Definitely did not need a heater unit in the machine; the hot water from our faucet is hot enough. And the drying time was quick - able to get back into the room within an hour of finishing (didn't over saturate the carpet plus kept the ceiling fan on). You do need to read the in-depth product review here on Amazon from "Lissie" (12/1/05) - was one of the main reasons I purchased the Hoover. She took the time to explain her findings & it did make a difference in assembling the machine, especially the one-time set up of the clean surge button & trigger mechanism. No leakage at all.
One comment for those who are considering purchasing a carpet cleaner - if your looking for something that is quick to use & put away, you may want to have a professional come to do your floors. The Hoover took a few minutes to set up before cleaning the carpet, but more time to really get the machine cleaned & ready for the next job (the rotary brush bristles should be cleaned of all fiber; both tanks should be cleaned well/dried before putting away; on the bottom of the machine the surface area in front of the brushes had a lot of clinging dirt & sand build up). And since I did not use the hose today, that clean up time wasn't included. This procedure definitely needs to be done before storing the machine; reminded me of the Rainbow vacuum cleaner I had years ago. If you don't clean it when your done then chances are your going to be really annoyed the next time you go to use it.
Customer Review: New Carpet After Each Use!
Summary: 5 Stars
The light beige carpets in my apartment receive the complimentary carpet cleaning from the professionals every January. The last time they were here they left the door open and unlocked, and the carpets did not look that much better. I have two senior citizen cats who have their share of fur balls and little box accidents. After a month, the carpet looks like it did before the cleaners came. "Resolve" only does so much good. My oldest cat also has severe allergies, so I don't even wear shoes on the carpet to keep it as clean as possible. A friend of mine bought a different brand, but with her two kids and two dogs, she keeps her carpets spotless(almost).
I began to do some research and was pleased to learn that Amazon.com sold steam vacs. I at first settled on the Hoover F6215 because I thought it would be fun to have something that looked like a decoration instead of an appliance. That lavender color almost had me sold until I found this model, the F5914, and read the comparison review by the retired design engineer. Consumer complaints about earlier models had scared me away from Hoover altogether, but evidently Hoover got tired of taking back their junkier models and changed the design to make the newer steam vacs more durable and dependable. The F5914 is sturdier than the F6215, though probably not as much fun to look at. The F5914 is also $20 cheaper, and Amazon ships it for free(minus the sales tax). You can't get a better deal than that, and it even arrived in two days.
I have used the F5914 three times, and I have never been happier. This product does exactly what it was designed to do. I was a bit intimidated by it at first--I took it out of the box and set it in the middle of the living room for two days--but after I read and re-read the instructions so that I knew what I was doing, I took it on its virgin cruise, and it performed beautifully! I cleaned each room individually and was shocked at the amount of BLACK dirt that was in the carpet, even after I had vacuumed first. The carpet dried right away, and there was no soapy residue(I purchased the Premium Pet Formula at the same time and am equally pleased with that product). What is so great is that every time I steam vac the carpets, which is about every two months, there is less and less dirt, and the carpets look brand new each and every time. In fact, my landlady thought I had new carpets installed!
The only negative thing about this steam vac has nothing to do with the design. Plan on having to clean the steam vac when you are done using it. My carpet "pills" after a while, and the excess gets trapped under the face plate, so I have to use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the face plate and clean off the carpet fibers. Also, when you are cleaning the removable parts and turn the unit on its side, do so on a tile or linoleum floor with a couple of towels underneath. There is water left over inside and it drains out.
Like so many other customers, I am sorry I waited so long to purchase a steam vac. Having carpets that look new and smell clean and fresh makes your home a healthier, more uplifting environment.
Customer Review: I LOVE this machine!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am definitely a type A personality and do all of my homework before purchasing many items. I reviewed several carpet cleaners and have often found that high ratings on Amazon do not disappoint. Once again, I was not disappointed! There are several things about this machine that I just love, the resulting clean carpet is certainly one of them. There is quite a satisfaction that comes from dumping out brown water from the tank and knowing it is no longer in your carpet. From the start, I was pleased to see how much was pulled out of my carpet. I was surprised to see when I happened to run a second round about a week later that it still pulled more...my carpets were very dirty it turned out. There was an area on my carpet that I thought was faded by the sun due to the carpet being very old and the large windows which shine directly on this area, I was shocked to learn that they were not faded after going over this area a few times with the cleaner. For high traffic areas, I recommend using the clean surge generously. If your carpets have not been cleaned in a while, stock up on a couple bottles cleaning solution and patience. You want to move slowly with the cleaner so that the brushes and solution can really do their job. I would also recommending planning on one room a day because if you are going slow, it takes a while. Also, in really dirty areas I would go over the area a second time in a different direction so the carpet fibers were cleaned from several directions. This was very effective. It's well worth your patience and doing it right because I had areas that were very stained on cream colored carpet and it does look relatively new again...and it is very old carpet.
BUILT WITH THE USER IN MIND. The tanks are all easy to remove, fill, dump, etc. They also provide a tool to clean out the front suction area which is really nice because that getting clogged is what has doomed previous spot cleaning machines I have purchased. The front is clear so you can see the water being suctioned and know if you've gotten most of the water and are ready to move on, can see how dirty the water being sucked up is and judge if you want a second round, and can see if no water is coming up and thus something is not seated correctly on the machine (saves you wasting your time!). This is a very user friendly machine. It is also very nice that the carpet is rather dry after you have suctioned over it a couple times so the room does not have to be avoided for a significant amount of time.
