I have 2kids and a dog but you would be able to tell by looking at my carpet or by the great smell this product leaves behind. It works great on cleaning my carpet but on set in stains I use other pretreaters to help remove the stain. It has scotchgaurd in the product that helps protect my carpet from new stains. Safe to use in Bissell, Hoover, Dirt Devil and other brands of full-size deep cleaning machines-even rental machines. I love the brand and I love the product......I highly recommend the Lavender essence.