Hoover Reviews

Assembly was reasonably easy, with only three screws to turn (provided) and a Phillips wrench required. This machine pulled up so much dirt from our berber carpet that I was really rattled that babies had been crawling on it. We had just shampooed it a week before, and the water was almost black. The 12-amp motor really gets a lot more dirt than your average rental shampooer. The stains (baby spit up and cat "hairball" stains, and one dark pawprint) did not come out, even with a pretreater. They faded considerably, but professionally carpet cleaning knocks these out immediately, which is what I expected with this Hoover (to never have to call a professional again after making the initial ... investment). I did use the hand-held tool, too, for treating the stains. I initially just used the surge cleaner, then tried the pretreater (letting sit for at least 10 minutes) followed by the hand tool, then used the upright again on the same spots. Still have visible spots. Maybe my baby and cat simply have bionic spit up, or it sat too long. But, unquestionably, it pulled up a LOT of dirt. My carpets are cleaner.

In desperate need of a shampooer, totally tired of borrowing all the time, my boyfriend picked this one up. OH MY GOD! It's amazing! It picks up dirt from the carpet with such ease! We have two boys who read the newspaper on the floor, and it's not doing a very good job of picking up the ink off the carpet, but I think we've at least extended the life of the carpet by ordering them off the floor and onto the couch. It turned our dark grey carpet almost white! (The bedroom hadn't been shampooed on years) It's extremely easy to handle, gliding along the roughest carpet with ease. It's not too loud, but, it's a shampooer, of course it's not to be used when someone's sleeping. It's easy to fill with shampoo, and easy to dump. It lets you know when you're running out by significantly changing the sound it makes. All in all, it's a good buy!

I'd been looking at SteamVacs for a while now and had used other Hoover models so knew I wanted one by them. With a new puppy, I couldn't put it off any longer. Brought it home today and immediately put it to the test. Easy to assemble and does a great job. The only thing is that you have to expect to dump the dirty water about every two times you fill with clean solution. Takes time and does take some work, but if you want clean carpets without the cost of paying someone to take care of it for you, you should pick this up.

I'M SO HAPPY WITH THIS MACHINE! IT IS DEFINITELY WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY. MY CARPETS CAME CLEANER THAN THE WHEN WE HAD THEM DONE PROFESSIONALY BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. EASY TO USE, AND IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THE DIRT IT SUCKS OUT. THE GREAT PART IS YOU CAN CLEAN ANYTIME YOU WANT. THIS BABY WILL PAY FOR ITSELF IN NO TIME.

This carpet cleaner is unbelievable. I had my house professionally cleaned prior to moving in last year. There were some left over stains that couldn't be removed. Can you believe the Hoover got them out? I used the hand tools with the rotery brushes and now EVERY stain is gone. I am soooo tickled. My carpet looks brand new. I recommend this carpet cleaner to everyone. Tip: I put oxy clean in with the detergent.

I purchased this machine and I absolutely love it! It's a very wise investment, especially if you have children. It has saved my carpet on numerous occassions and I could not survive without it now. We used to rent those cheap ones from the local rental place and our carpet never looked or felt this clean. I can not say enough good things about this machine. I highly reccommend that you buy this steamvac if you value your carpeting, it will pay for itself within the first year.

We bought our widepath 4 years ago when we purchased our house. Cleaning companies charged more than the cleaner cost to clean the entire house. We were very happy with it, and still are as the hard floor attachment is great on our hardwood. After having a puppy that is now a 3 yr. old dog, it has been a great asset to have. Most of the messes have come up although there have been a few stains that just won't come out.

I'm only giving this four stars, even though it has been a great product. The reason being is that we have noticed that the hose attachment has cracked all the way through on the interior part of the machine. You pretty much have to lay the thing flat to put in the water take-up tank and at the bottom where you see the hose is where it has cracked.

