Hoover SmartWash+ 2-in-1 Pet Carpet Cleaner Review (2026)

Why you should trust this review

I bought the SmartWash+ with my own money and cleaned my own carpets with it, including the high-traffic, pet-occupied areas that are the whole reason for the pet model. Hoover did not provide it, did not know I would review it, and had no influence here. Carpet cleaners are bought to make a miserable chore easier, so I judged this one on whether its automatic workflow actually simplifies the job and whether the results hold up on real pet messes.

Everything below comes from full cleaning sessions across mid-pile carpet, including the refilling and drying that determine whether you dread the machine or reach for it. The SmartWash+ had to prove its convenience claims in practice.

How we evaluated

I used the SmartWash+ to clean multiple rooms of mid-pile carpet, leaning on the push-to-clean, pull-to-dry workflow to see whether it genuinely removes the fiddliness from carpet cleaning. I tested the automatic detergent mixing against the usual chore of measuring and diluting, and I timed how long the carpet took to dry afterward to check the HeatForce claim.

I cleaned real pet-area soiling to judge the antimicrobial brushroll and overall cleaning power, and I lived with the practical realities: the machine’s weight when full, how far a detergent tank stretches, and how the attachments behave. Repeated full sessions, not a quick demo, formed the test.

The push-pull workflow

The headline feature is the push-pull workflow, and it genuinely changes how the chore feels. You push forward to clean, laying down solution and scrubbing, then pull back to dry, extracting the moisture, with no trigger to hold down throughout. That removal of the constant trigger-squeezing is more significant than it sounds, because trigger fatigue is one of the most tiring parts of traditional carpet cleaning.

In practice the workflow made longer sessions far less wearing on my hands and let me focus on coverage rather than managing the machine. Push to wet, pull to dry, repeat, became an easy rhythm. For anyone who has fought a trigger-based cleaner across a whole room, this automated workflow is a real, tangible improvement that makes the SmartWash+ pleasant to use.

Automatic detergent and cleaning power

The automatic detergent mixing is the other big convenience. Rather than measuring and diluting solution yourself, you fill the detergent tank and the machine handles the dilution math, delivering the right mix as you clean. That eliminates a fussy, easy-to-get-wrong step and means consistent cleaning without guesswork, which I appreciated across multiple rooms.

On cleaning power, the SmartWash+ handled real pet-area soiling well, lifting embedded dirt and stains from mid-pile carpet effectively. The antimicrobial pet brushroll is designed to resist odor buildup between cleanings, addressing the smell that pet hair and moisture cause in a brushroll over time, and it kept the machine itself fresher than untreated rollers tend to stay. For pet households, that anti-odor touch is a thoughtful, practical feature.

Drying and the HeatForce jet

Drying time is where carpet cleaners often disappoint, leaving carpet damp for half a day, but the SmartWash+ impressed me here. The HeatForce drying jet cut dry time to under four hours on mid-pile carpet in my testing, which is genuinely fast and means you can use the room again the same day rather than tiptoeing around wet carpet into the evening.

That faster drying is partly a result of the pull-to-dry extraction working hand in hand with the heated jet, pulling more moisture out as you go. The combination meant my carpets felt only lightly damp right after cleaning and were dry to the touch well within the afternoon. For a household that cannot block off a room all day, the quicker drying is a real practical benefit.

The honest drawbacks

A few things temper the praise. The machine is heavy when full, around 18 pounds, which makes hauling it up a long staircase or to an upper floor a genuine effort. On a single level it is manageable, but multi-story homes will feel the weight, so factor that in. The detergent and water tanks add up fast once filled.

The detergent tank holds enough for roughly 250 square feet, which means refilling mid-room on larger jobs, interrupting the flow you just settled into. And the hose attachment release is stiff, needing two hands to detach for stair and upholstery work, a small but recurring annoyance. None of these undo the workflow benefits, but they are the real friction points of living with the machine.

Who should buy the Hoover SmartWash+ 2-in-1 Pet?

Buy it if you want a carpet cleaner that genuinely simplifies the chore, with a push-pull workflow that ends trigger fatigue, automatic detergent mixing, and fast drying that frees up the room the same day. It is ideal for pet households thanks to the antimicrobial brushroll and odor resistance, and for anyone who cleans carpets regularly and wants the process to be less of an ordeal. The convenience features are the real draw.

Skip it if you have a multi-story home where the 18-pound full weight will be a burden, if you want a large detergent tank to clean big areas without refilling, or if the stiff hose release would frustrate you. For single-level pet households wanting an easier carpet-cleaning routine, though, the SmartWash+ delivers and earns its push-pull pet pick.

The verdict

The Hoover SmartWash+ 2-in-1 Pet makes carpet cleaning genuinely less of a chore. The push-to-clean, pull-to-dry workflow ends the trigger fatigue of traditional cleaners, the automatic detergent mixing removes the dilution guesswork, the antimicrobial brushroll keeps pet odors down, and the HeatForce jet dried my mid-pile carpet in under four hours. As a convenience-focused pet cleaner, it succeeds.

The heavy full weight, modest detergent capacity, and stiff hose release are real drawbacks, especially for multi-story homes and large jobs, but none of them undo the workflow improvements that make the machine pleasant to use. For a single-level pet household wanting an easier carpet routine, the SmartWash+ earns its standing as a top push-pull pet cleaner.