That may have been me.

I love my machine.

I have white vinyl floors in my kitchen and this thing spin scrubs them so that they sparkle. I track in a lot of dirt from gardening and I used to get dirt so ground into my floors that they never looked clean after a mopping. I hated always having to get down on my hands and knees with a bucket and scrub brush to get out the ground in dirt.

The machine out of the box has to be snapped together - not hard at all. I am the type who gets completely frustrated having to assemble things and this thing was a breeze to put together. A child could do it.

The cleaning solution that works with the machine smells *fresh* and not flowery or chemical. You can also use vinegar and water with the machine - cheaper and no worry about chemicals on the floor if you have children or pets.

The machine is easy to fill and empty without fumbling and cursing. There are two different spin scrub brushes that come with it. One for flat even floors and one for floors with deep grout lines. They interchange and just snap right on.

The edge attachment is easy to hook up and is great for getting behind the toilet and between things. They give you a little ergonimically designed carrying thingy for the attachments and cleaning solutions that keeps everything neat and tidy and handy.

They say there is no need to sweep beforehand as the machine vacuums and scrubs but I find it easier to use a broom first because I don't like having to pull hair from the bristles everytime I use it. I think the machine will last longer if I don't have hair and big stuff going into it, but that is just me.

Do not buy this machine thinking it will also function as a vacuum for your rugs. It is a vacuum, but is not designed for rugs, and you will be disappointed in the results.

This thing is alomost 'fun' to use and I find myself cleaning my floors more often because it is so easy now. I just pull it out of the closet and fill the tank in the sink with tap water, and add a capfull of solution. Empty tank in toilet when done. It does not use much water at all, only about a liter I think.

The cord is loooong so you don't have to keep plugging and unplugging the machine as you go throughout the house (unless you live in a HUGE home).

It's just like using a vacuum except it scrubs the floor. There is a trigger button on the handle to spray extra cleaning solution on tough spots. The machine squeegies up all the excess water so that the floors are practicaly dry when you are done.

They say it can be used on real wood floors and have a wood floor cleaner to use with it but I personally felt that it got my wood floors too wet to use on a regular basis. I may do my real wood floors with it every few years and stick with my regular cleaning in between.

Make sure when you slide the water tank in that you hear it 'snap'. I put it in once and it did not connect and I realized that I did half my floor and it was bone dry. A minor oversight on my part and not anything wrong with the design of the machine.

You do have to go SLOW when using the machine. You have to give it time to scrub as you slowly push it forward and then slowly draw it back as you suck up all the water. Some people find this to be tedious. But the results are worth it.

Check out epinions.com and amazon.com an sites like it that have consumer reviews. The reviews for this machine are either that people LOVE the machine or they hate it. Personally I think that the "hate" reviews are planted, maybe by a competitor?

I got mine at Sams Club. They had the cheapest price I found. If you go to the Hoover stores they are the most expensive there. Target has them at the same price that most other stores have them and they also sell the solution there for the cheapest I have seen ($6.99). The Hoover store sells the solution for the most ($9.99).

A lot of my friends and neighbors, who I have shown the machine to, ask me why didn't I get a Roomba Scooba? No one I know has actually bought one but I see from reviews that they do an adequate job and you don't have to push anything around.

They've been talked about here in the forums. Maybe something you could also check out if you have a huge home to clean.

If you have your heart set of the Hoover Spin Scrub 800 I would say "Go for it!" I don't think you will regret it.

nwroselady:

I just have the regular Floormate and not the 800 (with all the attachments), but I'll chime in a say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Floormate. This is the best cleaning product I have ever bought, bar none. As Bud said, it is so simple to use and my floors have never looked shinier.

I don't use the solution for it, but I do use HOT water and a small squirt of Dawn with Bleach. I have been doing this for years and the machine seems fine with it.

Again, like Bud, I sweep my floors with a broom before using the Floormate, even though you can certainly use the Floormate vacuum. I just don't like cleaning the hair and large stuff out of the dirty water container. I have 2 pugs that shed like buffalo, so there is A LOT of hair.

I always used a mop before, and was amazed at the dirty water the Floormate sucked up. I can't believe that was what was left on my floors after a mop. Although, if you think about it, it really made sense.

It's quicker than a mop and, as I said, the floors are much cleaner.

I don't use it on my hardwood either. The regular Floormate only has the scrubbing brushes with no way to turn them off and I don't want them scratching the hardwood.

The only downside that I have is that my kitchen floor has really low grout lines (vinyl tile) and the Floormate doesn't do a real good job of "sucking" up the water from the deep grooves. If your home has fairly flat surfaces (grout lines almost even with the tile or vinyl sheets) then by all means, I would get this machine.

Hope I helped!

I would recommend getting the attachments. I find them useful for getting under the kitchen cabinets and behind the toilet. I use the attachments for doing the stairs down to the basement. The attachments are not any extra trouble to use.

One of the attachments is made to suck up the water out of deep grooves of grout. My friend, who recommended this machine to me and let me borrow it before I bought mine, has 12" ceramic tile in her kitchen with deep grout grooves and swears by the grout attachment for getting food spills out of the grout and sucking up the water so the grout is practically dry.

The Spinscrub 800 model, that comes with the attachments, is also 3" wider than the other model that does not include attachments. That may be a deciding factor when purchasing.

I have the plain jane Floormate and came across it at a yard sale this past summer. For $7 why not try it. I love it!!!! I use it daily and love it! I have wood floors and they look great. I also don't use the solution they advise because I have pets and children so sanitation is a big factor. I fill the tank with hot water and only half of the measuring device of bleach. I know it says not to, but I haven't had a problem yet. I also used the lysol solution in it and it did fine I just feel the floor is cleaner with bleach. If it croaked today I would buy another one, maybe even that 800 model!!

You're talking about the original H3000 model right? It has a beater bar brush rather than spin scrub brushes. You definately got the 'deal of the day' at $7.
Wow.

I'm afraid to try bleach and detergents with my machine. The only thing I have used besides the Hoover Floor Cleaner solution is vinegar and water. I read somewhere that the v/w mix is the same PH as the Hoover Floor Cleaner so I tried it. I guess if I only paid $7 for my machine I would be more adventurous with it. I'm very much a 'rule follower' and don't want to do anything where they could tell me that I've invalidated my warranty.

It doesn't have a model number on it, it just says Hoover FloorMate. It doesn't have a bar it has 4 or 5 scrubbies that spin around. I thought it was definately worth a try for $7.

It didn't come with a manual so I had to look for one online and it pretty much recommended the company products. Go figure. I clean daily so I would spend a fortune in products. The smell of vinegar makes me gag so that is a no go. I never leave the bleach solution in the machine, I always empty both tanks when im finished cleaning. So maybe that helps keep things from breaking down. I agree with you and I normally follow all of the rules on machines and if I had the one you had I would but for $7 it wont hurt to try something else.