Hoover SteamVac and Vax: Valves that Leak - Easy Fix Hoover SteamVac Valves with Incontinence Issues
The problem:
My Hoover SteamVac valves have always leaked since the day I brought it home. The Vax Dual V and All Terrain also seem to share this problem. Even before the tank started cracking and causing serious leaks, the valves began to drip water and concentrated cleaning solution everywhere.
Soap left in the carpet will quickly draw dirt and grime to it like a magnet! Not to mention that you’ll go through the pricey cleaning solution much faster than you should.
This seems to happen to every one of these Hoover and Vax machines of similar design. The bad news is that if they continue to leak, the water can get into the machine and results in the brush motor bearing rusting out. This can cause the Spin Scrub brushes to stop spinning.
Isn’t the whole point of having a carpet cleaning machine that it will clean carpets without leaving water and soap all over the place?
The good news is that it is a quick and inexpensive repair.
The good news is that leaking valves are fast and cheap to fix
The solution:
I picked up a 2-pack of the valve assemblies for about $20 and was able to fix both the hot water tank and the detergent container in about 15 minutes. You may only need to replace one, but it might be a good idea to do them both while the parts are in good supply.
In the short video below, I’ll walk you through replacing them, step by step.
You too can be have tanks that hold water very soon!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, I may earn a small commission on items bought using them. These are the same recommendations I would make regardless of any compensation. For products that I have older versions of, I recommend the items that I would replace them with if I were buying them new.
Resources for Hoover SteamVac and Vax Valves that Leak
Hoover V2 Dual V SteamVac Clean Water Solution Tank Valve
From Amazon
I ordered two valves and replaced the water and solution tank valves at the same time.
There are more DIY projects in the works, so stay tuned to Uncharted DIY. Feel free to comment, post photos or ask questions about this project.
Joseph Woodard
01/12/2023 @ 12:09 pm
Hi,, I am having difficulty finding the solution tank valve for my leaking Hoover FH52002 professional cleaner. any suggestions?
Uncharted Steve
01/12/2023 @ 7:44 pm
Hi Joseph,
Unfortunately I am only familiar with the SteamVac Dual V model. I don’t repair these for a living, but when mine broke I figured out how to fix it and thought I’d share my experience.
I looked to see if I could readily find the valves for your vac, but wasn’t able to locate them in the limited time I had. I found the Hoover Company to be extremely unhelpful since they don’t want these machines to be repaired.
It might make sense to contact a third party appliance parts company and ask them about your machine. They might be able to cross-reference other part numbers. If that fails, you might try eBay.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, but if you find your valves, would you please comment here so other people can find them too?
Good luck on your search,
Steve
Aj
04/08/2023 @ 6:01 pm
Hi my max extractor all terrain Hoover carpet cleaner leaks but now it smells like burnt rubber. The brushes are spinning (I watched your video on YouTube and it was excellent). I now have the cover completely off and I can see where it’s shorting out. Can I fix this myself and if so how?
Uncharted Steve
04/08/2023 @ 9:17 pm
Hi Aj,
From the photo, I can’t see corrosion or damage from arcing, so it doesn’t appear that water infiltration is to blame. That’s great news because you should be able to replace that component.
I don’t have a lot of experience with other SteamVac models since I don’t repair them for a living. I just made a video to show how I fixed mine since it seems to have common failure points. I can make suggestions, but I wouldn’t be able to walk you through detailed steps.
That said, it should be pretty easy to replace that part. And since yours is a newer model, parts should be available. I have purchased from Parts Depot, and have been happy with them, so here’s a link to their Max Extract series parts pages. https://www.partswarehouse.com/Hoover-SteamVac-Max-Extract-Series-Parts-s/5922.htm
The actual model number of your cleaner should be on the back of the handle. Using that, you can look over the exploded parts diagram to find your part.
It looks to me like a gravity valve solenoid but I can’t tell for sure. If you know how to test for continuity using a multimeter, you could verify that this is the defective part by testing it when it has been removed from the cleaner.
If you are not comfortable with electrical stuff, I would use the sniff test! Most times when a switch or solenoid fails, there is a strong electrical burned smell and it sounds like that is what you have experienced and described. I’d first take more photos so you can see what color wires attach to the terminals, then remove the wires and take out the part and sniff it to see if that’s where the smell is coming from. I don’t see anything else electrical nearby, so it should be easy to isolate the part.
They seem to run somewhere around $15 so replacing it without bench testing it wouldn’t be a huge gamble to just swap it out.
I hope that helps, and I would love to hear how it turns out!
Thanks so much for watching and reading Uncharted DIY!
Steve