Hoover Carpet Cleaner Max Extract Dual V WidePath Carpet Cleaner Machine F7412900,Black

Bought July 2010 for $180. We have a huge living room, 450 square feet. All of which is covered in very very light colored berber carpet. We've had this carpet for only 4 years and it was a mistake putting it in seeing as we have 3 kids, 2 dogs and 1 cat. It was extremely soiled. I had it professionally clean by ChemDry about 2 years ago, they got it very clean but some areas where the dogs had gone potty, were only faded. We cover that area with a rug anyway. I decided to buy my own cleaner instead of paying $200 to have it professionally cleaned again. I searched though Amazon and epinions and decided on this model, or the Hoover Dual V plum, which is the same model only in plum color instead of black. Any part in the picture supplied by Amazon that is purple, is actually black on this model. Putting together the machine is very easy to do. It basically comes already put together, the only thing you have to put on is the top 1/2 of the handle. Takes about 2-3 minutes. I like the idea of the ready mixing formula instead of mixing the water and formula together. Having too much formula left in your carpets will actually make it dingy faster. This model comes with a wash function and a rinse function. I washed and scrubbed until no more dirty water was being sucked up and then rinsed with plain hot water to wash out any soap residue that was left. The tanks are easy to fill and remove. The only problem I had was when you remove that water/formula tank, where it connects to the main unit, there is a small amount of water and formula left, which, once you tip it back will spill onto the the floor. There is really no way around this because thats how it was designed. I would soak up what was left with a paper towel and then tip the machine back to remove the recovery tank. Cleaning both of the tanks is the easiest I have every seen. Its quite impossible for any debris to get permanently stuck in the recovery tank which I have seen on every Bissell Spotbot I have ever owned! The water/formula tank is as simple as turning it over and letting the rest drain into a sink or with the formula, back into the bottle. This carpet cleaner cleaned my berber even better than ChemDry did 2 years ago. It was able to really get the pet stains out. If you have some really bad ones like I did, I would spray the formula on and then very very VERY slowly go over it so the brushes could scrub the carpet. My carpet looks almost brand new now! 1000 times better than it was before I cleaned it. This unit does not have an actual steamer, no carpet cleaner does. However it takes the heat from the unit and pushes it down into your carpet, similar to a blow drier. Your carpet will feel warm after cleaning for a few minutes and it decreases drying time tremendously! Some parts of my carpet were dry within 2 hours of being cleaned. I highly recommend this cleaner. I will be starting on the bedrooms this weekend and will update as need be should any problems arise, though I doubt they will. I love this cleaner and I'm glad I choose this model. Hoover is supposed to be the best you can buy and I heartily agree! Update 1/10/11. Price on Amazon $175 This cleaner is still working perfectly and works very very well at getting out left in stains, some that are even yers old! I just cleaned my sons room yesterday where my dog liked to go potty when she was potty training, about 18 months ago. There were some stains that didn't completely come up. One pass with this machine and they were gone! His carpet looks brand new! The only thing that didn't come out was a small red Kool Aid stain and a small blue ink pen stain. But both of those did fade quite a bit with cleaning. I am still very impressed with this machine. I'm glad I chose this one and am looking forward to many years of using it!

I would like to say that I am a mother of 4 children ages 4 and younger, I have a 80lb dog and a husband. So as you may guess my carpets really take a beating, from baby spit up, to diaper blow outs, to spills, and you name it, it's found its way to tbe floor. So my husband and I had been discussing purchasing a steam cleaner after renting one several times. I admittedly had no faith that a cleaner that costs less than $170.00 was going to clean my floors at all, much less any better than a rented cleaner that costs over $600, which in my opinion doesn't really do that great of a job. But I read several reviews on this model and 2 other Hoover models and after 2 days of review reading and researching I settled on this one. WHOA I am SOOOO glad I did!! This cleaner is WAAAAAAYY beeter than a rented machine any day! Out of the box it was very easy to assemble, took less than 10 min. After that it was very easy to get the tank filled with cleaner and water. I used hot tap water and the Hoover Deep Cleansing Detergent. Then this is where the magic happenned, I turned it on and got to work on a terrible black stain near the front door. I didn't think that stain was ever going to come out in 100 years but this cleaner got it out in no time! The cleaner allows you to wash the carpets with cleanser as well as rinse so you can be sure that there will be no soap residue left to attract dirt later. I really liked that feature. The tanks seemed small to me especially after using the large ones on a rented cleaner, but they cleaned a much bigger than expected area before needing to be emptied. And another bonus to the smaller tank is it was very easy to set it down in my kitchen sink for a hot water refill, and the tanks were not heavy when full. This cleaner also has a 13" wide cleaning path which is bigger than the Rug Doctor wide path, which also sped up the cleaning process. Also the vacuum is very powerful, my carpets were slightly dampt afterwards and completely dry in less than 3 hours. After I was done the machine was very easy to take the tanks and rinse them, I also rinsed the piece in the front and the brushes, all very easy to do. I highly recommend this cleaner to anyone. Good luck!

