I purchased this machine because, for the first time in years, I was living in a house with carpet. With three dogs accidents are bound to happen. Little did I expect to have clean up paint. One day, I was repainting a room upstairs and I spilled a gallon of paint! I had a heart attack! I managed to get up most of it and immediately reached for my Bissell. Using the hand held tool, I was able to remove ALL the paint from the rug! I couldn't believe it. I'm so grateful to Bissell. If you have carpet. ...YOU NEED THIS MACHINE!