So Far... Really Cool!
Before I begin the details, let me say this:


If you believe that any tool should do its job without ANY user maintenance, then you should stop searching for any home-use carpet cleaner and, as you desire... hire someone to do the work for you. If your carpet and/or furnishings have not been cleaned for a decade... hire someone to do the work for you. If, on the other hand, you recognize that a tool is an investment and WILL require some care and maintenance... then BUY THIS MACHINE!


The Back-story:
As the owner of a Bissell bag-less vacuum that has served me well for over a decade, I started my search for a home carpet 'steamer' with the Bissell brand in mind. My Bissell 6590-W continues to be the best vacuum cleaner ever.... but back to the carpet cleaner...

After a few sessions of research, I soon learned that Bissell's 'steamers' were better positioned to deliver hotter water to the floor than to delivering scrubbing power to the surface. I have experienced Hoover vacuum cleaners in the past... and have been left less-than-satisfied with the brand. Needless to say, I went into my purchase of the F5912-900 as something of a skeptic.

The Set-up:
Take a minute to read the Quick Assembly Guide. It is the first thing you see when you open the box. Read it... follow it. Based on other information I've seen regarding assembly of this cleaner, the Quick Assembly Guide is the first thing you see FOR A REASON. Overall, the assembly process is quite simple and also gives you a basic familiarity with the cleaner.


Setting Up The Test:
I decided, based on the negative commentary, that my first test should be on the hard tile floor of my kitchen. The hard floor tool is not included with the unit, but it's readily available via amazon.com. I chose the hard floor test because the majority of the negative comments came from those who used the unit for hard floor cleaning. Let's be honest. The F5912-900 is not intended for routine cleaning... be it hard floors or carpets... yet the negative reviews I've read have complained about set-up time, water drips, etc.. Again... it's not for daily use and it's probably going to drip a bit. After all, it does use... well... water.

My Biggest Initial Concern:
As I set up and started to operate the cleaner, I quickly learned the meaning behind some of the Bissell vs Hoover marketing material: Both sport 12 AMP motors, but the Bissell brushes are motor driven via a belt... the Hoover brushes are driven via fan turbines... turned by the suction of the vacuum that draws the the cleaning solution from the floor into the recovery tank.

The Initial Results:
My hard tile kitchen floor turned out great! The purpose of using the unit to clean a surface is make the unit WORK FOR YOU. This cleaner does a great job of scrubbing the floor. You do need to work the unit slowly, letting it do it's job, but with little physical effort (other than guiding it to where you want it to scrub and pulling the trigger to release cleaning solution). It CERTAINLY takes more time than using a damp mop... but, at the end of the day... the result is comparable to what you would see after spending an hour or so on your knees with a scrub brush. Again... this is not something you're going to want for your weekly routine, but it will be a blessing as you prepare to host guests for a dinner party the next day!

The Bonus Test:
I have two dogs, one of which grooms (e.g.: licks its legs/paws) incessantly, on the sofa leaving a mottled appearance of the fabric once the saliva dries. As a result, I have spent more money than I care to acknowledge on regular professional cleaning. After cleaning the kitchen floor with the F5912-900, and with fresh cleaning solution remaining in the tank... I became ambitious and, knowing the fabric on the sofa is color-fast, I decided to clean a cushion. Wow... just... WOW! The cushion now looks better than anything I saw following professional cleanings! I give credit to the turbines that use suction to drive the hand-tool. I was able to apply a great deal of pressure to the turbo brush and it kept on scrubbing the fabric the whole time. Again... kudos to the design!

The Initial Summary:
The F5912-900, out of the box, exceeds my expectations! Having used the cleaner in conditions of relative minimum risk, I'm ready to tackle my sofa and living-room carpet in their entirety. I'll be sure to update this review following my next round of use...

1 Star for now but I may change it. Here's why. . .
I had to return this vacuum to the Hoover Service Center near where I live. I bought it brand new and it came it great condition. However, it refused to dispense the cleaning solution. I tried everything but could not get it to work. The Hoover repair guy said the 2 year warranty will take care of everything. But still, you buy a vacuum hoping it'll work out of the box. What a hassle but I'm lucky since I live near a service center. I've read where earlier models were made in the USA--mine was made in Mexico--not sure if the quality control down there is the same. I'll update this review once I hear from the repair man. He's had it since Jan 17.
*******Well, today is Jan 29 and the vacuum is still at the Hoover service center. I cannot recommend this vacuum nor can I recommend any Hoover product as they don't return emails or answer their 1-800 number. I learned the hard way, please spend your money on another brand. I feel like a sucker. Vac returned from repair shop on Feb 18!! Do not buy Hoover, ever! And don't go to the Hoover Repair Shop in Burlingame, CA EVER!