The spin brush attachment was excellent on stairs, as our carpeting is around 12 years old and still in good condition. It brought the nap back up and has helped us put off replacing carpeting.

I will probably invest in a smaller carry around unit, like a Little Green Machine for the stairs as I think this will also be good for the car as well. As long as the hose on it works, I wouldn't buy another cleaner, but since mine failed, I think it might not be worth it to have it repaired as I think it will eventually crack again.

This is probably the best home product purchase I have ever made! I have two dogs and a 7-year-old house, yet my carpets looks great! This rug cleaner has rotating heads that scrub the cleaning solution lightly into your rug, and powerful suction that sucks the solution and dirt right out -- keeping the rugs immaculate and the pile of the carpeting straight. Yes, it does leave a little moisture behind, but if you use hot water with your cleaning solution, the carpet dries fast. My Hoover Steam Vac is a few years old and still going strong. If it ever died, I would gladly purchase a new one and know that I was making a wise purchase. Buy it, you'll love it too!

I got one of these for Chistmas 2001 and Have been using it atleast once a month since then. My carpets have never been cleaner to say the least. I am a renter and you never know what the person that lived here before spilt on the floor and all I can say is that whatever it was is gone. You'll never know how truly nasty your carpets and for that matter upholstry are until you use this thing. It sucks everything out so well. I used it in my car too on the upholstery, floor and even the floormats and my 12 yr old car looks brand new. I am now the envy of both sides of my husband and I's families or atleast my carpets are. Every time we call and say we are going to visit they ask me to bring my Steam Vac. This is so much easier to handle then renting a rug doctor and does't hurt your back and much more convienient too so you use it more, OK alot more. Not only that, it works a [heck] of a lot better too and the attachments are great!! It even fluffs up your carpet and once totally flattened old carpet looks so much better. My husband works in the oil field and always gets very dirty with sand and oil ect.. and I only let him sit in his recliner when he gets home because it's gross and his chair , if it was'nt for this Steam vac would be in the [garbage] by now. It gets every filth and grime you can imagine out and makes the upholstery look brand new. I highly highly highly recommend this product !! I honestly could not be happier . Hoover has truly put out a great product in this Baby!

This is an excellent carpet cleaner! I just purchased one to take care of my new carpeting which is cream colored and in a house with 2 kids and two dogs. I had an extra piece of carpet bound and use it as a mat at the front door so people could take off their shoes. Even with all of the precautions it is amazing at how much dirt builds up! When I took the mat up to clean the carpet, the carpet under the mat was a good two shades lighter than the rest of the room. I used the Hoover, and now the whole room matches the color of the carpet that was covered! I did have a noticeable line in the carpet where the mat ended. Two passes with the clean surge button and the dirt was out. I was a little concerned with the amount I spent on the machine, but considering how much carpeting costs and how well this machine made the cream colored carpet look like it was just installed, I think it is well worth the money!! I would suggest this machine to anyone, the only drawback to the machines I used to rent is the water capacity is about a gallon which means more trips to the sink to empty and refill, but because the tanks are easy to remove and put back this is tolerable because it doesn't take too long to do. As far as cleaning it is superb!

My hubby and I had been seriously considering new carpet a few months ago due to very worn looking, dull (once light colored) carpet, but don't ring up my sale yet carpet man! I finally gave in to spending money on a carpet cleaner to replace my old Kirby shampooer, and now I wish I'd bought this Hoover Steam Vac a long time ago! It is amazing! My carpet, that I was ready to rip up myself, looks like the day we moved in..brand, spankin' new! I am so impressed with this machine! Very easy to use- easy to fill and dump water tanks- even the attachment hose is easy to clean out when you're finished. It looks heavy, but pulls itself along just fine when running and tilts back on the wheels very lightly to move from room to room. I really enjoy cleaning my carpets now, and as another reviewer stated, it is not much more than vacuuming-very easy and not time consuming. I was so impressed the first time I used it that I took all my floor mats out of my van and shampooed those, too! They were beautifully clean in about 10 minutes! I LOVE THIS STEAM VAC!
Great machine! Go buy it now! Mine's going with me to grandma's next trip so I can clean her floors too!

