Those old timers in the 1950's knew a thing or two when it came to family-friendly carpet. Those floral designs hid a multitude of sins... I mean stains. There is a pinkish red rose design on a pale grey background that I covet. You've got everything from wine stains to shoe polish camouflaged in that!

Vax. Yep, worth the outlay. The shampooing function requires a bit of fussing around attaching the clear tubing etc and it's slower than the professional guys pace... but it's done the trick for us.
That carpet you speak of... We have some of that. We used it to line the back of DHs ute for our camping trips! very hardy stuff!