Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner Review

The Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner is one of Hoover’s relatively budget-friendly carpet cleaners. Despite its lower price point than Hoover’s heftier models, the PowerDash Pet offers a carpet cleaning experience that may work well for people with apartments or small homes.

Hoover’s PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner has a smaller profile than other cleaners of its kind, making it lightweight and easy to maneuver in tight spaces. Combine its flexible navigation with its surprisingly high power, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a similar model that’s as efficient.

The Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner includes the following features:

• Lightweight and compact design
• PowerSpin Pet Brush Roll for easy pet stain removal
• High-traffic cleaning power
• HeatForce quick-drying technology
• Low-profile front end to reach hard-to-clean areas
• 10-inch cleaning path
• 7-amp motor
• Requires only light assembly

Our review of Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner includes an overview of its most-loved features. We also review its pros and cons and offer a comparison to a couple of similar models on the market to inform your decision.

The Top Features of the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner

Although this carpet cleaner includes several benefits for pet owners, the Hoover PowerDash has some stand-out features that set it apart from its competition.

The PowerSpin Brush Roll Removes Pet Hair Particles and Stains

 One of the most popular features of this carpet cleaner is its PowerSpin Brush Roll, which works to both deep-clean carpets and remove pet hair particles.  After vacuuming away pet hair, dander can still leech to fibers in carpets.

But giving your carpets a deep cleaning with this Hoover carpet cleaner can pull dander and other particles out, thanks to the PowerSpin Brush Roll. The brush automatically spins when you power on the cleaner to go right to work on your carpets.

The unique bristle design digs down into carpet fibers to remove dirt, pet stains, and more as you clean the carpets with liquid. It’ll even pick up odor-causing particles that can make your home smell less than pleasant to guests.

The Ergonomic Handle and Trigger Make It Comfortable to Operate

With some carpet cleaners, you need to awkwardly grasp the handle as you figure out a way to comfortably pull the cleaning trigger. Holding the handle and pulling the trigger doesn’t always work well together.

With the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner, these actions flow together. The trigger is on the bottom side of where you place your fingers around the handle, so there’s no need to extend your fingers uncomfortably.

Instead, place your fingers around the handle and push gently as you move the cleaner where you need it to go.

This design can be especially helpful for people who have a weakened hand grip or those who just need a little extra help to move the cleaner.  The D-Shaped handle makes it easy to grasp without moving your wrists, hands, or arms into an uncomfortable position. 

The cleaner itself is just over 43 inches tall, making it the right height for most people to hold near their waist without needing to bend forward. You’ll get a good range of motion without overexerting your back, neck, shoulders, or arms.

Its Compact Design is Space-Saving, Maneuverable, and Portable

Many carpet cleaners have a larger footprint than the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner. That’s a good thing if you have big rooms and want to get them clean as quickly as possible. It’s not beneficial, though, if you have smaller areas to clean and limited storage space for your carpet cleaner.

 Hoover’s PowerDash has a 10-inch cleaning path area that’s just the right size for apartments, small homes, or spaces with only a few carpeted areas.  Its compact design makes it easy to store in small closets or storage areas.

The carpet cleaner’s size also makes it convenient to maneuver around your home. It weighs less than 13 pounds, while larger units can weigh 50 pounds or more. If you’ll need to carry your carpet cleaner up and down the stairs in your home or you’re unable to move a lot of weight, the Hoover PowerDash may be an excellent option for you.

It Works with a Range of Hoover Cleaners

Hoover has a full line of cleaning solutions that you can use with the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner. The unit comes with a sample solution, so you won’t need to buy anything to get started. However, having a backup cleaner on hand ensures that it’s ready to use when you are.

The PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner can work with any of Hoover’s cleaning solution. Formulas focus on various carpet needs, such as pet odor neutralizing and removal, spot cleaning, and hypoallergenic cleaning.

HeatForce Technology Dries Your Carpets Quickly

Excellent cleaning ability, but long drying time is not what most people would want in a carpet cleaner. It’s not uncommon to have to wait hours for carpets to dry, depending on the moisture content of the air in your home.

The Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner has quick-drying technology known as HeatForce to prevent long drying times.

As you use the unit to shampoo your carpets, warm air pushes through the foot to dry the carpet after cleaning.  Because the design concentrates a blast of heated air into a small space, HeatForce technology speeds up the natural drying process so that you don’t have to wait as long to enjoy your clean carpets. 

Pros

• Easy to clean
• Separate water tanks for clean and dirty water
• Lightweight, compact, and portable
• Low-profile design
• Excellent suction power
• Brush roll helps to clean dirt and pet hair
• Easy to assemble
• Affordable price point

Cons

• The cleaning path range could be larger
• Fairly loud in operation

What Accessories and Extra Features Does the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner Include?

Unlike some other carpet cleaners on the market, the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner doesn’t include extra tools and accessories, like different hoses and attachments that let you clean stairs, furniture, and other hard-to-reach places.

