We have had a LOT of dogs in this house (and kids)...and some were not so potty-trained. Unfortunately, when we got the Chihuahua puppies, they started marking by the sliding glass door where the previous dogs had gone before. And when Bandit was so sick a few months ago, there were several messes in the living room as well. We talked about hiring someone to come in and clean the carpets, replacing the flooring, etc. We priced flooring and decided to get a carpet cleaner for now and then hopefully replace the flooring in the dining and living rooms next year (or whenever we can afford it).
So I researched different carpet cleaners and found one that I thought I would really like and that had good reviews. My decision was solidified when I found this deal that offered 5 monthly payments instead of paying a large amount up front. I could fit that into the budget a lot more easily than $200 all at once!
So...the Hoover SmartWash is what I chose. It is super easy to use. You fill the clean water tank with warm water and fill the dispenser in the back with detergent. Then you just plug it in, turn it on, push forward to wash, and pull back to dry. You can't go to slow forward or it will automatically switch to dry. It's also better to pull back slowly to dry in order to get as much water out as possible. Then when finished washing, remove the soap dispenser to rinse with the same forward and then back to dry motions. After that, press the "dry only" button and keep going until water is no longer being pulled from the carpet. It only took about an hour for the carpet to dry after I was done.
I will say there is definitely a lot of suction with this carpet cleaner. I had vacuumed the floor really well with our Dyson pet vacuum, but there was still SO MUCH dirt and hair pulled up from the carpet that I didn't even know was there. I feel like our floors are so much cleaner just based on that fact alone! But you can also see the difference. This photo is from just one pass using the carpet cleaner. You can see a definite line between the left and the right side of the photo that hadn't been cleaned yet.
One of the best things about this carpet cleaner is that it is very easy to clean. All of the compartments lift away. The dirty water tank opens completely and is easily cleaned out. It has a screen that needs to be cleared during each cleaning. The front cover lifts away which can be rinsed out. The brushes are also easily lifted to be rinsed out and cleaned as well.
I only have a few minor complaints about the new carpet cleaner. There's no notification when the clean water tank is empty and the cleaner just makes a louder noise when the dirty water tank is full. The blue wash should turn red when the clean water tank is empty and the green dry should turn red when the dirty water tank is full. It's a minor complaint...but it would definitely add to the "smart" of the SmartWash name. Another minor improvement would be some sort of a handle on the bottom portion of the dirty water tank. It would just make it easier to empty if there was a logical spot to hold it. But...those are just minor improvements that could be made.
Overall...it's a great machine and I'm very pleased with my purchase. :)