Hoover Smartwash FH52000 Carpet Cleaner Review

The Hoover Smartwash model FH5200 carpet cleaner is a relatively cheap carpet cleaner, though there are bundled deals that cost a little more. This Hoover brand carpet cleaner isn’t advertised to pet owners, but it is suitable for cleaning up pet messes. In fact, a number of its features make it an excellent choice for pet owners. We’ll list the reasons why this carpet cleaner is a good choice for pet owners. Then we’ll share the weaknesses of this model. We’ll also provide a few observations that aren’t straightforward pros or cons but may be relevant to some potential buyers.

Pros of the Hoover Smartwash FH52000

The minimum Hoover Smartwash carpet cleaner package does a good job of cleaning a wide range of carpets. It dispenses an even stream of water and cleaning solution in just the right level.
The unit is easy to assemble, and you can do so without a lot of tools or effort.
The head of the vacuum cleaner is lower than average, so it can get under the edge of most furniture. The carpet cleaner head is wider than average, coming in at 12 inches.
The brushes are able to remove dirt, debris and semi-solid messes from relatively deep carpet. This carpet cleaner is a good choice over other models that can only handle short carpets. The unit has very good suction for a carpet cleaner.
The nozzle can be removed for a thorough cleaning, and unlike some vacuum cleaners, it isn’t difficult to clean the nozzle. This is invaluable when you’re cleaning up nasty sticky messes like diarrhea or semi-solid vomit. It works very well even if you clean up multiple messes in one pass.
The Hoover carpet cleaner uses powerful air jets to dry the carpet. That’s useful when you’ve made several passes over an area and want it to dry out as fast as possible to prevent mildew growing in the carpet. Note that you may need to make two passes to pull up the water and cleaning solution you used on a pet mess.
This carpet cleaner has an accessory storage bag to make it easier to store the pet tool for cleaning upholstery or spot cleaning carpets and stairs. However, the vacuum weighs less than twenty pounds, so you could take it up the stairs if needed.

Cons of the Hoover Smartwash Carpet Cleaner

Do not use this on Berber carpet. It will ruin the rug. In fact, this carpet cleaner shouldn’t be used on tall, thick carpets because you cannot adjust the vacuum head height.
Be very careful leaving this carpet cleaner running while sitting in one place. It will leave a lot of water on the floor. The hand tool is even worse in terms of leakage.
If the unit stops working or all the smart technology goes awry, you’ll have trouble getting it serviced under the warranty. Common issues include the brushes suddenly no longer spinning due to a broken belt, rusted non-stainless-steel bearings or sensors that are malfunctioning. The warranty doesn’t cover belts, and replacement belts are hard to find. You can’t replace or repair sensors by yourself. You’ll have an inkling this is the problem if the lights for specific controls go out along with that function. The bearings that are not stainless steel will cause the rollers to move erratically before they finally seize up. This either requires you to disassemble the unit and reassemble with new stainless steel bearings or you have to get it serviced by Hoover. A do-it-yourselfer can snap off the end plates and replace the bearings, but the end result may be uneven performance of the rollers even after repair.

Observations

There are several bundle deals you can buy that include bottles of Hoover brand cleaning solutions. This isn’t always the most economical choice. However, you receive small samples of their pet mess cleaning solutions when you buy just the vacuum cleaner.

You cannot adjust the liquid output or suction based on how dirty the carpets are. That’s disappointing given how smart the unit is supposed to be. For example, it is in wet and solution spray or wet mode when you push forward and in dry mode when you pull backward. If you want two wet passes, you have to push the vacuum over the mess, then turn around and do it again.

There are reports that the unit suddenly starts leaking, though that is rare. If the unit does this, it is after several months of heavy wear. A more common problem is the cap on the cleaning solution tank breaking. It is difficult to find this replacement part without going straight to the manufacturer.

Summary

The Hoover brand Smartwash carpet cleaner is a good choice for pet owners who want to have a quick working carpet cleaner that’s easy to sterilize. It is perfect for taking care of sticky, gooey pet messes that require a detailed cleaning of the carpet cleaner afterward. Its strong suction and wet/dry modes allow you get things as clean as possible as quickly as possible.

