Two days after we had brand new carpet installed, my husband spilled paint on the carpet. He tried to clean it up after 4 hours, but it left a crunchy mess. About 5 days later, I received the Steamvac and thought I'd try to get that stain out, that by this point was also trapping dirt. I was amazed that the Steamvac completely removed the stain! I did have to scrub the spot with the bristles on the suction head as the manual suggests doing, but I didn't have to put much muscle into it. I also used VERY hot water, which I'm sure helped.