Tineco CARPET ONE Cruiser - Never Hire Again

Have you ever tried to clean your own carpets?

Here's the process.

First, you have to figure out who hires out carpet cleaning machines.

Then you have to see if they have any available.

Then you have to book one.

Then you have to go and pick it up.

Then you have to buy a bottle of carpet cleaning solution.

Then you have to pay a bond as well as the hire fee.

Then you have to figure out how to use it.

Then the whole time you're using it, you have to worry about how long it's taking you to use it, in case you don't get it back in time.

Then you have to take it to bits and clean it.

Then you have to return it.

Then you have to convince someone you've cleaned it enough to get your bond back.

Then you have to spend the next day or so squelching around on wet carpets that may or may not be much cleaner than when you started.

Fun times.

Or, you gould just get your own Tineco.

The CARPET ONE Cruiser, compared with one of those supermarket/hardware store hire machines, is like it's from another dimension.

It's light, compact and is easy to assemble - it took me about five minutes, straight out of the box.

You can connect to the Tineco Life app, although I'm not exactly sure how much benefit there is to that - other than being able to change the language of your voice prompts, keeping an eye on any maintenance issues and selecting what kind of carpet you're about to clean.

Given that it has yet to actually record and log any of my cleaning or drying sessions yet, I can't say I've paid Tineco Life too much attention.

But none of that matters, because the CARPET ONE Cruiser itself is so easy to use.

The hybrid clean/dirty water tank unclips with the push of a button and snaps back in with a satsifying click.

The maximum water level is clearly indicated and you only need to add two capsful of cleaning solution to each tank. That solution is included in the box, along with a spray bottle of Pre-Treat Formula to apply to more problematic stains and messes, loosening things up a bit before you clean.

The CARPET ONE Cruiser boasts 3-level SmoothPower Tech that automatically senses whether you're pushing or pulling and helps drive the wheels in the right direction, already making using this device exponentially less cumbersome than the much bulkier cleaners I've hired before.

Although I simply leave the device on Automatic, there's a MAX button within easy reach on the comfy handle if you want to apply extra water where you're cleaning at any given moment.

I've found the machine surprisingly easy to manoeuvre - probably thanks in no small part to the design of the water tank sitting above the wheels, rather than built into the handle as it is on some other cleaners. I was pleased how close I could get to my skirting boards, thereby extending my clean to the very edges of the room.

Whether it's the potency of the concentrated cleaning solution, the 130w of pure suction, the long, sturdy bristles of the brush roller or the fact it's rotating at 3000rpm, the result has been quite startling. 

As you'll see in the video below, one room I cleaned was literally where a cat went to die. You can only imagine what that ended up smelling like and how ineffective my various attempts heve been to remediate it.

One clean with the CARPET ONE Cruiser and that lingering reminder smell has all but vanished! I believe the key here is Tineco's High-temp PowerDry system.

Not only is the water heated to 75°C for a more effective, sterile clean, the air used to dry the carpet is heated to 75°C as well. I've never been able to walk on freshly-cleaned carpets until hours - if not days - have passed, even when "professionally cleaned." Using the CARPET ONE Cruiser, this basically becomes a non-issue. You dry the carpet as soon as is clean. And I mean dry-to-walk-on, sit-on, play-on dry. 

Another very user-focussed feature is the combination of coloured LED lighting underneath the CARPET ONE Cruiser and the colour LCD screen embedded into the handle itself. Both of these are used to indicate your progress - either when you're cleaning or drying, taking the guesswork out of the whole operation.

But its not these more techie tricks that make the CARPET ONE Cruiser so fun to use, it's the simplicity and efficacy of the design.

Take the upholstery cleaning hose and brush attachment for example; this simply clicks into place when you open the flap at the front of the brush roller housing - again, just so user-friendly. There's even a storage bag you can hang it up in when you're not using it.

Speaking of storing, once you're all done and you've emptied and rinsed out the dirty water tank, you can then sit the CARPET ONE Cleaner in its compact storage tray and activate the FlashDry Self-cleaning System with a single push of a button. 

This sets off an eyebrow-raising high-pressure wash and rinse of all the hard-to-access bits and pieces, including the brush roller, its cover and the suction inlet. Most importantly though, it also spends several minutes drying it all out at - you guessed it - 75°C. This prevents any slimy build-up or icky odours.

This thing is just so damn easy to use - in fact, as Tineco itself suggests, because it's not much more bother than normal vacuuming, you're far more likely to use it regularly, instead of just waiting to call in the carpet cleaning professionals the week before you finally move out altogether.

When people ask me how much a miracle machine like this costs, they're always pleasantly surprised when I tell them the RRP is only NZ$1,199.00 - Then I really blow their minds by mentioning the fact it's on special right now for $300 off.

I now consider MYSELF to be a carpet cleaning professional - and thanks to Tineco, I'm now a carpet DRYING professional too. No more wet socks. Ever.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Tineco CARPET ONE Cruiser.