Customer Reviews

Vax W90-RU-P Rapide Ultra 2 Pre-Treatment Upright Carpet and Upholstery Washer

5 star:		(152)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

We didn't want to rush to clean our carpets as the weather was cold and damp and we were afraid our they would take longer to dry, so we waited a little while. However our grandchildren came to visit and one thing they are both determined to do is make sure that our door mat remains clean and dry at all times as they carefully side step them to clean their shoes off on the hall carpet whenever possible. A small Christmas 'children's' buffet tea ensured that the kitchen, living room and hall way had a generous sprinkling of milk, orange juice and other less identifiable stains and so the decision to hold off on the carpet cleaning until after Christmas was taken out of our hands.
In all honesty the hardest part was in getting it out of the box. It slotted together in a perfectly obvious way and was ready for use in no time.
Our large living room rug which covers the fitted carpet in there is almost as old as I am and even though it has been cleaned on numerous occasions in one way or another came up cleaner than I can ever remember seeing it before, though the water that came out of the collection tank was a colour I couldn't believe considering that I often sit on it.
The hall carpet which is rather newer but takes considerable punishment particularly from our two dogs also came up like new. But it was the stair carpet that was the biggest surprise. This had never been effectively cleaned and not only did it come up as clean and new looking as the hall but the procedure was also thankfully easy to do due to the hose attachment, which meant that the Vax could stand in the hall or on the landing while the stairs were cleaned.
All of the above was accomplished with just 4 litres of warm water and 160mil of the supplied cleaning fluid. I can't say I noticed how much fresher it all smelt etc. but it certainly looked noticeably cleaner. More importantly the process was little more work than normal day to day vacuuming and so one that we will do on a more regular basis or as visiting kids demand. Our fear that the carpets would remain damp were unfounded as well which was a bonus.
If they start to sell one that mends the thread bare bits I will certainly upgrade but until then I thoroughly recommend the Ultra Rapide for carpet care and cleaning.

When I received the Vax Rapide Ultra 2 I was amazed at the size of the box, upon opening it became clear that the machine was quite a big machine, taking up most of the box! However once out although it was quite heavy it did look powerful. The instruction leaflet was short, with pictures rather than written instructions. A few more words would have been helpful! I had to look at the pictures showing elements of the machine in use to work out where everything went as the "set-up" pictures only showed how to attach the handle and the Wand.
The machine is then ready to go! Measure the cleaning solution and add the required amount of water. It would have helped to have a small "measure" included, my jugs did not have the required scale, eg you need 40ml of solution and my jugs measure in 50ml intervals. Additionally because of shape of tank for the solution it will not stand on its own, so fill it over a sink!
Cleaning the carpets was incredibly easy! Push forward; activating the solution switch, I released the switch just before I came to the end of the push forward stroke, and pull back to suck up. This method of cleaning is very easy, size of machine makes it hard to get into small/tight spaces, but for this I used the hose and hand held nozzle. This works on the same principle after you have attached the hose (very easy to do once you have found the relevant picture), Squeeze trigger on forward movement - a word of warning: the liquid is sprayed in a sideways pattern from just behind the head of the nozzle, for using on the stairs I angled the nozzle at about 45º to get the most effective coverage on each step - pull the nozzle back and you can see the water being sucked up, in fact I went back over areas where I had used a lot of solution on the main carpets and sucked extra liquid up using the hand held nozzle.
The carpets were lovely and clean, and the pile rejuvenated, even my husband noticed! Also they were almost dry straight away. Two hours after cleaning I had everything back in place.
The pre-treatment wand seemed to me to bit over the top, but I haven't got any really dirty bits, if I get stains on my carpets I clean them as they happen, and the main machine coped brilliantly with the main traffic areas without the need for pre-treatment. If you inherit a very dirty carpet of one with large areas of staining then this attachment would come into its own.
Removing the dirty water chamber is very simple, a bit fiddly to get it totally rinsed clean. Removing and replacing the tank for the cleaning solution is again very simple to do, rinsing clean is very easy.
Cable length is good, but winding cable onto machine is time consuming because there is a lot to get into a small space. The hose could have been two steps longer! It would then have reached all the way to the top of my staircase, but then I guess it would have been harder to store.

