leighway's Full Review: Hoover F7411-900 SteamVac Upright Vacuum
For anyone who has read my reviews, you know we have dogs and cats and carpet. This means we have a need to clean the dogs, cats and carpets. The task of carpet cleaning ranked up there with inviting a migraine to begin.
My DH schlepped to the store for the Carpet Doctor machine, and we just weren't getting that warm and fuzzy feeling after the enormous job was done. By day 2 the carpets were pressed down and felt yucky.
I went on Epinions.com (won't buy anything without consulting this site first)and read the reviews on the various rug shampooers.Even though the Hoover Widepath was the most expensive, my DH sprung for it and off we went.
It was a dream come true! The cleaning power was un-paralleled, the carpets dried very quickly which lessened the necessity of yelling at the dogs to "stay-off!" and the integrity of the carpet fiber seemed restored.
We actually didn't mind doing the carpets....and for the first 4 times (once a month) all was well. Then on the fifth wash, the machine brushes stopped revolving. After fiddling with everything we could think of and examining our conscience for anything we might have done that was questionable, it went back to our favorite store, Lowes and was exchanged. My DH saved the receipt (one of his few annoying and rewarding features) and we had no problem.
Carpet cleaning continued and this time we made it to cleaning number 3 when the whole machine just stopped. Fished out the reciept and back it went.
Carpet cleaning again, and at cleaning number 5,I notice what looks like a waterfall coming out of the fresh water tank. DH was attacking the rug and had failed to notice.
So, here we are. I feel like it's being disrespectful to Lowes' to keep bringing back this product, yet, I'm surely not going to take a $300 hit because Hoover can't get it right.
This is the best rug shampooer we have every tried and there have been a couple more including "professional" services. We love everything about it but the cost to clean (cost of product divided by number of uses.)
I'm angry enough to start digging into the Hoover corporate structure and find the weeney who is responsible for either the design or the fix. I know he's out there (in there) and am wondering if Hoover is reading these reviews. Another distressing fact is that the more recent the review, the more frequent the problem. Is there an "improvement" that isn't or is it that more people are buying this item and it's been broken all along or ???
Anyhow, I'm not waiting to have the shop fix this. I'm taking it back and telling Lowes about the history of this problem. Hoover should be ashamed, but riding on a formerly good name isn't unusual. People do wake up, given enough time....and Hoover, take note- I bought a Dyson vacuum. Now, it looks like I'm going to have to find another brand to purchase to clean my carpets.
Measures approximately 20 by 12 by 44-inch; 1-year limited warranty. 8-Feet hose; removable tool caddy; powered handheld tool for upholstery and stair...More at Amazon
Features: Equipped with a powerful 12 amp motor this easy-to-use machine cleans carpets by applying scrubbing and removing hot tap water and cleani...More at Newegg.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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