Comments

Paula Smith says
November 2, 2019 at 8:24 pm
I ordered the Hoover Smartwash to clean my apt. Which has low carpeting. Does that mean I cannot use this machine? I read that I should not use it on my type of carpeting. Why would it ruin my carpet?
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- Rachel says
  July 8, 2021 at 1:16 pm
  I’ve been using this particular Steam Cleaner, since it came out. I’ve successfully used it on high pile carpet, Berber, low ole, carpet squares, furniture, bed mattresses…
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Greg Singleton says
November 22, 2019 at 3:01 am
The rollers don’t work when it’s against the floor,but you can lean it back and it turns. I just paid it off October 2019. Hoover smartwash automatic upright pet cleaner. FH52002
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- Monica Romero says
  May 18, 2020 at 4:34 am
  Me too. Just happened it’s not mine it’s my landlord’s… great. Did you find a resolution?
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- Rodolfo says
  June 15, 2020 at 5:14 pm
  It has a two small belts that drive the roller gears I don’t have a part no. yet.
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Ted Weaver says
April 4, 2020 at 8:26 pm
Hoover FH 52000 does not have ANY suction. I cleaned everything I think possible problem. I cleaned rollers. Hose staircase connection trap door, cleaned both return bottle and cleaner bottle connections. what??? next??? This is the only thrid time used.
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Fulton says
September 6, 2020 at 10:57 pm
Honestly I thought it was a good one but you know what it’s got to be the biggest piece of crap I think I’ve ever had if you can’t replace the belt then the war he doesn’t cover the belt you can’t find a belt what good is the shampooer
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Linda Adkins says
September 13, 2020 at 4:14 pm
Our machine is makeing a noise the rollers are not turning. We haven’t had it a year. Now it’s worthless. We paid 250.00 for it. I’ll never by another one.
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G Vess says
September 15, 2020 at 3:40 am
I paid close to $300. Liked it better than any I have owned. Used it 4 times and there is a problem which I am relatively sure is a broken belt. But I can’t get into the machine, (even after removing all the screws on the bottom) to even look at the belt. And I cannot find a belt for this machine. So, I guess I’m buying a new one. But it sure will not be a Hoover.
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Jamima says
October 13, 2020 at 1:16 pm
Does a good job of keeping carpet clean. Easy to set up right out of the box. I like the water in one place soap in another. I’m struggling a bit to dry the carpet while using this, anyone else?
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Yolanda Moline says
October 19, 2020 at 11:24 pm
The Hoover FH52000 was great for the first year and a half we had it. Then the belt broke. Took it in for repair to the Hoover recommended business. The belt is not a replacement part. Contacted Hoover….they were more than apologetic and sent out a replacement cleaner. Yes, that’s right…they sent a brand new carpet cleaner and also sent a call tag to send back the old one.
Hopefully, Hoover has fixed the belt problem.
All in all, it was a painless experience.
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Debi says
October 26, 2020 at 3:44 am
Same. Owned it 1 week and the rollers quit turning. After alot of trouble managed to get into it far enough to find a broken belt which I can’t replace because they don’t sell them. I’ve only made 1 payment and have several left to make and its worthless. Big mistake buying this.
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Scott says
January 10, 2021 at 8:04 pm
Purchased 3 months ago to replace a Hoover Power Scrub that ran for 8 years with no problems, then the dryer died. We’ve used this new system a total of about 7 hours over 3 months. Yesterday, it started leaking black drops prior to the rotating brush belt failing then the belt failed, revealing the horrific design of this supposedly “best” machine in the hoover line up. Hoover does not sell the replacement belt and even if they did, you have to take 14 screws out and disassemble the frame just to access the belt area. If you are an engineer (I am) and willing to source an aftermarket belt, you can void your warranty by replacing the belt and hoping it lasts a few months before breaking again. Otherwise you can drop it off at a Hoover repair shop 70 miles away and wait 4 months while they repair the unit, only to have to do it again over and over until your warranty runs out. Shame on Hoover for this very poor design. This is a great product rendered unusable by a simple belt that is too weak and impossible to easily change.
If you do decide to change out the belt, Amazon does sell an after market replacement. You have to remove the entire chassis by taking out 14 screws, then gently pry apart the housing on the left side to expose the drive gears. The drive gear assembly tilts up, then you have to gently pry the little tab up on the middle tensioner piece while simultaneously sliding it down. Then wrap the belt around the two end gears and under the tensioner, then slide the tensioner back up until it clicks back into place, tightening the belt. You must do this as you cannot simply wrap the belt around the gears and tensioner (the belt will appear to be too long).
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sean says
September 20, 2021 at 3:35 am
I got the pack of two belts from amazon, the short one is labled as 144-3M and the long one is labled as htd 360-3M. A suitable replacement and maybe better then OEM for the short is Gates 144-3M-06 PowerGrip HTD Belt 9293-2005 and for the long belt is Gates 360-3M-06 PowerGrip HTD Belt 9293-2035 It is cheaper to google around use those parts numbers then what I paid for some unknown quality belt from china.
The belts break really quickly if the brushes get stuff hung up on them.
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- sean says
  September 20, 2021 at 3:38 am
  And no offense to the owner of this site, I don’t feel like copying and pasting, but there is a whole thread on the bestbuy site on how to replace the belt in the Q/A section.
  Now the automatic motion sensor circuit is screwed up.. 😛
  Reply