Stuff I Love: Hoover Steamvac

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Whoever decided that carpet belonged in a dining room obviously did not have children.   However, we have both a carpeted dining room and several small children.  Based upon his dining-room performance alone, we're pretty sure little brother could qualify for Major League Baseball.  We've found some of his dinner under the living room couch - and he never left his seat.

This is part of the reason we love our Hoover Steamvac.  Originally suggested to us by a friend who was simultaneously potty training a toddler and housebreaking a dog, we weren't surprised when it performed excellently in our own high-mess home.  We love it for potty training accidents, we love it for post-spaghetti-night cleanup --- and we love it for the "what was I thinking when I gave the kids blueberries for snack then ran downstairs to check a recipe" disasters.  To his credit, big brother tried to vacuum up his mess.  And bless his heart he simply hasn't lived long enough to know that vacuuming blueberries just makes the mess worse. 

So here it is - Hoover Steamvac vs. blueberry stains.

 Eeeeek - how will we ever get these out?  First line of attack - baking soda and vinegar.  We usually use Resolve, but we were fresh out.  Great as the Steamvac is, it's a good idea to Resolve first.

 She has no idea that Mommy is upset about her floor.

 Fortunately, it was relatively well contained.

 Isn't he the best?  The Steamvac isn't the lightest tool on Earth, so hubby often has pitty and cleans for me.  That said, even as a small woman, I can carry it up and down the stairs if need be without too much trouble.

 Gross.  We steam clean every 2-4 weeks and the water comes out looking this brown (or worse!) every single time.  Makes me want to shampoo every day!  No carpet in the new house, please!  (but we won't need to ditch the Steamvac when we finally have wood floors - it does a bang-up job on upholstery, too!)

 As clean as cheap, builder-grade carpet will ever get.  Thanks, Steamvac!

The only flaw I've found with the Hoover Steamvac is that it would occasionally mysteriously stop sucking up water for seemingly no reason.  I'll confess, we lost the manual.  It's possible it addresses the issue in there.  But after much Google-ing, we discovered the two main reasons ours won't suck. 

1) This little plastic flap on the water tank is out (hubby claims it has something to do with the hose attachment).  If the flap on the far right there looks like this, your Steamvac will not suck up water.

 If it's in line like this, you're good to go.

2)   The lid has to be on just right.  Make sure you start with the section opposite the filter, then shut the filter side.  If you start on the filter side, the back hinges won't properly lock, and the vacuum won't suck up water.  

And that's it!  If you've got pets, small children, or just happen to think that carpet is as gross as I do, this is the tool for you!  And in the long run, at a couple hundred dollars, it's a LOT cheaper than renting a Rug-Doctor all the time and gets the floors just as clean.  Happy shampooing!

Note: I was not compensated for this post in any way.