I have a Bissell Pro Heat and LOVE it. We have 3 dogs and there are going to be oopsie moments.
We only have carpet in the family areas. We clean our carpets as needed which may mean every other month if it looks like it needs it.
This Bissell is my 2nd Bissell and I had a Hoover Steam Vac first (also a good machine). I like this one because.... it keeps the water HOT for the steam cleaning, it has good suction, we can also clean the stairs with it, we don't clean upholstery because we have leather, I have cleaned a white fabric Coach purse that turned out beautifully. It is not the lightest machine out there but it is very easy to use.
We use the Hoover Pet solution and like it a lot. When I cleaned the purse, I used a little of my All HE laundry detergent with a touch of clorox and that worked well. I actually have cleaned the carpets with the All HE/clorox solution and the carpets look great.
It does have a drier on it but the carpets are not dry as soon as you are done. It does take a little while for them to completely dry but that does not bother us.
I've not notied any extra wear on the carpets. We have a high quality pad and carpet and it still looks new in many areas and we built this house 10 yrs ago.
The machine is around $300