Hoover Steamvac Dual V

Cleaning the carpets. What could be more fun?

Well … A lot of things!

But even the best-kept home’s carpets will require cleaning now and again. You could turn to a professional carpet cleaner, but that could cost a small fortune. Especially if you have several rooms of carpets to clean. I found this out the hard (and expensive way).

Being a a generally “thrifty” person, I figured there has to be a better way (read cheaper) to get the job of carpet shampooed and looking good. So I put my researcher hat on and started digging around the Internet for a good carpet cleaner.

I found a model that looks very interesting, the Hoover Steamvac Dual V, and thought I’d share my in-depth research on this model with you.

Hoover Steamvac Dual V Carpet Cleaner F7411-900

(What’s up with these funky model numbers? – FF7411-900. Who knows. Anyway, I digress…)

This Hoover steam cleaner weighs in around 34 lbs. The heft a machine is important if you have to haul it up a flight of stairs. It’s also something to consider with maneuvering it around. But really. If you’re not lugging it upstairs, maneuverability isn’t really a big issue since you’re just going back and forth with relatively slow strokes as you’re using it! (I don’t really need the dexterity of the ‘Dyson Ball’ when it comes to upright steam cleaners.)

Plus this model has a built in carrying handle. That helps. So, I can live with the 34 pounds.

I also have hard wood floors. The brushes on this Hoover cleaner work on both carpet and hard floors. That’s a huge plus!

Hoover has a patent on their “SpinScrub” brushes that they claim scrubs the carpet fibers on all sides to gently loosen the embedded dirt and grime for deep cleaning. (Kind of like I do with my fingers doing it old school when I’m manually working in the detergent to get rid of a carpet stain!)

Other manufacturers who will not be named (but rhymes with ‘thistle’), incorporate a big long brush on their shampooers. This only strokes the carpet a few times with each rotation and in only one direction.

Hoover’s SpinScrub brushes work in a circular, spinning fashion so there’s many bristles constantly rubbing and massaging the carpet.

There’s also this gizmo called the Dual V Nozzle. The Hoover noozle is made so that the suction is equal across the full width of the nozzle. You don’t want that dirty water staying on your carpets and Hoover’s technology helps ensure that the grimy goo that the cleaner is lifting is removed from the carpets.

The Hoover Dual V has 3 speeds:

spill pick-up
gentle scrub
power scrub

All the reviews I came across made note that the powerful 12 amp vacuum motor has exceptionally good suction and cleaning power.

And since this is a ‘widepath’ model, you can clean more carpet with each ‘pass’, making the job just a tad quicker. Which is fine with me. Let’s get’r'done!

Dual V Cleans Carpets

There’s also an edge cleaner too which is important when you want to get right up close to the baseboard. That’s a tough spot to get without some kind of edge cleaner.

Here’s something pretty cool about this model. It uses the heat from the motor to actually help dry the carpets! That is one thing I really detest about the models I’ve used in the past: wet carpets. And taking forever to dry.

The Hoover Dual V applies heat to the carpet to speed up the drying process. That I like!

Hoover suggests you use their specially formulated detergent for the best results. And to get you started on the right foot, Hoover Ultra Detergent comes with the unit.

This machine automatically mixes the detergent and water for optimum cleaning results. It’s designed to constantly provide the correct mix ratio of detergent and water. (Good news as I usually use way too much soap! This feature should help with my ‘over-dousing’ with cleaning solution.)

The SteamVac model has two tanks on-board: one for the clean water and one to collect what’s been suctioned off the carpets.

Each tank holds a gallon and some users reported that they wished the ‘dirty’ tank was bigger as it fills up fast. It’s good that the machine is sucking up the gunk and grime. Bad that you have to frequently empty it. (But at least that crude is now OUT of your carpets!)

Also, this Hoover carpet shampooer does not heat up the water in the tank. This is easily remedied by boiling some water and adding it to the clean water tank. A bit of a hassle but then you know you have good, hot water doing the carpet cleaning job. And you’re also not paying a lot more to have this feature nor adding weight to the machine as well.

The power cord is pretty long at 30 feet. That should be plenty of length to cover any room in the house. (Unless you live in a mansion. But then I guess you wouldn’t be cleaning your own carpets if you lived in a palatial estate!)

As long as your cleaning, you may want to tackle the couch too. Mine sure seems to attract spills, spots, and yuck – doggie drool. (If I could only keep my Beagle off it!)

With the SpinScrub hand tool and 8 foot hose, I can get to work on cleaning those spots and stains on not only the sofa, but the chair, and the steps, out in the car, and the …. well, you get the idea.

Also included is a removable tool caddy so all the attachments can go right along with you.

Dual V Reviews

Although there aren’t as many online reviews for this model as it’s smaller cousin, the Hoover SteamVac Power Surge, there certainly enough happy owners who rave about their Dual V.

Here’s a sampling of some of the comments I’ve seen on Amazon, epinions.com, and Hoover’s site:

The power is awesome, my carpet was practically dry when I finished
This Hoover steam cleaner destroys stains and dirty patches that the Bissell could hardly even lighten
WOW! Amazing Cleaner. Very Happy. 5 STARS!
Significantly drier carpets
Better overall cleaning
“Single-pass” cleaning
Easy-to-clean tanks
Lower soap consumption

I’ve found that folks simply will not give out high praise for a product that they’ve spent a good money on but didn’t deliver. But the overwhelming majority of Dual V owners are very pleased with their investment. In fact, close to 90% of the owners gave the Hoover SteamVac Dual V Widepath a 4 or 5 star rating! Crunching the numbers even further, a whopping 71% gave it the top 5-star rating.

CLICK HERE to see the reviews for yourself!