I bought this for $145 and have been happy with it. I think this will only clean as good as your choice in liquid detergent and how hot the water you use. I think carpet cleaner is a personal choice, so if you have a favorite that you know won’t damage your carpet/upholstery, stick with it. I choose on both effectiveness and smell. As far as the water temperature, I have found that if I boil a 12-cup pot of water from my coffee maker and hot tap water to use in the tank to the fill line, I get far superior results. I’ll clean the carpets every six months, but I can still pull very dirty water and can clearly see the difference when I use very hot water.
Unless it’s a small room, one tank full will not be enough to do a big living room. After using the 12 cups from the coffee pot, either refill for another 12 cups or put a large pot on the stove to boil while you vacuum. Again, I sincerely believe this is part of the reason the professional cleaners the apartment management uses works so effectively (not just the suction) because of water temperature.
I will use the entire tank of water on a small area and let the brushes deep clean in the circular motion. Then I let it take the dirty water up in the reserve. Then I use it as a dry vac to do many more passes over the area to speed up the drying process. That way, I don’t have to leave my windows open too long to dry out the carpet. When the entire area is dry, I immediately follow up with a standard hepa filter vacuum to further ‘fluff’ the carpet. Looks and almost smells like new!
I have not yet tried on upholstery. especially with the wand, so I cannot comment on its effectiveness. One downside is the NOISE can be deafening, so I will actually use earplugs to preserve my hearing from the high pitch.
For the price, you will not be disappointed.