Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer Review

The following article Hoover Power Scrub Deluxe Carpet Washer Review was originally seen on Ratinginator Blog

Is Power Scrub good in removing pet stains? And are the parts easy to clean?

Short version of this answer is yes, Hoover Power Scrub does a very good job on deep cleaning pet urine stains and odors using hot water and the right cleaning solution. It will definitely clean new and fresh stains, but also remove most of the old stains with the help of a little spot cleaning. If you have old carpets in your home, you will see that the machine will also remove lots of dust and dirt that your vacuum cleaner failed to pick up.

The suction parts which tend to accumulate a lot of pet hair and dirt are easily removed and cleaned. You can also remove the plastic part at the bottom to clean it. This is definitely a step in the right direction by Hoover and puts Power Scrub on par and above most other models on the market.

Can I shut off the brushes?

There is no switch or control to turn them off, but as most other models on the market, the brushes will stop automatically when the handle is upright. This is a nice safety feature to prevent damage to the carpets and/or floors when using the upholstery attachment.

Can I use it with water only or homemade solutions?

Yes, you can use the carpet cleaner with hot water and vinegar for instance to remove old stains. You can also use shampoo concentrates that do not contain chemical like Bio-Kleen to remove tough stains and lingering odors.

Is the cord long enough to clean larger rooms?

Although Hoover states that the cord is 20 feet long, you need also to consider the 2’10 it takes from the bottom of the machine to the clip on the upper side where you need to fix the cord if you don’t want it getting in the way while cleaning the carpets. With that said, the remaining 17-foot reach will be enough for most room sizes.

What about the water tanks?

The tanks are a bit on the smaller side, so you may need to empty/refill them after cleaning a regular sized room of about 10×10. With that said, removing and emptying the tanks is quite easy to do, so you won’t have to spend a lot of time and effort before getting back to work.

Can I use Hoover Power Scrub on Berber carpets, area rugs, wool rugs, etc.?

Yes, you can use it with most of the new Berber rugs which are sturdier than traditional carpets. You can also clean area rugs and wool rugs with it, but you should always make sure to read the label of each carpet to make sure that they can be wet cleaned. Some manufacturers will recommend against it for certain carpet types and it never hurts to be sure.

The rotating brushes are not forced into the carpets/fibers, so there is very little risk of unwinding the fibers and/or damaging the carpet in any way as long as the carpet is suitable for machine cleaning.

Can I use it as a spot cleaner?

Yes, of course. Just make sure you don’t use as much shampoo/solution as you would when cleaning the whole carpet.

Does it heat the water or do I add hot water? And how hot should the water be?

It’s not a steam cleaner and it doesn’t heat the water. You just add hot tap water. The water can be as hot as your tap produces, just make sure not to use boiling water as it can easily damage the plastic parts and seals, and cause serious leaking.

Does it leak?

No, under normal circumstances and with careful use (meaning not using boiling water as we specified above), you will not see any leaking.

Does it have a water level indicator?

No, it doesn’t, but the tanks are transparent and you can see the water level inside without any hassles.

Does it have upholstery/stair attachments? And how well does it clean?

Yes, the Deluxe model comes with a lot of attachments including a hand tool, a stair tool, and upholstery tool and a crevice tool, so you can use it in almost any furniture/surface in your home. In fact, the hand tool uses the same kind of SpinScrub brushes the machine itself uses, which makes cleaning with it a lot easier and effective since they clean with a double (back and forth) motion instead of a unidirectional movement seen in most other models.

Furthermore, the machine is lighter than most others, which makes it very suitable for cleaning stairs with multiple steps.

How long it takes for the carpets to dry?

Like I mentioned in many other reviews, the drying time depends on various factors including the amount of water you used, the type of carpet, the number of passes you made with the suction mode on and the humidity in the air. However, under normal circumstances, if you run the carpet cleaner back and forth with the suction mode on for a few minutes, you can expect the carpet to dry in about 2 hours. You can also use a fan on the room if you need them to dry faster.

How easy/hard is it to assemble, use and maneuver?

Hoover made a good job with PowerScrub and made it very easy to assemble and use. You will most likely not feel the need to read the manual to assemble the machine (but I always recommend using the manual just in case), and it is very easy to use. And one of the biggest pros of the PowerScrub Deluxe is that it’s quite light and very easy to move around, so I would definitely recommend it for people with back problems, etc.

In fact, it is one of the two reasons (the other being the price) that you could actually prefer it to a more powerful model like Bissell Big Green.