I Tried This “Heavy-Duty” Carpet Cleaner, and Now I’ll Never Go Back (It Saves Me $800 a Year!)

Our household is large and busy. Between our two dogs and five kids, the amount of foot traffic we get brings in lots of dirt. We’re a shoes-off house and I sweep and vacuum regularly (with the added help of our robot vacuums), but dirt still gets trapped in carpets, accumulating over time. 

Our downstairs has a few heavily used area rugs, and our entire upstairs is carpeted. These all need to be deep cleaned regularly. Last year, after a year of living in our new home, I paid to have the carpets professionally cleaned. I loved the results, but it cost over $400 (and they need to be cleaned at least twice a year). 

So when I saw the Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe Carpet Cleaner popping up on my socials, I became increasingly interested in trying it out. Hoover was kind enough to send me a unit to test out for myself. I was initially skeptical that a machine designed for home use could give me professional-looking results, but I’m happy to report I was so wrong. Now, it’s become one of my most valuable cleaning tools. 

The Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe is a carpet cleaner designed for residential use. It shampoos, deodorizes, and deep cleans carpets and upholstery. Spinning brushes remove deeply embedded dirt, dual tanks keep clean and dirty water separate, and heated air ensures carpets dry quickly. It comes with carpet and upholstery cleaning tools and boasts over 51,000 reviews on Amazon.

The Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe was nearly ready to use right out of the box. All I needed to do for assembly was attach a couple of screws to the handle of the unit, and the instructions were easy to understand.

To use it, fill the water tank with hot water and carpet cleaning solution, plug the machine in, and get to work. A trigger releases the solution, and the spinning brushes work it into the fibers of the carpet. Letting go of the trigger causes the machine to suck it back up out of the carpet. The instructions caution users not to get carpets too wet, and to continue passing the machine over the carpet to dry it well. 

Cleaning upholstery and stairs is also straightforward. While there is a process for priming the unit (directions are attached to the hose), cleaning upholstery and stairs involves similar steps of wetting the area to be cleaned and then sucking the water back up. 

When the dirty water tank is full or when you’re done using the cleaner, remove the tank and dump it out (I do this into the toilet). Then rinse and let it air dry. When necessary, it’s also easy to remove the scrubber brushes and clean those as well. 

I was so excited to try out the Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe on my area rugs, wall-to-wall carpeting, upholstery, and the stairs — and I was very impressed with the results on each area. The unit is somewhat heavy, which made it a bit hard but not impossible to lug up and down the stairs. Moving the unit over the carpet, however, was smooth.

It’s really satisfying to see your carpet or upholstery get clean before your eyes. While the change in how carpeting looks isn’t drastic every time I use the machine, the overall difference in the look and feel of a room with freshly shampooed and deodorized carpets is palpable. 

The first thing I tried the cleaner on was our entryway carpet. I vacuum it regularly, but I’ve never deep cleaned it. When I went to empty the dirty water tank, I was shocked by how dark the water was. I was simultaneously grossed out and so happy to know that all that yuck had been removed.

The other item I cleaned was a set of multicolored upholstered chairs in the playroom. The kids are on them constantly, and even our dogs regularly sit (and probably drool) on them. The white portions of the fabric get visibly dingy, but the cleaner made them nearly white again. I am thrilled! 

Another thing that really stood out to me was how quickly even our wall-to-wall carpeting dried. A combination of the powerful suction of the machine and the heated air flow made the carpets nearly dry to the touch within only a couple of hours. Not only was this convenient for our busy household, but it also alleviated some concern I had about damp carpets getting musty before drying.

I absolutely love having the Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe and look forward to using it regularly. For anyone considering purchasing it for themselves, I’d recommend keeping the following points in mind: 

• You’ll need adequate space to store it. It isn’t much bigger than a regular full-size upright vacuum cleaner, but if space in your living space is limited, it may be hard to store. However, if you have the room to stash it, it’s well worth the space. 
• It’s hard work. As user-friendly as the Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe is, deep cleaning carpets (especially large areas) is still a hard and relatively time-consuming endeavor. You need to have enough time to clean the area, let it dry, and then clean out the machine.
• Vacuum before cleaning. Before deep cleaning your carpets, pick up any large items and vacuum thoroughly. The machine features a filter that keeps larger debris like dust, fur, and hair from clogging it, but it’s still best to keep as much of it out as possible. 
• Pretreat stains. It might be tempting to skip pre-treating stains on carpets you’re about to deep clean, but taking this shortcut could be a big mistake. Not only will tough stains detract from the finished look of your deep cleaned carpets, but the heat could also set the stain further.
• Always check labels. Before cleaning any area rugs or upholstery, check labels to ensure that they won’t be damaged by water.

Buy: Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe Carpet Cleaner, $156.72