Does the Job Well Enough For Our 1700 Square Feet of Living Space
Written: Dec 28 '08
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Ease of Cleaning:
Style:
Pros: Powerful; well designed; works well
Cons: Noisy
The Bottom Line: All things considered I think the SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum does an adequate job of shampooing/cleaning, and defiantly beats paying someone else to do the work.
vemartin's Full Review: Hoover F7411-900 SteamVac Upright Vacuum
Way back in the ‘80's when I was still riding submarines, I made a trip wherein the XO (Executive Officer) of the boat declared war on dirt; "dirt is the enemy he would say" as he turned out the crew to clean the boat once again.
Time has pasted of course, but one thing remains a constant: dirt, dust, and crime; the stuff of life that must be cleaned. Oh yes, add to that spider webs, which our little patch of Illinois seems to have an over abundance of, due the invasion of spiders both inside and out side the house! Add to this the thick layers of dust from the construction that is still going on in our sub-division and the need to clean and clean well becomes readily apparent. It doesn't help that both our carpet and our couch & loveseat are all light colored.
When we bought the house some seven years ago(wow, has it been that long?), we purchased a Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum cleaner that has served us well, but as the carpet has gotten older, certain wear paths-composed mostly of dirt and various other materials-were starting to make themselves known. So we started looking for an inexpensive alternative to a full out carpet cleaning company we would have to invite back yearly. We needed a carpet cleaner, a shampoo machine; a steam cleaner. I like Hoover and so I confined my research to that brand and came up with Hoover F7425-900 SteamVac Widepath Upright Vacuum for just under $250.00.
Similar is form to the venerable Wind Tunnel, the SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum is designed to replace or perhaps just supplement the tried-and-true carpet cleaners by offering up a device that deep cleans the carpet with a combination of hot water and cleaning solution. The unit is designed with three main transparent chambers, or reservoirs; one for the aforementioned hot water, another for the cleaning solution, and yet another for the dirty waste water.
But perhaps the moniker "SteamVac" is misleading because the unit does not actually produce any steam to clean the carpets; it uses whatever temperature (hot) water you put in the clean water reservoir. We've had the SteamVac for almost two years now and have used it to clean the main floor carpets and stairs 5 times.
In The Box
Hoover SteamVac Widepath Upright VacuumAttachment ToolsInstruction Booklet Quick-start guide The SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum comes almost fully assembled complete with various cleaning attachments and tools, but the unit is somewhat heavy, so be forewarned; removing it from the box can prove problematic.
Use
Filling up the various reservoirs with hot water and shampoo, then emptying the waste reservoir is probably the most tedious task one will undertake while using the SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum. In cleaning a 20x12 room I typically have to fill-dump-fill three times. However, since the unit is self propelled cleaning/shampooing the carpet is fairly easy-just pull the trigger while pushing the unit forward to lay down the shampoo/hot water mixture and then pull back to rinse the carpet and vacuum up the liquids. The forward/back motion also activates a series of brushes on the head of the unit, which both help clean the carpet and draw out the solution.
Be forewarned however, even after multiple passes, the carpet will remain damp, so plan accordingly. I usually shampoo the carpet later in the evening before the family goes to bed. By the time we get up in the morning, the carpet is dry. The included self-agitating hand tool does a fair job of cleaning the stairs, but like most hand tools it is under powered, so pressing hard to get up those stubborn stains is out of the question.
Because it is not really a "Steam" vacuum the HooverSteamVac will not remove all stains, but it does a great job taking up dirt, grease, food and drink stains. But I always vacuum with a regular vacuum after the carpet dries in order to remove the indentations let both the brushes and SteamVac wheels.
The SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum is thankfully carefree; so far there have been no leaks, no, cracks, and no broken parts. All things considered I think the SteamVac WidepathUpright Vacuum does an adequate job of shampooing/cleaning, and defiantly beats paying someone else to do the work.
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.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.