Upon opening and unpacking the carpet cleaner the first thing I noticed was its sheer size - it's much bigger than a previous Vax carpet cleaner that I've used in the past. This does make it a little cumbersome and awkward to use in tight spaces but fortunately it comes equipped with a hand held device which is great at getting into tight corners or using on the stairs. It's a shame that on full stretch the cord can't reach the top 2 steps on a standard staircase. The carpet cleaner also sucks up spilled liquids with ease (with or without the hand held device) but a detachable turbo rotating brush in the hand hand device would have been beneficial for washing carpets.

This carpet cleaner also comes with a pre treatment wand which, when not in use, attaches to the back of the handle. Rather than providing a jet of cleaning solution to the stubborn stain instead it sends out a wide spray so In order to use this effectively you must use it at very close range. Both the pre treatment wand and the hand held device securely attaches to the carpet cleaner and both have a hose which is used to dispense the solution but on both attachments there is nowhere for the hose to store and I was forced to tuck it into the attachment which can sometimes result in solution dripping from the end of the hose.

It's performance in large rooms is superb. I have 2 children and a black Labrador and I'm forced to hoover each day so my carpets always look clean but after using the Vax Ultra Rapide 2 for the first time the dirty water was jet black! It really does lift dirt that my hoover couldn't reach. A large room can be cleaned relatively quickly but the instructions state that you should press the button to release the solution on the forward stroke and release it (to suck up the water) on the backward stroke but I found that holding the button down longer and scrubbing the carpet in several strokes then releasing it to suck up the solution worked best.

My main gripe about the Vax Rapide Ultra 2 is the solution container. It's easy to detach from the carpet cleaner but It's large size makes it very heavy to carry and the instructions aren't clear on exactly how much water it contains - after painstakingly using a measuring jug to fill it I worked out that it holds 4.5 litres of water - this equates to 6 fluid ounces of solution. I wrote this on the side of the solution so I wouldn't forget in future! A measuring tool would have helped. The unit does come with 2 bottles of solution, one being for pretreatment and both leave a pleasant but not overpowering smell on the carpets after use.

After using the cleaner for a certain amount of time an indicator tells you when the dirty container is full. This is easily detached and emptied through a cap which screws off with a simple half turn. The dirty container can become clogged with dirt in certain places and as such can be a nuisance to thoroughly clean.

The carpets are virtually dry immediately after use due to the unit's Dual V technology - so much so that my dog had no issues with damp paws and lay down straight away.

Overall the Vax Ultra Rapide 2 has a few issues and is in no way perfect but it is still an excellent carpet cleaner in both large and small rooms and I'd highly recommend it. It comes with a 2 year guarantee.

I have never had much luck with carpet cleaners and usually end up with a wet but still dirty carpet. That was until i came across Vax W90-RU-P Rapide Ultra Pre Treatment Upright Carpet and Upholstery Washer The first thing i noticed on arrival is how impressive it looked and it's weight. It isn't the lightest of machines but then again you wouldn't really expect it to be.

The first thing we tested it on was our volvo car seats, my husband has accidently spilt some coffee on his seat a few weeks previous to getting the machine and although we had tried to clean it at the time there was still a visable stain and the seats that are normally black had started going a dark grey colour through normal everyday use. What i liked about this machine is it has a wash tool, which is perfect for car seats and upholstery.

We filled up the water tank with Vax ultra treatment (it takes 40ml with 1 litre of water.) We used 1 litre and managed to clean all the car seats and part of our living carpet with it. I used the handy wash tool for the car seats and with a press of the trigger it releases the cleaning solution over the area that you need to clean and it's recommended to do this on a forward stroke and then it picks up the dirt and solution on the backwards stroke. What totally amazed me is that i could see all the dirty water being sucked up into the dirty water tank. Believe me..it's quite a satisfying feeling!

Within a very short amount of time our dark grey car seats had gone back to the lovely black colour that they had been originally.

Now for me the other big test for this machine was my living room carpet, for some reason everytime i get myself a cup of coffee or tea one of my little darling children manage to home in on it and spill it, and it's always been the same place so i didn't want to do the whole carpet, just the place that had been the target for the spills. I had previously rented a rug doctor and it had done nothing to help restore my carpet to its original state. I reclined the Rapide Vax machine so the brushes would rotate, if you leave it in an upright position the brushes do not rotate. Again like the wash tool i applied the solution on the forward motion of the machine with the trigger button on the handle and picked up the solution on the backwards motion. I was again amazed at the dirt being picked up and the fact it was leaving my carpet looking as if i had just had the carpet fitted. Now the trouble i have is that i have one beautiful patch of looking carpet where i had used the Vax, and now the rest of my carpet i thought was clean now looks not as clean so i will have to do it all to make it look like new.

