my carpet be old but have finally get to the point where it be stain so badly , no matter how many time I clean it , the stain keep come back , not matter what I try , and I try everything ! as a final last desperate act , I look for a vacuum on Amazon , and after read all the rave review on this one , I buy it -- and it work ! after vacuum my carpet with this vacuum , I be finally able to get they clean with my steam cleaner . I guess my old vacuum be so feeble that it be leave so much dirt in the carpet that the cleaner just could not do it be job efficiently -- I think with all that dirt in there -lrb- I have three huge dog who live in the house , but love play in the dirt and mud -rrb- try to clean it be just make the stain worse . now my carpet be finally clean again and I be have to steam clean they only rarely , because this vacuum get pretty much everything up to the point where I do not have to clean it so often ! I be on the point of rip my carpet out and buy new carpet , so this vacuum be well worth the price -- it give my carpet a few more year lease on life !