Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When a plan to foster a litter of kittens and keep only one kitten permanently went awry, resulting in our family now having four adult cats, we started to have carpet problems. Cats tend to barf every so often, and we had one cat who went through a phase of blocked anal glands, which she attempted to relieve by scooting her butt all over the floor. 'Nuff said. I was thus truly grateful to have the opportunity to try out the Hoover power scrub carpet cleaner. The unit arrived in a largish but not overly heavy box. Once opened, the assembly was a breeze: All you need is a Phillips head screwdriver, which you use to attach the handle to the base unit. All other parts simply click into place. Then you simply pour in the cleaning solution in the "solution" part of the tank, and hot tap water in the "water" part of the tank. Carpet cleaning itself is a multi-stage process: You set the cleaner on "deep" or "quick" clean mode, depending on how deep you want the water to penetrate and/or how long you want to wait for the carpet to dry. Then you push the cleaner forward, slowly, and then reverse course, while squeezing the handle trigger down. After you've done that, you go forward and back over the same path without holding the trigger down (to suck up the water). After you've done that for the area you're working on, you turn a switch to "rinse" mode, and then repeat the whole process. This gets more of the cleaning solution residue out of your carpet. Then you move to the next area. All of this takes time, and effort. I've gained a new appreciation for professional carpet cleaners, because this is not nearly as easy as pushing a vacuum around. For one thing, the unit is heavier and harder to maneuver than the average upright vacuum. (Helpful tip: When going upstairs, carry the water tank separately and wait until you're upstairs to attach it, to cut down on the weight.) For another, you want to move slowly so as to get good coverage of your carpet. And then there's the fact that every so often you have to stop to empty out the dirty water that's been sucked up, as well as refill the clean water / solution tanks. You also need to plan in advance just how you're going to cover your areas; I found through experience that it was easier to negotiate the power cord if I did multiple sets of shorter rows than big long rows. How did it work? Well, I was favorably impressed, impressed enough to give the unit a five-star rating. I was aghast, actually, at how dirty the water was the first time I emptied the dirty water tank--I've attached a photo so you could see it. I had no idea my carpets were that filthy. Yikes. I also was impressed with the upholstery cleaning capabilities. There is an accessory tube/nozzle included that allows you to clean furniture (and carpeted staircases). I'm also attaching a before-and-after photo of an ottoman we own that's had a prominent stain for years. As you can see, the stain didn't go away completely, but it was an old stain and it's a heck of a lot better than it was before. I'm pleased with how it turned out. So, are there any negatives? Just a couple of minor quibbles. First, the instruction manual has diagrams and instructions for how to REMOVE the dirty water tank, but nothing at all about how to attach it back ON, only an "important" warning that "it is important that the Dirty Water Tank Lid is securely in place. (see Figs. E, F, and G)." It took me literally half an hour to find Figures E, F, and G, which did not show up until 9 pages later in the manual--a little pointer to the right page number would've been helpful. Second, I was a little taken aback at how often I had to stop and empty the dirty water and refill the clean water tank, as well as how quickly the cleaning solution went. I used up the entire sample bottle of cleaner that was provided with the unit merely in cleaning the traffic path in two rooms, a hallway, and the ottoman, and I had to refill the water three times in doing so. It's possible I went over the areas too much and rinsed them more than necessary. I'll need to experiment with it more in the future. But in all, I think this is a wonderful appliance for people who have lots of pets and/or children, and who want something for spot cleanings or to make their carpets look good in between professional cleanings. (Especially if you are like my household and are too lazy/forgetful to schedule the professional cleanings as often as recommended.)