A few days ago we got a carpet shampooer, a Eureka Atlantis model 2591A. The manual calls it a carpet steamer, but there is no steam involved, only hot water.

This unit comes fully assembled, and includes a tool caddy where the 8ft hose, upholstery attachment, and hard floor attachments are stored. It also comes with a 16oz bottle of Eureka Multi Surface cleaning concentrate.

The most unique feature of this carpet cleaner is the handle, which folds down onto the main unit, making it take less space for storage. The tool caddy can sit atop of the folded unit, or hang on a wall.

There are 3 tanks involved in cleaning. One tank holds clean hot water, one holds dirty water, while a third smaller tank holds the carpet shampoo. Some other carpet cleaners don't have a separate shampoo tank, so you can't quickly change to a rinse setting. This one has a level to adjust the level of shampoo, or in the rinse setting, only water is used. This helps get the shampoo residue out of the carpet.

Using the cleaner is rather straightforward. First, you should use a regular vaccum cleaner to get the bigger particles and loosen dirt. Then you fill the clean water tank with not water (not boiling), and the shampoo bottle. Then turn on the power switch to suction or brushes. The brushes mode uses suction as well as sideways agitating brushes. Slowly push the machine forward as you hold the spray button. Pull it back, and you start to see dirty water travelling up the clear suction chamber. For some strange reason I find it quite interesting to look at. It also lets you know what areas to work on more.

After I did a small section of carpet (maybe 40 sq ft), I removed the dirty water tank. The dirty water was only about an inch high, when I had used maybe 4 inches of clean water from the other tank, and about 8 oz of shampoo. So, it can't really get much of the water out, but the area was dry the next day.

This machine also has sponge and squeegee attachments for hard floors. I haven't tried those yet. Overall, I like this machine, but I've never tried any other carpet cleaners before. It seems to get mostly positive reviews on the net, which is why I chose it.

For more information, please visit
http://www.eureka.com

I couple days ago I received my new Hoover Windtunnel Powered Hand Tool (model # 40200013). We have a Hoover Fold Away vacuum, which is okay, but I want to upgrade to a Hoover Fusion. We have never bought a new filter for our vacuum, I just shake the dirt out of every once in a while. I think $30 for a small paper filter is overpriced, it's not even a HEPA. The Fusion doesn't need filter replacements, much like the more expensive Dyson vacuums.

The powered hand tool says on the package "for use with all Windtunnel uprights only!". The Hoover website says it works with most of their vacuums, however. It comes with an adpater for their canister vacuums, which I don't need.

The tool itself is 4.5" wide, with a rotating brush with neon green bristles. The top is clear blue, and can be removed by pressing two buttons on each side. Inside is a small turbine which is connected to the brush with a notched belt. The turbine is geared to spin at a higher speed than the brush, giving the brush more torque.

The first time I tried using this tool, I was underwhelmed by the brush's rotational speed. The next day I cleaned the filter, which made a huge improvement in the turbo tool's speed. We have 5 cats and a dog, so needless to say we have a lot of fur around the house. I used the turbo tool to clean under our bed, the living room curtains, and our couch. It performed very well, and it inspired me to use it for 2-3 hours non stop.

The Hoover Powered Hand Tool is easily best vacuum attachment I've ever used. I bought it for about $15 from homeandbeyond.com. It is a wonderful addition to my Hoover vaccum cleaner. If you have a Hoover vaccum that accepts attachments, I highly recommend this tool.

A few months ago I purchased the Hoover Mach 5 vacuum cleaner from Walmart for around $160 at Walmart. I was looking for a replacement for our Hoover Fold Away. The Fold Away did not have much suction power, and the filter clogged quickly.

I originally sought out to buy a Hoover Fusion, which has Dyson-like cyclonic filtering technology. I discovered that the Fusion had been discontinued and replaced with the Mach 3. The Mach 3 has a cyclonic main filter and a washable pre-filter. It comes with a turbo brush tool, dusting brush, 2 extension wands, and a crevice tool. The turbo brush excels at removing pet hair, but I have found that it needs servicing once in a while. The pet hair tends to wrap around the ends of the brush where it rotates, eventually preventing it from rotating. It can be cleaned by disassembling it with a Phillips screwdriver.

The Mach 5 improves on the Mach 3 by adding a HEPA filter, a dual chamber cyclonic filter, a retractable power cord, an adjustable handle, and a brush roll control. Cord rewind is a nice feature that reels in the cord at the press of a button. No more rolling up the power cord. Another nice feature is that the brush roll automatically turns off when the Mach 5 is in upright position.

The Mach 5 offers many of the same features as a Dyson much less money. There are no filters to replace, and no loss of suction.