Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

2016 UPDATES AT THE END. This is a head-to-head review of three Hoover carpet cleaners that are currently featured on the comparison chart on on the product page: Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer, FH50150 Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge, F5914-900 Hoover MaxExtract 60 PressurePro Carpet Deep Cleaner, FH50220 We've had the SteamVac for about 5 years. It has done a good job of cleaning our carpets, which are kept dirty by three dogs. We reviewed the MaxExtract last year, and recently had a chance to compare those two against the PowerScrub. Here's how they compare. CLEANING PERFORMANCE: A three-way tie. I used Hoover Premium Pet Formula Carpet/Upholstery Detergent in all three machines, according to the instructions for each (premix for the SteamVac, separate compartments for the other two). We cleaned separate sections of big spots with each machine. To our eyes, they were equally clean when wet, and also when dry. All three units are loud, like every other carpet cleaner. CLEANING CONVENIENCE: The PowerScrub and the MaxExtract have a very nice feature: You add the detergent to a separate compartment from the hot water. A switch enables you to spray mixed detergent solution, or plain water. One complaint we had after using the SteamVac for several years is that the sections of carpet with the worst stains would sometimes get dirty again fast. These deeply stained areas got a lot of detergent sprayed on them during cleaning, and we believe the stains might come back due to detergent buildup in the carpet. With the newer PowerScrub and MaxExtract models, you can switch to plain water and rinse these areas (or your whole carpet!) The SteamVac has a Clean Surge feature that applies extra solution to stains and heavy traffic areas. I never found this to work any better than a just passing over the area again the normal way. HOW WET WERE THE CARPETS AFTER CLEANING: The carpets were noticeably dryer with this MaxExtract model. If you live in a colder area, or a humid area, this could be a deciding factor for you. The MaxExtract carpet fully dried in about half the time that the SteamVac carpet took. The PowerScrub carpets seemed slightly dryer than the SteamVac, but not as dry as the MaxExtract. HOW MUCH DETERGENT THEY USE: An unexpected outcome was that the PowerScrub and MaxExtract use significantly more detergent than the SteamVac-my guess is 50-100% more. Even using the maximum recommended amount of detergent in the SteamVac, it uses less. CLEAN WATER/DETERGENT TANK: The MaxExtract and PowerScrub hot water and detergent tank is easier to fill because pre-mixing is not necessary. This is not a huge deal, but the MaxExtract and PowerScrub are clearly newer machines with nice refinements in this area. DIRTY WATER TANK: The PowerScrub wins big points for its redesigned dirty water tank. It has a plug that you open to pour out the dirty water. This is MUCH easier than the MaxExtract or the SteamVac, both of which require you to take off the lid to pour out the water. With the PowerScrub, you use the spout to pour out dirty water, then only take of the lid once at the end of the day to rinse the tank and sponge filter. When you clean a lot of carpets, this kind of refinement matters. UPHOLSTERY CLEANING: The SteamVac and the PowerScrub include a SpinScrub hand tool with a spinning brush. We found this tool to be nearly useless. It seems like a lot of the suction power that comes down the hose is used just to spin the brush, so there is less suction left to suck out the dirty water. We found the simple Carpet and Upholstery Tool included with all three machines worked much better. SUMMARY: SteamVac: Costs less to buy and use, but this is an older machine that does not have the refinements of the other two. Leaves carpets wetter, and may leave more detergent in the carpet unless you empty the detergent tank and fill it with water only. MaxExtract: As its name suggests, leaves carpets drier than the other machines. Allows you to rinse with water. PowerScrub: Easiest emptying of the dirty water tank, which is very nice. Allows you to rinse with water. RECOMMENDATIONS: If you are cost conscious, buy the SteamVac. If you want the easiest experience, buy the PowerScrub. If you want dryer carpets quicker, buy the MaxExtract. You will get clean carpets with all three machines. 2016 UPDATES: First, the Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer, FH50150 has been updated since we bought it about 10 years ago. The photos show a model that is very similar looking to ours, but with somewhat different details. The key points APPEAR to be the same, but I cannot tell because we have the old model, not the new one. Second, I definitely prefer models with the RINSE feature at this point. This allows you to remove more detergent from your carpet by running across each section with plain water after washing. Third, the chart supplied by hoover is WRONG on one detail: The MaxExtract 77 model clearly has a RINSE/WASH knob in the photos, but does not show a RINSE feature in the chart. The knob is grey, below the red round Hoover logo in the photos. Finally, at this time (last week of December 2015) the price for the MaxExtract is just twenty more than the price of the other two (prices may change). At that price, I would recommend the MaxExtract 60 over the other two models.