This is probably the best purchase I've ever made for my home. I have two dogs and an 8-year-old house, yet my carpets looks great! This rug cleaner has rotating heads that scrub the hot water and cleaning solution into your carpet and powerful suction that sucks the solution and dirt right out -- keeping the rugs immaculate and the pile of the carpeting straight. Yes, it does leave a little moisture behind, but if you use hot water with your cleaning solution, the carpet dries fast -- the carpet dries in just a few hours. Though the brochures say this machine also will clean bare floors I find it too cumbersome to attempt -- easier to use an old fashioned mop than to get the machine ready for flat floor cleaning. One of the great things about this machine is the gentle furniture scrubbing brush attachment -- the bristles are slightly softer and gently scrub your furniture leaving it looking nearly new. This is a GREAT machine. I wouldn't own a home without it!

The good suction:
I have used this cleaner on my entire house. I must say that both the clean and the dirty tanks are easy to clean and fill. The extraction is so good that the carpets usually are dry in about 1/2 hour. I have successfully removed dried cat vomit, gooey unknown substances left by a 4 year old, as well as standard filth with this cleaner.

The bad suction:
I have had problems getting the dirty tank to remain snapped into place to get a proper vacuum for removal of the solution. The cleaner does NOT like going from carpet to linoleum - I have multiple areas where my carpet is set next to the linoleum with no running strip near it. The solution usually gets sprayed unusually heavy in patches on smooth surfaces, and the machine has a hard time switching from carpet to smooth surface for extraction (i.e. it leaves a puddle on the linoleum). The rotating brush attachment for stairs is a total disappointment. No matter how many times I try to use that thing (at least 10) - it will not pull an adequate vacuum for extraction. The manual says to "purge the air from the system" by holding your hand over the inlet - still doesn't work. I end up using the upholstery tool on the carpets with adequate results - it usually takes a couple of days for them to dry due to excess solution being left behind though. Also, it is VERY hard to clean the extraction part of the cleaner, especially if you have short haired cats. I cannot for the life of me remove all the hair, even with the little flexible tool that is intended for this purpose.

For those with homes that do not have carpeted stairs - I think this cleaner would be fine, especially if you do not have unusual levels of filth from pets and kids. If you have stairs, keep looking.

I have had my SteamVac Widepath LS for approx. 2 months and have already used it 4 times. I have used it for regular carpet cleaning, cleaning car floor mats, and, more importantly, to remove VERY SCARY messes (if you have a child/dog you know what I mean). So far, I have been very satisfied w/ the results. For the scary messes, I have had success using the following approach: first, I use the SteamVac in the upright position to clean and then, when things are less scary/smelly, I get down on the floor and use the tools. I've done this twice now and both times my carpets have come completely clean - no stain or smell!

I have owned both a Bissell Big Green Clean Machine and Little Green Clean Machine - the SteamVac cleans much better and is easier to use and maintain. Also, I was just as happy w/ the results of using the SteamVac as I have been when I've paid to have my carpets professionally cleaned. I have recommended this product to all of my friends.

We have saved a lot of money and people can't believe how great our carpet looks. We used to rent the steam cleaners from the grocery store, but now we can clean it well any timw we want and not have to worry about bringing it back to the store. Just watch out because all your relatives and friends will want to borrow it!

It's does not vac at all. I am going to get a canister vac like my friends from Eurica, they worked great. Uprights are always too loud and does not clean well. My only good vac was the upright that's cordless. It does not clean very well, but does the everyday job of picking up dirt. My ex-wife got it and still using it. I need to get one. Wasted hundreds on Hoover and Dirt Devil's upright too. Purchase 3 Hoover in my life time and are not happy. 3 strikes, your out Hoover. I'll get a Eureka canister vac for sure.

