My Hoover SteamVac with Power Brush & Onboard Tools has paid for itself many times over in the year that I've had it. Even with a variety of spills and stains from nail polish, soda, wine, red sauce, and much more, to the mud that the kids have tracked inside, to the spots my dogs have left on the carpet after, unfortunately, using it as a bathroom, I have not had to bring in professional carpet cleaners since I bought the Hoover SteamVac. It is easy enough to use that I find myself bringing it out of the closet to get up minor stains as they happen in addition to cleaning the whole carpet every other month. I am amazed that it has worked this well considering that it is a mid-grade (and mid-priced) carpet cleaner at best.

The Hoover SteamVac turns carpet cleaning into a simple task that virtually anyone can do themselves. With other non-professional grade carpet cleaners, I have had to repeatedly go over the carpet to get it truly clean, but I rarely have to go over the same spot for the carpet to look great with the Hoover SteamVac. However, you must vacuum right before you use the carpet cleaner to achieve the best results. Also, newer stains tend to come up easier and better than older stains. The Hoover SteamVac has two chambers for water; one for clean water with soap and one for dirty water, so you know that dirty water will not get onto your carpet with the SteamVac.

You can use Hoover carpet cleaning soap in the SteamVac, but you don't have to. I generally use the Hoover soap, but I have used other soaps such as one that is specially formulated for pet stains. The Hoover SteamVac works equally as well with and without the Hoover soap. In addition to being able to clean your carpets, the Hoover SteamVac can clean your furniture, upholstery, and stairs just as easily thanks to the attachments that come with it.

Even though it doesn't take a long time to actually clean the carpet (only a little longer than it takes to vacuum), it will take about two hours for your carpet to dry. You will need to remember to keep family members and pets off the carpet for as long as it takes to dry, which can be burdensome. The only other minor drawbacks to the Hoover SteamVac are that it is gets decently heavy after you've cleaned a whole room and it takes up more storage space than most vacuums, but these small inconveniences are well worth putting up with to save on professional carpet cleaning costs.