For years I had my carpets professionally cleaned. About four years ago, I decided I would try the Rug Doctor. These are heavy duty units that scrub and retract the hot water using their cleaner. This unit did a better job than any professional that I have had in the house. The carpets were drier, I could spend time on a particular area that I was concerned about and go over it until I felt it was sufficiently dry. My toy poodle had a couple of accidents in the den so I bought the Simple Solution rug shampoo. It worked beautifully. I used Scotch Guard for Carpets as recommended by the installer and I was very pleased.