I have two dogs and messy people in our home. After contacting a local carpet cleaner to do a wool area rug I have at the exhorbitant price of $180, I decided that for that price, I could get a steam cleaner and do it myself. I did a lot of research before getting this.

What a great machine this is because of the turbo brushes. They get deep down into the fibers and really scrub and clean the rug. The colors popped as if new again. I did every rug in the house. I too boiled some the water I added to the machine so it would stay hot while I worked. It is pretty easy to set up and use as well.

To the person who gave this a bad rating I say " This is not a Vacuum Cleaner." This is a carpet steamer/cleaner. You have to vacuum your rugs BEFORE your clean them..... Read the instructions.

I think you will use and like this machine and be very glad you got one.

I'm very pleased with the Hoover F5914-900 Steam Vac. This is my first home steam cleaner. I delayed purchasing one because I never thought a home cleaner could do as good of a job as the pros. But this Hoover made me a believer. I used it to clean up pet stains and the smell and stains are long gone. The suction and scrubbing are an A+.

After reading all the reviews posted here I was excited to give this machine a try. I had only used about two thirds of a gallon of clean water solution when the motor started to smoke. Before I could hit the off switch with my foot sparks flew out, then a small flame, and finally puffs of black smoke out each side of the machine.

Needless to say it's going back in the box and being returned.

To Hoover's credit the water in the dirty water bucket was quite dirty so it was getting dirt up before it blew up.

I also tried calling customer service and had a hard time getting through. They were not very helpful and suggested I take this brand new machine into an authorized service agent. No thanks.

I always do a lot of research before I spend money on something like this - and this cleaner came up as a top buy. I have big dogs and cats that come in and out all day in all weather, and when we got new, lighter colored carpet(as opposed to our previous dirt-colored carpet) a cleaner that was easy to use, easy to store, and could handle the pressure of frequent use became a priority instead of a "one of these days" purchase. Now, I was lucky - because my in-laws purchased a similar model a year or so ago, so I got to try it out before buying.
But I still wasn't convinced this was the one until I did some checking, and surprisingly, more expensive *isn't* better. The more expensive models seemed more awkward to use, and I found lots of complaints about leaking, etc.
This machine keeps my light carpet looking great, and I have been very happy with it.

Okay, so maybe you're not like me. (Or maybe you are.) An impeccably clean house is just one of those things I take pride in. And while you can vacuum a carpet until you're blue in the face, let's face it: Some types of carpet soiling just does not and cannot disappear with a vacuum cleaner alone. Enter hot water extraction cleaners.

Like others here, I've previously used Bissell cleaners with mixed success. The canister style Bissell that I purchased a few years ago worked more or less. But it had a tendency to leave way too much water in the carpet with its anemic suction power. Plus the inconvenience of hooking the thing up to a faucet to use it (not to mention the clean-up process) meant that it lived in the closet more than it worked, and begged to be replaced with something better.

Despite that, when I began searching for something to replace it, I tended to look first at Bissell, thinking I'd give their self-contained cleaners a try. Thankfully I didn't limit my shopping to retail stores, and dropped by here not only to price the cleaners, but read the reviews. It saved me from making what could have been a mistake: another Bissell purchase.

Based on positive reviews of the Hoover, coupled with great experiences with Hoover vacuums, I decided to purchase one... Great decision. Why?

1. The Hoover has outstanding suction power, leaving the carpets barely damp after cleaning, and quick to dry completely. No waiting and waiting.

2. It works. You'll be amazed at what comes out of your carpets and into the cleaner's tank. (Or you'll just be grossed out.)

3. Clean-up is as easy as possible. None of these cleaners is (or could be) clean-up free. But the Hoover makes it as simple as I could imagine.

