I love this product.The suction is good as long as it is held properly. There is no leakage as long as you stay within the maximum water level. The scrubbing bristles are very firm. It is lightweight. It does everything I wanted. I recommend not trying to stretch the hose. Just move the clean slate closer to the area being cleaned. It worked so well on the dirty area, I had to clean the rest of my area rug. Now it looks new after not being shampooed since buying it 5 years ago. Thank you Hoover.