This carpet cleaner is great!  I bought it yesterday to clean the 1500 sq feet of carpet in my apartment before the landlord inspects the place, and was thoroughly impressed at its performance.  I used one gallon of hot water & cleaner solution (included in the box) to clean one-half of a 12x12 room with some pretty heavy dirt and spill stains in it.  The carpet ended up cleaner and softer than I could have ever imagined, and (with the help of a fan), it dried in just a couple hours.  The pile that had been crushed down flat for years was significantly lifted, and all the stale carpet odors were gone.
Assembly only took one screwdriver, and was straightforward.  It's not too loud, or too difficult to maneuver.  The brushes got amazingly close to the edge of the carpet, and the dirty water that came out of the carpet looked like chocolate milk.  It took only a few minutes to get used to using the Steam Vac, and though tricky at first, the clean and dirty water buckets remove and install easily.  I was also impressed with the sturdy overall construction.
The only (slight) drawbacks:
When I removed the dirty water tank, there was some very light dripping of the spent cleaning solution onto the carpet, but no major spills.  The fresh cleaning solution in the tank cooled down quiet a bit before I used up the entire 1-gallon reservoir.  It started out from the tap at around 110 degrees, and after about 30 minutes in the machine, dropped down to 90 or so.  I solved this by pouring it into a microwave safe container and re-heating it to around 120 with a thermometer.  I don't know how high of a temperature the machine can take, so I didn't go much hotter than that.  Also, the sharp, hard corners on the front of the cleaner could damage baseboards if you slam it into them, so be careful around walls.
Months ago, I rented a huge, ten-gallon professional rug cleaner, and found it nearly impossible to use compared to the Hoover.  It took ten times as much work without the scrubbing brushes, and the results were not as dramatic.  Plus, not being handy with the huge cleaner, I tended to oversoak the rug with the solution.  Considering I'll need to clean the carpets several times within the next six months, The Hoover Steam Vac will eventually pay for itself.
This carpet cleaner is great! I bought it yesterday to clean the 1500 sq feet of carpet in my apartment before the landlord inspects the place, and was thoroughly impressed at its performance. I used one gallon of hot water & cleaner solution (included in the box) to clean one-half of a 12x12 room with some pretty heavy dirt and spill stains in it. The carpet ended up cleaner and softer than I could have ever imagined, and (with the help of a fan), it dried in just a couple hours. The pile that had been crushed down flat for years was significantly lifted, and all the stale carpet odors were gone. Assembly only took one screwdriver, and was straightforward. It's not too loud, or too difficult to maneuver. The brushes got amazingly close to the edge of the carpet, and the dirty water that came out of the carpet looked like chocolate milk. It took only a few minutes to get used to using the Steam Vac, and though tricky at first, the clean and dirty water buckets remove and install easily. I was also impressed with the sturdy overall construction. The only (slight) drawbacks:
When I removed the dirty water tank, there was some very light dripping of the spent cleaning solution onto the carpet, but no major spills. The fresh cleaning solution in the tank cooled down quiet a bit before I used up the entire 1-gallon reservoir. It started out from the tap at around 110 degrees, and after about 30 minutes in the machine, dropped down to 90 or so. I solved this by pouring it into a microwave safe container and re-heating it to around 120 with a thermometer. I don't know how high of a temperature the machine can take, so I didn't go much hotter than that. Also, the sharp, hard corners on the front of the cleaner could damage baseboards if you slam it into them, so be careful around walls. Months ago, I rented a huge, ten-gallon professional rug cleaner, and found it nearly impossible to use compared to the Hoover. It took ten times as much work without the scrubbing brushes, and the results were not as dramatic. Plus, not being handy with the huge cleaner, I tended to oversoak the rug with the solution. Considering I'll need to clean the carpets several times within the next six months, The Hoover Steam Vac will eventually pay for itself.