Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 224
 Don't make the same mistake I did............. April 5, 2006
Allison (Coral Springs, FL United States)
31 out of 35 found this review helpful
I've owned the original Hoover Floormate for several years, and it served me very well. When it finally broke, through no fault of it's own, I didn't hesitate to buy another one. At the time, about 1 year ago, the SpinScrub 800 was so new that the only way to buy it was through Sears online.
I waited with great anticipation for it to arrive. When it finally did, I immediately set out to clean not only the floors but the grout as well.
Within moments of turning it on, the receptacle tank would shut off. I called Hoover, and they said they'd send me a replacement. After a couple of weeks, I received a piece which I couldn't possible replace on my own. Hoover suggested taking it for service, the nearest place being about 30 minutes away.
Already this was starting to be ridiculous - a brand new unit which cost me about $279.00 and was unusable. Next, Hoover sent me a replacement tank, for the SpinScrub 500, though. By the time I started using the machine, the new receptable tank still shut off, but now I found that the machine completely lacked the suction needed to pick up any water on the floor.
Since I was obviously under warranty, I brought the unit into the Hoover service center, where they kept it for 2 weeks. The technician said " I certainly hope you didn't use this as a vacuum, because this will clog up almost immediately."
Well, I had never used it as a vacuum, but indeed it was clogged, and I was charged $50.00 to fix it as Hoover does not cover clogs in their warranty.
The tech also said that he's been repairing quite a few of these for the same reason.
Well, I got it back and guess what? It still doesn't pick up the water.
I went out yesterday and bought a new Floormate H3000, and the difference is night and day. That works, the SpinScrub 800 does not. And, the Spinscrub 800 is much heavier, and much more expensive.
This is a classic example of taking a really good machine, and making it into a horrible one. Sometimes things can't be improved. The SpinScrub 800 is like a bad sequel.
I am resigned to having wasted close to $300.00 on something which is completely unusable.
Hoover is completely unsympathetic to my complaint. They've told me that no one else has voiced any problems with the SpinScrub 800. I don't understand how that's possible, since I can see from the reviews listed here the same common issues.
 No more mop for me! March 27, 2006
Deborah Wolfe (Cherokee, NC, USA)
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
I love this product. I read all the reviews and did extensive research before buying. I have 800 sq ft of floor to clean. I also have 3 cats and 3 dogs and an active 11 year old boy (and a daughter in college and a husband who loves to track in mud). My floors have never been this clean. I did not expect the vacumn to rival the one I have (Dyson Animal); I vacumn as usual and then use the SpinScrub. I use one oz (instead of the recommended two) of cleaning solution per tank. It takes two to three tanks to clean the floor (depending on dirty they are). It is loud - so is my Dyson. I have not heard a quiet cleaner that worked.
The tools work well, too. I have had none of the problems I read about in some of the reviews. I guess if I were to nitpick the tanks could be larger...
It is helpful to read the directions. Overall I LOVE it and I love my clean floors!
 A nice tool for making hard-floor cleaning fun! November 24, 2005
Dave (East Aurora, NY)
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
Update 1/21/07: Amazon won't let me, but I would downgrade this item from 4 stars to 3. This is a "good" machine, certainly capable of cleaning all the hard surfaces in my house relatively well and quickly as long as there are no stains that are really "stuck on" like spilled ice cream. Check the Hoover Steam Vac All-Terrain, it is more expensive but check the reviews to see if the performance is better than the shortcomings I have listed below and what others are saying. The advantage of this new model is that it also cleans carpet, but if it can't clean carpet or hard floors reasonably well, it's $300 not well spent.
