I need a carpet cleaner, but the reviews on these things are so sketchy so I’m hoping to get some recommendations here.
If you have or had one:
-What kind was it?
-What did you like about it?
-What did you not like?
My house is one floor, apx 1500sq ft, we have a LOT of animals, and do a lot of outdoor stuff that tracks in crud.
Help?
I have a Hoover “MaxExtract” that I bought last year. It works fairly well, although maybe not as well as the rental machines I used to use. I got it when we had a sick cat who was vomiting a lot, and now we have an elderly dog who is becoming incontinent. We also have wall-to-wall light beige carpet, and that’s a terrible combination.
The things I like least about it are the cheap plastic construction of the tanks and how hard it is to clean out all the nooks and crannies. My model has a combination detergent/clean water tank with two valves on the bottom, and I found out the hard way that if you leave detergent in the tank for any length of time, it destroys the valve. I now have to put detergent in the main tank, then rinse it out and refill it to rinse.
As I said, it does work pretty well. The suction is good enough to extract a lot of the liquid from the carpet, and the brushes scrub well. I like the hand tools, and it’s easy to switch between floor and hand tool.
I didn’t get the wide track machine, and I’m still a little conflicted about that. The narrower model is handier for getting into tight corners and maneuvering around furniture, but when I’m cleaning the entire floor, I sometimes wish the track were wider. It is pretty compact, not much bigger than my Hoover upright vacuum, and it’s easy to lift and to store. I have the feeling that lightness is a trade-off for less sturdiness and effectiveness. Given the flimsy tank and valve assembly, I’m not sure I’d buy the same model again.
I’ve had both Bissell and Hoover and couldn’t tell any difference in cleaning. The Bissell, however, was self-propelled, making a heavy machine much easier to handle.
Both were a PITA to use but I think that’s unavoidable, when a machine has two tanks (one for clean water and one for dirty).
If you shop in person, look at the size of the tanks. If you have a small sink or a short faucet, you’ll be cussing. One of mine – can’t remember which one – barely fit under the kitchen faucet.
Thanks 
Great hint about the size of the tanks! The old house had a big slop sink in the laundry room, this one doesn’t. I’d hate to have to go outside to the hose to fill and rinse the thing.
The flimsy plastic is the complaint I hear (well, read) most often. It bugs me that that seems to be the nature of the beast no matter what you buy anymore.
Well, maybe there will some holiday deals somewhere along the line, I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
My roommate has the latest version of the Bissell for pets model. I’m really very pleased with it, but I have no way to compare it to the Hoover. I just know it took out stains we never could get rid of before on both the floor and the sofa.
I have a Hoover All Terrain that we bought about 12 years ago, and is still running strong. It does both carpets and hard floors and has a stair hose/powered head. I’ve yet to run into a stain it can’t get out. It can be a bit of a pain to clean some of the parts, it’s all doable.
Hoover SteamVac here. We’ve had it for years. Friends and family use it also. We have pets and a doggy door so that they can drag dirt in all they want.
I’ve also used it on furniture and car interiors with the attachments. I did have the hand spray nozzle break, but found a cheap replacement on EBay.
We still have the carpets in the house professionally cleaned about once a year. It’s worth the cost as they get the carpet much cleaner.