Hoover at the Home + Housewares Show in Chicago

All of the Rave and Review crew have been in Chicago this past week as guests of Hoover at the International Home + Housewares Show where we got to see firsthand all of the new products for 2010. Hoover was celebrating the unveiling of their newest vacuums and cleaning units, as well as announcing their partnership with the Cleaning For A Reason Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers house cleaning services to women with cancer all over the US and Canada.

Everyone knows how tough it is to get up and clean when you have even just a simple cold, so imagine how hard it would be to keep a household clean while fighting cancer. Knowing what an impact on your attitude and mindset a clean house can have, the Cleaning For A Reason Foundation set out to give that gift to women who are fighting for their lives. To contribute to the cause, Hoover has generously donated both money and cleaning tools to the help even more women have access to these services.

To get involved with Cleaning For A Reason, you can visit their website and find out which cleaning services near you are participating. By choosing a cleaning company off of their list of participating cleaning providers or by encouraging the cleaning service you currently use to partner with Cleaning For A Reason and donate their time and energy, you will be helping to make Cleaning For A Reason available to every woman who needs their services. 

We were lucky enough to not only meet the representatives from Cleaning For A Reason, but also to attend a dinner with them and Hoover where we heard about this exciting partnership and what an impact the Foundation has made in its short history. The representatives from both Hoover and Cleaning For A Reason were also on hand as we visited the Hoover showcase at the International Home + Housewares show.  

Immediately upon arriving at the Hoover showcase, we were introduced to the newest in the Hoover family of cleaning products, the Hoover FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner with SpinScrub Technology that is designed to clean vinyl, tile and hardwood floors using a 3-in-1 system that vacuums, washes and squeegee dries your floors within minutes. The demo even included some caked on chocolate and more than a few ounces of Gatorade spilled across the vinyl and hardwood floors. The FloorMate unit powered through both and left the demo floor clean and shining for the next group of visitors, thus making me wish the unit was making the trip back with us to Seattle.  

Along with the FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner with SpinScrub, we got to see a variety of carpet cleaners, stick vacuums, canister vacs and more from both Hoover and Dirt Devil, their sister company. It was really cool to be able to ask the knowledgeable Hoover representatives about all the products and get both demos and hands-on time with each of them. While none of the vacuums or cleaners made it into my carry on or checked luggage, I've got a wishlist of items that I'm dying to try out. 

Also on display was the Hoover WindTunnel T-Series, which included the WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless Upright that we reviewed a few weeks ago. If you haven’t checked out the review yet, you should head there before 3/22 so you can enter to win one of these awesome little vacuums for yourself.

As a bonus, you can now get TWO bonus entries into the WindTunnel contest if you comment on this post with a Hoover or Cleaning For A Reason related message and then go to the Hoover giveaway page and let me know you checked out this post (leave 2 separate comments on the giveaway page).  I’m also giving another TWO bonus entries to anyone that is a fan of Hoover on Facebook and lets them know they heard about the Cleaning For A Reason partnership or their showcase at the Home + Housewares show from Rave and Review (leave 2 separate comments on the giveaway page).  That’s FOUR bonus entries you can get!   

My attendance to the Home + Housewares show was paid for by Hoover, which included lodging, transportation and a welcome gift. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation in any way.  How could you not want to share something as cool as the partnership of one of your favorite cleaning companies with an organization you truly feel is making a difference?