Hoover F5914-900 SteamVac with Clean Surge

Steam Vac Review: Hoover F5914-900 SteamVac with Clean Surge
The Sensei’s Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Description
The Hoover SteamVac with Clean Surge is an all purpose steam vacuum cleaner designed to clean home carpets, upholstery, and the inside of your car. Features include two spinning brush speeds, included tools, and the SpinScrub rotating brush system equipped with 5 spinning brush heads.

What the Sensei Says
This is the cheaper, better version of Hoover’s SteamVac Agility. I’m not knocking the Agility Steam Vac, it’s a great unit at a great price, but the Hoover F5914-900 SteamVac with Clean Surge is a much cheaper unit that offers identical performance with just one minor difference. This model doesn’t include a “tool caddy”. The tool caddy is a minor convenience and allows users to remove the tools and carry them in a bundle. While some people may find it indispensable, it hardly seems worth the $30-$50 more Hoover feels it’s worth.

One of the things I really like about this Hoover is the sturdy design. It doesn’t feel wobbly when you move it along your carpet. Some steam cleaners are built with flimsy plastic and they’ll break down within a few uses, generating me a lot of business. Flimsy steam vacs are also much harder to push in a straight line, they’ll wobble and that’s frustrating when you’re trying to clean your living room carpet!

Remember, your carpets will never be dry on the first swipe and even after several thorough runs to pick up excess water your carpets are still going to feel damp. However, powerful suction on your steamvac is going to cut down on a lot of drying time so you can put your house back together quicker. The Hoover SteamVac had exceptionally powerful suction abilities and the carpet in my shop dried within 3 hours. (I always try to test drying time under similar conditions, there’s always a fan pointed down at the carpet for all my tests to account for people with spacious windows and those who actually do use fans to dry their carpets quicker after steam cleaning.)

One thing I didn’t like, and the primary reason I can’t give this steam vacuum my best rating is leakage. No, it’s no a poorly designed steam vac, but it is a little difficult to make sure that all the seals are properly closed. For the casual steam vacuum cleaner, it might be a little frustrating to learn how all the bits and pieces fit together and know the sounds each connection makes when they’re firmly sealed.

Also, is it too much to ask for a steam cleaner that can hold as much dirty water as it does clean water? Hoover, if you decide to roll out another version of the Hoover F5914-900 SteamVac with Clean Surge please, please, please design the next dual tank system to hold equal amounts of water in the clean water tank and dirty water tank. I just don’t see why I should have to empty the dirty tank twice before filling up the clean one. I would really like to be able to empty and fill them both at once!

Cool Features
5 Rotating Scrub Brushes
Includes 2 hand tools for cleaning small spaces
Clean Surge feature squirts extra detergent on high traffic areas
Includes Hoover’s special carpet cleaning detergent
Safe for some hard flooring

Specifications
Dimensions: 29.6” x 19.4” x 14.4”
Weight: 31.1 lbs.
Shipping Weight: 35 lbs.
Cleaning Hose Length: 8’
Warranty: 1 year Hoover warranty