Hoover Carpet Cleaner SteamVac with Clean Surge Carpet Cleaner Machine

This was shipped via UPS and when I opened the box everything was as it should be. No lumps, bumps or bruises. I read the manual before I did anything else and it went together quickly in about 10 minutes. I've not yet used the hose and small scrubber attachment but did clean the hallway and dining room today. Did a very thorough vaccuming and pretreated spots with a very light solution of OxiClean and water in a spray bottle. Agitated this mixture on the carpet with my fingertips and just let it sit until I had the carpet cleaner ready to go. After reading other reviews, as well as having done many carpets in my life, I used only about 1.5 oz of carpet cleaning solution and .5 oz OxiClean per container of VERY HOT water. This was plenty of cleaning solution even tho' this was the first time I've cleaned these carpets in four years. The machine did exactly what is was supposed to do. It cleaned my carpet and it cleaned it really, really well. I used the power surge over the areas I'd pretreated and every stain came out. Carpets were dry in about two and a half hours and I proceeded to rinse them. Again I used really hot water, no soap, and while the rinse water in the dirty water container was grungy it wasn't sudsy. I rinsed the carpets in the same pattern I cleaned them, going first one direction and then doing a second pass at a 90-degree angle. After the rinsing it took about 3 hours for them to dry, but I really recommend you do the rinse because excess soap residue in your carpet is going to attract dirt like a magnet. Looking at 'em now I think they actually sparkle! Some thoughts about assembly, use and cleaning up afterward:1. Take your time and read the manual. Put this puppy together in good light, use a sturdy phillips head screw driver and a have a cup of coffee or glass of wine (whatever you like) ready for the occasional sip and take your time. Once you've got it together, take a few minutes to get to know where all the tools go, how the water exits the clean tank as well as how it gets sucked back up. Put the hose attachment on to make sure it's going to work even if you don't plan on using it right away.2. Don't be surprised when you find yourself emptying the dirty water a lot. It's a powerful little sucker and it really gets the dirt and water out well. The frequency of having to empty the dirty water is a trade-off for ease; I'm not the strongest person around and I don't relish carrying a heavy container of water. Additionally, it makes the carpet cleaner itself a lot more maneuverable when it's not loaded down with 30 pounds of clean and dirty water. I found that replacing the clean water tank and emptying the dirty one was very easy and since I'd taken the time to figure out how both containers worked before they were full of water I knew exactly how to go about it.3. The manufacturer says to use 3 - 5 ozs. of cleaner per bucket of clean water. I only used 1 oz of water fortified with 1/2 oz of OxiClean and found this to work really well. Tip: fill the container with VERY HOT water and then add the soap to avoid the suds taking up all the room in the container. We have two cats in our house, a grandchild, and lots of company. I hadn't cleaned these carpets in 4 years, and yes, the reduced amount of soap did the job really well.4. Pretreat stains. Not only will this help get them up but it also prevents you from using too much cleaning solution in one spot and then having a tough time getting it out.5. Be sure to rinse after cleaning. This is going to pull up more gunk and grime as well as get out that nasty soap residue that always lurks in the fibers. But take the manufacturers' advice and let your carpet dry before you rinse to avoid soaking your pad underneath.6. As with all chores great and small, make sure you've some sort of libation or some treat available for those little break times we all need. Seems to make things go much more quickly and with a lot more enjoyment.

I have pets. With digestive issues. A 7 year old springer, a 25 year old american shorthair cat, a couple of rescue cats (young-ish) and a 15 year old long haired male cat...I have yet to use anything but piping hot water in the tank of this machine and it cleans my rugs like magic.***Warning: Graphic Descriptions to Follow***If you wake up to poop plops from an 80 lb dog, or step in cat vomit on your way through the hallway to your morning constitutional, or have friends with pets that visit and hold their car-sickness in until they reach your hardwoods floors, this is the machine for you.I don't know why my pets have to vomit on rugs, but linoleum or porcelain tiles which are super easy to clean, simply will not do. Two days ago, I hear my daughter chanting "not the rug, not the rug!" She even tried pulling it out from under my 80 lb dog, who simply collapsed and left a pile of vomit 12" long, with a 3" diameter on the rug. The smell was so ghastly that she had to step outdoors while mommy and her new Hoover stepped in. Within minutes, all signs of the ghastly event were erased and the rug looked as good as new again.Weeks ago, my dog suddenly felt ill and left a pile of bile near my desk in my office. Filled the tank with piping hot water and watched as the yellow stains were completely pulled from the carpet, and while it took several passes to get it all pulled up, it left the carpet as if nothing had happened.Yesterday morning, whilst contemplating my morning mug of coffee, I noticed poop plops on the same entry way rug, and as i work from home and see clients in my home office, I could not simply leave them there, and removing the runner would not do; so again, I turned to my Hoover, filled it with piping hot water (130 to 140 degrees F) and watched as the stains disappeared. The rug was completely dry before my first client arrived for the day an hour later, and no one is ever the wiser.I find this machine to be an astounding piece of engineering. It erases stains like magic, leaves the carpets barely damp, wads up all the ground in pet hairs for easy pickup and leaves nothing behind but clean soft carpets. I've always used the supplied chemical cleaners int he past and find they leave the carpet nice looking but "crunchy feeling to walk on" and quick to re-soil. This machine works so well with just water, that I don't have to worry about any residues.When needed I do follow up with Seventh Generation disinfectant spray or my home made disinfectant (potato vodka with a couple drops of lemon-grass essential oil) in a brown glass sprayer.***Key Points****Use HOT water. If it's not hot enough to scald you, it's not hot enough to dissolve the sins from your rug. After using this on rugs/carpets, use it on a bare floor surface to draw clean water through everything to give it a good rinsing. Empty the tub immediately. You do not want whatever was in your rugs, festering in the stagnant tank until your next use.Happy Cleaning!Update 3-18-19:Still love this machine, still works like new.My neighbor tripped and received a one inch laceration to her forehead in her carpeted kitchen. We got her patched up an a jiffy (also with my first aid kit bought here on Amazon) well needless to say her carpets were full of blood. I came home, gathered my machine, filled it with COLD water and proceeded to erase every single spot. Still working like a champ. Obviously, there is some common sense to using a machine like this. Hot water for some stains and general spot cleaning and cold water for others like blood/protein.Common sense + powerful machine = clean carpets