If a person has small children and/or household pets, chances are that they have had their carpet shampooed.
They may have hired a professional carpet cleaner or gone through the process of renting carpet shampooers.
For years, many would hire a professional carpet cleaner to come to their home and shampoo the carpet in 2-3 rooms for around $100.
Extra charges would apply for hard-to-remove stains but many claimed it was worth the expense.
The downside was that the fees were much higher for bonded carpet cleaning chains that were reputable.
Though many cities have independent operators that will work for slightly less, it was hard to find someone that was trustworthy enough to be in any home for an extended period of time.
There was a time when carpet shampooers were heavy, bulky machines that were handles best by someone with exceptional stamina and endurance.
Also, few places rented these machines to consumers and it was harder to find them in regular stores for purchase.
In this do-it-yourself--or as it's better known--DIY culture, anyone with a cash deposit or bank card can rent a carpet cleaner.
Even major department and discount chains sell carpet shampooers as well as the actual cleaning solutions, though some say that any household detergent and water will do the same job.
And the best part is that they are almost the same size as any vacuum cleaner.
Also, whether a person decides to hire a professional carpet cleaner or do the job themselves, another advancement in modern household technology has come to life called drying time.
There was a time when carpet shampooers left so much water in the carpet left to air dry that most homes would have a mildew smell for at least a week.
Nowadays, any carpet can be clean and dry in less than 24 hours.