Hoover Residential
Hoover Central Vacuum System
Hoover Vacuum Cleaners
The Hoover Company is one of the largest manufacturers of vacuums/floor care equipment in the domestic marketplace. Of the three most widely known national brands – i.e., Hoover, Eureka and Dirt Devil – Hoover is the largest.
Like the other, above-named manufacturers, Hoover makes a considerable variety of floor care equipment – uprights, canisters, electric brooms, hand vacs, wet/dry vacuums, polishers/buffers, carpet extractors (steamers), etc.
Unfortunately, like Eureka and Dirt Devil, we do not feel that there is any substantial quality in most of the Hoover line. There are products here and there that are not bad; but, as we mentioned in our Eureka webpage, Hoover’s main thrust, like Eureka’s, is on volume merchandising. The quality of the product line-up takes a back seat to the number of sku’s they can move every year. This statement we prove every day in our service department when this type of equipment goes up on the repair bench.
This makes for an initial problem – a vacuum cleaner should, if it is a good machine, clean well, last as long as possible with the least amount of maintenance and, perhaps most importantly, retain all the tiny allergens that are being removed by the millions per minute as the vacuum is being used. This last ability cannot be attained if the vacuum housings are not completely airtight – these tiny particles will be forced out through the gaps and apertures in the vacuum itself!
Thus, you cannot buy a Hoover vacuum that will properly satisfy the above requirements: it won’t last very long (it should be noted that, years ago, most vacuums made by Hoover and Eureka, etc. would probably last 12 years to 15 years or more – today, this is not the case), it will require a fair amount of maintenance and, most vital, it will not adequately retain the hundreds of millions of tiny, microscopic dust mite feces, bacteria, etc. that are being removed from the carpet, upholstery and so forth. It is important to understand that, if the manufacturer incorporates, as Hoover does frequently, a good filter – such as a Hepa filter – on a vacuum that is not airtight it means relatively little – i.e., the filter does its job; but, the vacuum itself is leaking prodigiously!
So, we don’t sell a lot of Hoover floor care equipment – simply because our customers are demanding better vacuums. In the way of canister vacuums, we sell mostly Miele vacuums (please go here to connect to our webpage on the wonderful Miele vacuum cleaner line!) and in the upright line we sell either Lindhaus or Sebo (please go here to connect to our webpage on the Lindhaus and go here to connect to our webpage on the Sebo – both excellent upright vacuums).
We do like the Hoover Scrub n Vac (it used to be called a Floor’a’Matic) which they have had in the line for years. It is a multi-purpose floor scrubber that will dispense a scrubbing solution onto a bare floor, scrub the floor with a set of scrub brushes and then wet-pickup the dirty solution. It works very well and can also be used to buff floors and shampoo carpets. It is a decent piece of equipment, it is trouble-free and is well-built with a cast aluminum chassis – it lasts a long time.
Unfortunately, Hoover has elected to discontinue this product in favor of a “throw-away” plastic hard floor cleaner. We had some remaining stock on the Scrub n Vac on a 1st come 1st serve basis; however, that stock has now been exhausted.
The Hoover Sidewinder hand vac is also a decent hand vacuum. It offers the unique feature of the front nozzle swiveling sideways 900 so as to enable flush vacuuming against edges. It has a revolving brush and is very handy for cars and stairs.
Hoover also has an electric broom. It is an o.k. broom in its price range ($45) and the combo rug/floor tool is well designed (copy of a German/Miele design).
Lastly, Hoover makes a commercial upright vacuum called the Conquest which is an excellent machine. It is powerful and durable – we have had an excellent track record with this unit. It is a bit too heavy and big for home use; but, is a great performer for restaurants and catering halls, etc. Our only concern with this vacuum is that it uses an empty-out bag system – yuck – filthy.
NOTE: We stock a full complement of accessories and parts for all of our product lines. If you do not find a particular accessory or part listed, it does not mean we do not stock it. Please contact us by e-mail or toll-free phone as listed below.
