I purchased this product on my own dime after having the privilege to review some of Tineco's other products in exchange for reviews in an effort to try and clean a carpet that is 20+ years old. It was (allegedly) professionally cleaned once many years ago, but for the most part had only really been vacuumed through 2 adults, two teens (now adults), and 5 dogs. To say it is dirty is an understatement. You can see it in the picture, of a small before and after of a spot I went over once (taking the entire tank). The majority of you are probably APPALLED. Absolutely horrific, but it was decided to not be replaced. For the sake of my own sanity, I picked this up on preorder. If this thing was going to be tested, this was the ultimate test.
It is pulling up dirt, hair, and eldritch horrors unlike the world has ever seen. The vacuum (A Tineco GO Pet Stick) doesn't even pick up what this thing is picking up. As for drying, it is pretty good there too. It gets to an OK level of dry from just suction of the water, but the carpet still needs hours overnight to dry. I am impatient though, and want my carpet dry much faster than thatBy going over the carpet with the dryer, it gets almost perfectly dry, and ready to be walked upon once finished. The extra step of the speed drying process however takes a lot (A LOT) of sweeps over the carpet to really get dry. The light on the suction head changes from red (wet) to blue (dry).
The booklet does give a small radiation warning for anyone whom may be concerned about that. It lists the clearance as 2 feet away, which really isn't an issue, and it doesn't seem like anything to worry or care over, but I figure I can toss that out here while we are on the subject of the dryer.
The self cleaning feature is fantastic. Carpet cleaners are atrocious to try and clean, and I am just not that ambitious myself to want to bother. Ain't nobody got time for that. So really the tipping point for me purchasing this was the advertised self cleaning. As mentioned, I happened to get lucky and had the opportunity to test a Tineco mop (again, as incentive for review) in addition to the vacuum, and had an idea of how well the self cleaning can work because of that, else I would have been dubious of the written claims.
It is definitely not perfect. For one, this carpet cleaner uses it's "Smart Technology" to sort of drive you around to where it wants to go. Basically where it thinks it is dirty. It is a bit jarring at first to get used to. For fellow people with back, neck, and shoulder problems, this can be an issue. At times the wheels could not find traction more often than not when holding the "normally". This is more than likely due to the the carpet to be completely soaked from max cleaning, and the amount of water/cleaner used as I went over spots was at times ABSURD. There are patches where I was told to empty the dirty water tank and fill clean water (yes, it has voice that you can turn on off) in - no joke, about 2-5 minutes OFTEN. As stated, this is not a miracle solution. This is an extreme time and effort sink when your carpet is this dirty.
My one asterisk is Tineco's support. I had contacted them previously regarding a battery slot tab that broke on the a fore mentioned vacuum. I had seen on other verified purchaser reviews for the same product, a rare few claims of meh or bad customer support. I discounted those. I unfortunately had a similar experience, likely aggravated by being incentivized, and not purchased. If you get to speak to "support at tineco" they are great, and very responsive to handle an issue. However, if you are doomed, you will get redirected by "support at tineco", and told to contact "service at tineco". This is the equivalent of being told to go pound sand, we are not helping you, despite the deaf ears already around you from other support options. I'm not even sure this is an email they even look at. I'm not even sure if this is a real email that actually exists. 3 separate emails, and no response to this day a few months later.
Overall, I am happy with this Cruiser carpet cleaner. It does a wonderful job getting the nasty out and speeds up the process of drying the carpet for faster use. Just consider that despite the hefty investment, there is a very, VERY small chance you may not get support if something goes wrong. I am sure my case is an outlier, and a remarkably rare situation, but it is something to keep in mind. I don't like my money wasted, and I don't want anyone else's to be either. Once again, I bought this Carpet Cleaner with MY money, and I am rating it honestly as I always ever do. I just like doing reviews, so people know what's up past like a 5-word useless review. I do not regret purchasing this and would recommend it with all that said. recommend it with all that said.