Attachments are wonderful. These attachments can be used for everything from furniture to spot cleaning. There were a few small stains here and there on my carpets which the vac scrubbers weren't getting very well, the hand tools got it right up. Also in doorways, along walls, tight spaces, and under furniture which is too heavy to move. Spot cleaning is a breeze after a spill. I've also washed two couches and a mattress! It has been amazing to watch the amount of dirt pulled out of a couch, which didn't even LOOK dirty! We had a spill on a bed and the hand tools pulled it all right out. Attachments are easy to install and take off. LOVE THEM.
Customer Review: Great!
Summary: 5 Stars
The best review on here is from Lissie. I read that and others before purchasing this "steamvac". Now we all know it is truly not a steamvac. That being said I can only say what a wonderful "carpet cleaner" this is. We have a home in the mountains we purchased 15 years ago. Dirt and dust everywhere. But to add to that we have been in construction for the last 12 years-remodeling, adding on, etc. - lots of sheet rock, sanding and such. Now in a perfect world we would have put the carpet in when we were done, but we needed something on the floor so we could live here during the process. Add to that raising 4 dogs from puppy to old age and numerous kids and grandkids - the carpet has taken a beating. Sad to say I have only shampooed or spot cleaned the carpet and had it cleaned professionally once in that time. I bought this cleaner hoping it would make some of the stains acquired during that time look a little less obvious. Well, not only did it remove most of the stains, it raised the nap of the carpet and it looks beautiful. Did it make it look new again? No. But the difference is like night and day. It was brown from all the dirt. I forgot it was a light beige carpet with darker threads wove in. I first did my living room where the highest traffic was, especially in front of the French Doors. Also pet stains, lots of pet stains. The rest of the carpet came out beautifully, but the area in front of the French Doors I had to do twice. Looks just awesome. I was so excited I couldn't wait to do another room - so off to the dining room. Again, it turned out beautiful. The suctioning of the water works wonderfully. My carpet dried in one afternoon. The gunk left in the dirty water tank was disgusting as you can imagine. I'm planning on doing the hall and bedroom traffic areas next, but for right now I am enjoying the cleaner carpet in my living and dining room. Now when I vacuum it actually looks vacuumed! So soft you enjoy walking on it. I suspect it will look even better the next time I clean it. Bare floors - ok I did purchase the bare floor attachment and will give a review when I use it, however just for fun I swept the kitchen floor and used the cleaner. It worked! Was it perfect, no. But as a quick clean in between getting on your hands and knees and cleaning, it worked great. Dried very quickly and I didn't have the puddling of water on the floor I read about. I'm hoping with the attachment it works even better. The cleaner is very easy to assemble (I'm a 60 year old female). Yes it is plastic, but I feel it's not as delicate as some say here. It is heavy, but again not terrible. As far as the loudness goes, I have a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner and I don't think this is as loud as the vacuum. Oh and don't forget a one-time only setup procedure where you squeeze the trigger and push the Clean-Surge button to lock a rod into place. Push the Clean-Surge button firmly. It is in the directions on the sheet, but I could not find in the book. I was glad that Lissie had mentioned it. All and all I find this to be a wonderful cleaner that I would recommend to anyone.Customer Review: Carpet looks like new!
Summary: 4 Stars
After one use over my whole living room and bedroom here are my impressions. This thing is pretty easy to use and gets the carpet very clean. The prep time is really where cleaning your carpet becomes a long process. More on that later.
It's much more handy to have a machine like this as opposed to calling a pro to do it. Why? It's simple. You can work at your own pace. You can do one room one day and another room another day. That way you don't have to move every piece of furniture in the house into your kitchen. You also don't have to wait 5 hours for your carpet to dry. Your carpet will completely dry, using the steamvac, in around 3 hours. But the wait is much more tolerable because it won't actually feel like waiting if you're doing rooms at a time. Just close the door and don't go in there for a few hours. No big deal. With a pro you're sitting in the kitchen or going out until it drys.
Anyway now for the steamvac itself. Just a bit of warning, you're going to have to empty the dirty water maybe 3-4 times when doing a normal sized living room. It becomes a hassle. This thing is also a water guzzler. You'll find yourself refilling the clean water maybe 3 times. You'll notice that the machine will not suck when either the water is close to empty, or the dirty bin is full. This happens more frequently than you'd expect. The cleaner will make a whinier noise when this happens and the brushes will stop rotating. Not exactly sure why this happens, but it does. This all goes back to the prep time i was talking about earlier, because at that point you have no choice but the empty and refill your bins. My machine also leaks some of the clean water. Not a big deal but it's worth noting. And yes, i did read the instructions about pressing the two triggers. Oh, and no i didn't get any parts to snap. And yes again, i did press the triggers hard.
Bottom line though, this machine does what it sets out to do. I'm very pleased with the results. It's also light and maneuverable which is a plus. I know this review dwells on the negatives, but i'm really quite satisfied with it. I just wanted to point out that there's just as much prep time as actual cleaning time when doing full rooms in your house. Refill and empty maybe once for bedrooms, and up to 3 times for both for a living room. Haven't done the hall way but i'm assume at this point at least once. So if you get this machine don't expect it to be a breeze like actually dry vacuuming. There's some effort involved. Now if you're just doing random spots then of course it'll cut down on the prep time and will be much quicker. Fortunately the results are worth it.
Other notes: The machine is not too loud. Power cord is on the short side. It has a three pronged power plug so finding an outlet may be difficult. Hand tool requires you to connect a bunch of stuff, so it's better to not have to switch back and forth from the hand tool to the steamvac. Finish with one and then use the other.