Hoover PowerDash Pet+ Review

Analysis

A step by step breakdown of the PowerDash Pet+'s performance.

All three of the compact carpet cleaners we tested – the Hoover Powerdash, Hoover PowerDash Pet+, and the Bissell TurboClean – were measured to have a base suction of 58 inches of water lift.

The PowerDash Pet+ has the lowest measured suction at the nozzle, though. It was measured at only 1.93 kPa vs 2.28 kPa for the PowerDash and 2.40 kPa for the TurboClean.

The PowerDash Pet+ performed the worst of the three compact cleaners we tested in our upright stain test, by a sizable margin.

The table above shows how it garnered worse than average results cleaning all seven stains used for this test.

Adding up the total number of passes it took to clean all stains and accounting for the lightness of any remaining stains after 10 back and forth passes (scores >10 describe the lightness of the stain remaining – the higher the score, the darker the remaining stain), the PowerDash Pet+’s total score for this test is 53. For comparison, the standard PowerDash Pet scored 34 and the Bissell Turboclean scored 36 in the same test.

After our upright stain test we measured the carpet that was cleaned with a moisture meter to determine how wet the carpet cleaner left the carpet it was cleaning.
The reading we got on the meter was 27% after cleaning with the PowerDash Pet+. We got exactly the same reading with the standard PowerDash. And the average for all of the carpet cleaners we tested was also 27%.

After taking this reading, we ran the carpet cleaner over the same strip of carpet again for three addition “dry” passes. During regular cleaning (during our upright stain test) we would hold down the trigger of the cleaner to dispense water and soap on the forward push and release the trigger to maximize suction on the backward pull. For these three additional dry passes we wouldn’t pull the trigger at all so that the cleaner could maximize extraction on the forward push in addition to the backward pull.

In any case, after three additional “dry” passes, the reading we got on the meter was 25% for the PowerDash Pet+. This is right around an average result. We got a reading of 24% for the standard PowerDash Pet and a reading of 25% for the Bissell TurboClean.

The PowerDash Pet+ has a slightly larger clean water tank and it uses less water to clean, and so it can cover a larger area than the standard PowerDash Pet before you need to refill its clean water tank. It also has a larger area of coverage per clean tank than the Bissell TurboClean.

The Pet+ and the standard Pet model have almost identical dirty water tanks but the Pet+’s tank has slightly more capacity. And so it can also cover a larger area before you need to empty its dirty water than the standard Pet model. It also has a larger area of coverage per dirty tank than the Bissell TurboClean.

Of the three compact carpet cleaners we tested, the PowerDash Pet+ is the easiest to clean and maintain itself.

It’s the only compact cleaner that lets you pop open the compartment that covers its brushroll, so that you can clean this compartment and the brushroll itself more easily.

It also lets you open up its dirty water tank for cleaning. The standard PowerDash Pet dirty water tank doesn’t have this functionality. You can only rinse it through a small hole on the side of the tank.

None of the compact carpet cleaners we tested, including the PowerDash Pet+ have a port for you to be able to connect a hose for spot cleaning.

Other Notes and Features

All three compact cleaners we tested, including the PowerDash Pet+ have a measured cleaning path that’s only 7.5” wide. For comparison, most full-size cleaners have a cleaning path that was measured to be at least 10” wide.

Verdict

Our bottom line recommendations.

We generally do not recommend the PowerDash Pet+ because it performed so poorly in our upright stain test.

It does have a larger area of coverage and it is easier to clean and maintain itself than other compact cleaners we tested, but we cannot recommend it because of its performance in our stain test.

All of the carpet cleaners we do recommend are listed here.