Update 6/21/06: after a little more than 1/2 year of use, I sympathize with those who have found this tool less than they thought it would be, however there are many reviews available and I've read most of them; aside from a few negative reviews that totally baffled me, I think the positives and negatives mentioned generally have been well-considered and having these reviews available is very valuable to a potential customer. I believe the Floormate keeps my hard floors cleaner than any other method, but if embedded or tightly-bound stains exist, this tool will not remove them. The Floormate will keep well-maintained floors looking perfect. It is not a vacuum cleaner, so vacuum your floor before you use the Floormate. I've settled on Mr. Clean antibacterial cleaner, it doesn't foam much and is pretty inexpensive. Google on "floor machine" and you'll see that commercial units that employ the same principles as the Floormate are $1500+; I hope this helps put in perspective what you're buying and what isn't reasonable to expect, as well. Overall, I think the Floormate is a good value and I hope Hoover makes both the cleaning and recovery tanks larger in future models. Other than that, the following older material still applies:
Ok, I'm a gadget-hound and the nicest gadgets I've found are the ones that allow me to enjoyably do things around the house that visitors have offered to do...out of pity. The Floormate 800 is one such tool; I was thinking about the upcoming iRobot Scooba, but (like an iPod) the price is very high once all the addons are considered - plus the Floormate's been well-received and the Scooba isn't even out as I write this. The Floormate took about 30 minutes to assemble. Anyway...my floors are linoleum (just-installed Marmoleum), sheet vinyl flooring and polyurethaned birch. The Floormate handles all of them well. I use a weak solution of Simple Green (lemon scent) instead of the Floor-to-Floor. Some observations: (1) use a regular vacuum in the wash area first, unless you can't actually "see" any dirt, (2) keep dispensing cleaner while washing and work the machine slowly, overlapping about one-third of each stroke; very important to work slowly!! (3) use the wet-pickup until the area is thoroughly dry, especially wood floors, (4) when adding cleaner, put the measuring cup into the reservoir and tip upside down, this prevents the concentrate from dribbling over your hands, (5) run the machine until dry, I was getting a little bit of bad odor while using and this stopped when I made sure I ran the machine dry while using. Particularly with the Floormate, make sure you read over the owner's manual before using it.
I haven't tried the grout brushes, however others here have seemed satisfied.
If all this sounds like a lot of work - it isn't. As others have noted, I am surprised how much dirt this tool picks up, even on birch floors that I thought looked pretty clean to begin with. Hopefully Hoover will increase the size of the wastewater reservoir and apply a little more suction - not that the suction was bad, but it's so important to get wood floors totally dry and I think more suction would be helpful.
This machine's worth the money - not for time saved, but for doing a better job in the same amount of time, leaving the washed area quite dry and very clean and making disposal of the dirt as easy as can be. It's winter here and just being able to keep the outside grit from the roads off these new floors, as far as I am concerned, is worth the cost of the machine.
I recommend spending the extra for the 800; I've used the hand tool for getting behind and around the toilets and other tight spots in the bathrooms. If not using the Floor-to-Floor solution, use caution in selecting a cleaner - I don't think it would be a good idea to use anything with acid or chlorine in it. The owner's manual also cautions this is not a machine to dispense wax with! Make sure you have plenty of cleaner before you use this machine for the first time, because I think you'll really like it for the specific type of jobs it was designed for.
Update 12/16/05: Here's another tip and suggestion for Hoover - when the wastewater reservoir is nearing its capacity, which is roughly two inches deep because at that point the checkvalve will activate to protect the motor, be careful when removing the reservoir; the small lip that exists for grasping the reservoir should be made a bit wider and deeper to allow for the weight of the wastewater. I almost spilled the dirty water all over the floor at least twice. Additionally, this is a noisy machine, noticeably louder than the 5-year-old Hoover upright vacuum I use. There are muffling techniques that some wet-dry shopvacs use and I think Hoover should utilize these techniques, as well; I keep a set of hearing protectors hooked onto the handle, they're inexpensive and sold at most hardware stores. Other than these minor concerns, the Floormate has proven to be a cleverly-designed, very useful and convenient tool...excuse me...gadget! BJ's currently sells the model 801, which substitutes clear blue plastic for the 800's clear green and apparantly comes with some extra Floor-to-Floor solution, however I can't see any other differences from the 800 and I think Amazon's bottom-line pricing is quite fair. One final note for today: a few reviews have noted poor dry-vacuuming ability. I agree and seldom set it on "dry vac" anymore, but if the area to be washed is dry to begin with (as opposed to a mud room that is already wet in spots), a quick pass with a regular vacuum is all that's needed. Perhaps the engineers that developed the Floormate can put their thinking caps back on and create a tool that has the dry suction of their upright vacuums with the wet scrubbing and finishing ability of the Floormate, that can easily and swiftly move between dry vacuuming and wet-washing. Now that would be something, but perhaps their thinking is that such a machine could be a hazard when working on any surface, such as carpets, that could be harmed by accidental wet-washing.
