Review: Hoover SteamVac with Clean Surge

If you are tired of the hassle and expense of paying professional carpet cleaners to come and shampoo your carpets, I recommend buying a Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge, model F5914-900. While there are a few features on the Hoover I don't particularly like, overall I'm very happy with the performance of the Hoover SteamVac carpet shampooer.

The Hoover SteamVac features a powerful 12-Amp motor, five spinning brushes to loosen dirt, a clean surge feature which releases extra soap in heavy-traffic areas, two water tanks that keep the dirty water separate from the clean water, the option of high or normal cleaning, a separate hand tool with spinning brushes, and an eight-foot long power cord.

Even though the Hoover SteamVac says it has heated cleaning, don't be fooled. It is not heating the water in the tank. Instead, the carpet cleaner applies heat directly onto the floor. To get the best results you will need to use hot water in your clean water tank.

I originally purchased the SteamVac because I needed to shampoo the carpet on my stairs. Since the Hoover SteamVac has a SpinScrub Hand Tool for upholstery, stairs and spots, I thought it would be an easy process.

Unfortunately, the directions for hooking up the hand tool are quite complex. It requires turning off the machine, removing the clean water tank, sliding the hose into the dirty water tank, plugging the hose into a special plug, and then putting the tank back in.

When I got to the middle of my steps I was bummed when I realized the hose was not long enough to reach that step. I don't know if I have an especially long stairway, or if everyone would have the same trouble reaching the middle step.

While I was disappointed that shampooing the steps was not an easy process, I was impressed with what a good job the Hoover SteamVac did on my carpets. If you follow the directions, you will get amazing results for a lot less money than hiring professional carpet cleaners.

When using the Hoover SteamVac, make sure you vacuum your carpet well before shampooing. You don't want strings, fur or other debris getting caught in the five spinning brushes.

Next, check to see if you have enough carpet shampoo. The little trial size bottle that came with the Hoover SteamVac will not last long because this machine uses a lot of soap. It is best to go out and buy a gallon size of Hoover Deep Cleansing Shampoo if you plan on cleaning a large area. One thing I really like about this carpet shampoo is that it has very little fragrance compared to others I have tried in the past.

When you are ready to use the Hoover SteamVac, start with a small area of carpet. Go slowly forward dispensing soap, backward dispensing soap, forward without soap and backward without soap. If you have a high-traffic area, push the Clean Surge button for extra soap.

Make sure you have easy access to a sink because you will be making multiple trips to that sink. I was a bit frustrated by the constant need to stop the machine to either fill or empty the tanks. Plus, the timing never seemed to work out to be able to empty and fill both tanks at the same time.

One of the best features of the Hoover SteamVac is the quick drying time of the carpet. I was able to walk on the carpet within hours of using the SteamVac. It really does a good job of sucking up the excess water.

At first I was a bit intimidated by the size of the Hoover SteamVac. Then I read how you can carry the carpet cleaner by placing your hand under the clean solution tank handle. I was amazed when I was able to carry the carpet cleaner up and down the steps using only one hand.

There are few things I wish Hoover had done differently. All of the labels on the machine, such as "Fill Line," and "Hand Tool" are embossed in the gray plastic which makes it very hard to see.

Also, the power button looks just like the handle release button on the other side of the machine. A simple green power button, along with colored labels on the machine would have made the Hoover SteamVac much more intuitive to use.

I also wish Hoover could find a way to make the hand tool accessible without going through the whole conversion process. There were times when I needed to use the hand tool, but since it was such a complicated process, I just skipped it. Now there are spots along my baseboards that aren't as clean as the rest of the carpet.

Overall I am very happy with the Hoover SteamVac. My carpets look like new and the carpet dried within hours. It is relatively easy to use, and the clean up process was much easier than other carpet cleaners I have used in the past. The price was also lower than other comparable carpet cleaners on the market which makes it a good value for the money.