Overall i have no complaints with this machine and think it's a bargain price especially when you consider how much it is to rent a machine or to get someone out to clean your carpets. It's not complicated to use, the results are visable and you can also use it to clean your upholstery.

We moved into our new house a year ago and I hadn't been able to get rid of the musty smell from our carpets as the previous owners had 2 dogs. I had not considered a product like this before as they are usually far too expensive but I had heard good things about Vax so decided to check out their products.
I have not been disappointed...this machine REALLY invigorates carpets and is incredible value for money. The machine took minutes to assemble, basically you just have to attatch the handle. It comes with 2 bottles of cleaning solution, one for pre-treatment which can be sprayed on stubborn stains and one larger bottle of carpet cleaning solution which I have used very little of. I have cleaned my whole house in one afternoon with very little effort. The machine is superb at shampooing and bringing up dirt. It is very easy to use, just push it forward and press the release on the handle to distribute the cleaner and then pull it back to suck up the water and dry the carpet.
I was worried that it would leave my carpets damp but I was astounded to see that it dried my carpets really well as I was using it.
I really cannot recommend this machine highly enough, my carpets have never looked or smelt so fresh. It is such a nice feeling to be able to walk around my house and smell the freshness and see the difference. This is the only carpet treatment you will ever need.

Just over three years ago we bought a plain beige carpet for the living room, and it's got a pretty dirty in the main area where we walk, (looks more like dark grey in some areas). :-(

Besides the family and our dog the carpet gets walked on a lot by my pupils, (I'm a private teacher), and some don't always use the doormat when they walk on, (especially when it's raining), so their shoes have left dirt marks.

Last year we did buy an upright "Vax Rapide carpet washer deluxe", we really hoped that this would do all it said, but it didn't and we still had one very mucky beige carpet, we were thinking of buying a new carpet before Christmas because it just wouldn't come clean whatever we did. :-(

So when I saw the reviews for the "W90-RU-P Rapide Ultra Pre Treatment Upright Carpet and Upholstery Washer" and how well it had done for other people I thought we'd give it a whirl!

It's extremely easy to assemble, (not like the other Vax I mentioned). With having such hard to clean patches we thought we'd leave the pre treatment on another 5 to 10 minutes longer then what it said to give it more chance to work.

Oh boy, this Vax it's a dream to use and the pre treatment lifted all the dirt from the carpet, we are soooooooooooooooooo pleased and relieved. It's given our carpet a new lease of life and we finally have our beige colour back. :-)

With it now being October and the weather being a little damper we were bothered about how fast the carpet would dry out. To our surprise it only felt slightly damp as the Vax sucks up most of the water it's used, this meant our carpet was completely dry within 24hrs. :-)

This Vax does everything it promises, it's well worth every penny and I can highly recommend it. :-)

With our lounge carpet looking much the worst for wear, I decided to go for a carpet cleaner. Having hired Rug Doctors and suchlike in the past, I though it would be better to outright buy a machine and then use it on a more regular basis to keep the carpet looking decent.

Having looked at all the machines on offer, I plumped for the Vax W90-RU-P Rapide Ultra as it seemed to have most of the features I was looking for, whilst also being somewhat affordable. It's a big unit, made from reasonably robust plastic. Putting it together and getting up and running was very simple, as is using the machine generally.

You apply the carpet cleaning solution using a trigger when pushing the Rapide forward, then release the trigger when pulling the machine back to suck up the water and hopefully the dirt too. It's quite heavy and only gets heavier as the dirty water tank fills up, so there's a bit of a workout in there for you too.

The pre-treatment tool doesn't seem to be particularly effective. When used on a heavily soiled or well travelled area it maybe makes a difference but it's difficult to tell. After an initial clean with both pre-treatment and the Rapide itself, I was distinctly underwhelmed. After repeated runs however, it was clearly making a difference and I'm pleased with it. The carpet also dries out reasonably quickly, pretty much overnight which is not too bad.

Having said that, do not buy a carpet washer if you are expecting sparkly new carpets at the end of it. Unless your carpet is only lightly soiled, that will just not happen. Having said that, they will look better, will feel better and smell better, so you aren't completely wasting your time.

Dealing with the Rapide can be a bit of a chore. It takes a lot of work to get good results and maintaining the washer is obviously important to keep it working well. Stopping a run on the carpet can sometimes lead to dirty water leaking out of the bottom, so you're best off trying to get the machine onto a hard surface when finished, so it doesn't undo all of your good work. Cleaning out the dirty water tank and drying it all out is not hard, but the equipment is bulky so it's more of a trial than I would like.

