I bought this because our apartment has white carpet and seems to soak up stains and dirt like no other. For the first use I only used water to try and lift as much dirt as possible before using the soap. My roommate and I were SO impressed with this product. We could see a clear path of cleanliness just from using the water. We used the soap afterwards and it definitely helped as well. There is only one tough stain that this did not completely remove and I have tried everything on that stain with no luck. This is the only product that made even a slight difference on that stain! I would add pictures, but they just don't truly do it justice for how well this cleaned our carpet!! This has definitely been the best investment I have ever made!