bit-tech Shopping: Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub 800 Vacuum

• Telescopic Handle
• Wet Cleaning

Rating: 10

Time with product: 6 Months

Strengths: I love this product because I have Hard Wood Floors and Tile throughout my house. It does a fantastic job cleaning the floors, much better than a standard mop plus it is more sanitary.

Weaknesses: They it cannot clean on its own.

Summary: If you have alot of hard surfaces in your home, then you need this product. I use mine several times per week and there is nothing else like it. I have tries other products but this cleaner puts all of the rest to shame. It does an excellent job cleaning my floors. I disagree with the other comments that state that it will not pick up stubborn spills or messes. I have a 6 year old and a 2 year old plus 2 dogs. This machine will clean any mess that you put in front of it. I am going to buy one for my parents for Christmas. I love this product. It is a huge time saver.

Rating: 2

Time with product:

Strengths: Smelled good

Weaknesses: took as long as mopping

Summary: What a waste of money! I purchased this machine only to find it took longer to sweep and mop with it than it did the old fashioned broom, mop and bucket way. It did not get into corners or edges when sweeping, did not clean grout at all and did not extract water well. I tried to sell this at a garage sale 6 months after I had it, and couldn't get $50 for it(including a free bottle of floor cleaner!)

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1 Years

Strengths: Easy to use in dry pickup mode. Makes tile floors shine in wet mode.

Weaknesses: Automatic shutoff mechanism kicks in continually. Detail tools ineffective and awkward to put together.

Summary: I had the lower model Floor Mate (SpinScrub 500, I think) for a year or two and absolutely loved it. I bought the SpinScrub 800 (considerably more expensive) for the wider cleaning path, the grout brushes, and the detail tools.I was bitterly disappointed. Although it still does a great job of cleaning my tile floors, it is much more difficult to use. The main problem is the "prettier" angled design. It is hard to fill the cleaning reservoir because the hole is on an angle. I often spill some of the solution. Worse, the automatic shutoff mechanism causes me to shut the machine off and on constantly during cleaning. (This is probably also due to the more angled design.) If you don't use small, smooth strokes, it will shut itself off long before the reservoir is full, even in dry mode! The grout brushes seem OK, but I didn't notice any difference in my grout lines compared to the regular brushes. The larger cleaning path made it no longer fit around my toilet, and unfortunately the detail tools proved worthless. They had poor suction and no scrubbing power. The wand was so cheaply made that it broke the first time I used it. I applied too much pressure when I tried to scrub the dirty floor, and the wand was damaged so that it no longer stays telescoped. I now have to scrub on my hands and knees around the toilet. Overall, I still think it's a good product because it makes my tile floors sparkle. But I wish I hadn't given away my cheaper model. It cleaned just as well and was less awkward to use.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Does an excellent job in the wash/wet pick up mode. Spin brushes are very effective.

Weaknesses: Dry vacuum mode lacks the ability to pick up anything but dirt and hair.

Summary: Living in the desert with five pets requires a system that can perform miracles. The Hoover SpinScrub does an excellent job cleaning the floors but lacks suction in the dry mode; small granules of kitty litter were just pushed around. Having read the reviews I was unsure how our kitchen floor would turn out. All I can say is that it looks great and there was NO scrubbing on my part. I?m not sure what other posters had on their floors that the SpinScrub couldn?t get up but I can tell you my white tile looks great. The SpinScrub also did an excellent job on our other tiled room. It is a 575 sq. ft. sunroom that is a refuge to our three dogs. The tools came in very handy in this room, especially the wand and grout brush. No bending and the dirt stains were cleaned with ease. The rest of our 2700 sq. ft home is Pergo and again the SpinScrub did an excellent job; no steaks or muddy tracks as reported by others. As others have posted the tanks are small and required emptying often; however I did find that I didn?t need to use the solution trigger as often as I had been, the brushes do stay damp and will continue to clean. The last time I used the machine to do ALL my floors I only had to fill/empty the tanks three times.Over all I am VERY happy with the Hoover 3060 SpinScrub. Does it perform miracles?.well not exactly but it does keep our floors looking great.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Drys floor after washing.Picks up dirt that mop would leave.

Weaknesses: Tank capacity seems too small, causing frequent emptying and re-filling of solutions.Suction can accidently stop when dirty water canister gets near full.

Summary: We've used the machine about a dozen times over 3 months to clean both tile and wood floors. It does what it is supposed to do, and pretty well. Hoover says to use its own cleaning solution. We generally do. But we have also used a diluted clorox and soap solution. That works well too. We were pleased to see that the brush/vacume combination picked up the dirt and particles that inevitably get stuck in the minute spaces between the wood planks in finished oak floors. The mop generally misses this. And, its a good thing not to have to bend down and squeeze mops and empty buckets. But we did find that because the dirty tank capacity is only about a quart or so, we were emptying it every 200 square feet or so. So, if you have a 20 by 30 square foot room to clean like we do, it takes about 3 visits to the sink to empty the dirty water, and about 2-3 refills of the cleaning solution tank. Not a big deal, but fewer is better. We did find that the special spinning grout brush attachment/replacement was a "must have" for uneven floors, like tile floors. The regular brush does just a so-so job on tile floors with deep grout lines (more than an eighth of an inch deep). In wet pickup mode, it does a wonderful job of drying the floor.The one minor annoying thing that happens is when the suction is cut off by the safety feature in the dirty water tank. As the tank gets full, a safety float in the tank hits the top of the tank in order to cut suction so that no more dirty water can be taken in and overfill the tank. The solution to this problem is two fold. When the tank gets near full:1. Keep handle as upright as possible . 2. Use smooth slow strokes instead of shaking the handle and tank.Whenever this happens, all you have to do is shut off vacume for about 10 seconds which releases safety float, and then turn on again. No big deal, just a minor annoyance.Overall, very good product. We think it cleans better than a mop and pail.