Yes on the bottom they do like a vacuum cleaner. Not really steam the heat comes from the hot water you put in it with the soap.

It does not leave the carpet very wet, but wet enough to take 2-3 hours to dry. I would recommend cleaning before everyone goes to bed or either right before you know there won't be any traffic on the carpet for a while. And I also try to open a window in the area of the carpet to help it dry quicker.

Mine did come with a little bit of cleaner. I don't remember exactly how much, but it wasn't a lot. It was enough to clean my living room carpet, but I would recommend going ahead and buying a bottle of cleaner if you are planning on cleaning more than one room. It never hurts to have some left over for the next cleaning.

No it doesn't. I think that if it did, it would be much more heavy. I will just hand-wash my stairs and take my car to the car wash. I own leather furniture, so an upholstery attachment is not necessary.

I have gotten some set in stains out with this cleaner but first I spray the area with some Spray and Wash stain remover. None of them have been orange soda stains but a few were old pet stains and it worked really well. You may want to try that. Also use a cleaner with some oxy clean in it. There are several on the market.