Although Vax claim it will "suck up spills", by the time you have retrieved your Rapide from the cupboard, plugged it in, uncoiled the bulky hose, attached it, fed in solution and water, turned it on and finally applied the attached tool to the spill in question, you could have just dealt with the spill using a cloth and a bit of domestic cleaner. It's a great feature to put on the box, but not practical in the home.

In fairness though, these extra attachments are useful for cleaning upholstery or car seats, so are worth having in the long run.

You will go through a fair bit of cleaning solution, so get the best deal you can. The bottles included in the box won't last long at all but you can get good-sized replacements at reasonable prices if you shop around.

The W90-RU-P isn't a perfect solution for keeping your carpets and upholstery clean, but it has a good go. Some features don't work as well as I would like, but overall the performance of the machine is good and so worth considering.

On the whole - very pleased with product. Does what it says on the tin. We have two dogs, pale carpets and live in Wales!!! Very effective machine. Delighted to see the dirt being sucked up and making a real difference to the carpet.

My main issues are with the small details which could easily be rectified. Are you listening VAX????

The "pre-treatment" system is a nonsense. You could do just as well with a trigger handled bottle with the pre-treatment stuff in..... it's called Vanish.

The unit doesn't come with any sort of measuring jug for the soap and there is no indication on the main tank what volume it holds - making it difficult to calculate how much cleaning liquid to put in to get the correct dilution. Volume markers could easily be printed up the side.

The manual is pretty pitiful. The type and drawings are small and not very clear. It would be easy to create a corporate demonstration video for You Tube to go with the manual.

There is no diagram to show the correct way to stow the hosing and the cable on the machine - although this has clearly been thought through as there are suitably shaped slots and brackets to hold the various dangly bits. In this post-Dyson world, expectations for ease of stowage of these bits is now HIGH!!

I would strongly recommend the machine. Excellent product but Vax's design department needs to give itself a kick up the proverbial - hence three stars

OK , WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THIS CARPET CLEANER , OTHER THAN 100% SUPERB
i have tried other carpet cleaners , and none compare to this one
with 2 young messy children and a long haired dog , our lounge carpet used to get quite messy at times
after using this just once on our lounge carpet it looked like we had , had a new carpet fitted
setting up this cleaner is very simple , instructions are easy and it took my husband about 5 minutes to put this together and away he went , you can actually see the dirt lifting out the carpet grooves and the pile on the carpet being buffed back up , it doesnt wet the carpet too much either , we cleaned it early evening after kids were in bed and by next morning it was dry and just perfect , the vax shampoo and pre treatment solutions leave a very nice fresh smell too , we also cleaned out shagpile cream and beige rug which was quite dirty with 2 young children and that also came up like new , VERY impressed with this cleaner and would reccomend it 100% , the box it arrived in was quite big and i was expecting it to be heavy to use and push but was surprised how easy it was to use .......... i would give this cleaner a full 10 out of 10 for performance :-)

The Vax arrived in a large box that was very sturdy and the machine was well protected with further cardboard inserts. On opening it looks like a really big machine, but surprisingly enough it's not that heavy. I'm not at all technical and it took me about five minutes to put the few bits together with only a glance at the instructions.
I read the instructions a few times just to make sure I fully understood what to do and decided to attack the hall carpet. It's been down for at least nine years and has very heavy hard wear.
First to make the solution, if there was a 40ml measure with the solution provided that would be a real help, however I measured out 40ml of water into a plastic cup and marked the point, then I used this as my measure for the solution. I only made up 1litre just to se what it would do and how far it goes.
I'm not at all coordinated but I found it really easy to push forward and press the button to realise the solution then pull back to such up. It is really easy and light to push and pull I did get in a muddle with the cord until I held it over my shoulder.
The carpet looks like new and that was without the pre cleaner, it dries up fairly quickly as well.
I have a largish hall and there was still solution left in the tank so I plugged the upholstery attachment in and had a go at the black marks on the arms of the sofa and chairs and a rub on the carpet where the coal stained it ( all of these are beige coloured ) the very worst marks faded and the others are gone, I would think the pretreatment tool will clean the worst on the next go.
Overall I'm very pleased with the result, I've never used anything like this before and it was really easy to set up and use and best of all it does actually clean the stains off. Cleaning the dirty tank was a bit fiddley but nothing to worry about, a measure for the solution is the only thing lacking.