Vax Compact Power VX97

DAMAGES CARPETS – This is the WORST VAX product EVER PRODUCED. IT DOES NOT WORK AND IN FACT WILL DAMAGE YOUR FLOORS. DO NOT BUY UNLESS you get personal satisfaction by SMASHING THE $*&t out of TERRIBLE products. ISSUES - UNIT LEAKS... AND I DO MEAN IT LEAKS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!! This doesn't Clean carpets IT DROWNS THEM Leaving them to take literally weeks to dry… Read more

correctly and ultimately leading to Mold and Mildew issues. (YES it was like this from day one)

USE HISTORY: *Purchased and assembled as per instructions. *Filled tank as per instructions, using the VERY EXPENSIVE VAX ONLY Solution (Purchased separately for massively inflated price). *Used to clean half a hallway. Depressing Trigger on 1 pass only and letting the rest work its way through. 45 minutes later after doing an area 2900x900 pushing the trigger on a total of 2 passes (each at 2900) the floor was soaked beyond belief (even after running over several more times with no trigger press each way for the drying function to work.). * Moved unit into laundry to take a break between cleaning sections of the floor accordingly. * Returned, 1hr later to water from bottom of unit all over laundry floor. Figuring that is just what these things do, Finished rest of hallway as best I could using the water trigger on half of 1 forward pass only. * Finished job, emptied tanks, cleaned wheel (as best as possible, damn difficult thing too) and let dissembled to dry out before packing away.

- Result of first clean. TERRIBLE - after taking 4 days for the carpet to dry out and leaving a musky damp moldy smell in the carpet - I eventually got cleaners in who did the entire job in half the time with no issue.

Unit remained packed away for a couple of years until today, decided to try again as carpet needed doing. * First Issue, Cap on Water Bottle, literally fell apart as it was unscrewed from the cap, resulting in 45minutes trying to put it all back together again correctly. * Noticed after multiple re-assembles water just GUSHED from the bottle as soon as placed in postion to clean. After 2 hours fighting , got to try 1 pass near main window, which, well U can guess the rest.

Best Satisfaction to this POS machine was subsequently taking the Sledgehammer to it before jamming it back in the box.

Appalling Customer Service and not worth the money – Cleaner packed up after 5 washes, VAX Customer Service was appalling, 4 emails and 3 months later, received a response to say not covered under warranty. Only had the washer 12 months and they had no interest as to why it has broken down. BUYER BEWARE, complete waste of money.

Excellent warranty service – Firstly, this carpet washer does NOT promote itself for cleaning large carpet areas. The operative word in the name is "Compact". Also the carton states "quick, compact and light". The fact the clean water tank holds less than two litres indicates it is hardly going to be suitable to do large areas and it is definitely not competing with carpet… Read more

cleaners intended to do a whole house (or for that matter, a large room). Where I have found it excels is for stains, spills, etc., and perhaps smallish areas showing signs of heavy traffic. For these jobs, I have found it to be very good.

And incidentally, noting several "difficult to clean the machine" comments, I found that running the machine for a few seconds in a tray containing a centimetre or so of clean water worked a treat for flushing out the brush area.

Mostly though, I found the warranty service was probably the best I have ever experienced. After my machine experienced a fault and ascertaining they did not have a Service Centre within a reasonable distance, the warranty people organized for the pickup of the washer in Regional NSW at their expense. The faulty machine was nine months into a two year warranty and it was replaced with a brand new machine delivered to me. Based on this experience alone, I would happily purchase the same brand if/when the time comes.

Surprisingly Good with 2 Design Flaws – I purchased the Vax Compact Power VX97 machine yesterday from Bunnings for $166.30. It is to replace our Vax 2000 (2 in 1) Wet & Dry machine that is around 30years old. This has been a reliable machine over those years, with only replacing filters and the clear plastic tubing that carried the water solution to the head. However, rust started… Read more ·  1

forming and around the motor area, which I did not think was safe to use.

I used the Vax Compact Power today for the first time. Assembly out of the box was easy. Using the machine was also easy. I was actually surprised at the result of a small section of well worn daily traffic of carpet after only one pass. The carpet responded to a fluffy texture, and return of colour (80%) to the carpet was also surprising. That could be down to sample bottle of Platinum Solution. This is a different type of solution that you can buy that is Vax branded. I would a agree with comments of putting in some defoamer into the dirty water tank to prevent the foam forming, as it hides the dirty water level. Compared to the Vax 2000 which held 5litres of water in both upper and bottom receptacles, the filling and emptying of the bottles was a little annoying.

