Hoover PowerScrub Review

Analysis

A step by step breakdown of the PowerScrub's performance.

The Hoover PowerScrub was tested to have right around average suction at the base (at the port near the vacuum motor), below average suction at the hose (where you would connect a spot cleaning tool), but well above average suction at the nozzle (the clear plastic part at the front of the cleaner head that extracts moisture).

Similarly priced options tend to have better suction at the hose (for spot cleaning), but less suction at the nozzle (for upright cleaning). The Kenmore RevitaLite was measured at 72 inches of water lift at the hose vs 58 inches for the PowerScrub. At the nozzle the RevitaLite was measured at only 0.86 kPa though vs 2.27 kPa for the PowerScrub.

The PowerScrub was only an average performer in our upright stain test when it comes to the speed at which it was able to clean stains.

The table above lists the number of back and forth passes it took the PowerScrub to clean up all of the stains in our upright stain test.

And as you can see, most results are close to average.

One major positive for the PowerScrub that’s not described in the table above, is the way in which it cleans up stains.

The PowerScrub uses multiple small circular brushes to clean stains. And with this design it spread the stains very little as it cleaned them.

Most competitors use one or two large brushrolls to clean stains. And with this design they spread the stains much more as they cleaned them.

After our upright stain test we measured the moisture level of the carpet that was cleaned. The PowerScrub left the carpet much drier after cleaning than most competitors.

After taking this reading we ran the carpet cleaner over the same strip of carpet again for three additional “dry” passes, during which the cleaner would only extract moisture (we wouldn’t let it dispense any soap or water for these “dry” passes).

After three additional “dry” passes, the PowerScrub tied with the Big Green Machine and Shark EX301 for leaving the carpet the driest of any carpet cleaner we tested.

The PowerScrub has very high capacity tanks relative to their size and the cleaner’s size. It also doesn’t use a lot of water when it cleans. And so, it can cover a very large area before you need to refill its clean water tank. It can also cover a much larger area than most competitors before you need to empty its dirty water tank.

After washing carpet, you’ll have to clean the carpet cleaner itself.

The two most difficult parts to clean are the

Dirty water tank and the
Brush assembly and surrounding compartment

The PowerScrub has two negatives going for it when it comes to cleaning its dirty water tank:

Its tank has lots of nooks and crannies to clean and
Its tank has an irremovable float and shroud you have to clean

Many competitors have a dirty water tank with a simpler design and a removable float that’s easier to clean.

When it comes to cleaning the brush assembly, doing so is very easy on the PowerScrub because it removes easily – you just have to pull on it to pull it out and then you can rinse it and clean the compartment behind it very easily.

Many competitors have brushrolls that cannot be removed without a screwdriver and so you’ll usually clean these models without removing their brushrolls. Either way it’s more difficult to clean the brushroll and surrounding compartment of these models than it is to clean the equivalent parts on the PowerScrub.

Like most other upright carpet cleaners we tested, the PowerScrub does have a port on the front to which you can connect a hose and spot cleaning tool.

Overall, the PowerScrub was a slightly above average performer in our spot cleaning test, despite the fact that it had below average measured suction at the hose in our suction test.

Other Notes and Features

The PowerScrub’s most unique feature is its PowerScrub brush assembly. We already talked about the advantages of these small circular brushes in the section above describing this model’s performance in our upright stain test.

Another feature that we didn’t mention earlier is that the PowerScrub also has a very wide cleaning path. Its cleaning path (the path through which it washes carpet) was measured to be 10.5” wide. This ties it with the PowerScrub Pet XL and SmartWash for having the widest cleaning path of any carpet cleaner we tested.

Verdict

Our bottom line recommendations.

The Hoover PowerScrub is the best midrange carpet cleaner we tested.

It cleaned most of the stains in our upright stain test at only an average rate of speed, but it spread the stains much less as it cleaned.

It also left carpet drier than most competitors, and it has a much larger area of coverage per clean tank and per dirty water tank according to our testing.

The PowerScrub also has a very wide cleaning path (for more efficient cleaning) and it’s very affordably priced.

Again, it’s highly recommended as the best midrange carpet cleaner we tested.