Ann B
My old Hoover quit after 10 years-this is the newer version. Arrived safely and quickly.Powerful enough to do a great job, gets spots out with a "little elbow grease". Bad stains might need a second going over,but the stain will be gone. Easy to empty and store. Very nice product. If there are 10 years of service from this, like my last one-it is a great buy!

Hoover F5912900 SteamVac Carpet Cleaner
I have used this cleaner twice. The first time was on a slightly dirty bedroom carpet. The carpet is dark brown and dense and only slightly stained with some cat hair balls and spots of fir tree pitch. We pretreated the pitch with some diluted Simple Green and the hair balls with water and cleaning was a cinch. The carpet was clean and dry within 2 hours.

The second cleaning was of a playroom carpet that was stained with paint/crayons/pet stains/glue/nail polish and many other unidentified stains that had not been cleaned for over 20 years. I forgot to turn the brushes on the first time over this carpet so I went over it twice. It still looks bad, but I feel that it is technically "clean."

Emptying and cleaning out the tanks was not a huge problem at all. I would suggest using a spray attachment from your sink to clean the nooks and crannies of the lid of the dirty water tank. I removed the brushes and cleaned them after the first use, but didn't have the manual with me the second time and couldn't remember how to get them off, so keep the owner's manual handy.

I found the scent left by the liquid cleaning fluid pleasant. Mild and neither cloying nor chemical.

I give this cleaner 3 stars only because of the extra tools. As other reviewers have mentioned, the tool holders on the back of the cleaner are annoyingly ineffective and the tools fell off repeatedly the second time I used the cleaner. This part of the design needs improvement to get another star from me.

Not perfect, but pretty darn good!
I've always liked Hoover products- when the price was right!- and the price on this carpet cleaner was just where I expected it to be. I believe others have reviewed this item and have mentioned some of the "precautions" you might need to take, and they WERE right! The hotter the water the better (boiling about 1/2 the amount is good), pre-spotting is best AND read the directions!! Nothing difficult, but it IS'NT like running a vacuum. Altogether, a very good product that does a more than decent job.

Great machine
I have owned this Rug Doctor Mighty Pro for about 2 weeks and have cleaned most of the house with it. After going through 3 or 4 Bissel Pro Heat machines that kept breaking after a couple months I finally decided to get something that would last. I can't comment on durability yet for this machine being I've only had it 2 weeks, but from other reviews all over the web I can say I'm pretty sure this machine will last a while.
Like professional the professional carpet cleaners and any other deep cleaning machine, the Rug Doctor puts down a lot of soap and water... the difference between this machine and the other machines(and even some "professional cleaners") is thanks to it's 1.9 horsepower motor it actually brings 80% of the soap and water out of the carpet and into the recovery tank. Most other carpet cleaning machines (and even some professionals, namely one's that aren't IICRC certified (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification) don't bring up all the soap and water they put down. This leaves your carpet full of soap and water, extending the drying time of your carpets to 8 hrs or more. The Rug Doctor has the CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) Gold Seal of Approval. So if you clean your carpets according to the instructions ( only make one pass over each strip of carpet (two at the absolute max) until the carpet is dry, your carpet should dry in about 2 to 3.5 hrs after you finish cleaning (right within timeframe the IICRC says carpet should take to dry). It should NEVER take more than 3 to 4 hrs max for carpets to dry if they've been cleaned correctly with a good machine. Another problem with the carpet cleaning machines that don't pull up all the soap and water is that even after the carpet dries, dirt will be attracted to your carpet because of the soap and water left behind. Because the Rug Doctor pulls up 80% of what it puts down, as long as you follow the Rug Doctor's recommended cleaning instructions you won't have this problem.
Now, as for the cleaning results after using this machine... it got out stains I didn't think would ever come out. The only one it hasn't managed to get completely out is a very large ball point pen stain that has been in my dining room for years. But, it has managed to get enough of the stain out so it is less noticeable.
This machine may be more expensive than the others, but I have to say I think the saying "you get what you pay for" fits very well here... if I had bought one of these in the first place I probably wouldn't have had to go through 4 different carpet cleaners that DIDN'T EVEN GET MY CARPETS CLEAN!!!
Now for the pros and cons:
PROS:
Powerful, does a great job cleaning your carpets when you follow the recommended cleaning instructions

Easy to use

Cost about the same price as having a IICRC Certified Cleaning Professional come do your carpets

Machine seems to be mostly well made and durable except handle (see cons)

CONS:
No onboard heater... if you really want your carpets to get clean you should use hot water. I've found boiling a pot of water to use works best... but be careful not to scald yourself!!