4. Hoover's cleaning solution -- unlike Bissell's -- leaves a nice, clean smell that's not too strong to start, but then dissipates as the carpet dries. No room-filling perfume scents that linger long after the cleaning's done (and rapidly become irritating).

I'll be the first to admit I have not tried Bissell's self-contained extraction cleaners, but my older, canister style Bissell extractor was a disappointment. In contrast, I love my Hoover SteamVac, and would highly recommend it for those who, like me, just sleep better at night knowing those floor coverings are as nice and tidy as possible.

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised with this machine. My wife and I have been researching deep cleaning machines for a while, and we have gone back and forth on a few different models. We have 2 very crazy dogs, both under a year old, and we have a very wet backyard. So, with spring (mud season) coming, we finally decided to stop comparing and just purchase something. We went to Home Depot, bought the cleaner for a whopping 300 bucks, and I must admit, being a pessimist, I was fully expecting the product to work just "okay". After some very easy assembly and reading of directions, we were ready to go. We started in our family room, which has a deep blue small pile carpet, and was just vaccumed about 2 hours before. There were 2 stains from dogs urinating on the carpet, where the previous cleaning attempts didn't work too well. We followed the directions to the letter, and about 15 minutes later the entire room (15x24) was completely clean. The carpet was back to it's original deep blue, the week-old urine stains were totally gone, and the water in the waste chanber was utterly disgusting (almost black). I was totally surprised that it cleaned as deeply as it did. The carpet was a little wet, but with a few extra passes, it got dry enough to walk on. About 4 hours later, it was completely dry to the touch. After the family room, we went to our bedroom, which has a very plush, thick pile khaki-colored carpet. It had multiple doggy vomit stains as well as one very nasty doggy diarrhea stain that just would not come out. Neither myself or my wife figured it would work all that well, but we gave it a shot. The 5 vomit stains, some about 4 weeks old and repeatedly worked over with a sponge, came out in 7-10 slow passes. The diarrhea stain came out after about 15-20 slow passes. Now, this used a ton of water, but all the stains came out completely. I was shocked. This product really works, if you give it time for deep stains. We have paid $150 for Stanley Steemer to do our carpets a few times, and I have to admit, I think the Hoover did a better job. We have only had it for a few weeks, but we have been totally satisfied. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 for two reasons. The first is that you have to change the clean water, dirty water, and detergent tanks alot. When we were cleaning the family room, I think we had to change both the clean water and dirty water tanks 3 times, for a 15x24 room. The detergent tank (16 oz.) was empty at the end of cleaning the room. The second reason is that the Hoover does no better than a $5 mop for hard floors. We have both tile and hardwood floors, and we tried it on both. I was very unimpressed. DO NOT buy this product if want to clean your hard floors. ABSOLUTELY BUY THIS PRODUCT if you want extremely clean carpets, and total ease of use. It is fantastic.

I have beige berber carpet throughout the house and I have 2 dogs. Thanks to Hoover SteamVac V2! All the stains and that foul persistent odor are completely gone. Easy to use, clean and store. Even my 11 year old son knows how to use it effectively!

We love the Hoover SteamVac V2 carpet cleaner. Works as advertised. We couldn't believe how dirty the return water became (only two people in our house, no pets, and we take our shoes off upon entering the house). Very well-engineered product. Made the carpeting look like it was brand new. Left the carpeting smelling clean and fresh. Easy to use. Doesn't leak and drip like some cleaners. Better carpet cleaning than commercial services.

Bought the machine approximately two years ago. Used it to clean five rental houses. Machine cleaned carpet very well.
However, the motor failed recently. Machine is not as rugged as it needs to me. I am surprised that Maytag, which owns Hoover, is not living up to their reputation.

I've had this about 6 months and have probably logged 5 hours total on it. The cleaner works great, but if the waste water container gets too foamy (no way to control amout of detergent dispensed), it starts spitting the dirty water back onto the rug. The dirt doesn't show up again until it dries, so its very important to empty the waste water before it indicates.
Another problem that has surfaced is that the clean water tank has developed a leak at the bottom valve and becomes a steady stream when the system is running...the net result is water everywhere...making for a slippery mess. I think the system is great, but it takes a while to learn the quirks of this machine.