I would have given 5 Stars except for 2 design flaws I found with the machine that makes cleaning difficult for the user. 1. The Dirty Water Bottle is not well designed inside to remove all foreign matter when emptying. The foreign matter of small sand particles get caught under the float and in various crevices in the water bottle. It takes a lot of manipulation and water to rinse the bottle to extract most of the foreign matter, which around 95% is removed. 2. Cleaning the clear front nozzle that is removable is not the problem. It is the clear cover that is left between the removable nozzle and the brush roller shroud, is the most difficult piece to clean, as it is not removable (at least in the instructions). Fortunately I do car detailing and have various tools for these type of areas that allowed me to remove the built up foreign matter that accumulated between the clear cover and shroud for the brush roller. It still took time to clean completely.

Overall I think this is a good machine for the price. I would not pay over $200 for this machine as seen in various well known stores. I would recommend this product.

Fantastic value for money – Fantastic machine for $220. You ONLY need to use this machine once every 6 month. It's quite user friendly & this is how you use it: 1) blue button you press with foot for power 2) grey button press with foot to tilt the machine. 3) top compartment for solution & water. 4) press the button on the handle only when moving forward ⏩ to spray the… Read more

solution. 5) when going backwards release the button on the handle as it sucks the water & dirt. 6) button compartment collects the dirty water. Yes this machine uses lots of water but it cleans quite thoroughly & deeply. You can literally see the dirty & filthy water, including hairs collected in the water.

Longevity - 2yrs old & still works beautifully – I always read reviews before I buy so thought I’d add mine as I’m always interested to know how long products last. Bought this baby march 2020. Now Jan 2023 I have used repeatedly and it still works fantastically, I actually look forward to cleaning the carpets! So satisfying to see the dirt come out. I have a GR whose puppy accidents were… Read more

cleaned up Trigger once for detergent as you push forward then back & forward slowly until no more water comes out. It’s reasonably light and storage is ok. Like others mention cleaning the thing is a nightmare . Dog hair, fibres, sand, grass dirt and oil get stuck and it never looks clean unless you spend an hour like I just have!! BUT it’s great value and honestly I wouldn’t be without it.

Highly recommend carpet shampooer! – This nifty little machine pleasantly surprised me. Cleaning and suction are so good, I am super happy with the results. Beat of all, it doesn’t break the bank. I highly recommend this product. Show details

Doesn't clean carpets but does make them dirtier!! – Faulty straight out of the box. I didnt realise until I was half way through cleaning my first carpet that it was rapidly dripping dirty water out of the bottom straight onto the carpet I had just cleaned. I had to stop and now need the professionals to come and deal with the mess. Spoke to Vax who offered no solutions and basically didn't care… Read more

and referred me back to the retailer for a replacement or refund. I won't tale a replacement as I am too worried this will happen again.

Burnt out after 2 goes – We used this machine twice in 2 years and it worked so well. Went to use it again last week and smelt a burning smell and it only turned on for a second. Called up Vax abs they said we had to pay to get it repaired as we were just out of our 2 year warranty. The man on phone e said this rarely happens- I guess we just got a bad egg! We are so… Read more

upset as we have not used many times and it wasn’t exactly cheap to buy. We will never buy a vax again!!!

Waste of money – Had it about 1 year if that and now there’s a grinding sound and burning smell coming from the cleaner. Cannot use it because it smells like it’s going to catch fire. Always cleaned out and treated properly. Last use it worked fine, this time it just got the major issue. Not impressed after I paid $250 for something to not even last a whole year. Will not be buying VAX products ever again. Going back to bissel because I’ve never had an issue. Show details

Worked well until bearing went – We have used this cleaner for about 4 hours in total, over the past 3 years. As my husband is an asthmatic, I would wash the carpets at the start of summer and just before winter. Until this year when the bearing went and there was a burning smell. This appears to be an on going problem with this vax product, after reading the reviews. Show details