12/24/05: Another design tweak seems in order: when wiping the floor dry near thresholds of unequal height (which often can occur when the threshold separates floors of different material, such as linoleum meeting hardwood flooring) and the Floormate's wheels are resting on the higher flooring, the wiping squeegee does not do a thorough drying job. I suspect some sort of spring-loaded redesign of the squeegee would remedy this; in the meantime, a workaround is to keep the Floormate on the lower floor and work a two-foot strip by the threshold until dry and then continue working the rest of the lower floor. Also, if possible, keep the unit running on "wet dry" if moving it to another area, to minimize drippage from the suction area; if that's not possible, a simple solution is to turn off the Floormate and wrap a clean towel around the suction area. These are all minor problems with a tool that does such a wonderful job of "focussed cleaning" and I hope to keep this review updated with constructive criticism as I get more experience with the Floormate.
 Dikwakwadi October 2, 2005
Susan D. (Central Florida, USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
I bought this floor cleaner last week on the strength of the reviews herein at Amazon. I used it for the first time today to clean about 800 sq ft of wood flooring. I give it three stars because it's a really LOUSY dry vacuum. The float thing in the reservoir/dirt catcher keeps clogging with debris; I could only fill it about 1/4 full with dog hair and sand before I had to empty it. I was so frustrated in vacuuming that I stopped to research how to return it to Amazon.
When I found that Amazon wouldn't take it back (be warned), I decided to try its floor washing and drying capabilities. It redeemed itself. It's a fantastic floor washer/dryer--easy to use and very effective. I hope it does as well with the dirty bathroom and kitchen tile.
Because its excellence with floor washing, I'd buy it again. But in the future, I'll use a broom first . Having to compromise in this low tech way is disappointing. My recommendation is that you buy it--but don't expect it to work well as a dry vacuum unless you have but the barest minimum of loose surface dirt to clean.
I love this floor cleaner even if it isn't perfect. March 24, 2006
Just Me
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I have about 2500 square feet of tile, four dogs, and boys. I also work full time. Keeping up with the floors was impossible so I purchased the Hoover Floormate out of desperation. I agree with other reviewers that it isn't perfect, but it keeps my floors decent with a minumum amount of work. It is also perfect for cleaning up when one of the dogs has an accident when we are extra late getting home from work. After I wash the floors with it, I like to get down and feel how smooth and clean they feel. I also love the smell of the cleaner although, as others have pointed out, it is outrageously expensive. I think, if I could only have one floor cleaning machine, this would be it.
It does, however, have some problems which others have pointed out. It tends to puddle a tiny bit when left sitting, but this doesn't really bother me. I also never use the dry vacuum. It is easier to sweep up the sand, dirt, and dog hair before using it. It also fails to clean the grout to my satisfaction and may not get up the ground in dirt. It is still my everyday cleaner of choice though.
I am, however, unwilling to live with the dirty grout and ground in dirt that builds up in the heavy traffic area. But unfortunately, I lack both the time and inclination to handscrub these areas. Therefore I have another floor machine to solve these problems. I use it only occasionally but it certainly fills the gap left by my Hoover Floormate. My other floor cleaner is the Oreck Orbiter. It came with a ten year warranty and annual tune ups for the ten years the warranty is in effect. I have the orange scrub brush which scrubs my grout and cleans even ground in dirt effectively. It also has a nice soft pad that buffs and dries the floor. When I am doing a super cleaning job. I scrub first with the Oreck, followed by the floormate to pick up the newly scrubbed dirt, and then buff with the Oreck. I just put water in the Floormate when using it that way.
I might add that I can also use the Oreck to scrub the pool deck and front patio.
Together, these two devices handle all my floor cleaning problems.
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