Floor scrubber

11 years ago

I bought a Hoover Floormate to clean my sealed hardwood and tile and am now returning it throughly disappointed. It worked very well and I was thrilled with how clean it got my floors - for about the first half-hour I used it, then it quit spraying the cleaning solution. I have a very large house with lots of sealed hardwood and tile and need something that will clean ground in grime off the floors. Years ago, my mother had a carpet/floor scrubber that had 2 revolving scrub pads and could also be used to buff floors. I think it was a Sunbeam. Does anyone know of something similar that you would reccommend?

Featured Answer

mainecoonkitty
Original Author

11 years ago

UPDATE:

Well...I sent the Floormate back and went out and bought a Hoover MaxExtract 77, which is supposed to be a multi-floor cleaner. Paid $389.00 for the thing and after I read the blurbs on the box, was very excited that it would work even better - until I tried it last night on my hardwood floor in the kitchen. It has a squeegy thingy on the extractor nozzle that is supposed to suck up nearly all the water and leave the floor almost dry. So far, so good, until it put down a huge puddle of water on the forward stroke and only sucked up about half of it, no matter how many times I went over it. It was a huge amount of water and solution to put down on a hardwood floor and I ended up having to use a towel to get the rest of the water off the floor. The scrubbing brushes also badly streaked the floor. Not happy! If I have to use a towel to blot the water off the floor, then I don't need a $389 floor cleaner! Huge bummer.....

After much colorful language and frustration at my disappointment to what I thought was the answer to my floor cleaning prayers, I got out my trusty Rubbermaid Reveal spray mop and microfiber pad, mixed up some PolyClean solution for the spray bottle, and went to town. I let the floor airdry and then got out my Bona mop and went over it again with the Bona spray. It was clean, shiny and looked great. I haven't solved the situation with my tile floors yet, but I think I'll be taking the Hoover MaxExtract back today and scrubbing them by hand until I find something that works better. I wish Dyson made a hardfloor/carpet cleaner. If they did, it would work as well as their vaccuums! I have two - the Animal 41 and a smaller canister vac for cleaning my hard floors and stairs and love them both. I use them instead of the whole house vac with hide-a-hose that we installed then we built this house 3 yrs ago. Maybe I'll send a letter to Mr Dyson with a suggestion for his next project!

Comments (13)

MiMi
11 years ago
Sorry.. I don't know but I have a Hoover Floor Mate with the scrubbing brushes that I've had for 6 years. I love that machine.. It works so good. Would it be possible for you to exhcange yours and try another one?... Or perhaps call them to see if they have any ideas of what the problem could be?....
mainecoonkitty
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, I might give another one a try. I loved how it cleaned for the first half hour, so maybe I just got a lemon. Thanks so much for the info.
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jomuir
11 years ago
I have one too & love it. The best feature to me is that it always sprays clean solution not cleaning solution mixed w/what has been sucked up a minute ago (ie dirty water). Hopefully yours can be replaced?
jannie
11 years ago
I had a Hoover Floormate that worked well for about a month, then stopped working. Not fixable, it was a "refurbished" one with no warrantee/guaranty. Ended up in the trash. Impossible to find the liquid cleaner also. Thumbs down from me.
jomuir
11 years ago
Sorry yours was a clunker jannie. But for anyone reading that has one or is considering one, you can use any cleaner in it. They usually include theirs in the box, but the manual says you can use any liquid floor cleaner in it. When I run out of the bottles that came with mine (bought at Costco, it came w/6 bottles of dif. cleaning fluids-yay Costco!), I'm planning to use regular Mr. Clean for the linoleum & diluted oil soap on the wood floors.

This post was edited by jomuir on Thu, Nov 29, 12 at 10:46
MiMi
11 years ago
FYI... It is not recommended to use any cleaner that has any type of oil, such as Murphy's or Pine Sol in the floormate, Hoover says it will ruin the rubber seals. I have used Mr. Clean in mine from day one and have had no problems...
jomuir
11 years ago
sounds like this cleaner isn't best for your floors. I use mine on lino mostly. Man, I'd hate to do so many steps as you described! Hopefully you'll find something you can do them in one pass.
The only trick I have on this cleaner, is to go slowly on the removing water step. I really creep it along, and it picks up well for me, but again, this is on lino, not wood. On our wood floors, it doesn't suck up water as well, the water goes into the natural grooves in the grain, and does leave it damp.

db, thanks for the oil soap info, I need to look at the manual again I see! Don't want to ruin the rubber seals. I also use Mr. Clean or Spic & Span liquid, diluting w/water.
Tmnca
11 years ago
I had the Hoover Max extract but only ever used it on carpet on which it worked great. I think it would be WAY too much water for hardwood!

I have a Bissell Powerfresh steam mop to clean hard floors, I love this thing. It sucks the dirt right out of your floor, no need for scrubbers. It does come with a pad that has little scrubbers in case you need extra cleaning/stuck on messes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bissell Powerfresh!
mainecoonkitty
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the info on the Bissell Powerfresh. I will definitely give that one a try.
ima_digger
10 years ago
After using a steam mop for six months, it died. I went and bought a Hoover Floormate. This machine works so much better than the steam mop. I don't use the vacuum part, but use a dust mop first. I have two dogs who shed continuously. Washing the floor is so easy, and when you pull back the machine, it picks up some water. If you change the dial to dry, it leaves the floor almost dry. It dries so quickly, that you can walk on it right away. The only problem I have with it, is the clean water tank. It only holds a quart of water and cleaning solution. Same for the dirty water container. It does half my kitchen before I have to refill it. No problem for me, because i have an island in the middle. I think maybe first time users are keeping their finger on the trigger that releases the cleaning solution. You squeeze the trigger going forward, and then release when pulling back on machine. My floormate is definitely a keeper.
mainecoonkitty
Original Author
10 years ago
I agree. The first one I had was defective, so I returned it and got another one. I LOVE it and it's worked perfectly. With a house full of hardwood and a dog and a cat, it's one of the best things I ever bought. Cuts my floor cleaning time by 2/3.
grandmamary_ga
10 years ago
My neighbor also purchased the hoover floormate. After a few uses it also died. I had been considering buying one. Not now. We have hardwood floors in every room, tile in the kitchens and bathrooms. I just use a regular old fashioned dust mop and a dry mop for cleaning the hard wood floors. Sponge type mop for the tiled floors. Regular vacuuming also helps. I still don't think the hard wood floors are as clean as they should be. Any suggestions?
Mary