I have the Bissell LGM -- a word of caution. The nozzles will often clog even after the first time using. You will go to use it again and it will no longer spray out the solution. This is a very common complaint. All I need is fill the sink with HOT water and suck up water with the attachment. The mildew that was clogging the spray nozzles ended up in the tank. I dumped the tank and went about cleaning. I had good results using the LGM on my stairs. I ended up with a tank full of very dirty water.

I guess people haven't heard that bare feet and carpet don't get along well - the oil from the skin makes for dirty, nasty, carpets just like excessive dirt from shoes. An outside the door, and a washable rug in all entrances can help prevent much of what usually gets tracked in. The trick is to wash the rugs frequently, and to wipe your feet on the rug before entering the house. Two things that damage carpet, the grip on sport shoes (when you pivit it puts a lot of stress on the fibers), and oils from bare feet - which I can only guess are also in your socks if you've been wearing them all day.... I find nothing more disgusting in someone's entrance than a heap of shoes. Floors and flooring are designed for walking on, and closets are designed for storage of shoes. If you want to remove your shoes, fine, just put them away so I don't have to stumble over them. My REMOVE-YOUR-SHOES sister-in-law, with her unsightly stack of shoes in the doorway, has suffered from warts on her feet because she refuses to wear shoes/house shoes/slippers indoors, and her doctor has told her as much. Thanks, but no thanks, I will keep my shoes on and she can keep her warty virus for herself. Regular maintanance (frequent vacuuming and professional cleaning as needed) is what keeps flooring clean, not how many people remove their shoes..... -Grainlady

We used Chem Dry in a house that had had a cat peeing in one of the rooms, it turned out great. Do tell the Chem Dry operator about the pet stains, though, because as I recall they had to specially treat them.

I know way too much about carpet cleaning. My story - our little elderly male dog, Benjamin, passed away. We adopted Oliver, another small male dog. I knew Benjamin had some "accidents" & wanted the carpet to be pristine, before Oliver arrived. I got a black light (lights up urine spots) & my carpet, which looked perfect, was a crime scene. I was shocked. Expensive carpet with no visible spots or discernible odor to me. But I know Oliver has a better nose than mine, so I started researching. I ended up lurking for weeks/months on a professional carpet cleaning forum. I really got into it - kind if like how I got into the Kitchen Forum At the time, I had just retired, was perimenopausal & obviously a bit OCD. I ended up spending close to $1000 on a "portie" (professional carpet cleaning machine) & gallons (literally) of cleaners, spotters, rinsing agents, anti-wicking agents, anti browning agents, etc. I even bought a special piece of equipment called a "Waterclaw" that removes urine down to the pad. I spent many hours cleaning that carpet. In the end, I told my husband "I need a truck mount." I believe that's a $10,000 or more investment. I gave all my equipment & chemicals to my brother & had a professional with a truckmount clean my carpet & remove all the chemicals I had left in the carpet. That portie didn't have enough PSI and CFM's (vacuum power) to adequately clean & remove dirt. Resoiling (spots reappearing) is usually due to "residue" being left in the carpet. It can be whatever caused the spot and/or the cleaning agent. It has not been completely removed. It may be that the right rinsing agent has not been used & residue has been left behind. The residue attracts more residue & the spots reappear. If that happens, call the cleaning company to reclean. Reputable ones will come back & address the resoiling. Carpet cleaner post: "Help, customer called me back for spots reappearing." I still use the Waterclaw & a portavac for the occasional accident. Otherwise, a reputable company, with a truckmount. There are some dry cleaning methods that are highly thought of. I ran out of energy & interest, so I can't speak to those.