Sorry.. I don't know but I have a Hoover Floor Mate with the scrubbing brushes that I've had for 6 years. I love that machine.. It works so good. Would it be possible for you to exhcange yours and try another one?... Or perhaps call them to see if they have any ideas of what the problem could be?....

Thanks, I might give another one a try. I loved how it cleaned for the first half hour, so maybe I just got a lemon. Thanks so much for the info.

I have one too & love it. The best feature to me is that it always sprays clean solution not cleaning solution mixed w/what has been sucked up a minute ago (ie dirty water). Hopefully yours can be replaced?

I had a Hoover Floormate that worked well for about a month, then stopped working. Not fixable, it was a "refurbished" one with no warrantee/guaranty. Ended up in the trash. Impossible to find the liquid cleaner also. Thumbs down from me.

Sorry yours was a clunker jannie. But for anyone reading that has one or is considering one, you can use any cleaner in it. They usually include theirs in the box, but the manual says you can use any liquid floor cleaner in it. When I run out of the bottles that came with mine (bought at Costco, it came w/6 bottles of dif. cleaning fluids-yay Costco!), I'm planning to use regular Mr. Clean for the linoleum & diluted oil soap on the wood floors.

This post was edited by jomuir on Thu, Nov 29, 12 at 10:46

FYI... It is not recommended to use any cleaner that has any type of oil, such as Murphy's or Pine Sol in the floormate, Hoover says it will ruin the rubber seals. I have used Mr. Clean in mine from day one and have had no problems...

sounds like this cleaner isn't best for your floors. I use mine on lino mostly. Man, I'd hate to do so many steps as you described! Hopefully you'll find something you can do them in one pass.
The only trick I have on this cleaner, is to go slowly on the removing water step. I really creep it along, and it picks up well for me, but again, this is on lino, not wood. On our wood floors, it doesn't suck up water as well, the water goes into the natural grooves in the grain, and does leave it damp.

db, thanks for the oil soap info, I need to look at the manual again I see! Don't want to ruin the rubber seals. I also use Mr. Clean or Spic & Span liquid, diluting w/water.

I had the Hoover Max extract but only ever used it on carpet on which it worked great. I think it would be WAY too much water for hardwood!

I have a Bissell Powerfresh steam mop to clean hard floors, I love this thing. It sucks the dirt right out of your floor, no need for scrubbers. It does come with a pad that has little scrubbers in case you need extra cleaning/stuck on messes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bissell Powerfresh!

Thanks for the info on the Bissell Powerfresh. I will definitely give that one a try.

After using a steam mop for six months, it died. I went and bought a Hoover Floormate. This machine works so much better than the steam mop. I don't use the vacuum part, but use a dust mop first. I have two dogs who shed continuously. Washing the floor is so easy, and when you pull back the machine, it picks up some water. If you change the dial to dry, it leaves the floor almost dry. It dries so quickly, that you can walk on it right away. The only problem I have with it, is the clean water tank. It only holds a quart of water and cleaning solution. Same for the dirty water container. It does half my kitchen before I have to refill it. No problem for me, because i have an island in the middle. I think maybe first time users are keeping their finger on the trigger that releases the cleaning solution. You squeeze the trigger going forward, and then release when pulling back on machine. My floormate is definitely a keeper.

I agree. The first one I had was defective, so I returned it and got another one. I LOVE it and it's worked perfectly. With a house full of hardwood and a dog and a cat, it's one of the best things I ever bought. Cuts my floor cleaning time by 2/3.

My neighbor also purchased the hoover floormate. After a few uses it also died. I had been considering buying one. Not now. We have hardwood floors in every room, tile in the kitchens and bathrooms. I just use a regular old fashioned dust mop and a dry mop for cleaning the hard wood floors. Sponge type mop for the tiled floors. Regular vacuuming also helps. I still don't think the hard wood floors are as clean as they should be. Any suggestions?
Mary