Carpet cleaner/shampoo machines

[crazyme5kids]

I'm thinking about buying one. Does anyone have any suggestions on which brands work well?

 

[HOGFAN]

I have had a Hoover SteamVac for 6-7 years and when it finally breaks down I will buy another. It is a workhorse, I clean about every 3 months. wonderful machine. The only thing I would do different next time would be to get the Widepath version. Also mine doesnt have a way to keep the water hot, but thats not really a big deal to me.

 

[crazyme5kids]

How long does it usually take for the carpet to dry? Does it pull a lot of the water out or is the carpet pretty saturated when you are done?

 

[HOGFAN]

I would say that most of the water is pulled out. It only takes about 2 hours to dry. We speed it along by putting the ceiling fan on high and maybe aiming another box fan on it.


You will be amazed when you empty the recovery tank. The water always looks like mud, even as often as I clean ours. does that mean we have nasty feet?

 

[Charade]

You will be amazed when you empty the recovery tank. The water always looks like mud, even as often as I clean ours. does that mean we have nasty feet?

No, it means you have nasty SHOES! So that's why I hardly ever walk around barefoot. If you want to see how dirty your carpet is, walk around in white socks for a while. YUCK!

 

[golfgal]

Take a bucket of water and put a handful of dirt into it and see what it looks like. It looks a lot worse then it really is. It doesn't take much dirt to dilute the water and make it look like mud. Not that your carpets aren't dirty, they just aren't as bad as they look. This is one reason the Rainbow vacuum people have so much success, it looks worse then it really is and they have the shock value going for them.

 

[mrsv98]

I have had a Hoover SteamVac for 6-7 years and when it finally breaks down I will buy another. It is a workhorse, I clean about every 3 months. wonderful machine. The only thing I would do different next time would be to get the Widepath version. Also mine doesnt have a way to keep the water hot, but thats not really a big deal to me.

ITA! I had the first one for 8 years until it finally gave out and bought another. With three Labs, I clean the carpets a LOT. Generally at least every 6 weeks. I can clean the rugs in the am and they are dry by the time DD gets home from school, and I don't even put any extra fans down. Try not to clean on really humid days unless you have the ac on or it will take forever.

I use Resolve carpet cleaner and if I have a big stain, I will put half a scoop of Oxiclean in the tank too. I highly reccomend it!

 

[Princess89]

I agree that the Hoover is just wonderful. I was considering buying the Bissel I think it is, the one that keeps the water hot. I borrowed a friends and it didn't compare to my Hoover. I will be buying the widepath one though, since my dog chewed the cord, I need a new one. The Hoover is the best IMO, and its not that expensive either.

 

[crazyme5kids]

Thanks everyone! Is there a certain model of the steam vac that is better than the other or are they about the same?

 

[jennyl772003]

We bought this one a few months ago http://www.hoover.com/db/xq/asp.hvrProductMain/CatID.6/ProdID.187/ModID.2019/qx/SteamVacDualV.htm

We were very satisfied with it. It rinses the carpet as well, which kept it from getting as crunchy.

Since we have only used it once, I can't say anything about it's durability. My ILs and my parents both have Hoovers that they've had for years.