bit-tech Shopping: Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub H3045 Hard Floor Cleaner

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Never touch dirty water. Not reusing dirty water.

Weaknesses: Not really strong dry vacuuming power. Doesn't remove sticky stains well.

Summary: I am a professional housecleaner. One of the homes that I clean had the Hoover FloorMate 500 that she wanted me to use on her tile and hardwoods. I was not overly impressed with its performance especially sucking up the water. They don't have a dirty home though, so it was acceptable. Then she purchased this model, the H3045, and I could see a huge improvement. It was leaving the floors much drier. I wasn't going back over it with the wetpickup mode either. If I did, it probably would have removed all the water. Using it at her home on the tile and hardwoods it performs very well. It picks up human and pet hair that have remained on the floors after vacuuming with a central vacuum. She has a very large house and I only use 1/2 to 3/4 of the tank of water to clean the non carpeted areas. I'm sorry don't have an exact square footage, but it includes 3 bathrooms, 2 eating areas, kitchen, and family room. You only squeeze for the cleaner to come out when you push forward and then release as you bring the machine back toward you to suck up the water. The slower you go, the more you suction up. But you don't have to move at a snails pace by any means. Anyway, based on the results I saw at her house, I purchased this to use in my own home and at other homes that I clean. At my home, I have linoleum only in my kitchen and one bathroom. The linoleum is a white and light gray, so that shows every piece of dirt. This machine performed above average on it but not as good as it did on wood. It is harder to push on the linoleum. Also it doesn't want to get up any sticky type spots, anything you might want to use your fingernail to scrape up. But it will get up dried liquid spots, but you may have to let the brushes sit on the spot for a minute. I used the dry pickup only as a test. It is strong enough to pick up cat litter. (Make sure to remove it thoroughly from the container before allowing any liquid to come in contact with it!) I still found that for the best result, I use my Dyson to vacuum the dry particles and then run over the floor with the floormate. It performs well enough for everyday cleaning. I will still get on my hands and knees once a month or so though to give my kitchen floor a deeper clean. I read reviews of this model several different places, and in case you have also, I wanted to address a couple things mentioned by others in those reviews. Some talk about a change in the sound where they have to turn the machine off and empty it before it will work again even though they just started using it. The trick is how you hold the handle. Once you use it a couple of times you won't have any problem. Some must be using it with the handle a little too far back, like you might with a carpet vacuum. That causes the plastic cup to close and not let in anymore water. It is there for when the dirty tank gets too full, but if you tilt the machine back far enough it will get sucked up and warn you. Just turn it off and let it release and then continue on. Others talk about how they are refilling the clean water several times in doing small areas. They must be releasing water the entire time. Once the water with cleaner starts to flow, you really only need to squeeze it every other or every 3rd time you push forward. I do agree with reviewers that stated it isn't much as a dry vacuum. I have only ever used it with the Hoover cleaning solution, so I can't comment on how it cleans using vinegar or other things mixed with the water. I hope this review helps someone in their decision about the Hoover FloorMate H3045. I would recommend it but caution that is doesn't take the place of the old fashioned human elbow grease. I do prefer it to any kind of mop though.