I'm a cleaner and I also have allergies to dust, mold, pollen and also have two cats so I love when my place is fresh, clean and sparkling. I own this thing and I love it.

I originally borrowed my mother's and after using it was surprised at how clean everything was. I've had a number of comments from friends that the rugs look brand new. Better yet, I was dating someone who had severe asthma and when he walked in, he took a deep breath and said: "You cleaned your carpets, right?" He didn't wheeze one bit the entire time he was there.

I also own a Dyson vacuum. Love that, too. When I power clean, I'll vacuum over everything slowly and thoroughly first. All the cat hair picks up plus dust, dirt and my own hair. Then I'll start working with the Hoover. Despite the power behind the Dyson, the water in the Hoover is always dark when I'm washing. Within a short amount of time, the rugs feel great! There is a rinsing option as well if you want to make sure all of the cleaner is out of the rug and you can pretty much go over everything without depressing the clean button to suck up excess water.

This also has a squeegee attachment to do the linoleum floors. Good idea. Scrubs then scoops up the water and sucks it up. There is a a different detergent for linoleum so take a look around. However, it is very LOUD when doing bare floors. Not recommended at night. :)

Also, there are two Hoover SteamVacs, one with more brushes. My mother's had the fewer amount and I haven't noticed any difference between the two. I just ended up with the bigger one because when I ordered the smaller from Sears, they sent the larger by mistake and said: "Oh, well, you get it for the other price." Good deal!

Good tip: If you want to clean in the winter -- don't hesitate! Especially when it's really cold outside. Not only does it get the dirt that's been laying around while your windows are all shut but when it's so cold that the humidity is at 0 you'll be surprised how fast the rugs dry. I did mine just now an hour ago and they're all dry.

The only thing I'd recommend is to buy a allergenic detergent. The best one I've used is Bissell 720 Multi-Allergen Removal Formula, which you can find on Amazon.com. This really seems to do the trick when it comes to getting out the junk in the rugs.

Things do snap apart for cleaning and can take a little time, but if you vacuum thoroughly enough before hand you shouldn't have this excess of junk to pull out. There are some crevices where things can get up into, but snap it off, turn on the garbage disposal and get the faucet hose and you should be good.

With all vacuums and rug machines, I have this advice: You have to go slowly with ANY machine. Not snail-slow, but don't go so fast! Give both time to really pick up. If you sweep too fast, it misses the dirt. Quick swiping is alright for last minute company cleaning, but once a week I really take my time with my vacuum. A good rule of thumb for cleaning (if you really want that fresh look without overloading the machine with dirt) would be vacuum once a week -- wash once a month.

The combo of both these machines has well been worth it. I recommend this machine for any household and if you want super clean, get the Dyson vacuum as well.

I was foolish enough to beleive that the problems experienced by other Hoover owners were special to them. After a few carpet cleanings, our Hoover Steam Vac V - clean water tank cracked on the bottom where the connection is made for water supply. After so many complaints from unsatisfied customers, why would Hoover continue to sell a product with a faulty part? Answer: They don't care. They assume (probably quite accurately) that most consumers will experience the problems after the warranty period, thus creating new business for themselves. SHAME ON YOU HOOVER!

