Robot vacs are all the rage, but there’s still space in the world for a more traditional looking vacuum. They’re more controlled; you don’t need three of them if you live in a split-level home, and there’s the storage factor, too. This is where Tineco continues to thrive, and with the launch of its CARPET ONE Cruiser in May, it has lifted the bar again.
I don’t have any carpets at my house, so I had to enlist some help from my mother-in-law to give the CARPET ONE Cruiser a good run. Now, not to be ageist… but the fact that the unit arrived at her house and was assembled before we arrived for dinner speaks volumes of how easy it is to assemble.
Before I get into the review proper, let’s take a quick look at the unit itself.
WHAT IS THE CARPET ONE CRUISER?
Let’s jump straight to it, this isn’t a robot vacuum, and you’ll have to put some — but it’s really not much — effort into cleaning your carpets. The Carpet One Cruiser, a smart carpet cleaner launched in 2024, comes in black with an LED display and offers app and voice control. It boasts a 1300W power rating with a brush motor, providing a suction power of at least 130W. It features Auto, Max, and Drying modes, with a drying temperature of 75℃. The device has a 2L clean water tank and a 1.7L dirty water tank, operating at a noise level of ≤85dB. A key feature is its self-cleaning system with brush roller drying, and it also includes voice prompts and high-temperature power drying.
Measuring 275 x 400x 1100mm and weighing 9.9 kg (net), the Carpet One Cruiser is accompanied by a 5-year warranty on the device and 1 year for accessories. Included in the box are a host of accessories, including a cleaning tool, 500ml of Carpet Care & Deep Cleaning Solution, 500ml of pre-treat formula, a charging dock, a hose, and a 2-in-1 nozzle. It also features a space-adapt water tank that houses both clean and dirty water in segments.
UNBOXING AND SETUP
As I mentioned, the unit arrived in the morning, and before we had arrived — after school pick up — it was already assembled. The process was quick, easy and painless with some simple instructions and the fact that the parts that needed to be assembled only fit in one place. The whole process only took about ten minutes to complete.
There were a few bits of plastic in there, wrapped around various parts and the cleaning solutions, but not horrendous amounts. Tineco managed to walk a fine line between environmental consciousness and the practicality of getting a product to users in excellent condition, and should the cleaning solutions leak, they’re not going to go through the whole package.
This is where I come in, and after a quick read of the instructions, put some cleaning solution and water in the tank to give it a run. Two things were immediately obvious to me in the initial setup, the weight of the unit is reasonably heavy and once it’s plugged in, is how easy the unit is to move around.
USING THE TINECO CARPET ONE CRUISER
Using the CARPET ONE Cruiser to clean carpets is really easy once it’s plugged in. You simply turn the power on and lean on it, the unit reacts to your movement and the motor helps you to mobilise it. What this results in, is a near effortless activity to clean your carpets. After watching the advertising videos, I’ll be honest; I thought the whole “2 fingers” control was just fluff where it is in fact a reality.
While the control does take a little getting used to, provided you move around steadily and consistently, you’ll get a really smooth action from the Cruiser. Keeping an eye on the display that is built into the handle, you’ve got an indication of the progress of the process, and once it turns blue, the carpet you’re working on is clean. Switching to the drying function is as easy as cleaning, it’s just a button push to start heated air being circulated across your carpets and when the display goes blue, you’re done.
Having just finished doing one room, ran my hands across the carpet and in a few sections, it was ever so slightly damp (likely user error) and most of it was touch dry.
Multiple other rooms were done while I wasn’t present, and the feedback was consistent to my impressions of the device and the results were consistently good. This stands true, even in high traffic areas or where grandchildren regularly eat which (understandably, I guess… given some of it is undoubtedly the result from my kids!) results in some interesting spills and stains.
THE FURNITURE CLEANING ATTACHMENT
Adding to the value of the CARPET ONE Cruiser is the furniture cleaning attachment. A great idea, but the implementation isn’t at the same level as the carpet cleaning function. The instructions are pretty basic and essentially tell you to do a test on a small area of material to ensure the colour doesn’t fade or run. This is a hugely important step, because some materials will soak the liquid in a lot more than others and that is going to affect your results.
Don’t get me wrong; the attachment works, and does clean up the furniture, but it’s a bit slow and feels a little clumsy because you do the cleaning in two stages. The first step is to run the water and cleaning solution into the furniture, then the second step is to vacuum it out. So by the time you clean a relatively small area and go back to it, the moisture has well soaked into the furniture, leaving it quite damp and taking some effort to clean and time to dry.
While it does what it says it will, I would simply advise caution on what materials you use the furniture attachment on. The simple addition of some heating to ensure the materials dry quickly and evenly could be beneficial, but using a hair dryer could likely achieve the same result.
IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?
There’s a lot to explore on this one, but if you’re someone who regularly uses professional cleaners to get your carpets really clean, then this would be a pretty resounding yes. At $350 – $500 for a house (depending on the size and amount of carpet) you’re going to pretty quickly recover the cost of the unit, even considering the need for the spot cleaner as a consumable.
There’s absolutely a place for robot vacuums, but a unit like this presents itself very well for a more robust clean on carpeted areas. Looking at the results from a first use, and the ease of use the unit it’s a pretty easy sell.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
At an RRP of $999.00 (AU$849.00 at the time of publishing this review), the Tineco CARPET ONE Cruiser quickly becomes great value. You can pick one up through retail channels, including Amazon, or direct from the Tineco website.