I had the Bissell ProHeat steam cleaner for around 8 years. It was HEAVY and worked great until about a year ago. Finally it went. So I looked around and decided to try the Hoover based on the suction reviews. First impression as I was putting the machine together was how cheap it feels. Really felt flimsy. I was concerned. But the big difference is that this has two separate tanks not just the one that my Bissell had. Okay gave it a try. Easy to put together, and easy to use. Wow does this thing clean! I mean really clean. I was very happy with my results. The suction is exactly what people say, amazing. within an hour of clenaing the carpets were dry. The water was black as expected. One big difference I noticed is that it did not tear up my carpeting like my Bissell used to. After cleaning with that I always had to pick up big clumps of carpet, with this none. Used the handheld attachment on my stairs suction is good with the hand attachment. Not as good as the machine but never expected it to be, for the attachment it works fine. I saw so many complaints about the water not being heated by the unit but really did not bother me to add hot water. The heat seems to be when it does the suction and maybe why they dry so fast? Either way it is not a big deal this cleaned very well and my carpets look and feel fantastic. The two tanks vs the one Bissell, big plus for the Hoover. Bissell had a bladder that you filled with water and then the dirty water would be under that bladder, you could never really clean it and it would get "stinky" with the two tanks you can actually clean out the dirty water tank fully leaving no stink behind. Dog had an accident yesterday and pulled out the machine and no traces left of anything. I am very happy with the steamer, so far it is exactly what I wanted. I will just be a bit more careful with it as it does feel like it could break easier than my old machine (why the 4 vs 5 stars). I could be wrong but not wanting to take a chance, I will just be more careful with it. As for its ability to Clean, its works better than the Bissell. *** update as of November 2013 machine still going strong and works great. My one complaint is the cord is really short so you will need an extension cord to use this or you have to move it constantly. Not a big deal just something to expect. As flimsy as it still feels it is actually very strong. Happy with my decision to give it a try.

I used to be the typical person who would spend the $85+ to rent a rug doctor for a day or two to clean my carpets. My son has asthma and I have a toddler who is going through a messy phase. I wanted something that would be heavy duty to get up all the stains and leave the carpet dry enough that it would not grow mold, basement apartment. Looking into the reviews and product info, I was shocked by the number of people who rate this item. I was on the edge trying to decide what to do, rent or buy. Well I am so glad I spent a few extra bucks and bought this. It came in and showed no signs of damage, so shipping was great! I put the cleaner together by myself, 5'4 115 pounds. It took maybe ten whole minutes to get it out of the box and washing the carpets. I first washed my carpet that day as the instructions stated. I vacuumed prior to, I also put the cleaner in the dispenser, and very hot tap water. ALL of the stains and debris came up just with one pass. It was literally like night and day. I wanted to see just how bad my carpet was, 6 months old. It only took three passes for the water to start coming clear. I made sure I went over it with the rinse to ensure good washing. After about two weeks the stains looked like they were coming back. I talked to a few people and they advised me that the shampoo can actually do that. So once again I cleaned the carpets, Rinsed with clear water, Rinsed again with water but added two tablespoons of Fabric Softener, Rinsed again with plain water cold. Well that seemed to do the trick because my carpet is now still clean, smells great, and is nice and soft. I tried to test an area today to see if I needed to wash again and NOPE it is still clean! This is a good quality product for very little money. I know people say the pieces are easily broken, but maybe they had a different manufacturing number then mine. I am guessing some were improved after maybe? So being a mom who always worries about a clean house and not having tons of money or time, I love this machine. Carpet dries under an hour and the best part is no guessing work with the cleaner, it mixes for you!

