This is the second steam cleaner I have ever owned. I wish it would have been the first, because then it would have been the only - it is that awesome of a cleaner. I have owned it for over two years and have never had a problem with it. I bought the extended warranty but didn't need it because the cleaner is super durable and reliant. It was a great price for a great product. You can use any kind of steam cleaner detergant with the hoover, it does not have to be hoover detergents. And the other brands of detergents work just fine. I have a dog and a cat that the hoover cleaner picks up for well after. Whether it be ANY kind of mess an animal makes, the spin-scrub does the job right! Even if the animal stain is not a new one, the spin-scrub is will still tackle and win against the stain and the smell of the mess. This cleaner also has a great attachment that you can clean stairs and furniture with. It comes with two different options, either a regular attachment or a spin-scrub attachment. This steam-cleaner also is very easy to clean. I love how easily accessible the dual tanks are to fill,keeping cleaning solution and dirty water separate. All in all, this is a great steam-cleaner. If it were to ever break down on me, which I don't think would be any time soon, I would go out & get another one!

alrightythen321

Wichita, KS

I will try to be concise. Machine is 8 months old total.  at around 5 months It started to "surge" as in the lights dimming and such. Within a month the machines indicator light for the recovery tank was blinking that it was full....when it was empty. The machine shuts down detergent when this happens. I took it into repair under warranty. I was called the next day and told it was working fine! I took it home...and it was broken again! for a month it was back and forth to service until FINALLY, the intermittent problem revealed itself to service. Hoover tech said one or two parts are responsible. 1 part was received...it was not the culprit. Now we get to the fun part; Part #2 is "Not available and we have no ship date" Hoover tells the service center. 6 weeks later, I still have no carpet cleaner. I contacted customer support, was transferred to Corporate customer support. They contacted the service center WHILE I WAS ON HOLD! The guys at the service center asked them to provide a new machine as this machine has been assembled and disassembled too many times. Hoover refused and gave a story of "The part is being manufactured by another company and is stuck in distribution" WHAT? So Hoover hasn't built a single one of these heaps in over 6 weeks? BUT!!!  MAGICALLY! They are going to "pull some strings" lol and get the needed part to the service center! AND!!!  READY??   They "SHOULD" be able to get it there in less than 2 weeks!!!   Keep in mind the machine has been dead for over 2 months now languishing in the corner of a service center. Do they REALLY expect me to be happy about this?  Would you want a flimsy plastic machine that has been taken apart and reassembled at least 7 times by a service center that had to contact Hoover to diagnose the problem? She's gonna be a real peach by the time this situation has reached its sorrowful resolution. I wouldn't give this machine to charity. Hoover has made this so bad that I am trading it in for a Royal cleaner and I am taking a loss of over 50% and I'm happy about it!  Goodbye Hoover. Once Bitten....I'm outta there.            Thanks for nothing Hoover. I will promptly trade it in for a Royal cleaner. Way to treat a customer that bought your flagship carpet cleaner.

gander

New Baltimore, MI

I have to agree with CTCleanFreak who posted valid criticisms about the Hoover F8100900 carpet cleaner. Since the tanks are small, they have to be emptied often. I've only seen two carpet cleaners that appear to be well designed and they are the (1) Bissell Quicksteamer series which is very lightweight and small and thus has to be emptied often, and (2) the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro which is well designed and engineered. Like the Hoover F8100900, the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro is cumbersome and heavy but its design makes better sense and is certainly easier to clean after use. The nooks and crannies in the several pieces that must be disassembled to clean the Hoover is daunting. I have to agree with the Hoover repairman who told CTCleanFreak that it is a piece of junk. My recommendation: buy the Rug Doctor Mighty Pro.

urbandrama

Saint Louis, MO

I bought this cleaner after reading many reviews. My little Bissel steam cleaner stopped vacuuming up the solution after just using it 10 times, so I decided to invest in something I won't have to replace once a year. I was nervous at first because the cleaner is very expensive compared to other cleaners, and putting it together, I was terrified it would break, as it's made of plastic which doesn't feel very strong to me. It was simple to put together and get started, and once I started cleaning, I knew I'd made a good choice. I cleaned the carpet in my 17 month old son's room, and was shocked at how differently this cleaner worked compared to my Bissel. With my Bissel, an entire gallon of solution was sprayed onto my carpet, but only a few ounces of the solution was vacuumed up. I contacted Bissel and they assured me this was normal, as I have thick carpets. However, the carpets sometimes took 24 hours or more to dry, which is very frustrating. Needless to say, I hardly used the Bissel cleaner as it was a pain to wait an entire day for the carpets to dry. With this Hoover cleaner, though, nearly ALL the solution was vaccumed back out of the carpet! It took about 5 hours for the carpet to dry (very thick carpet!) and the dirty water was BLACK when I was done. I'm disgusted at what a terrible job my Bissel did, and grateful that this cleaner works so well! What I love about this cleaner: - You don't have to mix the detergent in water, the machine mixes it for you, making it easier to clean small areas if needed without making an entire gallon of solution - I'm a small woman and this machine is pretty big, but it's easy to push, I had no problems with it - The machine rinses and partially dries the carpet, without leaving an overwhelming smell of chemicals in the room - It comes with a 6 year limited warranty. Other Hoover cleaners come with a 1 year warranty. (Hopefully this means that they are confident with this machine, and not that they anticipate problems, I'm quite cynical) - The dirty water bin is VERY easy to clean. My Bissel was terrible to clean, it took me half an hour to clean it because of the design. - The suction is great, it actually vacuums up nearly all the water out of the carpet - It actually gets my carpet clean! Finally! What I don't like: *The machine appears to be sturdy, but I'm still a little nervous about all the plastic parts. I keep thinking something might break off if I'm not careful. It's an expensive machine and I can't afford for anything to break. *The detergent: You can use any Hoover detergent in the machine, but the the platinum detergent that comes with it is VERY expensive, much more than Hoover's original detergent. Hoover  told me that the "Recommended" shampoos for this machine are the Platinum detergent and the Hoover SteamVac Ultra carpet and upholstry detergent. They said the other brands might foam too much and cause problems. The ultra detergent is about half the price of the platinum, so I bought 4 bottles of it with the buy 4, get 1 free deal on amazon. I just used the detergent last night on a fresh chocolate milk stain and it didn't get it out, but I don't know if the platinum would have, either. Seems like decent detergent, though! And a lot more affordable! *Cleaning the cleaner: I don't regret buying it because it cleans so well, but I do have a few comments on cleaning it. The rotating brushes on the underside of the cleaner pick up a lot of lint, hair, and gunk that vacuums do not pick up, and the junk gets really nasty in the brushes. I've actually had to take my cleaner outside, turn it over, and pull everything out of the brushes. Very gross, but it keeps from spreading on my carpet. Just wanted to mention the fact. This is still a wonderful cleaner and does a great job, but cleaning the brushes is a bit more extensive than other carpet cleaners I've owned.

sunnybabi1986

Springfield, MO

I've got tons of carpet traffic.  For 2 years I used a cheaper/smaller carpet shampooer.  First it broke after 1 year.  I bought another and after another year, the motor went haywire.  I did some research and spent a pretty penny on this Hoover Maxextract.  Before, my carpet looked clean and then in 2 days, the stains came back.  Not with this Hoover.  My carpet is actually CLEAN!  It also has a 6 year warranty!  Go Hoover.  I love this carpet shampooer.

anave4105

Tulsa, OK