To be fair, Hoover didn’t intend for this carpet cleaner to have the bells and whistles of other models.  Instead, it’s focused more on being compact, user-friendly, and affordable.  If you don’t need the extras, then the PowerDash can be an excellent budget-friendly option that’s ready to work when you need it.

One feature that’s worth noting is its dual water tanks that separate dirty from clean water.

This design ensures that you won’t be cleaning your carpets with the dirty water that you’ve already used.

You can purchase additional parts for your carpet cleaner through Hoover if you need a replacement or just want another one handy. For instance, the PowerSpin Brush Roll may need a replacement after a few years of regular use to keep your cleaner working efficiently.

Is the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner Easy to Assemble?

One of the benefits of this Hoover carpet cleaner is that it’s simple for almost anyone to assemble alone, even if you’ve previously had no experience with a carpet cleaner.

The machine comes mostly assembled already as far as the central unit is concerned. You’ll just need to put the water tank in place and attach the handle. Neither one of these tasks requires tools.

After you fill the clean water tank with water, you’re ready to start cleaning. The whole process should take just a couple of minutes, making it an excellent solution for you if you want a ready-to-use carpet cleaner.

Does It Come With a Warranty?

Having a warranty included with your carpet cleaner can protect your investment in case something malfunctions.

 Hoover offers a one-year motor and parts warranty for its PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner that covers any problems caused by a manufacturing defect that affects the motor, wheels, pulleys, bearings, and other components. 

The warranty covers your carpet cleaner under regular use. Unfortunately, the warranty voids if you use your cleaner for commercial purposes, like a cleaning business.

However, using it for daily home use allows you to receive free replacement parts or repairs for one year from the date of purchase.

Other carpet cleaners have longer warranties of two or three years, but a better warranty sometimes comes with a heftier price tag.

Is the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner Easy to Clean and Maintain?

Larger carpet cleaners with several features and accessories can sometimes become a burden to clean and maintain. A lot of parts means lots of cleaning and maintenance!

 One advantage of the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner’s minimal design is that it has very few parts that you’ll need to take care of. 

When you finish cleaning with it, you can remove both of the water tanks – one for clean water and one for dirty water – to empty and rinse them out. Because the dirty and clean water doesn’t interact with one another in the machine, you’ll have less mess to clean up.

You can also remove the nozzle at the end of the foot that covers the PowerSpin Pet Brush Roll.

Give it a quick rinse to remove dirty water and debris and keep it fresh and clean for its next use. The brush is also removable, just in case you need to remove clumped-up pet hair on it.

 This Hoover carpet cleaner is relatively maintenance-free. 

Hoover suggests using a vacuum to pick up pet hair and debris from the areas you’re cleaning before using your carpet cleaner, which can prevent it from becoming clogged with dirt.

If you remember to vacuum before each use and clean the water tanks, brush roll, and nozzle after you clean your carpets, your Hoover PowerDash should remain in good shape.

How Does the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner Compare to Similar Pet Models?

See this review of the best pet carpet cleaners of 2020 for a more complete list of similar models.

Hoover has several carpet cleaners with various features that fit within a range of budgets.

The Hoover Spotless Portable Carpet & Upholstery Spot Cleaner is one of them, sitting just slightly lower in price than the PowerDash.

This cleaner focuses on cleaning up small messes quickly without having to set up a carpet cleaner for the task.

It has a carrying handle for portability, and the attached hose with a four-inch cleaning path makes it easy to clean where you need it to, like small stains on carpets, stairs, or furniture.

However, considering that there’s not much of a price difference between the Spotless Portable and the PowerDash, you should consider whether saving a few dollars is more important than having the 10-inch cleaning path of the PowerDash.

At a higher price point is the Hoover Power Scrub Elite Pet Carpet Cleaner, which is like the heftier, more powerful sibling of the Hoover PowerDash.

It has an upright design, a 12-inch cleaning path, and a deep-cleaning mode to hit tough stains buried deep in your carpets.

 Like the PowerDash, it uses HeatForce technology to dry carpets quickly after cleaning them. 

Both water tanks are bigger on the Power Scrub, which means you’ll need to empty them less frequently during cleaning than the PowerDash if you have a large home or area to clean.

For smaller areas and budget-friendliness, the PowerDash is probably your best option.

Summary: Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner

Our review of Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner provides a helpful overview of the tool while comparing it to other models that you might consider purchasing.

Which one is right for you?

That depends on your carpeted area and what you’re looking for in a carpet cleaner.

The Hoover PowerDash can be an excellent option for people who live in a small apartment or home or who only have carpeting in a few areas of their home.

However, it might fall short if you’re looking to keep carpets clean in a lot of square footage or high-traffic areas, like an office building.

But for an affordable setup-and-go carpet cleaner that’s simple to use, has no learning curve, and is powerful enough to tackle everyday pet messes, the Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner is virtually unbeatable.