***UPDATE*** 9/18/2014 Manufacturer's customer service was very poor. I requested a return through amazon and they overnighted a new cleaner at no cost and I had a window to return the defective one (else amazon would charge my card for the second one). I gladly returned the defective one. The second unit does not leak. It does well cleaning carpet but cleaning stairs and upholstery is difficult and there is a lot of dripping soapy water. So for small spots on upholstery or stairs it might be OK. I still give it 3 stars, because I needed it primarily for stairs and upholstery, which I actually have to pre-scrub by hand with soap and then just rinse and vacuum with the cleaner. I hoped that the rotating brush attachment would be sufficient as in the advertising videos... We use the cleaner 3-4 times a year and it is still working OK. I was so excited to get this cleaner and clean everything with it... Well that's not what happened... I started by cleaning an upholstered glider chair cushion. It did clean it, and I believe it can clean very well carpets as well, but I had to stop before I was done, because when I turned around the unit had leaked all over my hardwood floor :( Because of the bad quality control and having to deal with customer support on my first day of use (support available Mo-Fr only) I am taking 2 stars away. So, I cleaned all the spilled water using the spill cleanup function, which did great on my sealed hardwood floor, only to see that once I stopped the unit it continued to leak from the bottom of the base. I took it outside on the deck, took the tanks out and while I was lowering the main handle (the one you need to lover to engage the carpet cleaner) the handle leaked water and soap solution. The hoses for the clean water and soap go through the main handle. Once it was done leaking I elevated it on a garden mesh table, replaced the tanks and turned it on again. WITHOUT releasing to lower the handle and pressing the trigger to spray cleaning solution, this thing was leaking through 3 holes in the base where hoses are visible... and it is leaking a lot, wasting my cleaning solution. Not happy! Leaking continues for a little while after the unit is turned off and then stops. I guess somewhere between the main handle and the base a hose is shot or not sealed properly... Since it is Saturday, I have to wait until Monday to call customer support for a replacement unit... I wish I bought this at a local store so I can return it straight to the store instead of having to deal with hoover... I'll update to include whether and how the issue was resolved.

I have never used a carpet cleaner but decided to buy on since my carpets throughout my downstairs were showing a bit of light to moderate dirt in some areas. I did my research based upon reviews and decided on this one. I upon finishing the work I can say the machined worked excellent for me. With using the Hoover rug cleaner solution I achieved an excellent outcome with my carpets. I'm pleased!! I had not one issue with the operation of this machine. I have read in reviews about broken handles and I can understand how individuals might have done this. If you maneuver your machine around with the handle in the locked upright position with a full water tank I might see this happening. If you move the machine around in a manner of the handle being unlocked as if you are about to turn on and start cleaning you will not have an issue. The machine is made of entirely plastic. Like anything else if you are careful and take your time and think about the right steps in maneuvering it around you will not have a problem. I can say the proof is in the dirty water. I had plenty of dirty water to prove the results. There is no mixing of the cleaning solution and water,....it does it automatically. It does lay down a fair amount of water in the cleaning and rinse modes so be prepared to empty out the dirty water reservoir and replenish the clean water reservoir frequently. This step is very easy and non complicated. Both reservoirs clean up with rinsing under faucet and left to air dry. Brush head pulls off easily by hand without tools so you can rinse and let air dry. Brush head can also be purchased online at a reasonable cost if worn out. Oh, and machine is very easy to assemble,....I think only two screws and you are ready. I can't say enough. I had a very positive experience with this machine. I have not used the hand held portion of this unit so I cannot evaluate just yet. I would recommend to anyone with light to moderate dirty carpets.