No spout on the bottom tank so you can empty it easily. A spout would be really nice instead of having to dump it over the tub to empty the unused water/soap. But hey, at least the recovery tank is easy to empty.

While the machine seems mostly durable, I feel that the handle could be better made. It isn't flimsy but I don't feel that it's that strong either.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Besides the minor flaws this is a great machine and I highly recommend considering it if you do a lot of carpet cleaning in your house.

The link for more information on the CRI Seal of Approval is listed below as well as a link to a list of CRI Certified Machines (including the Rug Doctor) (HOPEFULLY THE LINKS WILL SHOW UP, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF AMAZON ALLOWS LINKS IN REVIEWS)

[...]


NOTE: From what I've read on the CRI Website the Rug Doctor is still not meant to replace using a professional carpet cleaning service once or twice a year. But from the results I've gotten from it, and the fact that it got has a gold Seal of Approval from the CRI, I think as long as you clean your carpets every 6 to 12 months you really don't need to hire professionals.

Rug Doctor Works
I had rented Rug Doctor (the red one you see in supermarkets) for many years. When it (the blue one) finally became available to purchase I was thrilled. It is expensive, but well worth it. And good carpeting is MORE expensive. I bought mine at Costco. I've had experience with other brands. I had a Hoover before buying a Rug Doctor. The Hoover model was cheap plastic, it leaked, and had way too many little parts to break. It reminded of the game Mouse Trap from the 70's, a lot of plastic crap. It didn't last long.

The Rug Doctor has very little to it, which is good. There's a clean water tank, a dirty water tank and a lot of suction. I think what I noticed over the years when I rented one was the design of the Rug Doctor. All the water sits in the front of the machine and on top of the suction/brush area. I think this helps to weigh it down so it really sucks the water out of the carpet. The hand attachment has a lot of sucking power as well.

Is there anything I don't like about? Sure, nothing's perfect. It's VERY loud ( I wear earplugs while using it). It can be heavy to pull.. it's a good work out cleaning your carpets! The connectors to use the hand attachment can be tricky to put in the back of the machine...then again I'd say they're extremely secure connections.
I still give it 5 stars. It's the best carpet cleaner hands down.

Simply Incredible!!!
I and my dog recently moved to a new house. She was house-broken, so I was comfortable leaving her in the house by herself until I got home. However, she must have gotten into something one morning because when I arrived home from work one evening, there were 14 piles of diarrhea in almost every room!!! My house smelled terrible, and I thought my carpet was ruined. So I went to the local grocery store and rented the Rug Doctor along with several bottles of cleaning agent (save your money on the "anti-foaming agent" and use a couple teaspoons of salt instead). I went home and began cleaning the spots up. I could not believe my eyes, or my nose for that matter!!! It cleaned up each and every area of mess as if it were never there. Using the machine took a little getting used to at first, but you learn to let the machine do the work and keep a light touch on the controls when pulling it back toward you. I was sold on this machine and purchased my own. It beats any of the so-called "steam cleaners" out there, and I think does a better job than most professional companies. I'm not one to right a review on a product, so take this for what it's worth.

Disappointed
When I bought my carpet eight or ten years ago, it was the best carpet Home Depot had to offer. The carpet was in my bedroom and I live alone so it wasn't a high traffic area. I never cleaned it with anything more than a vacuum. When I finally rented a Rug Doctor, I guess it was too late. I made pass after pass going slower and slower each time but it simply would not come clean. So I certainly wasted my money on Rug Doctor. Maybe if I had used Rug Doctor after 1 or 2 years instead of 8 or 10 I would have gotten better results. I don't know. Anyway I am now ripping up the carpet.

Beats the professional companies hands down!
If you've ever had, or like to have your carpets "professionally cleaned" than this is the machine for you. If you've ever had your carpets done by a professional company, then I recommend you take a rug doctor right after they leave and run it with nothing but just hot water in it. You will not believe the amount of SOAP (and dirt) those professional companies leave behind. The soap itself is a dirt magnet. Clean your carpets yourself with this machine a few times and it will pay for itself AND your carpets will be much cleaner than how the professional companies leave it.

