If you don't have any health problems, there is no real reason to go HEPA, at least as far as getting the dirt out of the rugs. It would make a difference if you are alergic to dust mites, or something else in the rug that you don't want thrown into the air. HEPA defines not only the size of the particles that it will remove, but also the percentage (eg. 99.9 percent of particles 0.3 microns).