Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The hose finally broke on our older little green cleaner and we decided to splurge and go with the automatic version. It was ABSOLUTELY the right choice. I can't say that it cleans any better or worse than the cheaper little green model, but it does all the scrubbing for you. No bending over, kneeling on the ground, smelling the stinky water as it's sucked into the tank. Just drop it on the stain, hit go, and walk away. I read some reviews that people thought it used too much water, I really don't find that to be the case. A full tank will get 5-6 normal cycles, or 2-3 deep cleans. I got 4 tanks out of the free sample bottle of soap which can be bought pretty cheap. The full size bottles of soap are even more economical. For every-day spills and pet accidents the regular cycle is fine, even for my stupid off-white stain magnet carpets. Highly recommended, you won't regret spending the extra $40. ~~~Updated 7/23/2013~~~ We have finally worn out our SpotBot. The first failure point was several of the attachments between the upper housing and the lower cleaning unit. The gap became visible between the top and the bottom when you lifted it by the handle. I repaired this with some washers, however the seal between the upper and lower unit has never been the same. The unit now leaks during operation, creating a high quantity of foam during automatic operation or a moderate puddle on the floor when using the hose. We enjoyed it while it lasted, but we are going with a different brand next time. ~~~Updated 4/20/2016~~~ Time for another upgrade. Instead of going with a different brand as planned, I decided to purchase another of the same unit. Unfortunately the same leaking issues developed. I am not convinced that the leaking is caused by a material failure inside the unit, rather I think that excess liquid is being blown out of the vacuum exhaust and is collecting inside the body of the unit. This is particularly noticeable if there is any foaming in the waste side of the unit. One other frustration is the relative inconvenience of cleaning the unit after use. If you simply let it run then put it away, the hose gets skunky fast. To rinse it out you have to un-wind the hose, likely attach the manual scrubbing head, then run it while holding the hose under the sink. I don't have a ready solution to this, but a "rinse-through" design must be possible where you simply place the entire unit the sink and run water in the rinse out port. At this point I wouldn't recommend the unit to a friend, I'd suggest a full size unit or just stick with surface treatments.