My husband and I have five indoor pets (a lab, a sheltie, 3 cats - who seem to constantly be puking hairballs on the carpet) and an 8 month old daughter, who also likes to puke pureed carrots on the carpet when we least expect it! Can I mention the occasional leaky poopy diaper?

This rug doctor gets all of the nasty cat vomit, baby BM's and rainbow baby food (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, blueberries) out of our lightly colored beige carpet. We have used this for dog vomit and dog diarrhea as well with no stains left behind.

My sister's dog stayed with us once and peed on the carpet in the master bathroom. We used the rug doctor to clean it up. If you don't get the smell out, once one animal pees in the house, they will all start doing it to mark territory! We cleaned the spot with the rug doctor until the water ran clear and I couldn't smell anything in the carpet. When we replaced the carpet with tile and pulled the old carpet up, I looked for the pee stain. You could see a very, very faint brown outline of an irregular shape where the rug doctor solution had spread the urine out while cleaning the carpet. Curiosity got the better of me and I wondered if you could smell the pee UNDER the carpet, so I gave it a whiff. I couldn't detect an odor (my nose is pretty sensitive).

We use this machine to clean the carpets in our home every six months. We vacuum (with a Dyson DC17) on a regular basis but still the water we pull out of the carpet is an opaque brown (I should probably clean my carpets more than every six months with five pets and a kid, but I don't make the time to do so).

Another user mentioned using a slower pace with the machine than what the manufacturer recommends. We also do this. It seems you have to go pretty slow for it to do a really thorough job. Yes, it takes time, but when your carpets are as clean as they will ever be without being brand new, it's worth it!

Some tips that have worked well for us:

-You don't need nearly as much soap as they recommend. We use 1/2 or 1/3 of the recommended amount mixed with hot water and it does a great job (will save money on soap too!)

-We usually go back over the carpets a second and sometimes third time with just plain hot water to get out any residual soap (yes, even with the reduced amount) until the water we pull out of the carpet is clear (or nearly so). THEN I feel like the carpets are really clean.

-When cleaning up pet urine (if this is an issue for you): Use a flourescent black light (you can purchase one from a party store). This will make urine (and some other stains) glow in the dark. This way, you know EXACTLY where it is. After cleaning, you can check with the black light to see if you got all of the urine up or if you need to go over it again a few more times. The room needs to be completely dark (do at night) for the stain to show under the black light.

The rug doctor makes your house smell nice and fresh.

We just use the plain solution. The rug doctor came with some "special" samples like pet stain remover, odor remover, etc... Which I will probably use if and when our first bottle of solution runs out. We have found that the original formula works just fine for all of our messes.

CONS:

Only one con that we are aware of: If you are spot cleaning and you mix up too much solution, you want to empty it out of the rug doctor so it doesn't sit in there for months (mildew?). This is a royal pain. You either have to use all of the solution in your carpet (until it's empty) or wrestle the rug doctor over a sink or bath tub and turn it upside down. This thing is heavy and somewhat cumbersome (especially if it's full of water!). Even after dumping it upside down, there will still be a little bit of solution in it. It takes both me and my husband to empty it. One of us holds it on the edge of the bathtub while the other person pushes the button on the rug doctor to blow out all of the remaining solution in the bathtub. The person not balancing the rug doctor on the edge of the tub has to watch to see if the rug doctor is indeed done spouting out the residual solution. Yes, it's a bit of a pain, but still very worth it.

We have not used the upholstery attachment, but if I ever do, I will come back and comment on it.

Cheap plastics ruin this unit
Bissell "spot bots" suffer from horrendously cheap plastics and a slew of yet-uncorrected design flaws.

I am now on my third "spot bot"; as others have described, both my previous units failed within 15 months of purchase, each for the following reasons:

1) various components in the cheap plastic suction hose/sprayer attachment fractured and disintegrated
2) the screw post underneath the water/solution reservoir cracked and disintegrated
2) poorly-galvanized vacuum motor suffers from pitting corrosion due to inadequate seal of overflow safety flap

Again, all after nearly 1 year! Now, in our latest "spot bot", even the electronics have begun to act quirky.

Conclusion: If you buy a "spot bot", expect to fuss with having to exchange for a new unit roughly annually.

Bissell: either use higher grade plastics or move on to aluminum or stainless steel. This is ridiculous. Are your margins really that thin? Step up.

Well.....it could be much better
Ok. I bought the Spot Bot when it first came out, so I've owned and used it for about 4? years now.
I have oatmeal carpet (meaning off-white with flecks of brown and black). Not a good choice in color when you have kids and animals. I'll admit it was a poor choice. Needless to say, because of my poor choice, I now have spots in my house, hence buying the Spot Bot.

