We have a year old puppy, and a dirty carpet. Our likes to lick the peanut butter out of his Kong, and onto the carpet. It wasn't that long ago that he was having accidents. I was renting a cleaner from the local rental shop for $25, but I soon gave that up. As soon as I got one room clean and returned the rented vac, he'd find a way to dirty the carpet in another part of the house. I figured it was time to finally by a steam vac.

Before I ever make any purchase over a $100, I usually research everything to death. It drives my girlfriend crazy, but it helps me keep my sanity, as I rarely ever have buyers remorse. I read up on a lot of steam vacuums, and while I wanted something that worked well, I did want to spend more than $230.

I came across this one at Best Buy, and took it home. I actually found a very similiar one at Kohl's, but brought it back after I saw all the reviews about this model, and it hasn't disappointed.

To start, my carpets has looked terrible for the last 3 years. Between my girlfriend and her gal pals spilling captain and coke on the floor, the dog, and my girlfriend spilling OJ and hiding the spill instead of telling me. It was gross!

I first ran the steam vac over the living room, the worst part of the house. I was really pleased with how it handled. It took along time to do, but it did a better job on the tough stains the rented steam vacs left behind. While it didn't completely get rid of some of the older stains, it made a difference, and after 1 or 2 more cleanings I won't notice them any more.

I really liked that the vacuum keeps the water warm, which helps lift the stains better, plus the "clean surge" really helps on the tougher spots. My favorite part, however, is how well it sucks the water back out of the carpet. When I would clean with the rented steam vacs, it always seem to take the carpet forever to dry, even with the help of two floor fans. After using the Hoover, I was amazed when I touch the carpet after only 45 mins. It wasn't completely dry, but pretty close. And, just this past weekend we had family coming over, and I took a gamble and cleaned the carpet five hours before we expected them to be here. With one fan the carpet was completely dry after 2 hours. It's nice to know I can clean and get it dry that quickly.

One downside, which I was aware of when I bought it, is that the waste water collection fills up before you run out of cleaning solution. It's a little annoying, but for the price I'm okay with it, especially since it cleans so well and dries quickly.

After I'm done cleaning, I don't mind the cleanup of this vacuum. It's really simple, and I love the removable brush heads. The container for the cleaning solution is hard to get dry before you store it away, but the left over solutions prevents mold from forming anyway. All together, this Hoover is easier to clean than my bag-less Bissell vacuum, but I'll leave that for a different review.

The attachments are simple enough to use. Not quite as simple as attachments on a regular vacuum, but it's a fair trade for their cleaning ability, but I mostly use the vacuum for small spots anyway.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Hoover Steam Vac. If you have a pet or kids, this vacuum will pay for itself 3-6 months. I think it's one of the best purchases I've made in the 5 years I've been in my home.

Recommended: Yes