I have low pile carpet and young kids and my carpets hadn't been cleaned for probably a year because my other carpet cleaner broke and I didn't have enough money to buy a new one or even rent a machine, so when I saw this one for the low price of approximately $160.00 and I just happened to have been able to work it out in my budget, I snatched it right up. Now, let me tell you -- My carpets were so bad that I probably should have used a more professional machine, but this one did an exceptional job, considering the job it had to do. Because of how bad off my carpet was, it took me all day just to do most of my living room - I had to use the cleaner at a snail's pace, literally, to give the brushes the opportunity to scrub the dirt and yuckies out of my carpet. This was not a typical, ordinary carpet cleaning and by all rights this machine should not have gotten my carpet as clean as it did - that's how bad my carpet was! I am impressed that my old, stained carpet actually has luster now. I like the ability to wash and rinse at the same time, but I think it would be great if I could turn the heat function on and off at will because I'd rather not try to dry the carpet until after it is rinsed, but I can work around that. Additionally, the hand tools do not have a rinse function, so if you are cleaning furniture or stairs, you won't be able to rinse the detergent out. A rinse function for the hand tools would be awesome. The tanks are easy to fill and empty and the entire machine is easy to use, easy to push and pull, and easy to keep clean. I love the scrubbing hand tool, too! With my lower back problems and fibromyalgia and associated chronic fatigue, I found this machine no more difficult to operate than my vacuum cleaner (which is a very inexpensive, light weight machine), with the exception of how often I had to empty and fill the tanks, but again, that's because of how bad my carpet was. Normal carpet cleaning would go much faster and without so many times having to fill and empty the tanks, I assure you. The "magic mixing" function is a plus, too - no more having to mix the detergents, it mixes itself into the water - no fuss, no muss, and no spilling detergent all over yourself and the floor. No more squinting through my Coke-bottle bi-focals to get the right measurements, either. The whole thing is simple and fantastic. I'm so impressed! I would definitely recommend this product to everyone - especially for the price! It's so easy to use I'll bet a married man could use it with one hand tied to the tv remote. Now if only they'd make one of these that moves the furniture, too... ;o)

I finally put this to use for the first time today in a house that we had rented out that the renters just vacated. After looking at the carpet, we realized it definitely needed a good cleaning. Please note the carpet that we cleaned is a cheaper carpet and not very thick at all. Pros: - very lightweight - loved how much lighter it was and easier to carry around. Still awkward going up and down steps, but compared to other carpet cleaners that I have used that are the same set up, much lighter all around - easy to fill and to remove dirty water. Has a great functionality where you fill the cleaning solution in a separate 'tank' and it mixes for you - heats the water - finally, a steam cleaner that heats the water!! - attachments are very easy to use and I actually think clean better than the carpet cleaner itself (so sort of a con). The attachment hose plugs into the front of the cleaner and the water line into the side. This was super easy and I appreciated this functionality as we had borrowed another friends Hoover steam cleaner that was a couple model years older. When we went to use the attachments on the borrowed cleaner, my husband accidentally broke a part of the plastic that was supposed to flip out for the attachment hose. Seeing how this one compared, we realized the other version was not at all user friendly. - brush attachment not only sprays water but also sucks the dirty water and has a rotating brush - this was wonderful on deep set in stains and for steps - has a relatively long hose for the attachments. I had about 13 steps to clean so I was able to get about 9 of them done with the cleaner at the bottom of the steps and the other 4 by putting the cleaner at the top of the steps (it has a wide base so it will not sit on the steps as you go) Cons: - only comes with one pint of carpet cleaner so buy more immediately as one pint fills up the tank and is good for about a 10x12 room - the carpet cleaner is good for freshening and general cleaning/airing of carpet. I had it on deep scrub so I could see the brushes were spinning, but to get out some deep set in stains, I had to use oxi-clean spray on the stains and went to work with the brush attachment (again a fantastic brush cleaner but wish the cleaner itself could get that deep). - the caddy for the attachments sucks! My husband carried the cleaner into the rental unit and set it down and the caddy just fell right off the back. After further examination, it just sort of hooks onto the back of the cleaner with one notch but there is nothing to keep it from getting jostled around. It also does not do a good job of holding the hoses and just kept getting in the way so I took it off while I cleaned. I think we will permanently keep it off and just find somewhere to store the hoses. - at the very end of each room, i would put the cleaner in the upright position, unplug and get ready to do the next room when I realized there was a black line of dirt left behind from the cleaner. I would go to clean the spot, unplug it again and realize it had happened again. The only way to avoid this was to keep running the cleaner, pick it up, turn it off and unplug and not set it down until the next room or until I was in an area where I could put it down (hardwood floors). I think the water continues to run or settles or something and leaves a line of dirt (did it even on the hardwood floor when I set it down) After I was finished, I took everything outside and hosed out the tanks, the hoses, and underneath the cleaner where the brushes are. I've read by keeping it clean, it helps the longevity of the cleaner. All in all, I gave it four stars because it's a great household carpet cleaner and it also has functionality built in for quick spills or lighter cleaning.