Positives:
*Small/compact handheld thing vs. steam vac size
*hose!
*you can set it and it'll clean the spot without your help
*Long cord

Negatives:
*The Spot Bot leaves dark circles in my carpet.
*I use the hose because, funny, the hose doesn't leave marks. (No it's not because of the soap/lack of soap. I've tried everything.)
*The 'junk' that you suck up gets left in the hose and there's no way to get it out. I've cleaned up vomit and dog/cat 'stuff' with this hose. You can imagine the smell every time we use it. Makes me want to add to the vomit that's being cleaned up.
*Bad 'brown water' tank design. There's the white "thingy" that's in the middle of the tank. It's where the dirty water gets brought into the tank. There is NO way to clean that either! So unless you get a long bottle brush or a thin toothbrush or something, all that 'junk' stays in there.

So what is the point of the Spot Bot? Taking the smell out of your carpet/upholstery into another container. EWWW. I'd suggest finding something else that can be cleaned out better.

Great Idea, just needs to be better thought out.

GREAT INVESTMENT!!
I bought this after getting a new puppy - wish I had bought one a whole lot sooner! It does a terrific job of clean old and new stains. It ought to be mandatory for anyone with an indoor pet!

Surprise!
Got this for when our cat vomits on the rug. Thought it was overkill, but it's not. It's an amazing machine! Not only does it do a great job, when she has an accident on the rug, I use this on the spot. She cowers and leaves the room. But when she gets sick on the floor, I just wipe it up. The surprise is... she learned to get sick on the floor instead of the rug so that big machine doesn't start to roar! HA!

LOVE the SpotBot
I love love love the SpotBot. I gave my husband the ultimatum to buy the SpotBot or get rid of the dog. He chose the SpotBot. It is very easy to use and to keep clean. We have used it for "old" stains and it WORKS! The setting for "set it stains" is great, you set it with one button and walk away. It beeps when it's finished. I have white carpeting throughout the house and the stairs seem to get the most abuse. We have set the SpotBot on the steps and it has COMPLETELY removed dirt stains. The removable hand piece works great for hard to reach places. I prefer not to use chemically based solvents in my home (small children) so I use straight vinegar in the SpotBot and have had GREAT success. It is easy to keep clean and store. The only thing I have found is that when I store it with the vinegar in it it slightly leaks (not enough to have standing liquid, but enough that I can tell where it was sitting). I now store it empty. This is nothing that would keep me from purchasing it. It has saved us a small fortune, I'm sure, from having my carpet cleaners come in every time I have small stains!

Bissell 2080 Deep Cleaner
Great for small areas, though, I have used it to clean an entire house. Best for a small room but if you don't mind changing the tank a couple times fine for standard rooms. It will easily pick up more dirt than a vaccum and with the cleaning fluid it leaves the room smelling a lot better than any vaccum. The price is good and it has lasted me over five years.

Bissell
This is a very nice little machine. Easy to use, lightweight, well-made. I am very pleased with the results so far.

Talk about Deep Cleaning !
For this Lightweight Carpet Cleaner completely grossed me out....which means, it is serious about deep cleaning!
Easy to put together, most work involved a screwdriver & 3 screws. The carpet I used to put this Carpet Cleaner to the test has been abused by teenagers & toddlers for 5 years. Pee, poo, throw up, soda, food/ice cream, the list goes on & on. Yes, it was a bit involved as far as changing out the dirty water, and cleaning underneath the brush roller (a little disgusting). BUT for the price & for the results after going over the carpet only once...I don't mind the work involved.

I highly recommend this if you are on a budget, don't mind getting your hands dirty, & want results!! I love it!!

Great cleaner for ease of use
This is the first carpet cleaner I've bought and I am extremely happy with it. For the price range and what it is supposed to do, it works flawlessly. It is not a professional cleaner and I don't expect it to clean like one. That being said, it does a very nice job cleaning -- easy to use, easy to clean up, cleans very well, and dries quickly. What more could you ask for?

