This machine replaces a small carpet washer and a slightly larger carpet washer, neither of which had suction power to really remove dirt, very small capacity for the little it removed and they were just hard to clean when clogged with dirt. I have a dog and four young children who really made a mess, so I was really looking forward to the power of a shop vacuum. As with any device, be patient first. Easy to assemble, there are videos on YouTube how to do it. At first I couldn't understand why there was no suction, but then I realized I had turned the knob on the remote wrong. As soon as I understood that, I became golden. It also took me a few tries to figure out how to turn the water on and off with the remote control. But I was able to successfully clean a piece of carpet at the top of my stairs that no other machine I've used before could clean. Despite the color change, the musty smell we lived with is now gone. I have found that the smaller pad tool is easier to use to really get excess water off the carpet than the larger carpet tool. . I live in a humid area and I think this helped my rug dry enough to finish drying overnight. I have no reason to reset the stars, this product performs exactly as I expected - way better than I expected. .