I'd give this steamVac a higher rating if it didn't leak. I'm going to return mine for another unit, maybe I just received a lemon the first time.

things i like:
1. pretty easy to assemble
2. did an excellent job cleaning up after pets and heavy traffic on an off-white carpet
3. water and soap containers are easy to fill/empty, handles on the water containers make them easy to transport
4. size of water containers is enough to do about 250 square feet of moderately soiled carpet
5. clear intake and tanks makes it easy to see how much water is being sucked up
6. two modes: wash and rinse

things i don't like:
1. cheap feel to the parts, although in some respects this probably keeps the unit relatively light
2. short attachment hose made cleaning the stairs really cumbersome
3. suction on the attachment for cleaning stairs wasn't great, it took a long time for them to dry as a result
4. leaking:
- the unit leaked some when it was in a reclined position as i was using it on the carpets (enough to be annoying but not enough that this was a huge problem)
- the unit also leaked when i was using the attachment hose, primarily from the clean water source tank but i also noticed some of the dirty water spraying out (this was a quite a bit of leaking, i had a puddle under the unit when i was finished)
- i filled the unit with clean water and left it alone, when i came back about 45 minutes later the entire tank of clean water had leaked out, fortunately it was in my garage

I will be very happy if the new unit doesn't leak, because overall this steamVac did a great job in its first run.

I got this unit to replace my big green clean machine, which is a back breaker everytime i use it, not to mention a real workout.
so i decided to give my back a rest, and what a difference!
Although it isn't self propelled, this unit isnt nearly as heavy as the Hoover Windtunnel vacuum. With the self propel option off, that's heavy!
I was a little hesitant with the 5 spinheads, afterall, the bristles are not that stiff, that made my wonder just how effective is it a cleaning carpets? Well, it did the job just fine, and i think it reached the base of the carpet, unlike other cleaners that just wet and work on the top part of the carpet, pushing dirt down.
The rinse option works great. I recommend that if you are a little heavy with the soap, just fill the clean water tank up with hot water, and no soap, to ensure you get all soap up and go over all areas until the carpet is almost dry.
Also another tip, after having my motor in the big green replaced for the second time, a repairman told me after each time i use the machine, to rinse out all compartments, fill with hot water and then fill the bath tub up with hot water.
run the clean water out of the sprayer section until there is no evidence of soap and then put the wand into the tub, sucking in all the hot water. This cleans both motors, the spray motor that has soap residue in it after every use, amd also the suction, to ensure there isn't any soapy dirt left in the motor. Cleaning both motors/compartments will reduce breakage.
motor replacement is the most common maintenance, because of a build up of soap in the motors.
So FYI.
also read the other reviews about the hose storage.
I recommend you hang the hose up after using the machine to allow it to air dry, to prevent a mildew buildup inside the hose. Also, rinse all used parts out/off with hot water to also make sure there is no soap biuldup/residue.

The machine is a little pricey, but if you consider the cost to have your carpets professionally done, it isn't so bad.
Also, you don't know where the carpet cleaner was last.
My friend with 50 cats in her house uses a carpet cleaning service, think about that next time you call to have your carpets cleaned. Leaving the carpet so wet cannot be good, the pad, under the carpet holds onto the moisture alot longer than the carpet, and in time, will develop a musty odor, if not mildew and mold.
So there are alot of advantages to owning your own machine.
Lastly, be stingy with the soap. it doesnt take a lot of soap to clean the carpet, Be sure to rinse the carpet and furniture thoroughly, a build of soap will cause discoloration to the furniture and carpet, not to mention a sticky residue and feeling.

consumer reports rated this carpet cleaner it's Best Buy, citing the features, the dual bucket design, long cord and hose, and of course the 12 Amps of power provides ample suction.
Consumer reports recommends a professional service over personal carpet cleaners, but i disagree.
Why spend hundreds of dollars every yr to have somebody bring in a machine, when you can do it yourself, and also they leave the carpet too wet, and you don't know where they were last, or how clean and how well their equipment is maintained.

Hopefully the next model of V2 will be self propelled, but if not, its no big deal.
I didn't buy the Bissell model because i was not keen on the dual bag in a bucket design, this hoover unit holds twice the amount of water, allow for easy cleanup and storage, and backs this machine with a one-yr warranty.
the price is a little steep but think of the savings after you use it 2-3 times.