Great little machine
I've never owned a carpet cleaner before, but since having 2 children (19 months and 32 months) decided one was a must, package arrived yesterday, put it together today in about 5 minutes (3 screws, all you need is a phillips head screwdriver) Came with a bottle of cleaning fluid. used it this afternoon to clean our 8'x5' living room area rug, which I had held off on hand scrubbing the past week because I wanted to see how powerful this machine was. I'm am soooo impressed! First off, my kids have had a stomach bug and have spit up a few times on the rug, which I spot cleaned, but could still smell, they had bananas this morning, which were all over the rug, along with spilled milk, and week old ground in dried on pizza sauce and cheese. I did not pretreat the heavily dirty spots before use like the instructions said (because I forgot to buy the particular cleaner required for it) and am very pleased to say that inspite of that the machine got up EVERYTHING except the pizza cheese. It took only 1/2 a tank (about a quart) of water and about 20 minutes to do. Other than the remaining cheese the rug looks brand new again, and doesn't stink anymore! Another great thing, the tanks are easy to remove and replace without spilling.

Like it better than my old Oreck
I did a lot of research before buying this cleaner. A friend works for a commercial cleaning supply company and their repairman said Hoover is the best in terms of repairs. Consumer reports had the Hoover All Terrain rated #1. I called Hoover and this model is the All Terrain, minus the hard-floor attachments.

This cleaner did a great job on my light grey carpet. It removed pet stains and chocolate milk. The tanks were easy to remove and replace, and easy to dump and fill. With the Oreck, I could only use their cleaner in special dispenser bottles, so I loved being able to go to Wal-Mart to buy a gallon of Hoover cleaner for a fraction of the price.

I thought it had auto-rinse, which it did not, but after reading about it, I wouldn't have used it anyway. With auto rinse, when you push forward it cleans, when you pull back it rinses. I like more control and don't want to worry about covering the exact same path every time, so flipping the switch to Rinse was no big deal.

It is quite heavy and I got a blister on one hand and my elbow is sore today, and the Oreck was very light so that's why it got 4 stars instead of 5. Of course, the sturdiness may be why Hoovers need fewer repairs too. Otherwise, it did a great job for less than half the price of the Oreck.

much improved over previous models
This is my third widepath steamvac and it is by far the best. The rinse feature is great. The cord has been moved up so it is more out of the way. The separate solution compartment makes better use of the clelaning solutions and allows for the rinse. The hose attachment has been changed, hopefully it will not fail like my last two did. The only feature that was not improved is the hose caddy. It feels flimsy.

Cleans like a Champ!
We recently purchased the hoover F7412-900 steam vac and love it! I have the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning, 2nd Edition which recommends using this type of steam cleaner versus paying for a professional. It also recommends using distilled white vinegar instead of a shampoo because vinegar lifts out the dirt and is a natural disinfectant (plus it costs pennies compared to the expensive shampoos). Our carpet was disgusting because we have had a very wet winter and we have two large dogs that track mud into the house on a daily basis. The carpet cleaner did an amazing job getting the carpet back to its original color and no more dog smell!! Using the vinegar we were able to clean the whole house for !! I was also impressed with how well the steam vac sucks the water back out of the carpet. Within 3 hours (with the ceiling fans on) the carpet was completely dry and we were able to move furniture back in the room. I would highly recommend buying this. If you are paying someone to come clean your carpets, this steam vac will pay for itself in two uses!

Good Carpet Cleaner
This worked well for me. It cleaned the carpets as well as the rental units in the grocery store, and was not as bulky and easier to operate. When done, it also cleaned up very easily. I reviewed many of these machines before I purchased and really am satisfied with my purchase.

Plastic Parts Break and Leaks
This is the second Hoover Carpet Cleaner we have bought. The first operated fine for a couple of years and then started to leak internally. It was totally unusable after that and we paid a hefty price for it. The F7412-900 was purchased at another retail outlet. We liked the idea of separate tanks for water and cleaning solution as well as the clean water rinse feature. The first problem is the design of the recovery tank. When you lift it out by the handle the lid of the recovery tank is now unlocked. Any sudden movement and the lid will just fall off and dirty water will go everywhere. After a little more than one year (one year warranty expired) the plastic recovery tank handle broke where it attaches to the recovery tank. It is now impossible to lift the recovery tank out of the machine and the likelihood of spilling dirty water is even more so. It takes two hands to pick up the recovery tank and then fumbling around trying to keep from spilling water all over.
Another problem has occurred with leaks. One of the seals where the upholstery hose inserts on the machine has broken and now leaks. There are also leaks around the clean water solution tank where it attaches to the machine. After shampooing there is water under the machine which means wiping up or mopping the residual water.
The worst thing of all... IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND PARTS!!! I have searched everywhere for a replacement recovery tank and none to be found.

If there is one good thing to say it is that this carpet cleaner does an excellent job of cleaning. I just wish it was manufactured better.