Originally I borrowed my neighbors spotbot, but it cleaned spots well enough that I decided to buy one for myself. The difference in my carpet is night and day. I began with cleaning spots, but it looked tacky having clean circles where stains used to be, so I started cleaning the whole room with the hose. I wish I could clean bigger areas, because this makes my carpet look brand new, but little by little, I am making it work for the deep clean everywhere.