Good until the motor failed – Had it for about 2 years. Very noisy from day one. Worked well until bearings in the vacuum motor suddenly failed. Like most appliances these days, it is now a throw away item. Be hesitant to buy another one. EDIT Purchased another and the same thing happened…. They simply don’t last, especially considering the (very) little use both machines had done. Show details

Terrible quality and customer service – Broke on the first use. Was told to just take it back to store for replacement, over an hour away. I obviously got a lemon. Cant review if this actually works or not as the belt broke in the first 10 minutes of use. No apology from vax Show details

Awesome Carpet cleaning Machine – Very good product, excellent cleaning ability, great value for money. its important to pre vacume first, as it helps keep the filter clean under the solution tank. why pay a so-called professional do do it, when you can clean when it suits you Show details

Finally! Very happy – First it was affordable. Secondly, it works. Finally. It's still.working. Thanks! This is à machine that is a must have if you have carpet and unpredictable pets. Whipped it around all summer. No longer embarrassed by smell. Show details

Great for shaggy rugs – Used it on my filthy shaggy rug. Bought up heaps of dirt and trapped cat fur. Rug came out really clean, near new. Really easy to use, very happy with value for money. Better than other ones from different manufacturer I've used in the past Show details

Great for pet owners – We just bought ours & used it today for first time. We have a dog & wanted a home cleaner to get rid of smell & buildup. We did our rugs & carpets & they turned out great! We have a dog & we removed a large amount of dirty water & dog hair that came up. Small clean water tank but other than that it works well. Very happy & would recommend. Show details

Cleans well while it last – Cleaned as well as our old bissel machine but only lasted about a month and the bearings in the brush failed and snapped the belt. Couldent find parts for it from vax Show details

Best budget product – Above and beyond does through cleaning and lifted tons of dirt and dust out of my carpets. Can't say anything about the stain removing since my carpets are dark. For dust and dirt lifting this is so good. Makes the carpet fresh and new again.  Show details

Brilliant little machine – Having been in the commercial cleaning industry for 25yrs & having used a few commercial type carpet cleaners the Vax VX97 is brilliant, perfect for house carpets & floor rugs, rotating brush does a great job & suction excellent, great having the long power lead, both tanks, filter & brush very easy to clean after use. Show details

Great carpet shampooer – Cleaned hall and lounge room carpets this morning. Both dry within 2 hours even though cool overcast day. Very impressed with the result - the dirty water was black. I have an 18 year old dog who dribbles a bit and drops food on the carpet and all stains are gone. Machine was very quick and easy to use. Only downside is that removing the brush for… Read more

cleaning is fiddly. Going forward I plan to clean a room a month. So pleased I bought this make/model.

Great little carpet washer – My trusty old Vax canister carpet washer is at the end of its life but it lasted almost 20 years so based on that I was happy to stick with the VAX brand. When I first spotted this one in BigW I almost brought it then and there but I waited and got it on sale in the boxing day sale at bigW for $150 and at that price its just a fantastic… Read more

bargain.

Even at its normal retail price its good value though and after a couple of weeks using it to slowly clean all the carpets in the house its performing really well.

It is on the smaller side of carpet cleaner though so if you think its going to wash large areas of carpet fast then its not the cleaner for you. But if you have a smaller house or limited carpets or rugs then its perfect.

It cleans the carpets really well and does not leave them too wet afterwards.

Cons.

It's loud so I wear earplugs when using it but then most cleaners are loud.

Water tank is small so its not made for large areas of carpet or if you like me you have to do them in sections to get a larger area done.

You really should run Defoamer in the units dirty water tank even though vax does not say to use any. I found I could feel a bit of water spray coming from the back of the unit as the dirty water tank foams up inside and then small amounts of liquids comes out via the air exhaust. Defoamer solves this issue and you only need a tiny dash of it in each tank load. I am using britex defoamer.

The biggest pain and a bit of a design oversight is cleaning the main roller. To do so you have to take out 6 or 7 screws and then partly take it apart. Pet hair gets stuck up inside the roller housing and while it does not seem to affect the performance it just looks dirty. Most other such cleaner have a fast remove brush system but then they cost a lot more so its something easy to live with.

Overall its great value and easy to use and or now I am more than happy with buying it.

Should be paid for buying it didn't do a lot of work motor burnt out in short time out of warranty won't be buying another