My carpeting is almost 20 years old and has been through three children along with a few dogs over the years. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting too much from this product. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. The carpeting looked clean and fluffy! Smelled good too! I used the lift away for my steps and boy was that water black. The suction was very good and it recovered nearly all the water that was initially put on the carpet. I would highly advise everyone to try this!