Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub Review and Giveaway

Ok, so I fibbed a little.  I mentioned that this vacuum was bionic goodness.  Its not bionic (is anything after the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman?) but its chockful of goodness!  I have been very lucky to be able to review the Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub Bagless Vacuum.  I'm going to tell you about the FloorMate but I have to put this machine in the context of 20 some odd years of non-professional vacuuming experience.  

I don't like vacuuming.  It's not fun.  As satisfying as it is to have a clean floor, over the years I've been at the mercy of second-hand vacuums and newer ones that were fairly competent but oh-so-heavy to push around the house.  And then there's the hair.  You know how people use vacuums based how well they pick up pet hair?  Well, my line in the sand is human hair.  I have a lot of hair.  The hub has a lot of hair.  We made daughters who have a lot of hair.  That's a lot of hair on the bathroom floors, the bedroom carpets, even the kitchen floor.  We shed a lot and all that hair wraps around the beater bar under the vacuum until I have to upend the machine and cut all of that hair out of the bristles every few uses.  Not fun.  Secondly, we treat sweeping/vacuuming and mopping as two separate operations--both of which take awhile and sometimes cancel out the other so that we're always chasing after a completely clean floor.

Enter the Hoover FloorMate--and this is exactly what it looked like when the FedEx guy brought it except you can't see the beacon of light shining down upon it like I did.  It is easy to use, easy to clean and easy to store.  Its like Hoover made it for moms like me!  Here are some features of this machine (info from the Hoover website):

• New Multi-Purpose SpinScrub® Technology - exclusive Hoover® patented counter-rotating brushes gently wash and scrub hard floors from all angles
• SpinScrub® brushes - designed to deliver the best clean while gently scrubbing sealed wood and vinyl, grout and tile
• Dual Tank Technology - keeps clean and dirty water separate so you never put dirty water back on the floor
• Quick Drying Power - squeegee dries floors quickly so you can get right back to living on them
• 13" Wide Cleaning Path - wide cleaning path covers more surface area and shortens cleaning time
• Removable nozzles and brushes - for easy cleaning and maintenance
• Beltless design - no belts to replace
• Deluxe Handle with Fingertip Trigger Control - comfortable, ergonomic grip with trigger right at your fingertips lets you easily distribute detergent when and where it's needed
• Simple Mode Selection - turn the dial for stage 1 vacuuming, stage 2 washing, and stage 3 drying
• 27' Power Cord with Quick Release - vacuum a large room without re-plugging, release entire cord with a quick flip of a lever
• Folding Handle - makes storage a snap, perfect for small spaces
• Rubber Wheels - glide gently over surfaces and won't scratch hard flooring

Out of the box, it was very easy to use.  Second born and I read the manual, familiarizing ourselves with every part of the machine.  In particular, we both liked how easily the water tanks pull out for hassle-free clean-up and how the nozzle releases allow for easy cleaning of the 'underneath' parts.  Switching from wet wash to drying or vacuuming is easy with the mode selector dial; the handle release pedal and on/off button are easily accessible and the handle itself is set at a great height.  And, finally, I love how the handle folds down for easy storage.

How did the Floormate SpinScrub clean?  Wonderfully.  I used the vacuum feature to pick up debris on my ceramic floors and then went over it again with the wet wash.  I tried the drying feature and I liked it but it made the whole task take longer so I skipped it to let the floors air dry.  On parts of the floor that needed more care, I spent extra time going over them with the scrub brushes and was amazed at how well those spots cleaned up.  The liquid cleaner that came with the FloorMate left my floors smelling fresh.  Between how the floors looked and smelled, I was a fulfilled Hoover user.  I vacuumed the rugs as well and the FloorMate did great on those.  When all was said and done, I had a gross mess to clean out of the dirty water tank (see adjacent pic).  But, hey, better that stuff is in the tank rather than on my floors.

Other pluses? I never have to bend down when vacuuming or mopping the floor.  The vacuum is light compared to my old vacuum--very easy to push on hard floors and carpets.  This is because the vacuum itself is made mostly of plastic parts. As a result, the FloorMate is half the price (and bulk) of a regular vacuum.  I'm not used to this and so I worry about the durability of the machine.  However, in my use of it, nothing indicated that the FloorMate will break easily.  In fact, I look forward to using this machine for years to come and the eternal ease of clean floors.  There are optional attachments that you order separately from the FloorMate for hard to reach places but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the vacuum got into corners and along walls.

If you need more convincing about how well the Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub works, check out the FloorMate Challenge featuring 'real women' (what am I? chopped liver? don't answer.) using the FloorMate.  Not only will you witness how well the machine cleans their floors, but you'll get another look at how gross the stuff collected in the dirty water tank (from off the floors) can be.

BUY IT
You can buy the Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub here where, right now, Hoover is offering 15% off most of their vacuums through the end of the year. Or you can shop for the FloorMate at your favorite online retailer like Amazon.

WIN IT
The folks at Hoover have generously donated a Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub for a giveaway here at Moana Saves!

To earn a mandatory entry, follow @HooverClean on Twitter so you can get the latest product updates, cleaning tips and all-around good info from the folks at Hoover.  Mandatory means that if you don't do this first, all of your other entries will be disqualified. Make sure to leave a comment saying you've done this.

To earn an additional entry, do one (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1. Follow Moana Saves on Twitter.

2. Tweet about this giveaway (limit one tweet per day) using the following (leave the tweet URL in your comment):
#Win a Hoover FloorMate from @HooverClean and @moanasaves ends 1/21 http://bit.ly/gxGhS9

3. Become a Google Friend Connect follower of Moana Saves (in the side bar).


4. Like the Hoover Facebook page.

5.  Like the Moana Saves Facebook page.

6. Follow Moana Saves on Networked Blogs (in the side bar).

7. Subscribe to my feed via RSS reader and/or email updates.

8. Grab the Moana Saves button in the side bar and display it on your blog for the duration of the giveaway.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway. He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S. This giveaway ends on Friday, January 21st at 11:59 PM HST (Hawaii Standard Time). One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org. I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 48 hours or I will draw another winner.

Mahalo to the folks at Hoover for providing the FloorMate SpinScrub for the purpose of this review.  I did not receive compensation for this post.  Any and all opinions are my own.